Since Sept. 11, Omar Bakri Muhammad has been a busy man. Sheik Omar is the leader of Al-Muhajiroun, a worldwide Islamic fundamentalist organization allied with Osama bin Laden. He has been serving as spokesman for the cause, granting more than 15 interviews a day to major media outlets around the world.
From his comfortable, high-tech headquarters in Walthamstow, London, Sheik Omar has been on the BBC, CNN, NBC, Sky Television, and other major networks and newspapers from America, UK, Russia, China, Japan, the Middle East, Australia, Brazil, even Scandinavia. His phone rings constantly with interview requests; his assistant struggles to balance them all.
In most interviews, and I’ve reviewed about 20, the sheik explains that the recent attacks on America were a Zionist conspiracy, specifically, that they were carried out by the Mossad to divert attention from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and to mobilize the West against Islam. His comments are featured matter-of-factly, usually without debate.
I asked Sheik Omar to fit me into his tight schedule. He happily agreed.
I started off with basic questions about terrorism and Osama bin Laden, and before I knew it, Sheik Omar, speaking with a heavy Syrian accent, was already giving me his well-versed lecture about just who is responsible for the recent attacks.
“It’s impossible that Muslims committed this atrocity. It goes completely against the rules of Islam. We don’t even have the capabilities: Muslims don’t have airport information, flying experts, coordination techniques. Only Israel could have succeeded with such a complicated operation. It benefits them in every aspect.”
But Sheik Omar, weren’t all the hijackers Muslim?
He paused. Perhaps he was not used to dissent. “Hijackers?” He retorted. “They’re not hijackers! They’re passengers. The FBI likes to lie! But they’re wrong. They publicized 19 names, and seven of them are still alive, living in Saudi Arabia. So the names aren’t even accurate. The Americans just took the passenger list and circled all the Muslims!”
These “circled passengers,” I pointed out, attended flight schools in South Florida, met Islamic extremists in Spain and the Middle East, conferred with an Iraqi intelligence agent, and reportedly have direct links to bin Laden and his money.
“I don’t believe they took flying lessons. And why would they need Arabic money?”
He explained how easy it is for Islamic extremists to make money in the West.
“Why would the hijackers risk taking anything from bin Laden when they can easily make money for themselves in America. This wasn’t a costly operation at all. Maybe $400,000.”
I asked him to justify that Israel is responsible in light of the outpourings of joy in the West Bank, Gaza, and many other locations in the Middle East. Or with regard to the anti-American incitement espoused in mosques internationally, even in America. In fact, to the embarrassment of the White House, President Bush has been flanked since the attacks by “moderate” Muslim-American leaders who as late as Sept. 10, declared to Arab audiences that America should be destroyed.
“I am not aware of these kinds of words being spoken by Muslim leaders. It goes against Islam.”
I wasn’t sure whether to quote Abdurahman AlamoudIi, President of the American Muslim Council, who stood next to Bush three days after the attacks at a National Prayer Service, but who at a videotaped rally last year, declared, “Hear Bill Clinton: We are all supporters of Hamas. Allahu akbar. I wish to add that I am also a supporter of Hezbollah. Anybody supports Hezbollah here?”
Or whether to mention Dr. Muzammil Saddiqi, spiritual leader of the Islamic Society of Orange County, who spoke at Bush’s televised prayer event but who was also taped this year shouting, “The United States of America is directly and indirectly responsible for the plight of the Palestinian people. If you remain on the side of injustice, the wrath of God will come.”
Instead, I chose to quote Sheik Omar himself at a videotaped conference that I personally attended not too long ago at which he stated, “You all have an obligation to support the jihad or you will be punished on the Day of Judgment! You will get a reward for fighting. American people must reconsider their foreign policy or their children will be sent back to them in coffins. They [Americans] are responsible, and they will pay.”
The sheik seemed a bit annoyed. After pausing a moment, he shot back, “Of course we incite! But for something different. What happened in America was terrorism and that is not what we support. People who fight occupation, like in Israel or Afghanistan, they are freedom fighters, and we refer to them; we talk about them.
“You cannot forget that Muslims are not afraid. If we did this thing in America we would take responsibility. It would be an honor. Sometimes you find six groups all fighting to claim responsibility. There’s always a political message behind every one of our suicide missions.
“But the attack in America didn’t help Islam – we’ll have more casualties – and it didn’t have a message, it was simply cold blooded and mechanical. Only something Israel or America could do.”
He went on to cite various instances of what he calls “cold-blooded American terrorism,” outlining the arrogance and bigotry that he felt permeated America’s foreign policy, referring specifically to the Oil-for-Food Program with Arab countries, Clinton’s “unfounded” bombing of chemical factories in Afghanistan, and, of course, America’s support of Israel and its “murder of the Palestinian people.”
“America has so many enemies, so many countries that would applaud what happened. But only America and Israel, with this kind of terrorist history, can carry out such an attack.”
What about Osama bin Laden?
“You see, Osama gave a Bay?h [the highest form of divine vow] to Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Omar not to take any action against a foreign power, so it’s impossible that bin Laden had anything to do with the hijackings.”
I cited Osama’s proven history of “taking action against a foreign power,” such as his first bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa, attacks on U.S. troops in Somalia, and the recent suicide bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. He threw back the usual party line that America has never provided sufficient evidence that bin Laden was involved in any of these attacks.
What then should America’s response be?
“Attacking the Taliban would be the worst thing, because you’ll turn them into martyrs, which is what they want. You might start a war with Islam. This military buildup in the Middle East is only making matters worse.
“Whoever attacked America was killed on the planes; they’re dead. You need to respond in a civilized manner.”
I certainly didn’t need to educate Sheik Omar on the intricacies of terrorist activity – that there are masterminds, state sponsors that assist and finance, that many people responsible are still alive and should be brought to justice.
He seemed to sense my thoughts, though, and said, “No need to bomb anyone. Let’s just put Osama on trial in a Muslim court. There’s no evidence at all against him. You’ll see that he’s innocent.
“Then,” he concluded, “the truth will prevail.”
Aaron Klein is president of Internet Television Network.
