What Extremists are saying

On March 4, 2006, Aljazeera broadcast a video recording of al Qaeda leader Aymanal-Zawahiri warning the HAMAS Movement against recognizing those he termed “secularists” and joining them in one legislative council. Al-Zawahiri said that assuming power must lead to applying the rules of Shari'ah (Islamic law). A translation of the broadcast appears below.

“In his State of the Union address, Bush, the advocate of democracy, has threatened HAMAS to halt aid unless it recognizes Israel, abandons Jihad, and abides by the agreements of capitulation between the [Palestinian] Authority [PA] and Israel. In this regard, it concerns me to alert my Muslim brothers in Palestine of several issues in order to realize the dimensions of the US conspiracy against them. The first issue is that the assumption of power is not required in itself, but it is required to consolidate God's law on earth. Should we give up the basis of religion; namely, the rule of Shari'ah, how would we apply the rule of God on Earth. Applying the rule of God is a pillar of monotheism. Following whims and not applying the rule of God is not part of God's religion or His rule. It would be a different religion and a different rule.

“The secularists in the National Authority have sold Palestine and accepted some morsels of it. So, recognizing those who made concessions and bestowing legitimacy on them conflicts with the approach of Islam. By the standards of Islam, these are criminals, and Palestine is not their possession or a real estate so as to relinquish it.

“Joining those who sold Palestine in one legislative council and considering their sale of Palestine, which conflicts with Islam, as a constructive religious judgment and accepting that the number of votes is the judge between us and them is a clear violation of the approach of Koran. That we recognize the legitimacy of their government and system means that we recognize the agreements they signed. It also means that, should these criminals receive a majority in any upcoming elections, then we will have to accept their right to sell Palestine. However, nobody, be he Palestinian or not, has the right to relinquish a grain of the Palestinian soil. This was an Islamic country, which the infidels occupied. It is the duty of every Muslim to seek to regain it. This is the dangerous meaning of accepting to join these secular councils on the basis of a secular constitution and on the basis of the Madrid and Oslo accords, the road map, and other agreements of surrender that violate, and even clash with the Shar'iah…”

Al-Zawahiri also urged the annulment of agreements with Israel.

“Fourth, several statements were made on the acceptance and observance of the agreements signed by the National Authority and Israel, meaning that those who made these statements approve of the Madrid and Oslo accords, the road map, and the other surrender agreements. This is a dangerous deal that must be annulled at once. One wonders why the rule of Shari'ah was conceded and why the surrender agreements were accepted. Was it for 80 seats in Gaza municipality?

“My Muslim brothers in Palestine, Iraq, and everywhere else, we must be wary of the new American game entitled the political process, for it is based on four deceptive principles: First, the abandonment of the law of Shar'iah; second, there cognition of the status quo and the surrender agreements that were imposed by the enemy via the collusion of those who sold our sanctities and dignity; third, the relinquishment of arms and the renunciation of jihad; and the fourth, the enemy's superiority and preservation of its arsenal of conventional and unconventional weapons, its military bases on our lands, and its forces that are occupying our countries, along with its continued assaults on us. The Crusader-Zionist enemy lures some of us into approving part of the game's rules with promises of power and freedom of movement, but then resorts to pressure and siege to force them to accept the remaining rules.

“Some might ask what harm there is in scoring political gains, even if temporary and limited. Well, the answer is that this warning is not concerned with a few gains, but with the high price paid for them. Are 80 seats in the Gaza municipality worth abandoning the faith of monotheism and abiding by the surrender agreements? Others might ask what the alternative is. Well, it is the path of the prophets and messengers, the path of da'wah [Islamic call] and jihad; da'wah for the pure faith and jihad in its name until the land is liberated and the Muslim caliphate emerges, God willing.”
(Above from CENTCOM website – “What Extremists are saying”)