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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| 'Lebanon is not a land of jihad' |
| 2007-09-15 |
| Fatah al-Islam tried - and failed - to affiliate itself with al-Qaeda. That is the information from Beirut as interrogations continue with the arrested members of the terrorist organization that held the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in north Lebanon hostage for over 100 days. Fatah al-Islam might be finished in Nahr al-Bared, but by no means has it been eradicated elsewhere in Lebanon. Apparently, Fatah al-Islam requested theological assistance from al-Qaeda, as a stepping stone to financial and military support. In turn, al-Qaeda sent its "sharia expert" Abdullah al-Binshi (a Saudi) to Lebanon to meet with members of Fatah al-Islam. It is unclear if this was before or after hostilities broke out with the Lebanese Army in May. Binshi studied the structure of the Lebanon-based organization, its leadership and objectives, concluding that "Lebanon is not a land of jihad". Binshi was later arrested while trying to leave Lebanon via Beirut International Airport. Before that, he had quarreled with Abu Mudeen (his "sharia expert" counterpart in Fatah al-Islam) over financing the Lebanon-based group. Abu Mudeen insisted that smuggling and robbery were legitimate if they provided a steady income flow for Fatah al-Islam. The al-Qaeda expert said that they were not. A Saudi national in Fatah al-Islam warned his compatriot in al-Qaeda that he should leave Lebanon before senior members of Fatah al-Islam killed him, since they were not satisfied by his evaluation of their conduct, or the validity of their struggle in Nahr al-Bared. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 Al-Qaeda never formed to create an integrated terror network; it exists to induce Muslims to both emulate its practises and to create terrorist heros for Muslims to admire. |
| Posted by: McZoid 2007-09-15 01:14 |