Special Dispatch - Egypt/Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project
October 19, 2004
No. 802

MEMRI TV Project:
Secretary-General of the Egyptian Labor Party: 'Those Who Bomb Fallujah
Cannot Prevent Me from Bombing Los Angeles'

Magdi Ahmad Hussein, the Secretary-General of the Egyptian Labor (Islamist)
Party, recently appeared on Al-Jazeera TV, declaring that attacks against
U.S. troops and civilians in Iraq are legitimate, and that hostage taking is
permitted by Islam. He also called for clerics and fighters to go to fight
in Iraq, defended the bombings in Taba, and argued that the American attack
on Fallujah legitimizes a future terror attack in Los Angeles. To view the
MEMRI TV clip of Hussein's statements, visit
www.memritv.org/Search.asp?ACT=S9&P1=292 . The following are excerpts from
the program:(1)

'Legitimate Violence' in Iraq and the Taba Attacks

"The violence is currently directed at the occupation. This is legitimate
violence. This is Jihad against occupiers. 99% of the violent operations
target the foreign occupation of the Arab and Islamic nation. Therefore,
they are not included in the conflict with the [Arab] rulers.

"From the strategic perspective, the vast majority of operations are proper.
As for Taba, as I've said, the entire Egyptian nation demands that tourists
be banned from entering Egypt. It is inconceivable that Egypt has become a
resort for the Israeli army.

"The Israeli army kills in Palestine in the morning and then comes to relax
and gamble in Taba. Abominations that are forbidden in Israel, such as
gambling, are allowed in Egypt. But the main issue is that Egypt has become
a resort for the Zionist army."

'The Prisoners in Iraq - 99% of the Cases are Proper, According to Islamic
Law'

"As for the hostages you spoke of, they are not hostages, sir, but
prisoners. According to Islamic law, hostages can be redeemed, set free, or
killed. When you are weak - you kill. The prisoners in Iraq, sir - 99% of
the cases are proper, according to Islamic law. All those who were killed
were agents and partners of the occupation. 75% of the hostages were
released in exchange for political gains.

"So how come some voices in the Islamic movement and official clerics tell
us that killing prisoners is un-Islamic? No, both the Koran and the
Prophet's biography permit the killing of prisoners. This exists in our
Islamic law and in the laws of all nations.

"Second, the war effort is not restricted to those who actually carry
weapons. The war effort includes transporting supplies. Aren't supply lines
part of military activity? The Halliburton company and its efforts to steal
the Iraqi oil - aren't they part of the war effort, whose goal is to steal
Iraq's resources? The war effort isn't simply carrying weapons. An Iraqi
interpreter working for an American soldier - isn't this part of the war
effort? Undoubtedly, all those killed, as far as we know, were
non-civilians.

"We are witnessing a stroke of genius. Because they are weak and cannot
defeat the occupation right away, they have used this weapon of prisoners -
not 'hostages.' The Italian women were released and we demand the release of
the French journalists. No one demands they be killed. But as for those who
work for American companies and those who came to exploit Iraqi resources,
they are part of the American plan and aren't innocent civilians.

"50 years ago, even before the American army arrived in Iraq, Sheik Shaltout
said, 'Anyone working in the enemies' military camps and factories is one of
them. He's an enemy and he may be killed.' This is what Sheik Shaltout, the
great imam and Sheik of Al-Azhar in the mid-20th century, said. Whoever
allies himself with the infidels and polytheists becomes one of them."

'The Mujahid Should be There [in Iraq], and the Cleric Should be There'

"The American casualties reach 47,000 dead and wounded, according to the
American Veterans Association. 20% of the American forces were hurt, but the
media only reports the Iraqi and Arab casualties.

"I've seen a film of the so-called 'Monotheism and the Jihad,' which is
believed to be the organization of Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi. In the film, I saw
that they neutralized a bomb because an Iraqi woman passed by the tank. Out
of concern for one Iraqi woman's life they neutralized a bomb and this
appears in a film on the Internet and anyone can watch it. I'm not claiming
that there are no mistakes. There are different opinions among the Iraqi
resistance. But if you want to have an opinion, you should be with them, not
us, sitting in air-conditioned rooms and telling them to do this that.

"The mujahid should be there, and the cleric should be there, like Ibn
Taymiyya, who set out with the mujahedeen to the front lines. But we want to
issue fatwas telling them not to do this or that, not to attack so and so.
It's like us telling Hamas: 'don't attack buses lest an Israeli child be
killed.' Do you have another means? When the Americans bomb [in Iraq] they
say they are looking for Abu Mus'ab and the casualties were killed by
accident. The Americans have the right to kill civilians accidentally, while
the Qassam rockets and the [suicide] martyrs should target only adults, men
and women working in the Israeli army, and should tell the children to get
off the bus!?"

'If We had Missiles We should have Bombed Los Angeles'

"We are the weak ones. They make demands on us that don't exist in
international law. There must be reciprocity. If your city is being bombed.
Those who bomb Fallujah cannot prevent me from bombing Los Angeles. Why
Fallujah? Why do we always feel inferior to them? What is the meaning of
this inferiority complex? If we had missiles we should have bombed Los
Angeles or any other city until they stopped bombing Fallujah, Samarra, and
Ramadi.

"Sir, why do the government clerics ignore the killing of the prisoners
during the time of the Prophet? 600-700 prisoners were killed in the raid on
the Qurayza tribe.

"Why do they conceal this? Why do they hide the fact that the Prophet gave
the order to assassinate some poets - to assassinate! Not in military
operations, but rather by individual assassination.

"Why did he order the assassination of K'ab Ibn Ashraf, the Jew, leader of
Khaybar? And then he ordered the assassination of the leader who successive
him. As a result, the Jews became fearful and terrified."

Endnote:
(1) Al-Jazeera TV (Qatar), October 17, 2004

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