Norway: Don't panic!

As it turns out, there is no such thing as Bin-Laden and international Islamic terror is a figment of your imagination. No reason to worry.

I suppose the 9 Muslims arrested in Denmark recently were just imaginary as well. Oh.. and that threat to attack a synagogue in Oslo was also an American plot.

The imaginary Al-Qaeda, by the way, just threatened Israel and the Gulf states. It's part of the US led conspiracy, I presume, though I haven't figured out how yet.

And if that didn't calm you down, keep in mind that every attack by Muslims is a just response to western acts of war. So what if most victims are Muslims? We will not let the facts interfere with our rhetoric.

Imam Madni does have one thing straight here - there are enough people in the West who are happy to serve the interests of those who want to kill them. Sadly, there aren't enough Muslims who will stand up to the people who threaten their real interests.

The leader of Muslim imams in Norway said Monday that many Muslims feel they've been under collective suspicion since September 11, 2001. He also questioned whether Osama bin Laden actually exists.

Imam Zulqarnain Sakandar Madni answered a long string of questions posed by readers of Aftenposten.no on Monday, the fifth anniversary of terrorist attacks on the US.

He contended that even though the vast majority of Muslims firmly oppose terrorism, most believe that the West must understand that extremism and terror are difficult to eradicate as long as civilian Muslims face discrimination and are killed by western acts of war.

Asked for his honest opinion on the terrorist organization al-Qaida and Osama bin Laden, the imam said "I think this is something that’s been made up." He also questioned whether the September 11 attacks were actually orchestrated by Muslims, and lent credence to so-called "conspiracy theories" that suggest otherwise.

Among them is one, portrayed in an American movie, that the American authorities themselves were behind the attacks. Imam Zulqarnain Sakandar Madni said he thinks "there's some good evidence that Bush & Co were behind this. See the film that's called 'Loose Change.' An American film! "

The imam stated repeatedly that Islam "doesn't allow anyone to kill or injure civilians." He stressed that Islam "is a religion that teaches people about peace and love."

Imam Zulqarnain Sakandar Madni also stressed repeatedly that all people must show respect for one another. "If everyone respected one another as people, we wouldn't have any problems. But it seems everyone wants to show what great power they have.

"We want peace for everyone. That's what Islam stands for!"

Asked what he does as both a Muslim and an imam to prevent terrorism, he said he tells his followers "that human respect is an absolute demand in Islam, and a good Muslim must be a good citizien. And that injuring or killing anyone is forbidden." [though, of course, Muslims don't commit terror, so there's nothing to worry about.]

He claimed terrorists "have no religion," and that "it's wrong to say that those who commit terrorist acts represent Islam. Islam doesn't allow such acts."

Source: Aftenposten (English)