http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/30A...86AE6175640.htm
Hamas rejects bin Laden message
Monday 24 April 2006, 8:46 Makka Time, 5:46 GMT
The Hamas government has faced boycotts from the West
Hamas and a Sudanese rebel group have distanced themselves from a statement from Osama bin Laden condemning the West for its actions in both countries.
In an audiotape message broadcast by Aljazeera on Sunday, the al-Qaeda leader said the decision by Western governments to halt aid to the Hamas-led government and impose other sanctions proved the West was in a "crusader war" with Islam.
Commenting on bin Laden's message shortly afterwards, Sami Abu Zuhri, a spokesman for Hamas, said the group's ideology was "totally different" from that of bin Laden and al-Qaeda.
"What Osama bin Laden said is his opinion, but Hamas has its own positions which are different to the ones expressed by bin Laden," he said.
However, he said that what he called the "international siege on the Palestinian people" would inevitably lead to tensions in the Arab and Islamic world.
"It's natural that this tension is going to create an impression that there is a Western-Israeli alliance working against the Palestinians"
Sami Abu Zuhri,
Hamas spokesman
"It's natural that this tension is going to create an impression that there is a Western-Israeli alliance working against the Palestinians," Abu Zuhri said.
He added that Hamas was "very keen to have good relations with the West" but said that Western policies were inflaming tensions.
In the past, Hamas leaders have distanced themselves from al-Qaeda, saying their struggle is only against the Israeli occupation and does not fit into the group's worldwide radical Islamist effort.
Bin Laden also called "upon the mujahidin and their supporters in Sudan and its surroundings - including the Arabian Peninsula - to prepare to lead a prolonged war against the "crusader robbers in western Sudan".
Ahmed Hussein, from the Justice and Equality Movement, a Sudanese rebel group, said: "We categorically reject these declarations.
"His words are completely disconnected from the reality in Darfur. Bin Laden is still preaching the theory of an American-Zionist conspiracy when the real problem comes from Khartoum, which is a Muslim government killing other Muslims."
He warned that such comments risked "encouraging the Khartoum regime to perpetuate injustice and its strategy against Darfur".
Agencies
Full Version: Hamas rejects bin Laden message
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I have a difficult time thinking of Hamas as any different than al-qaeda.
Sure one is honest about it's motives, and one says it has no problem with Americans (as long as they are goy?) but my family left the turnip truck behind generations ago.
I guess insisting Hamas renounce violence and recognize the state of Israel's right to exist is a little too much to ask, eh?
Most of the rest of the Hamas message seems packaged for western consumption. Let me see......this rings a bell.....
New-look Hamas spends £100k on an image makeover
Spin doctor admits he has 'work cut out' with group known for suicide attacks
Chris McGreal in Ramallah
Friday January 20, 2006
The Guardian
Mr Aqtash also told Mr Abu Tir to rid himself of a red beard, coloured by henna, because it makes people laugh.
Sure one is honest about it's motives, and one says it has no problem with Americans (as long as they are goy?) but my family left the turnip truck behind generations ago.
QUOTE
He added that Hamas was "very keen to have good relations with the West" but said that Western policies were inflaming tensions.
I guess insisting Hamas renounce violence and recognize the state of Israel's right to exist is a little too much to ask, eh?
Most of the rest of the Hamas message seems packaged for western consumption. Let me see......this rings a bell.....
New-look Hamas spends £100k on an image makeover
Spin doctor admits he has 'work cut out' with group known for suicide attacks
Chris McGreal in Ramallah
Friday January 20, 2006
The Guardian
QUOTE
Mr Aqtash, who describes himself as opposed to violence and "believing in the Gandhi route", has advised Hamas leaders to change their image by explaining that they do not hate Israelis because they are Jews. And he is attempting to persuade influential foreigners that Hamas is essentially a peaceful organisation that was forced to fight, but is now committed to pressing its cause through politics, not violence.
"Hamas does not believe in terrorism or killing civilians. But Ariel Sharon pressed buttons to make people angry. Sometimes we are innocent enough to react in a way that the Israelis use the reaction against us," he said.
"Hamas does not believe in terrorism or killing civilians. But Ariel Sharon pressed buttons to make people angry. Sometimes we are innocent enough to react in a way that the Israelis use the reaction against us," he said.
QUOTE
Mr Aqtash has also advised Hamas leaders to emphasise that they are not anti-semitic or against Israelis because they are Jews. Hamas has taken the message on board. In an interview earlier this week, Muhammad Abu Tir, who is second on the Hamas election list, twice (and unprompted) offered an assurance that he is not a Jew hater.
"Loving others is part of our religion. We are not against Jews as Jews, we are against oppression," he said.
"Loving others is part of our religion. We are not against Jews as Jews, we are against oppression," he said.
Mr Aqtash also told Mr Abu Tir to rid himself of a red beard, coloured by henna, because it makes people laugh.
QUOTE
Mr Aqtash, however, is not entirely confident in his powers of persuasion.
"How did I do?" he asked as the interview ended. "Did I make you think differently about Hamas?"
"How did I do?" he asked as the interview ended. "Did I make you think differently about Hamas?"
Prophet cartoon offenders must be killed: bin Laden Yahoo! News
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has called for people who ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad to be killed, weighing into the furor that erupted after a Danish newspaper ran cartoons lampooning Islam's holy messenger. "Heretics and atheists, who denigrate religion and transgress against God and His Prophet, will not stop their enmity toward Islam except by being killed," the Saudi-born militant said. Bin Laden's remarks were part of an audio tape which Al Jazeera television aired excerpts from on Sunday. The television station later published a full transcript on its Web site. The Doha-based satellite television channel had aired excerpts of the tape in which bin Laden accused the West of waging a "Crusader-Zionist" war against Islam, citing the isolation of the Hamas-led Palestinian government and the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region as examples. Anger over the cartoons, which a Danish newspaper first published last year, outraged Muslims who consider drawings of the Prophet to be blasphemous. The caricatures, which were reprinted in several Arab and European newspapers, sparked violent protests in which more than 50 people were killed. Consumers in Muslim countries have also boycotted Danish goods. Denmark's government has refused to apologize for the cartoons, saying it cannot say sorry on behalf of a free and independent media and that freedom of speech is sacred. "The insistence of the Danish government to refrain from apologizing and its refusal to punish the criminals and take action to prevent this crime from being repeated... shows that the notions of freedom of speech have no roots, especially when it comes to Muslims," bin Laden said in the tape.
Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has called for people who ridiculed the Prophet Mohammad to be killed, weighing into the furor that erupted after a Danish newspaper ran cartoons lampooning Islam's holy messenger. "Heretics and atheists, who denigrate religion and transgress against God and His Prophet, will not stop their enmity toward Islam except by being killed," the Saudi-born militant said. Bin Laden's remarks were part of an audio tape which Al Jazeera television aired excerpts from on Sunday. The television station later published a full transcript on its Web site. The Doha-based satellite television channel had aired excerpts of the tape in which bin Laden accused the West of waging a "Crusader-Zionist" war against Islam, citing the isolation of the Hamas-led Palestinian government and the crisis in Sudan's Darfur region as examples. Anger over the cartoons, which a Danish newspaper first published last year, outraged Muslims who consider drawings of the Prophet to be blasphemous. The caricatures, which were reprinted in several Arab and European newspapers, sparked violent protests in which more than 50 people were killed. Consumers in Muslim countries have also boycotted Danish goods. Denmark's government has refused to apologize for the cartoons, saying it cannot say sorry on behalf of a free and independent media and that freedom of speech is sacred. "The insistence of the Danish government to refrain from apologizing and its refusal to punish the criminals and take action to prevent this crime from being repeated... shows that the notions of freedom of speech have no roots, especially when it comes to Muslims," bin Laden said in the tape.
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