Osama and Contemporary Reasoning: A Duel Assassination

The storming of Osama bin Laden’s compound, his subsequent execution, and the joyous triumphalism on behalf of his enemies is troubling on innumerable levels. If we scan through our memory files back to that dreadful morning of September the 11th, we will find a gaping hole in the case against bin Laden as the prime suspect in what was by definition, an international crime (lest we forget, thirteen percent of the victims were foreign nationals). On the face of the allegations made against him firstly is his denial of involvement. If, as the popular line suggests, his motive was driven by faith, it should be understood that people of faith do what they do with the intention of pleasing the Divine. This is particularly true in Islam. To deny an act after having committed it for the sake of God, would serve to nullify any heavenly reward.  For bin Laden to repudiate what his accusers have dubbed his “pinnacle achievement," should initiate a reanalysis of the possible motives attributed to his role in the 911 attacks.  Opponents argue he denounced any involvement only to avert being bombed into oblivion. Interestingly, these same individuals claim the ultimate aim of his ideology was predicated on martyrdom. Such an argument is severely flawed.

"Christopher Hitchens Destroys Another Terrorism Apologist" −Not exactly.

Rencently, I was spurred into watching a "debate"  between Christopher Hitchens and Chris Hedges, as posted within this entry.  I am familiar with the participants and have gleaned useful information from each of their works on occasion.  The editing is rather choppy and it is evident any rebuttal has been deleted so I am not in a position to defend Mr. Hedges, however, Mr. Hitchens' understanding of Islam and what it represents reduces him to the level of an ignoramus, insofar as his knowledge of Shari’ah and jihad are concerned... 

A Tree Has Fallen in the Forest

The following is a reprint from New Islamic Directions, reproduced here by permission. It begins with an allegory drawn between the modern phenomenon of silencing popular movements simply by ignoring them, the tree that falls silently in the forest, presumeably because no one is around to hear it come crashing down. In today's popular climate of hatred toward and fear of all things Islamic, political spin doctors in the likes of Bill O'Reilly and Newt Gingrich are doing their best to paint the Muslim world population with the stain of a terrorist threat or, at the very least, willing sympathizers to acts considered abhorrent to our Islamic prophetic tradition. One of the better portrayals of what this can lead to was exhibited in Author Miller's Focus. As it pertains to the following, it should be well understood nine years after the events of September 11th, 2001 that those responsible have repeatedly been condemned by representatives across the Muslim spectrum, yet...