A cross-section of Saudi women has come out strongly against the launch of a new Internet magazine targeting Saudi and other Arab women as well as children in the Al-Qaeda-inspired drive against "infidels in the Arabian Peninsula."
| "Kids! You can have fun killing infidels and win this neat decoder ring!" |
They said that by calling on women to join in the preparations for Jihad, the deviant group was straying away from the path of Islam, which stands for high explosives mercy, compassion, tolerance and justice.
| You can tell by the number of churches, synagogues, and temples throughout the Moose limb world, and especially in Soddy Arabia... |
"What do they want to achieve?" asked radio journalist and broadcaster Samar Fatany from Jeddah. "They really need to think about the consequences of their actions. What they are preaching is extremism and revenge which are totally un-Islamic."
| "... but culturally very much a part of the Arab and Muslim world..." |
She was confident that the website would have no adverse impact on Saudi women who are "God-fearing and in no way influenced by misguided teachings."
| "Hah! How y'gonna get 'em to read yer website when we keep 'em illiterate? Riddle me that!" |
According to Fatany, the situation reflects the weakness of the Arab world and the inaction on the part of the international community to stand up for justice and peace.
| "Yeah! It's the innernational community's fault, dammit!" |
She said the "unjust US foreign policy on the one hand and Israeli atrocities against Palestinians on the other have also been responsible for breeding such negative tendencies in the region."
| "I mean, what else could us Muslims do? It ain't like we could negotiate with anybody or nuttin'!" |
Another Saudi female journalist Hala Al-Nasser said the promoters of the Internet magazine were giving a twist to the concept of Jihad. "To me, Jihad means constant struggle and perseverance with oneself for the cause of peace."
| To me, jihad will always mean cutting people's heads off and shooting school children in the back... |
She said Saudi women would not be attracted by the kind of message being put out on their website. The newly launched online magazine declares that its mission is to "push our children to the battlefield, like Al-Khansaa." Umm Raad Al-Tamimi, the promoter of the magazine, further declares that another of their objective is to teach women how to contribute to jihad, or holy war. The monthly, published by the "Women's Information Office in the Arabian Peninsula," advocates the ideology of Osama Bin Laden: "Drive infidels from the Arabian Peninsula," or Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest sites, Makkah and Madinah.
| "That's 'cuz we're peaceful an' tolerant an' all that stuff! It's the presence of infidels that makes us go nutz!" |
Named after a female Arab poet belonging to the pre- and early Islamic eras, the magazine appears to be the first of its kind targeting women and their children for jihad. "Close ranks on the side of our men," orders the publication, which also allocates space for alleged Al-Qaeda "martyrs" in Saudi Arabia. Al-Khansaa, a companion of the Prophet (peas peace be upon him), is remembered for her eulogies, particularly the one written for her brother Sakhr who died in a tribal feud.
[Slice!]
"Go fer yer sword, Sakhr!" |
She later sent her four sons for jihad. All of them were martyred.
"We're [slice!] here to [slice!] avenge [slice!] Sakhr! [slice!]"
"Hey, Al-Khansaa! Youse got any more kids back there?" |
"We will stand up, veiled and in abaya (black cloak), arms in hand, our children on our laps and the Book of Allah and Sunnah of the Prophet as our guide. The blood of our husbands and the bodies of our children are an offering to God," says the editorial in the first edition.
| "Where do you want these heads, lady?" |
One of the founders of the publication was Al-Qaeda's former chief in Saudi Arabia, Abdul Aziz Al-Muqrin, killed in an encounter with the police in June. The journal carries a section entitled "Women's Camp (Muaskar)", which is reminiscent of Al-Qaeda's military online magazine "Muaskar Al-Battar." |