| Submit your comments on this article |
| Home Front |
| Bin Laden supporters/U.S. hate conference in Houston? |
| 2003-12-16 |
| Two Saudi Arabian extremists, both supporters of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network, have canceled plans to visit the U.S. this month to speak at an Islamic conference in Houston. However, one will still make an appearance through a satellite television hookup from Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is asking the State Department to expel two Saudi diplomats scheduled to appear at the conference. A rare moment when I agree with Chuck. According to the Saudi Information Agency, an independent news service critical of the Riyadh regime, at least two Saudi diplomats will join the conference to hear Sheikh Abdallah Ibn Jebreen, the bin Laden-praising Wahhabi cleric. A second cleric, Muhammad Saalih al-Munajid, who runs a website that promotes intolerance of Christians and Jews and calls for holy war on Shiite Muslims, has canceled his appearance. In a recent audiotape obtained by SIA and recorded in October, Ibn Jebreen called bin Laden a great warrior in the path of God: "Osama is a man who fought in the path of God for a long time. May God aid him and bring victory to him and by him." SIA said Ibn Jebreen issued at least two fatwas in support of the Taliban and encouraged young people to enlist in al-Qaida. He issued another fatwa calling on Saudis to aid Iraqis fighting U.S. forces. The two Saudi diplomats listed as attending the conference are Sheikh Yousef Al-Shubaily and Ibrahim Al-Kulaib. A third diplomat, Jafar Idriss, was set to speak at the conference but was asked to leave the U.S. two weeks ago for violating diplomatic conduct. Schumer is also raising questions about whether the Saudi Embassy is sincere about following through on its pledge last week to stop sponsoring Islamic-affairs programs that spread fanatical Islam. A report this week by the Saudi Press Agency quotes the Saudi Islamic affairs minister, Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdulaziz, denying the Islamic-affairs programs will be closed and declaring them "part of the kingdom’s message." Schumer, in a letter to Secretary of State Colin Powell, said he’s "disappointed that Saudi Arabia appears to be retreating from one of its most promising signs of cooperation in the war on terror." Schumer asked Powell to expel two clerics with embassy credentials who are set to speak at a three-day Islamic conference in Houston beginning Dec. 24. Another cleric scheduled to speak via video hookup is Muhammad bin Abd al-Rahman al-Arifi, a student of Abdur-Rahman Baraak, a well-known cleric who has also praised bin Laden. U.S. law-enforcement officials have complained that a large number of Saudis with diplomatic visas do not have legitimate diplomatic business in this country. A Saudi official has said that Riyadh, concerned about the promotion of religious extremism, will close Islamic-affairs offices in its embassies and no longer will provide diplomatic status to Saudi clerics teaching overseas. Somebody please tell me when I woke up in Europe? Where is the DIPLOMATIC and RELIGIOUS outrage over this ‘conference’? I am all for freedom of speech but don’t we have our fair share of ‘we hate America’ in Hollywood and in the Democratic party? I am advocating them, but if this were a skin-head or Nazi party meeting there would be OUTRAGE. I bet the Houston City Council would pass a resolution that any group advocating hate speech cannot hold a meeting in the city limits. Why are these people given a pass? The only way to confront them is to throw their racists and Anti-American diatribe back into their face. Also the State department needs to PNG anyone that attends this conference. WE DON’T NEED HATE SPEECH FROM ANY SECTOR OF SOCIETY. |
| Posted by:Cyber Sarge (VRWC CA Chapter) |
| #6 Was listening to one of the local talkshows today (950kprc), and they had some folks from the conference sponsors (DAWA? j. coats and 'walid'), the guy from the Saudi institute who apparently called bullshit on these 'speakers' (good for him), and a buddy of the dj or producer who spoke arabic on the show. Before they could even listen to the tape of what the mutt sheikh had to say, this 'Walid' guy started going off about how this guy was old, nobody knows when or where the tape was made of his speech, there were long blank spaces in the tape, blah blah blah. Basically just attacking the guy who 'denounced' the sheikh (imagine the fatwa on him will be forthcoming) instead of actually addressing what the mutt says on the tape (basically XXXOOO's to OBL). Lots of FUD and no substance about what this guy is spouting, so just another OBL apologist as far as I could tell, one of the "yes, but" crowd of saudi 'moderates'. I think if the mutts are going to be so obliging as to congregate in one spot, the local FBI office should be getting pictures (if not fingerprints, cheek swabs, and vitals) from every attendee. Either that or line up some buses and ship them all off to Guantanamo. It sounds like nothing but a big saudi sponsored bash-America 'conference'. If they go off after friday prayers, they better be ready for all the bubbas with CCLs to start shooting back. |
| Posted by: 4thInfVet 2003-12-16 10:41:36 PM |
| #5 Maybe they can have their little hate fest in the Astrodome. We can seal the entrances, suck all the air out, and solve a lotta problems in one fell swoop. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-12-16 9:20:20 PM |
| #4 Sarge, PC dictates that we must honor their cultural heritage to hate Joooooooos and other assorted non-heathens... ________________________borgboy sez if the NAZIS had been ARABS they wudda gottin' home scot free... |
| Posted by: borgboy 2003-12-16 6:51:05 PM |
| #3 "Two Saudi Arabian extremists, both supporters of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaida terror network, have canceled plans to visit the U.S. this month to speak at an Islamic conference in Houston." Could it be that their plans were "canceled" by the U.S. Visa department? Or did they realize that there is a shuttle service Houston-Gitmo? |
| Posted by: True German Ally 2003-12-16 3:22:12 PM |
| #2 Unfortunately, ruprecht, the rest of the story makes it clear the Saudis are lying. The two who are going to speak at the "conference" are the kind of people they say they'll no longer support. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-12-16 1:54:09 PM |
| #1 The big news, if true was the last line quotes: A Saudi official has said that Riyadh, concerned about the promotion of religious extremism, will close Islamic-affairs offices in its embassies and no longer will provide diplomatic status to Saudi clerics teaching overseas. A little late in coming but I'm happy to see it happen none-the-less. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2003-12-16 1:06:25 PM |