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| Pipes saves lives |
| 2004-06-09 |
| [Khobar Rampage:] "Don’t Be Afraid, We Won’t Kill Muslims" by Daniel Pipes, New York Sun, June 8, 2004 If you are a Westerner living and working in the Magic Kingdom or elsewhere in the Middle East, here’s an article that could save your life. It also, poignantly, reminds us all of the similarities between fascist Islamists and the Nazis. After an Islamist rampage in the Saudi town of Khobar on May 29 and 30 that ended in the deaths of 22 people, survivors of that atrocity have recounted how the terrorists went to great lengths to ensure that they would kill only non-Muslims. Their actions raise a delicate but urgent issue: how might non-Muslims best protect themselves if caught in such a situation? Even as the massacre was underway, the terrorists took pains to distinguish Muslims from non-Muslims. Here are some of the survivors’ testimonies: Hazem Al-Damen, Muslim, Jordanian: two terrorists knocked on his door and asked him and others hiding whether they were "Muslims or Christians." On hearing "Muslims," the assailants told them to stay in the room because their purpose was to rid the country of Americans and Europeans. Abu Hashem, 45, Muslim, an Iraqi-American engineer (also called "Mike" in some accounts): The terrorists demanded his residency card, which documented his religion (Muslim) and nationality (American). That combination provoked an argument between two terrorists. "He’s an American, we should shoot him," said one. "We don’t shoot Muslims," replied the other. The two went back and forth until the latter decided it: ‘Don’t be afraid. We won’t kill Muslims, even if you are an American." With this decision, the terrorists turned polite, even apologizing for breaking into Abu Hashem’s home, searching it, and leaving blood stains on his carpet. Abdul Salam al-Hakawati, 38, Muslim, a Lebanese corporate financial officer: He and his family hid upstairs in their house after hearing gunfire. Downstairs, they heard the terrorists break in and rummage around before one apparently noticed framed Koranic verses on the wall and announced to the others, "This is a Muslim house." When a heavily armed terrorist came upstairs, Mr. Al-Hakawati confirmed his identity by greeting the assailant with "Assalamu ‘Alaykum," the Muslim greeting. Nizar Hajazeen, Christian, a Jordanian software businessmen: He hid with another Jordanian in a room but they opened the door when two armed young men banged violently on it. The terrorists asked the identity of the Jordanians, Arab or Westerners. "We’re Arab," came the response. Each was then asked, "A Christian or a Muslim?" Both claimed to be Muslims and showed a Koran as proof. Taking care to kill only non-Muslims appears to be in response to widespread Saudi criticism of Islamist terrorism directed against Muslims; Saudis seem to agree that murder is a tool suitably directed only against non-Muslims, as two quotes suggest: Abdelaziz Raikhan, a maintenance man for the Saudi security forces, responded to the suicide bombing of a police headquarters in Riyadh that killed 5 people and wounded 148 on April 21, accusing the perpetrators of being "mentally ill. 
There’s not one American in this entire area. Not one! What kind of jihad is this?" Mohsen al-Awaji, a Saudi lawyer, suggests that terrorists should be encouraged by the authorities to go to the many "occupied territories that require resistance," such as in Afghanistan, Iraq, the Palestinian Authority, and Chechnya. "If someone decides to go, we wish him luck. He’s going to die anyway, so let him die there while achieving something, not die here and kill innocents with him." Nor is this the first time Islamists have specifically targeted infidels. In Malaysia in 2000, for example, jihadists purposefully killed two non-Muslim hostages and spared two others, both Muslims. In Pakistan in 2002, a police chief noted killers "took a good fifteen minutes in segregating the Christians and making sure that each one of their targets gets the most horrific death." The murderers separated Christians from Muslims by requiring each hostage to recite a verse from the Koran. Those who could not were shot. In all these cases, non-Muslims facing jihadists could have saved themselves by passing as Muslims. There are several ways they could have done this. They might have greeted their potential murderers with Assalamu ‘alaykum (which, ironically, means "peace be with you"). They might have recited in Arabic the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith. Or they might have recited in Arabic the first sura (chapter) of the Koran, the essential prayer of Islam called the Fatiha ("Opening"). In the past, such knowledge would have saved lives. It could probably do so again in the future. Shahada and Fatiha Here is the text of the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, in a Latin-letter transliteration of the original Arabic and in translation: Ashadu an la ilaha illa-llah Wa ashhadu anna Muhammadan rasul-Ullah There is no divinity but God And Muhammad is the prophet of God Here is the same for the Fatiha, the opening sura (chapter) of the Koran and the essential prayer of Islam: Bismillah arrahman arraheem Alhamdulillah, rabb al‘alameen Arrahman arraheem Malik yawm addeen Iyyaka na‘budu wa’ayyaka nasta‘een Ihdina assirat almustaqeem Sirat allatheena an‘amta ‘alayhim ghayri almaghdubi ‘alayhim waladaalleen In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate. Praise be to God, Lord of the worlds; The merciful, the compassionate; King of the Day of Judgment. You we worship and Your aid we seek. Guide us on the straight path, The path of those You have blessed, not those who incurred wrath, nor those gone astray. ironically this reminds me of the article the other day where SKor troops heading to Iraq were "converting" to Islam. |
| Posted by:Anon1 |
| #16 as an atheist, it would not bother me to learn some verses of gobbledygook if it could keep me alive in the Magic Kingdom. Were I there, I'd be taking that measure and putting a big fat koranic quote on my door and carrying a koran also. I would think my life more precious than the sacrifice of a bit of pride in pretending to be a muslim. If I were in Saudi Arabia of course. In Australia I can say FU just like anybody else. |
| Posted by: Anon1 2004-06-10 12:34:10 AM |
| #15 I cant even stand to read the shahada, much less say it. I say NEVER. AND FU! Anyway, one's soul is more important than one's body. Not to mention this is insulting to our soldiers on the front lines fighting these bastards...there's no shahada escape hatch for them, and there should be none for us either! Semper Fi people! |
| Posted by: TS(vice girl) 2004-06-09 7:35:01 PM |
| #14 Under Sharia, non-Muslims are forbidden from carrying weapons of any kind without explicit permission of the local religious authorities. This extends even to certain kinds of dining utensils. |
| Posted by: therien 2004-06-09 6:01:38 PM |
| #13 Indeed. I believe the old gunfighters talked about being in a very "deliberate hurry." If you don't hit what you're aiming at, then it is pointless to fire - except for the confusion factor. Wyatt Earp's quote is perfect: "Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything." |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-09 5:06:54 PM |
| #12 Well indeed, the "fuck you" IS more effective with a gun in your hand. It's interesting how many people you can shoot before they kill you when you are not afraid. |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-06-09 4:20:08 PM |
| #11 TGA - One night in the parking lot of the Al Rashid Mall (THE favorite place to shop and hang out for Saudis in Al Khobar / Dahrhan area), oh about 2.5 years ago, a pickup truck full of young twerps in standard Saudi Sunni garb all hollered "Fuck You!" at me in unison as they sped by. As the only pedestrian in sight, not to mention the only Westerner in sight, it was pretty obvious that they were yelling at me. Of course, instinctively, I hollered "Fuck You!" back - and they all roared with laughter and giggles. So I think the American English "Fuck You!" is pretty universal, lol! Of course today, if I was dumb enough to still be there and go shopping at Al Rashid at night, they might just shoot me, instead. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-06-09 4:06:57 PM |
| #10 TGA: Based on the context of usage, I think it's "Allahu akbar". As for this way of "surviving", all you're doing is turning yourself into a slave. Remember: Islam means "submission"; they don't care how you submit or why, so long as you submit. (And remember, if you do this and later claim you didn't mean it, you're an apostate and subject to the death penalty.) |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-06-09 3:54:36 PM |
| #9 Or: "Go ahead punk, make my day"? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-06-09 3:52:07 PM |
| #8 And what is "fuck you" in Arab? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2004-06-09 3:50:44 PM |
| #7 Trying the same "I am a Muslim" trick on the terrorists a second time will probably fail when everyone is doing it. I would call this "survival techniques for idiots." Steve White's Pipes save lives idea will probably save more lives that laying a soul brother trip on a terrorist. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul in Chefornak 2004-06-09 3:00:14 PM |
| #6 Where is this article where SKOr troops are converting to Islam??? Just curious, Peggy |
| Posted by: peggy 2004-06-09 1:48:07 PM |
| #5 PD commented a few days ago that fire arms are prohibited. So they're targeting those who do not believe as they do. |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-06-09 12:49:15 PM |
| #4 What are the laws concerning private firearm possession there? If I were crazy enough to live in that place, I'd want to keep a .45 handy just in case I have a terrorist-induced Maalox Moment&trade. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-06-09 11:42:14 AM |
| #3 When I first show the headline, "Pipes Saves Lives", I thought it was referring to a 1 1/2 inch diameter, 3 foot long steel pipe with a rubber grip at one end. That just might have saved a couple of guys, particularly if one could do the "hide behind the door and whack 'em when they come through" trick. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2004-06-09 10:50:14 AM |
| #2 Claiming to be a Muslim (truly or not) didn't help that BBC reporter any. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-06-09 10:40:17 AM |
| #1 Daniel Pipes has an update on his site: June 8, 2004 update: I have received a number of responses to this article along the lines of "You are suggesting that I forsake my religious tradition to save my life, which I will not do." To this I have several comments: I respect this reaction. I am not advocating religious dissimulation but pointing out the choice that a non-Muslim might face and making the information available with which to make that choice. When non-Muslims are mortally threatened as described in the article above, they are not threatened for belonging to a religion (Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc.) but for not belonging to a religion (Islam). |
| Posted by: Anon1 2004-06-09 10:16:25 AM |