The Facade of an Islamic Cleric

Okay, we have seen over and over the influence that American-born islamic cleric, Anwar Al Awlaki, has had on jihadis here in America - we saw it with the Ft. Hood attacker, we saw it with the underwear bomber, and now we have even seen his "fingerprints" of influence on the Times Square bomber.

The New York Times (yeah, i know) has an article with a list of quotes from Al Awlaki that show what they feel is an "evolution" or literal transformation of this islamic cleric from a supposedly benign muslim preacher to a full blown radical islamic terrorist - to the point he has been approved for assassination by the U.S. government.

Let me show you two quotes from Al Awlaki - the first is from a post 9/11 speech and the second is just from this past March:

ON SEPT. 11:

“Muslims still see bin Laden as a person with extremely radical ideas. But he has been able to take advantage of the sentiment that is out there regarding U.S. foreign policy. We’re totally against what the terrorists had done. We want to bring those who had done this to justice. But we’re also against the killing of civilians in Afghanistan.”

— Oct. 11, 2001, quoted by The Washington Times


“I, for one, was born in the U.S. I lived in the U.S. for 21 years. America was my home. I was a preacher of Islam involved in nonviolent Islamic activism. However, with the American invasion of Iraq and continued U.S. aggression against Muslims, I could not reconcile between living in the U.S. and being a Muslim, and I eventually came to the conclusion that jihad against America is binding upon myself, just as it is binding on every other able Muslim.”

— Mar. 17, 2010, audio statement posted to Web

So, the NYT is trying to portray this as a transformation - and if you take their bait, you might see that because of U.S. aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, Al Awlaki just couldn't help becoming more radical.

Well, I take a different view of this. You see, Al Awlaki hasn't changed a bit - he has ALWAYS been the radical terrorist imam. That statement of his on October 11, 2001 is simply a lie. It is taqqiya. At that point in America, Al Awlaki lived here, amongst us...teaching his version of fundamental islam. He was gaining notoriety and knew he was being watched - his statement against 9/11 terror was a cover, a lie, a way for him to be SEEN as moderate. Well, as we have seen time and time again, when an islamist is situated in an infidel country, they will do anything to continue their role in jihad there.

There's an old saying...."a leopard doesn't change its spots." And in this case, an islamist doesn't change his religion. Al Awlaki is nothing special - he has always followed the Qur'an and that Qur'an encouraged attacks on infidels - he's no different today than he was 9 years ago - the only thing that has changed is how stupid idiots at the New York Times perceive him.

The Evolution of a Radical Cleric: Quotes from Anwar al-Awlaki


ON ISLAM AND GOVERNANCE:

“This is how, by taking [the Prophet Muhammad] as a role model, the image of the messenger gives us an example of somebody who was extremely successful as a head of state. Nevertheless, he never had to compromise his integrity.”

— July 20, 2001, sermon at Friday Prayer in the United States Capitol

ON SEPT. 11:

“Muslims still see bin Laden as a person with extremely radical ideas. But he has been able to take advantage of the sentiment that is out there regarding U.S. foreign policy. We’re totally against what the terrorists had done. We want to bring those who had done this to justice. But we’re also against the killing of civilians in Afghanistan.”

— Oct. 11, 2001, quoted by The Washington Times

ON RADICAL TALK AND SEPT. 11:

“In the past we were oblivious. We didn’t really care much because we never expected things to happen. Now I think things are different. What we might have tolerated in the past, we won’t tolerate any more. There were some statements that were inflammatory, and were considered just talk, but now we realize that talk can be taken seriously and acted upon in a violent radical way.”

— Oct. 19, 2001, quoted by The New York Times

ON AMERICAN MUSLIMS:

“Yes, we disagree with a lot of issues when it comes to the foreign policy of the United States. We are very conservative when it comes to family values. We are against the moral decay that we see in the society. But we also cherish a lot of the values that are in America. Freedom is one of them; the opportunity is another. And that’s why there is more appreciation among the American Muslims compared to the Muslims in other parts of the world.”

— Nov. 1, 2001, interview with PBS

ON 2002 RAIDS ON THE FIQH COUNCIL OF NORTH AMERICA AND OTHER AMERICAN MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS:

“If the offices of the Fiqh Council of North America were raided and attacked, who is next? Masjids [mosques] may be raided and closed down. Islamic schools — their reputation has been tarnished through the media. Where is it going to stop? Where is this going to lead to? Therefore it is a responsibility of us as Muslims to make it very clear to the world that American Muslims are persecuted on a religious basis.”

— March 2002 talk at Dar al-Hijrah mosque, Fairfax, Va.

ON THE WAR IN IRAQ AND OTHER PERCEIVED ASSAULTS ON ISLAM:

“The ummah [global Muslim community] is watching while Iraq is being devoured. It’s not going to stop there, because it’s going to spill over into Syria and Allah knows where. In your own city, and in this country, many people have been arrested. You know if you talk about Guantánamo Bay and all this — there’s a Guantánamo Bay in this country. It’s an insult to Islam. Allah will revenge for himself, but the thing is, we cannot allow such things to happen and just watch.”

— 2003 lecture at East London Mosque

“And then you had the incident of this Swedish cartoons which depicted Muhammad in the worst form, which is one of the worst forms of cursing Muhammad we have ever heard of. And then you now have the abuse of the book of Allah in ways that we have never heard of using it, as toilet paper and shooting at the book of Allah for target practice. So what is happening now and the enormous extent of it, even though it angers every Muslim, it is also a sign that the end of these kuffar [unbelievers] is near.”

— 2008 audio lecture from Yemen

ON THE FORT HOOD, TEX., SHOOTING SUSPECT:

“Nidal Hasan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties towards his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a U.S. soldier. The U.S. is leading the war against terrorism, which in reality is a war against Islam. Its army is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest through its stooges. The heroic act of brother Nidal also shows the dilemma of the Muslim American community. Increasingly, they are being cornered into taking stances that would either make them betray Islam or betray their nation.”

— Nov. 9, 2009, statement on his now-defunct Web site, anwar-alawlaki.com

“I, for one, was born in the U.S. I lived in the U.S. for 21 years. America was my home. I was a preacher of Islam involved in nonviolent Islamic activism. However, with the American invasion of Iraq and continued U.S. aggression against Muslims, I could not reconcile between living in the U.S. and being a Muslim, and I eventually came to the conclusion that jihad against America is binding upon myself, just as it is binding on every other able Muslim.”

— Mar. 17, 2010, audio statement posted to Web

A version of this article appeared in print on May 9, 2010, on page A16 of the New York edition.