Saturday, July 28, 2007

Muhammad Habash versus Jamal Khashuqji: Is Bin Laden a Takfiri? LBC-TV's Kalam An-Nas (the episode from previous week) featured Syrian (rubber stamp) MP, Muhammad Habash (one of the most effective and articulate propagandists/advocates of the Syrian regime) against Saudi propagandist, Jamal Khashuqji (like many present-day Saudi "liberals" he was a former staunch Bin Ladenite). Habash won the day hands down. At one point, when Khashuqji was blaming Syrian for the the infiltration of fanatical fighters from Syria, Habash had to remind him of the history of Saudi sponsorship of those takfiri groups (Habash also indirectly bragged of the Hamah massacre in 1982). He also brought up the fact how Saudi government used to even pay for the plane tickets of those who wanted to fight in Afghanistan, and join those non-liberal groups there. He told him that Saudi Arabia created "the Afghan Arabs." At that point, Khashuqji would only say that "but these were not takfiris." Habash retorted: Are you saying that Bin Laden and Al-Qa`idah are not takfiris??