Special Dispatch - Kuwait
September 1, 2005
No. 977

Senior Kuwaiti Official: "Katrina is a Wind of Torment and Evil from Allah
Sent to This American Empire"

In reaction to Hurricane Katrina and the destruction in its wake, a
high-ranking Kuwaiti official, Muhammad Yousef Al-Mlaifi, who is director of
the Kuwaiti Ministry of Endowment's research center, published an article
titled "The Terrorist Katrina is One of the Soldiers of Allah, But Not an
Adherent of Al-Qaeda."(1) The article appeared August 31, 2005 in the
Kuwaiti daily Al-Siyassa.

The following are excerpts from his article:

"The Terrorist Katrina is One of the Soldiers of Allah..."

"...As I watched the horrible sights of this wondrous storm, I was reminded
of the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah [in the compilations] of Al-Bukhari
and Abu Daoud. The Hadith says: 'The wind is of the wind of Allah, it comes
from mercy or for the sake of torment. When you see it, do not curse it,
[but rather] ask Allah for the good that is in it, and ask Allah for shelter
from its evil.' Afterwards, I was [also] reminded of the words of the
Prophet Muhammad: 'Do not curse the wind, as it is the fruit of Allah's
planning. He who curses something that should not be cursed - the curse will
come back to him.'

"When the satellite channels reported on the scope of the terrifying
destruction in America [caused by] this wind, I was reminded of the words of
[Prophet Muhammad]: 'The wind sends torment to one group of people, and
sends mercy to others.' I do not think - and only Allah [really] knows -
that this wind, which completely wiped out American cities in these days, is
a wind of mercy and blessing. It is almost certain that this is a wind of
torment and evil that Allah has sent to this American empire. Out of my
absolute belief in the truth of the words of the Prophet Muhammad, this wind
is the fruit of the planning [of Allah], as is stated in the text of the
Hadith of the Prophet.

"But I began to ask myself: Doesn't this country [the U.S.] claim to aspire
to establish justice, freedom, and equality amongst the people? Isn't this
country claiming that everything it did in Afghanistan and Iraq was for
truth and justice? How can it be that these American claims are untrue, when
we see how good prevails in the streets of Afghanistan, and how it became an
oasis of security with America's entrance there? How can these American
claims in the matter of Iraq be untrue, when we see that Iraq has become the
most tranquil and secure country in the world?"

"But how strange it is that after all the tremendous American achievements
for the sake of humanity, these mighty winds come and evilly rip [America's]
cities to shreds? Have the storms have joined the Al-Qaeda terrorist
organization?

"The Disaster Will Keep Striking the Unbelievers for What They Have Done"

"How sad I am for America. Here it is, poor thing, trying with all its might
to lower oil prices which have reached heights unprecedented in all history.
Along with America's phenomenal efforts to lower the price of oil in order
to salvage its declining economy and its currency - that is still falling
due to the 'smart' policy America is implementing in the world - comes this
storm, the fruit of Allah's planning, so that [the price of] a barrel of oil
will increase further still. By Allah, this is not schadenfreude.

"Oh honored gentlemen, I began to read about these winds, and I was
surprised to discover that the American websites that are translated [into
Arabic] are talking about the fact that that the storm Katrina is the fifth
equatorial storm to strike Florida this year... and that a large part of the
U.S. is subject every year to many storms that extract [a price of] dead,
and completely destroy property. I said, Allah be praised, until when will
these successive catastrophes strike them?

"But before I went to sleep, I opened the Koran and began to read in Surat
Al-R'ad ['The Thunder' chapter], and stopped at these words [of Allah]: 'The
disaster will keep striking the unbelievers for what they have done, or it
will strike areas close to their territory, until the promise of Allah comes
to pass, for, verily, Allah will not fail in His promise.' [Koran 13:31]."

Endnote:
(1) Al-Siyassa (Kuwait), August 31, 2005.

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