You have been accused
of involvement in the attacks in New York and Washington. What do
you want to say about this? If you are not involved, who might be?
I am thankful to The Ummat Group of Publications, which gave
me the opportunity to convey my viewpoint to the people,
particularly the valiant and true Muslim people of Pakistan who
refused to believe the lie of the demon. I have already said that I
am not involved in the Sept. 11 attacks in the United States.
As a Muslim, I try my best to avoid telling a lie. I had no
knowledge of these attacks, nor do I consider the killing of
innocent women, children, and other humans as an appreciable act.
Islam strictly forbids causing harm to innocent women, children, and
other people. Such a practice is forbidden ever in the course of a
battle.
It is the United States, which is perpetrating every maltreatment on
women, children, and common people of other faiths, particularly the
followers of Islam. All that is going on in Palestine for the last
11 months is sufficient to call the wrath of God upon the United
States and Israel.
There is also a warning for those Muslim countries, which witnessed
all these as silent spectators. What had earlier been done to the
innocent people of Iraq, Chechnya, and Bosnia? Only one conclusion
could be derived from the indifference of the United States and the
West to these acts of terror and the patronage of the tyrants by
these powers that America is an anti-Islamic power and it is
patronizing the anti-Islamic forces.
Its friendship with the Muslim countries is just a show, rather
deceit. By enticing or intimidating these countries, the United
States is forcing them to play a role of its choice. Put a glance
all around and you will see that the slaves of the United States are
either rulers or enemies [of Muslims].
The U.S. has no friends, nor does it want to keep any because the
prerequisite of friendship is to come to the level of the friend or
consider him on par with you. America does not want to see anyone
equal to it. It expects slavery from others. Therefore, other
countries are either its slaves or subordinates.
There are countries, which do not agree to become its slaves, such
as China, Iran, Libya, Cuba, Syria, and the former Russia.
Whoever committed the act of Sept. 11 are not the friends of the
American people. I have already said that we are against the
American system, not against its people, whereas in these attacks,
the common American people have been killed.
According to my information, the death toll is much higher than what
the U.S. government has stated. But the Bush administration does not
want panic to spread. The United States should look within itself
for the perpetrators of these attacks: those people who are part of
the U.S. system, but are dissenting against it. Or those who are
working for some other system; persons who want to make the present
century as a century of conflict between Islam and Christianity so
that their own civilization, nation, country, or ideology can
survive.
It could be anyone, from Russia to Israel and from India to Serbia.
In the U.S. itself, there are dozens of well-organized and
well-equipped groups, which are capable of causing a large-scale
destruction.
Then you cannot forget the American Jews, who are annoyed with
President Bush ever since the elections in Florida and want to
avenge him.
Then there are intelligence agencies in the U.S., which require
billions of dollars from Congress and the government every year.
This [funding issue] was not a big problem while Soviet Union was in
existence but, after that, the budget of these agencies has been in
danger. They needed an enemy. So, they first started propaganda
against Osama and the Taliban and then this incident happened.
You see: the Bush administration approved a budget of $40 billion.
Where will this huge amount go? It will be provided to the same
agencies, which need huge funds and want to exert their importance.
Now they will spend the money for their expansion and for increasing
their importance.
I will give you an example. Drug smugglers from all over the world
are in contact with the U.S. secret agencies. These agencies do not
want to eradicate narcotics cultivation and trafficking because
their importance will be diminished. The people in the U.S. drug
enforcement department are encouraging drug trade so that they could
show performance and get millions of dollars worth of budget.
General [Manuel] Noriega was made a drug baron by the CIA and,
eventually, he was made a scapegoat. In the same way, whether it is
President Bush or any other U.S. president, they cannot bring Israel
to justice for its human rights abuses or to hold it accountable for
such crimes. What is this? Is it not that there exists a government
within the government in the United Sates? That secret government
must be asked who made the attacks.
The losses caused by the attacks in New York and Washington have
proven that giving an economic blow to the U.S. is not too
difficult. U.S. experts admit that a few more such attacks can bring
down the American economy. Why is Al-Qaeda not targeting their
economic pillars?
I have already said that we are not hostile to the United States. We
are against the system, which makes other nations slaves of the
United States, or forces them to mortgage their political and
economic freedom. This system is totally in control of the American
Jews, whose first priority is Israel, not the United States. It is
simply that the American people are themselves the slaves of the
Jews and are forced to live according to the principles and laws
laid by them. So, the punishment should reach Israel. In fact, it is
Israel, which is giving a blood bath to innocent Muslims and the
U.S. is not uttering a single word.
Why is harm not caused to the enemies of Islam through other
means, apart from the armed struggle? For instance, inciting the
Muslims to boycott Western products, banks, shipping lines and TV
channels.
The first thing is that Western products could only be boycotted
when the Muslim fraternity is fully awakened and organized.
Secondly, the Muslim companies should become self-sufficient in
producing goods equal to the products of Western companies.
You see that wealth is scattered all across the Muslim world but not
a single TV channel has been acquired which can preach Islamic
injunctions according to modern requirements and attain an
international influence. Muslim traders and philanthropists should
make it a point that if the weapon of public opinion is to be used,
it is to be kept in the hand. Today’s world is of public opinion and
the fates of nations are determined through its pressure. Once the
tools for building public opinion are obtained, everything that you
asked for can be done.
The entire propaganda about your struggle has so far been made by
the Western media. But there is no information from your sources
about the network of Al-Qaeda and its jihadi successes. Would you
comment?
Our silence is our real propaganda. Rejections, explanations, or
misprints only waste your time. Through them, the enemy wants you to
engage in things which are not of a use to you. These things are
pulling you away from your cause. The Western media is unleashing
such baseless propaganda, which surprises us, but it reflects what
is in their hearts. Gradually they themselves become captive of this
propaganda. They become afraid of it and begin to cause harm to
themselves.
Terror is the most dreaded weapon in the modern age and the Western
media is mercilessly using it against its own people. It can add
fear and helplessness in the psyche of the people of Europe and the
United States. It means that what the enemies of the United States
cannot do, its media is doing. You can understand what the
performance of a nation will be in a war, which suffers from fear
and helplessness.
Are there safe areas other than Afghanistan where you can
continue jihad?
There are areas in all parts of the world where strong jihadi forces
are present, from Indonesia to Algeria, from Kabul to Chechnya, from
Bosnia to Sudan, and from Burma to Kashmir.
That it is not my problem. I am a helpless fellowman of God,
constantly in the fear of my accountability before God. It is not
the question of Osama but of Islam and, in Islam too, of jihad.
Thanks to God, those waging a jihad can walk today with their heads
raised. Jihad will still be here when there is no Osama.