YEMEN: Clerics condemn foreign intervention, threaten global jihad

 A group of 150 Islamic scholars, sheiks and imams in Yemen issued a statement today condemning foreign intervention in the nation's affairs, with one leading cleric calling for global jihad if Washington sends forces to battle Al Qaeda.

The statement, distributed on glossy yellow brochures and CDs to taxi drivers and passersby, was designed to remind Yemenis and Muslims worldwide that this Arabian peninsula nation will not be a puppet of the United States, said Sheik Ali al Warafi, a member of Yemen's conservative Islamist party.

Sheik Arif bin Ahmad al Sabri, a member of parliament who read the document aloud to a group of several hundred men and women in a mosque in Yemen’s capital, Sana, called it a crucial step to maintaining freedom and independence in Yemen.

The statement consisted of nine tenets, including denouncing the Yemeni government’s recent military action against alleged Al Qaeda members in Yemen, rejecting further foreign military aid and condemning a recent rumor that foreign powers would be allowed to set up military bases in the country or use its territorial waters.

On Sunday, President Obama announced that the United States has no intention of sending troops to fight militants in Yemen. The clerics acknowledged Obama’s message, and asked that officials involved in the upcoming international conference on Yemen, scheduled for Jan. 28 in London, respect Yemen’s sovereignty.

The Islamic scholars’ statement was presented after a morning sermon by Sheik Abd al Majid Zindani, a radical Salafist cleric, who told his followers that any U.S. military involvement in Yemen would invite global jihad. The last paragraph in the statement reminds Muslims that Islam permits its citizens to call jihad to expel attackers.

Zindani, who the U.S. considers a global terrorist, is said to have been Osama bin Laden’s spiritual leader when both men were in Afghanistan in the 1980s. He also has close ties with Anwar al Awlaki, the Yemeni American cleric who exchanged e-mails with Ft. Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan. Zindani’s sermons are often nearly packed and, this morning, a crowd of 200 men milled outside the crowded mosque.

In the women’s section on the second floor, about 200 women, all wearing floor-length black gowns and head scarves, sliced pastries and poured tea, and waited for the sermon to begin. “Zindani is our sheik. All Yemeni people, they love him,” said a young woman in a black veil covering everything except her glinting black glasses' frame. “I don’t know why they say he is dangerous. He is just fighting for his country, that’s all. That’s what we should all do.”

-- Haley Sweetland Edwards in Yemen

Photo: Men claiming to be Al Qaeda members address a crowd in Yemen's southern province of Abyan. Credit: AFP/Getty

Comments

[awarthurhu]

Within days after the FBI announced Major Nidal Hassan acted "alone" and without outside influence from either Al Queda or Awlaki, it was possible to make a direct connection from Hasn to Awlaki to his former boss Zindani who is one man away from Bin Laden. Funny that Zindani's finally broke the silence over the Awlaki connection by denying that he had any influence over Awlaki even before anyone had accused him of anything. He, and the Yemen clerics he leads obviously side with Al Queda by condemning the airstrike, and declaring the possibility of US troops going after Al Queda as "foreign occupation", the original basis for Bin Laden's fatwa against US forces invited to Saudi Arabia to protect against Iraq. Clearly, if Zindani is lying as usual, then he did get a heads up before the Cole, Fort Hood, and undy-bomber as he is the big cheese of the radical islammists in Yemen who are behind all 3 operations.

Only in America can we have a president who's left hand in the FBI, Homeland Security, DOD maintain that Hasan had no terrorist connections in Awlaki, yet on the other hand tried to kill Awlaki in an airstrike and his own terrorism officials believe that Awlaki did radicalize Hasan. Nobody is bold enough to believe Awlaki ordered Fort Hood even after we know Awlaki planned, trained, and blessed the undybomber. Too bad the mainstream media won't figure this out until 2 more attacks on Americans.

If McCain were in charge, Awlaki would be in Gitmo or waiting for Hasan in the afterlife within 2 weeks of Fort Hood. Instead, Obama has effectively promised that Yemen will continue to be an Al Queda sanctuary safe from US troops. Connecting dots? They've been erasing dots, and they still are.

Here's how Awlaki's jihad unfolded:
http://tinyurl.com/fthoodshootingstimeline

[Joe]

I'm sure US religious scholars among ordinary citizens would have done the same if it were Middle-Eastern troops roaming through north America, installing Carlos and Joe previously known as Khan and Javad as a Mexican and Canadian presidents while blow up places inside of US and rest of region by their CIA and drones!
In unrelated note, every nation will be sending aids to Haiti, of course in here we'll hear our own good deed before others, as we won't hear Gaza is in same situation except it's under embargo for any kind of aids and still yet to see any US food and medical aid landing in Gaza, I guess not all humans are equally-born by views of few minorities!

[Proud Patriot]

Excellent point Compassionate American, I just thought of that myself when I heard the news of relief coming from European nations and even China who has been known for violating human rights is joining in on the relief efforts,it lead me to think that the world regardless of political diagreement can step up and help their fellow man at a time of peril, but I don't see these throat cutting radical throw backs giving a hand, I'm interested to see how al qaeda responds to this in the wake of this event that has shaken up the world, I believe that it can find new positive sentiments to the U.S. by the world and an intolorance for the ideas of radical Islam.

[Compassionate American]

I'm curious to know if Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran or Afganistan will ever join us as members of the community of man to send relief for Haiti,of course not, instead the practioners of the religion of peace are calling for jihad and rather fund destruction instead of rebuilding. And America is the bigot in the evil one, I hope hate America liberals take notice.