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Subscribe to RSSFrench police are demanding the surrender of Mohamed Merah, the suspect who allegedly shot seven people and then bragged of bringing France to its knees. NBC's Jim Maceda reports.
Updated at 11:01 p.m. ET: TOULOUSE, France – Three large explosions were heard late Wednesday at the siege of a suspect wanted in the killings of three Jewish children, a rabbi and three soldiers, but there were reports that the blasts were an attempt to pressure the man to surrender and did not signal the start of an assault.
Toulouse Deputy Mayor Jean-Pierre Havrin had said that negotiations with the suspect, identified as 24-year-old Mohammed Merah, had ended and an assault had begun.
But there were conflicting reports that authorities had blown open the apartment doors and windows in an attempt to pressure Merah to give up.
"They were moves to intimidate the gunman who seems to have changed his mind and does not want to surrender,'' Interior Ministry spokesman Pierre-Henry Brandet told Reuters. "There is no assault.''
Orange flashes lit up the night sky near the suspect's building as the first explosions were heard.
More than an hour later, several loud bangs were heard at the site.
Police reinforcements had arrived at the scene at around 10 p.m. and authorities switched off street lights in the street, signaling that action would begin soon.
The suspect wounded three police officers when the standoff began at 3 a.m. Wednesday.
Interior Minister Claude Gueant said earlier that Merah had told police that he would surrender after dark. Gueant said Merah appeared to have acted alone in the killings -- but also claimed to authorities that he met al-Qaida "chiefs" while traveling in Pakistan last year.
Merah, under siege by hundreds of police officers, claimed to be a member of al-Qaida and that he had shot dead the four out of "revenge for Palestinian children." He is also suspected by authorities of having killed three French soldiers of North African origin last week.
French prosecutor Francois Molins said Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian descent, told police he had been to Afghanistan twice and had trained in the militant stronghold of Waziristan.
Molins also said Merah had planned to kill another soldier and two police officials imminently, and that his brother had been implicated in a network sending fighters to Iraq.
Police sources earlier told Reuters that another man had been arrested earlier Wednesday at a separate location in connection with the case.
Several hours after the initial raid, which took at about 3 a.m. local time Wednesday (10 p.m. ET Tuesday), the alleged gunman threw a pistol out the window in exchange for a "communication device." However, he was believed to have other weapons including an AK-47 assault rifle.
The suspect said he would surrender in the late evening "to be more discreet," although he had earlier promised to give himself up during the afternoon.
"He claims to be a mujahedeen and to belong to al-Qaida," Gueant told journalists in Toulouse. "He wanted revenge for the Palestinian children and he also wanted to attack the French army because of its foreign intervention."
Remy De La Mauvinere / AP
Police and firefighters stand near the building where a suspect in the shootings at a Jewish school in Toulouse, France, was believed to be holed-up.
France 24 reported that Merah had been tracked by French intelligence services for several years.
An earlier Reuters report that Merah escaped in 2008 from Kandahar prison, where he had been serving a three-year sentence, was retracted by the news agency. Kandahar governor's office said that account was "baseless", citing judicial records. "Security forces in Kandahar have never detained a French citizen named Mohammad Merah," the governor's spokesman, Ahmad Jawed Faisal, said.
Citing prison documents, Kandahar prison chief Ghulam Faruq had told Reuters that Afghan security forces detained Merah on December 19, 2007, and that he was sentenced to three years in jail for planting bombs in the southern province of Kandahar, the Taliban's birthplace.
'God is testing us'
As the siege continued, the Haaretz newspaper reported that thousands of people had gathered at the Har HaMenuchotcemetery in Jerusalem Wednesday for a joint funeral service for the victims, Rabbi Jonathan Sandler and his two sons, Gabriel, aged six, and Arieh, three, and Miriam Monsonego, aged eight.
"Our hearts are with the Jews of France and with the Ozar Hatorah institutions that took such a hard and painful blow. The pain is unimaginable, God is testing us," Israeli Interior Minister Eli Yishai said in his eulogy, according to the paper.
PhotoBlog: Funeral for school shooting victims held in Israel
President Nicolas Sarkozy, campaigning for re-election in a presidential poll in five weeks time, has blamed racism for Monday's school attack. His handling of the crisis could be a decisive factor in determining how the French people vote. France has troops in Afghanistan as part of NATO forces.
"Terrorism will not divide France," Sarkozy said. "We should not give way to discrimination or vengeance after shootings."
Gueant did not say how authorities had tracked Merah down.
However, a Le Figaro correspondent at the site of raid reported that police received key tip from a local motorcycle shop in Toulouse a few days ago, according to NBC News. A salesperson said a man came into the shop to ask how to neutralize the GPS system on his TMX scooter. The salesperson thought this was suspicious and reported incident to police, giving a description of the suspect.
Gueant said that when police arrived to raid the house "the wanted individual shot at the door." NBC News reported the officers were members of an elite team known as RAID.
All French shooting victims shot in the head at close range, prosecutor says
One officer was injured in the knee and another officer lightly injured in ensuing exchanges of gunfire, Gueant said. A third officer was later reported to have been hurt.
Heavily armed police in bullet-proof vests and helmets cordoned off the area where the raid was taking place, in a suburb only about 2 miles from the Ozar Hatorah Jewish school where Monday's shootings took place. NBC News reported that 300 officers were participating in the operation.
Suspect's mother called in
Merah's mother, elder brother and two sisters were detained by police on Tuesday and negotiators sought their help in trying to persuade him to turn himself in to the authorities.
"His mother said she did not wish to speak to him because she did not believe she could convince him and he would be deaf to her appeals," Gueant said.
The suspect inside the house said that he trained in the Pakistan and Afghanistan and is affiliated with Forca lesa, an Islamic group dismantled by the French government. The group, which recruits young French to join the jihad, is considered to be dangerous.
On Tuesday, hundreds of police officers had spread out across southern France in the hunt for the gunman suspected in three deadly attacks.
Authorities suspect the school killer was also behind two recent attacks in the same area on French paratroopers that left three soldiers dead and one seriously wounded. The victims were of North African and French Caribbean backgrounds.
A tense standoff unfolds in Toulouse, France, between police and the man suspected in a string of deadly shootings, including one at a Jewish school that killed three children and a rabbi.
Sarkozy described the killer as a "monster."
"There are beings who have no respect for life. When you grab a little girl to put a bullet in her head, without leaving her any chance, you are a monster. An anti-Semitic monster, but first of all a monster," he said.
Monday's incident was the deadliest school shooting in the country and the bloodiest attack on Jewish targets in decades. Schools across the country held a moment of silence Tuesday to honor the victims, who were heading to Israel for burial.
Gueant described the suspect as "someone very cold, very determined, very much a master of his movements, and by consequence, very cruel."
NBC News, Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
I always love to hear police officer shot.....
That's because you're an a$$hole.
Agreed Clone........ A total A$$hole ......
Rex - I am hoping you are posting from prison - right?
Maybe you need one to visit your house today? They would be very interesting in talking to you about your opinion.
Rex you are as worthless as tits on a bore hog and that is a insult to tits and the bore hog. I agree hope you are in prison where you are not able to hurt anyone. I worked for the Laclede County Sheriff's dept in Missouri and know just what kind of person you are worthless.
rexy is a troll and deserves no food. Don't feed the trolls.
No, Rex is an anus with rudimentary keyboard skills. Trolls would be insulted by being compared to him.
BE SO MUCH EASIER TO PUT YOU OUT OF YOUR MISERY...
STOP MASTURBATING AND GET A JOB
Has anyone noticed that the arabs can kill, maim, and cause so much suffering to other arabs, but if someone who is not an arab does this then the arabs have God on their side and the right to take vengeance. Seems quite hypocritical to me.
Keep that hatred and judgmental thinking going, Evenstar! Spew it all over the world! Good job!
That is because anyone who does not believe as they do is an infidel and is not worthy of our existence...
pvaldes - If it was true that "they" believe as you say, we would have murders all over the world of innocents. That would be if "they" all had criminal minds like the creep who did this. So, maybe you should talk only about this individual, rather than an entire group?
I am caucasian, raised in America. Sadly, I read all the time about white people who have killed children, etc. Thank goodness I am not then grouped into a criminal group. Whew!
Ok perhaps I was generalizing a bit ....but can you honestly say that radical Islamists such as this individual do not feel the way that I have described them ? They say it out loud ...
Perhaps this one - why must you keep saying "them?" And, perhaps he is just your standard "run of the mill" serial killer, mental creep, and he wants to work under the name of a group so he can think his killing has a meaning to it? Why give this one killing creep any credence at all? You are only giving killers a place to join!
Now you are the one who is assuming .....How many times have these "groups" come out and claimed attacks on innocents as their own. This is no different . This person claims to be a member of Al Qaeda. Should we NOT believe him? Is Al Qaeda or NOT capable of this type of thing? The answer is YES "they" are ! There is no greater evil in my opinion than taking the life of a child ....You almost sound as if you are making excuses for this individual ... He put himself in a "group" .....Not me
As if we don't already have this?
Another sexually frustrated muslim who wants his virgins in heaven.....
Where are the moderate Muslims condeming this act of atrocity and working hard to prevent it from happening again? All I hear is silence.
Alll I can say to liberals, Hilary and Obama, Quack, Quack, Quack.
I'm a Progressive Dem. and resent the implication conservatives are more concerned about our safety. Who got Bin Laden and most of the worse terrorists in the world........well golly, Gomer it was the Dems under our Obama.
Nothing to do with our politics, "Dems don't care." This is just another effort to divide America. Both parties "care", but neither party has all the answers. Quit trying to divide the country even more.
Yeah i know you did but we got Saddam and filled Gitmo with bad people. It is so ridiculous when the left or the right try to make comparisons like that. This countries problems really started when people stopped thinking of themselves as Americans first and started thinking of themselves as Democrats or Republicans or African American or whatever. Don't let the right or left fill you with hate. You are being manipulated.
Do you mean the Hilary and Obama whose administration brought down bin Laden and several other terrorist leaders?
Ok........ here are the French police negotiating with a murderous child killer. I'm sorry ...but if this was happening in the US .....he would either be in custody or dead by now. Get in there and get that bastard!!!
He wouldn't be dead PV, Obama would come to aid his fellow Muslin brother.
No ....Obama or no ....I'm pretty sure he would be dead.....Our Law Enforcement does not fool around with child killers .....The French called his "mommy" for crying out loud!
Note to all you do-gooders out there who dissed me two days ago: I told you he was Islamic, you do-gooders are useless.
Here is a troll named end illegals. Small mind small ideas.
You are right William! A bigoted, race monger calling normal human beings "useless do-gooders". Stupid is as stupid does! What else can be said?
No not calling all useless do gooders butt wipe only you and your elitist attitude. People like you have put our country in the shape it is, fools. take your head out of the sand, fool!
endillegals, please tell us you didn't reproduce!
Very sad. May the Rabbi and those three little angels RIP.
Must be Bush's fault as Obama would say. It's his fault because the he allowed the French to keep letting muslims in to their country. Sad that several people have lost their life to a muslim terrorist / exstremist. I say kick them all out of non muslim countries and send them back the backward societys to which they came from. As for the French bring back the guillotine and put these kind of bastards to death. Once again muslims are quite about this kind of thing except for those who praise it as justified. Very Sad
Keep politics out of it! Our politics have nothing to do with this. Keep it in context - a criminal mentally ill creep. They are everywere in our society. We have gangs, extremist religions, etc. All the "killers" form their own groups. Who cares what they are called? They are criminals trying to give a "name" or a reason for their violence. Let's not give them a "right or a reason" for their violence. They think they have one. That is how mentally ill they are!
Don't let him give up or turn himself in. Just kill him. Otherwise, he'll become a "negotiation tool" and Muslims will be burning France to the ground, demanding that he be released.
And, for you multicultural, politically correct, dhimmi idiots ... are you f*cking blind?! This sort of violence is a way of life with Muslims. Any excuse for slaughter is good enough for them. How many more millions of murders by Muslims will it take for you to see that?! How obvious does it have to be to get through your thick skulls?! Want to blame somebody, like the US or Israel for the insanity of Muslims? Blame yourselves and your overly tolerant, warped liberal attitudes. And, who do you want to blame prior to the existence of the US or Israel? Fill me in.
As if the inner cities of the United States are not full of dangerous, non-Islamic people for whom deadly violence is a way of life...
As for tolerance, I wonder what crimes YOU would be guilty of, by association, if we followed your lead? Being a Muslim does not equate to being a terrorist any more than being a Christian equates to being a member of an American militia. I am more worried about people like you than I am worried about Muslims-- or terrorists, for that matter. This man killed four people. How many Muslims would YOU want to kill to "prevent violence"?
To think people were flipping me crap yesterday for suggesting it was connected to Israel, and Iran, not a neo-natzi!!! Well I may have been off a bit by suggesting it was an Iranian, however; I wasn't that far off, and my reasoning was right on. If it wasn't for Israel we wouldn't be having issues with Iran right now. Israel needs to learn to get along with its neighbors, and stop oppressing the Palistine people. Confining the Palistine people to the Gaza-strip is akin to a concentration camp!, and we all know how the jews feel about concentration camps, so what makes them think it's ok to do it to others???.
My view point is this, unless the Muslim community starts condemning and stepping up to the Imans for change it leads me to believe Muslims all believe the same. It is not a religion of peace it is a religion of kill everyone that's not Muslim. Kill 8 year old kids you grab by the hair and then shoot them. If they were Muslim there would be protest in the streets! How about the Muslims start protesting the murders of others children by Muslims telling the world this is wrong! Catholics do condemn the priest even if it isn't supported from the leaders. The same goes on in any other religion as the community condemns the actions except I have never seen a Muslim do it to a Muslim!!!!!
Perhaps fear?
Maybe you just haven't been doing enough research? The fact is, many Muslims and their leaders DO speak out against the violence.
Haven't heard one! I read 3 newspapers a day and never heard one. If they do they should be front page- Muslims Shoots kids- "Muslim Community Devastated!"
Ya just gotta love that this guy was "trained" by his "elite" brothers in Afghanistan and he goes into a school and suprises some kids and a teacher... Wow. Big Rambo man there... Don't get me wrong killing is killing, but to tout all of his "training" during a standoff... and his target were kids and a teacher. My crazy cousin Wally could do that without a 3rd grade education. Dude was a nut with a gun and no heart. End of story.
Uh, yes, but he had politics and religion too, and without those two wouldn't have ended up shooting soldiers and little schoolchildren.
Early accounts by French reporters stated this killing was likely caused by a serial killer. Really? Why are we so afraid to call a spade a spade? These children were Jewish and France is overrun by a radical Islamist mentality. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out who did these killings. Why was I not surprised to discover this animal was connected to some radical Islamic movement? Political correctness has gripped our world in abject fear of truth and telling that truth as it is. Until we are willing, as a society, to wholly condemn murder in the name of any God, we will continue to slip into the abyss of madness.
You're right. The writing is on the wall. The first thing I thought when this happened was Arab-Muslim extremist, but got a lot of political correctness jargon from others for it. I've been to France and know just by what I had seen that France is turning into an Arab-Muslim country. There are more Arab-Muslims in France than true French. So much for diversity bringing peace.
The guy's name was Mohammed?? oh ya don't saaaay
Do you say the same thing when a killer's name is Fred Smith?
No one mentions empires and immigration. The Jews picked fights with Rome and their god did nothing for them. They have roamed the world since never assimilating and always hated. We are now flooded with Muslim immigrants who will never assimilate. I agree with Rom Paul that the USA should leave foreign countries. I also think all these immigrants who wear bedsheets and insist we put up their beliefs be sent home. I feel like a foreigner in much of Minneapolis among all these immigrants. The new immigrants have little if anything to contribute so maybe they should go home and do something there. I do not care about the troubles they created for themselves in other countries and see no reason to learn their ways and tolerate them here. My family had to assimilate. I think it pathetic that in the 21st century people continue to hold thesee primitive beliefs in gods who only revelealed themselves centuries ago to people who may have been psychotic. There is no archeological proof that any of this ever happened. Where are the remains of the army the pursued the Jews out of Egypt? Time to smart up and forget these gods.
Did you read the story? Jews were the victims here bro.
I am confident that your family did not fully assimilate American culture until at least one or two generations after its arrival. Why should we expect these immigrant families to be any different?
I attended high school in a multicultural city. There were kids there whose parents were from almost every country on the planet. Their parents were still quite out-of-step with the contemporary culture, but the kids were not; they were just as modern and American as a native-born citizen.
Throwing out everyone is not the answer-- unless you are willing to be thrown out of the country, too, or to see one of your family members exiled, since we could no doubt find some reason to do so if we looked hard enough? One of the problems with your type of attitude is that "what goes around comes around." As the saying goes, "When they came for the Jews, I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew..."
Why is it this guy is a terrorist, yet the pile of crap US soldier who just killed 16 innocent people is a poor victim of PTSD?!?!? A murderer is a murderer!!! Or is ok since the skin color of killer is different?
Ask the propaganda department of the United States military why such a crime against humanity is whitewashed when the assailant is one of their own. It is in the military's best interest to portray Bales as a Boy Scout. The war is less likely to end that way, as are the corporate profits that come from the war.
I was in Paris France last year and let me tell you, more then half the people walking the streets are Muslims. French are in a pickle. How are they going to separate good Muslims from bad muslims. The entire Europe is in trouble and on a verge of becoming dominated by Muslims . Their goal is to overtake the world and totally eliminate the infidels, which is all of us, for some of you less educated. Day of reckoning between Islam and Christianity is coming soon and it will not be pretty.
well those are some extremist thoughts if i ever heard em.... Heh (shot in the dark here) but thanks republican
Yup and Christians are just as scary! Look out! Can you imagine? A war over extreme religions? Wow, will wonders never cease!
Since we are left with the thorny issue of separating the good guys from the bad guys since they all look alike, we may rest assured that we are doing good by lumping the innocent into the same category as the guilty and simply destroying them all... right?
like we all couldn't see that coming..... it is unfortunate for the name i guess but still
Make excuses all you want, the bottom line is that this fellow is a soulless Islamic vermin. They need to be exterminated like the rats they are.
You sound just like a terrorist.
Seems Angelica and others ignored the part about how Merah is a French citizen (i.e. LEGAL). But facts never seem to bother conservatives. On another note (and this is in no way shape, form or fashion a defense or justification for Merah's actions), the French HAD to expect something like this. France recently outlawed any type of Muslim dress. When you pass such blatantly racist laws (I find it ironic that Sarkozy described Merah's actions as racist when the laws France recently passed are blatantly so), you simply must expect some type of retaliation.
Does it matter if you are a French citizen, but choose to be disrespectful to your adopted country? Yes, it matters. When you adopt a new country to be you're own, you respect its laws. Otherwise, go back to you're original country and play games there.
Not if the laws are unjust and racist.
Q. Do you claim that Islam is a religion of PEACE?
A. Of course. The very name “Islam” means PEACE.
Q. Then how is it that there have been so many wars in Islamic history?
A. Islam seeks global peace. But vested interests place hurdles in this way. So Islam has to fight to remove these hurdles. It is a sort of defensive offensive, not a war in the usual sense.
“They (infidels) wish to extinguish Allah’s Light with blowing their breath. And Allah shall (in any case) bring His Light to perfection, even if the unbelievers dislike it (61:8)”. This has to be done through people. So Allah enjoins Muslims to fight those people who create hurdles in the path of creating a peaceful and just society. But “Only till opposition ceases and the word of Allah prevails. Then if they stop fighting there is no aggression except against the oppressors (Verse 2:193)
Q. Is it true to say that Islam spread by the sword?
A. Not at all. This notion was spread by some Westerners. Quran says, “There is no compulsion (or force) in matter or religion” (2:256). It urges use of wisdom and politeness. “Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching; and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious” (16.125).
Q. It is commonly believed that Islam teaches hatred towards non-Muslim. How far is it true?
A. Islam is very tolerant religion. It forbids even suspecting all foreigners to be Unbeliever. “O ye who believe! when ye go abroad in the cause of Allah investigate carefully and say not to anyone who offers you a salutation: "Thou art none of a believer!" (4.94). “With regard to those who do not fight you for (your) Faith nor drive you out of your homes Allah does not prohibit you from dealing kindly and justly with them: for Allah loves those who are just.”(60.8)
Q. Does Islam believe in Tit for Tat (retaliation)?
A. Of course. Islam prefers forgiveness at individual level but ’Tit for tat’ at national level. “In retaliation lies your survival, O people of wisdom”. But any access in retaliation is to be avoided. “Oppress them to the extent they oppress you, and fear Allah (against exceeding limit) (2:194). In war Islam allows ‘Tit for Tat’ -- “But if the enemy incline towards peace then you (also) incline towards peace” (8:61).
Q. What is Islam’s stand on infighting?
A. Peace at any cost. “If two parties among the Believers fall into a quarrel make ye peace between them: but if one of them transgresses beyond bounds against the other then fight ye (all) against the one that transgresses until it complies with the command of Allah; but if it complies then make peace between them with justice and be fair: for Allah loves those who are fair (and just)” (49:9)
Q. Once started should fighting be continued to its logical end?
A. In Islam fighting is not for revenge but for peace. “So, if they withdraw from you and fight you not, and (instead) send you (guarantees of) peace then Allah hath opened no way for you (to continue war).(4:90). Once the goal of Peace is achieved there is no sense in continuing warfare.
Q. What is the concept of Jehad in Islam?
A. The word Jehad originally means “struggle”. Technically “war or fighting” aggressive infidels is also called “Jehad” because it is also a struggle against those who place hurdles in the way of establishing global peace. For ‘fighting’ (battle) the word ‘qital’ is used. Jehad is made obligatory on Muslims (when necessary) for self defense. “Permission (for Jehad) is granted to the Believers who are forced to fight, because they have been oppressed…those who have been turned out of homes simply because they say “Our Lord is Allah” (22:39). War for any worldly goal (expansion of political or economic power) is not Jehad. In Jehad the motive must be to promote Allah’s cause (peace and justice).
Q. What does Islam say about Fundamentalism?
A. Basically, Fundamentalism means ‘sticking to ‘fundamentals of any religion. In this sense the Jews, the Christians, Hindus, Buddhists and Muslims can be fundamentalists. But sadly, the term ‘Fundamentalists’ has been linked to militant Muslim extremists who indulge in disruptive activities in the name of Jehad. That’s not true. Islam does not allow disruptive activities.
Q. It is maintained that Islam promotes Terrorism. How far is this true?
A. Let me remove this misunderstanding. But please ask questions about particular activities that constitute Terrorism, so that I may answer them in detail.
Q. Okay, what about killing innocent persons. It is said that Islam does not attach much importance to human life. How’s it?
A. Islam condemns all unlawful killings. Referring to the first murder of Abel by his brother Cain Quran says, “For this We enjoined upon the Children of Israel (and this includes Jews, Christians and Muslims) that whosoever kills one person (unlawfully, or without his causing disruption in the land) it is like killing the whole of mankind, and whosoever protects life to one person it is like giving life to whole mankind“.(5:39). As regards value of Life Islam even prohibits unnecessary killing of animals much less humans. Islam places highest value on human Life, allowing even eating of Pork when inevitable for survival. Even during war Islam prohibits killing of women, children, old persons, non-militants and even destroying crops and property.
Q. What about suicide bombing?
A. Suicide for any purpose is prohibited in Islam. Quran says, “Do not put yourself to destruction with your own hands” (2:195). A Tradition of the Prophet Muhammad says, “And if somebody commits suicide with anything in this world, he will be tortured with that very thing on the Day of Resurrection.” Suicide bombing involves killing oneself as well as others. So it is doubly condemned.
Q. What about setting fire to property?
A. Quran condemns those ‘terrorists’ who destroy crops and annihilate species. “And when he (a terrorist) goes away from you he tries to create disruption in the land and to destroy crops and species. And Allah does not like disruption” (2:205). As regards burning down living things a Tradition of the Prophet condemns killing living things by fire.
Q. And what about firing or bombing at mosques, marketplaces, buses etc. ?
A. Quran condemns such cowardly acts. “And who is more unjust than he who forbids (or prevents) that in places for the worship of Allah Allah's name should be celebrated? Their zeal is (in fact) to ruin them? (2.114)
Killing innocent persons in market places or buses is open murder and stands condemned.
Q. What if enemy provokes you to fight?
A. I would again say that at individual level patience and forgiveness is advised, But at the national level the provocative challenge must be accepted. No weakness is to be shown.
Q. Anything else you would like to say?
A. I would like to add that in condemning evil Islam goes farther than the concept of Terrorism. It uses the term “fasaad” (disruption) for all kinds of evil deeds that disrupt individual, social or national peace. It includes disruption of peace by invading powers, it includes conspiracies and plots against powers of Peace and Justice. It includes destruction. It includes exploitative abuse of power. It includes placing hurdles in the way of Peace and Justice. It includes anything that hampers establishing Peace and Justice in the land. It includes law-breaking. True Muslims are far away from “disruptive” acts. “Shall we make those who Believe and do good deeds like those who create disturbance in the land”(38:28). Unfortunately Islam’s high ideal of Peace and Justice is hampered by prejudices and biases. And the clash of values gives rise to all disturbances. “There has arisen a tumult in land and in sea because of what people do.” (30:41). These disruptive tendencies have to be checked (through peaceful or militant struggle) because “If that’s not done there would result greater disturbance and tumult in the land” (8:72).
Q. What message would you like to give to the West?
A. I would like to repeat that Islam is a religion of Peace. Westerners should not be carried away by false propaganda against Islam or Muslims. True that there is an element of terrorism among the Muslim community. But so it is in any other religion. If some followers of a religion violate its teachings the blame lies on the followers not on the religion. How many Christians practice the peaceful edict of Bible: ’if someone slaps you on one cheek turn the other cheek also towards him’? And still no one will deny that Christianity teaches LOVE and PEACE. The same approach should be adopted when forming an opinion about Islam.
I am so sick of religious zealots in all forms! America has a separation of church and state for the best of reasons. Believe what you want - Christians, Islamists, and Jews - leave everyone alone though as you believe what you want. Do not kill others because they don't think like you do! Do not deny others rights because they are not the same as you are, i.e., gay people. Do not push your crazy beliefs on others! Then, we can live in LOVE and PEACE!
Translation: "Blee-blee, blah-blah, blo. Mekka lekka hi, mekka hiney ho." Your Islam, like all major religions, and almost all minor ones, is a complete and total crock of malarkey that stupid and gullible fools swallow without question, so that their "leaders" may control every aspect of their daily lives, with the express goal of separating them from all of their money and possessions and thereby enrich themselves. I hold all of them in complete and utter contempt, and believe that if there is such a place as "hell", all of their leaders and the most deranged of their followers will be enjoying each others' company there for eternity. There has not ever been, is not now, and never will be a "religion of peace", and each and every day that is proven over and over again all over this planet. They all profess to be so, but never act so. Hypocrites and liars, the bloody lot of them.
Nice try, but the facts say otherwise. Is it not true if a person converts from Islam to Christianity it is the duty of a good Muslim to kill this person. Is it not true Christiain churches are burned and innocents killed in most Muslim countries? Is it not true that women are treated as property and regularly disfigured or worse for infractions to Sharia law? I could go on and on, but lets sum it up by stating Islam, is an evil cult which belongs in the 8th century. Religion of Peace LOL.
No, Islam is submission, not peace, you are incorrect.
I am cynical of the truthfulness of the quote, as reality, is in direct and observable actions in opposition.
now this, I think, is the quotes origin. I will question and dissect this in great detail.In an attempt to disscover the truth.
from a Jewish rabbi. commenting on the
story of Cain and Able. Well before the advent of Islam.
Now let's see how the traditional schools of Sunni Islam understand this
from the tasfir of Ibn Kathir
sorry to point out, depending on who (Jihadists) ?
mischief, is a rather wide exception,to the rule. By extension, could not refusal to accept Islam, be considered mischievous, and therefore worthy of death ?
now what does this mean to the jurists and Imams of Islamic thought
very specific, not "people of the book",nor all humanity....but a Muslim
again, a specific group of people (namely fellow Muslims)
once more, in this instance a believing soul, is a Muslim ? it does not say and people of the book.
and clicking next, will show what will befall those who commit, mischief in the land.(Crucifixion )
Meaning of Mischief
mischief is disbelief in "allah".
I am seeing a difficulty in dealing with the "other" in a,humanitarian,tolerant, or decent way. I think it might be, if not encouraged, accepted,as a punishment from "allah" on earth for rejection. But I will
continue to look to see, if there is more subject matter. I am still a little sceptical.
Muslim :: Book 19 : Hadith 4457
just like the tafsir I linked. A believer (Muslim) it protected, and a non-Muslim can be killed,it's not that difficult to grasp, even for a sceptic (cynic),like me.
To My Mom, excellent piece of writing. Marx was so correct!
so what you're saying is that Muslim peace is the only kind of peace that's acceptable; all others not in agreement with this can expect "struggle" from the believers of Islam. Basically carte blanche for violence if you are Islamic. Regarding your opinion about an "element of terrorism"; I see very few other "faiths" regularly strapping on bombs to make a point. Why can't your teachers put an end to this "heresy"? An attack on the "west" in the name of "faith" involved many who were not of any particular faith at all; indiscriminate murder. Truthfully the attack on...basically everyone else, began (give or take) a.d. 600, and it has never really stopped; that's history, not viewpoint. Those that were not willing to submit, were conquered; and those who chose to remain in their own faith, away from Islam, were discriminated against, (through taxation, persecution, socio-economic exclusion, etc.). The excuse that others have done it in the name of whatever does not give Islam the permission to retaliate in kind; according to the scripures you quoted; it's reactionary and debasing. (in the context of the aforementioned article...police your own.)
I find it disturbing that so many people are so blinded by bigotry and hatred that, even when a Muslim speaks up against religious violence, everything that he says is reinterpreted as lies designed to conceal some terrible "truth" about Islam. But if it is any consolation, some of us are intelligent and fair-minded enough to realize that the vast majority of those who call themselves Muslims are peace-loving people. I wish that I could say the same about my fellow Americans.
How is linking directly to the Islamic text in question bigotry, it's knowledge
what would lead you to believe that he is doing that
Do I need a decoder ring to understand his post, as you do?
To equate a cult which tacitly approves the killing of Christians anywhere in the world where Muslims are a majority (Turkey, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon to name a few) and then be surprised by their barbarianism in the Western world misses the whole point of what these people are about.
Reagan Man,
Main stream media in the US was saying the French police were looking for a neo-nazis.
In fact the AP story in this mornings newspaper said 'neo-nazis.
The western media elites were hoping like crazy it would be a neo-Nazi, so they grabbed on to every possible tidbit supporting that idea (to be fair, there were a few available). Some of them (not msnbc to be fair) even narrowed it down to a couple of suspects, those dumb EX-paratroopers giving a Nazi salute in that picture which got them thrown out of the French army. So now they had everyone chasing around for those guys while the actual perpetrators were preparing for their next murder. That kind of wishful thinking might have gotten even more innocent people murdered but fortunately French security on the right trail even if they botched the raid last night.
"God is testing us" It is just such an imaginary "friend" that prompted this murderer to murder. When will people realize that "God" is a personification and projection of not only our hopes and ideals but also of our fears - both real and irrational. Superstition, especially of the more fundamentalist sort, is an anachronism in appropriate to a people with access to scientific information. Politicians thus catering to the ignorant hoi polloi is the tragic flaw of democratic forms of government. It will be fatal if we don't call a spade a spade, attribute responsibility for murder and war to their true sources and start putting as much energy into educating and informing people as we currently put into the means of killing them.
We are praying for you, Mohammed Merah.
I'm not.
those of you interested in the Muslim mindset should read Judith Miller's "God Has 99 Names"; moderate Muslims are afraid to stand up to the extremists of the same on the outside chance that they may be right; i have yet to witness muslims ratting out muslims; to a certain extent i respect the dedication; but it bodes ill for our nation (U.S.). Compare the rage re: "book burnings" to reaction after car bombs are set off killing countless innocents. bottom line for me, we need to leave these people alone! Let them sort it out for themselves; once they settle on who the true successor is, maybe we can work together. Until then, if they can't kill us their going to kill each other; that's the way it has been since "M." passed on.