A new tape has been released in the name of Osama Bin Laden and within the tape there is the invitation to convert to Islam. What is more sinister this time, is that Bin Laden has appeared in the tape with his beard dyed black. (more on this point later).
What I am concerned about here is the fact that the invitation to convert to Islam is extremely menacing, and it should not be taken lightly by the world at large. This is what is written in the Koran by Mohammed, for he told his followers that if the invitation is rejected then permission is given to attack (the enemy - in this case the USA).
Muhammad directs Muslims to issue this invitation first, and if they refuse, to invite non-Muslims to enter the Islamic social order as second-class dhimmis, and if they refuse both, to go to war with them:
Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them....If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. (Sahih Muslim 4294)
The tape also includes a rather ridiculous revisionist comment about Jesus being a prophet of Allah. The comment has absolutely no truth within it, and therefore should be dismissed out of hand. However, there are people who, through ignorance will believe such a story.
Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch made this comment about the religious comment within the communique:
In reality, however, such statements go right to the heart of why Al-Qaeda and other jihadists are fighting, and what they are fighting for. I discuss this in my book Religion of Peace?, but I'm not seeing it much of anywhere else. The ideological challenge that the jihadists are making to the West is still almost universally misunderstood. Here is Osama inviting us to accept Islam, and probably very few Americans would be able to articulate why they wouldn't want to accept the invitation. If more attention is not paid to this, Osama's appeal will surely make inroads among Westerners that will deeply surprise most analysts.
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