Speech by Taliban leader Mullah Muhammad Umar
Reuters - Wednesday, September 19, 2001
http://www.bostonherald.com/attack/world_reaction/ausmul09192001.htm
The following is the text of a speech by Mullah Mohammad Omar read out today at a
meeting of Afghan clerics gathered in the capital, Kabul, to discuss the fate of
Saudi-born militant Osama bin Laden.
"The Ulema (Scholars) have always guided the nation.
Our Islamic state is the true Islamic state in the world and for this
reason the enemies of our religion and our country look on us as a thorn in
their eyes and use different pretexts to try to finish it, including the one
about the presence of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.
They put the blame for Washington and New York on him. The the question is
how did Osama tell the pilots? And which airports did they use? And whose planes
were those? The answer is that it is America.
In this regard, Afghanistan does not have the resources and neither does
Osama have the strength or resources. He is not in contact with anyone and
neither have we given permission to anyone to use the Afghan land against
anyone.
We have not tried to create friction with America. We have had several
talks with the present and past American governments and we are ready for more
talks.
We have told America that we have taken all resources from Osama and he
cannot contact the outside world. And we have told America that neither the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan or Osama are involved in the American events. But
it is sad that America does not listen to our word.
America always repeats threats and makes various accusations and now it is
threatening military attack.
This is being done in circumstances in which we have offered alternatives
on the Osama issue.
We have said, if you have evidence against Osama, give it to the Afghan
Supreme Court or the ulema (clerics) of three Islamic countries, or have OIC
(Organisation of Islamic Countries) observers keep an eye on Osama.
But America rejected these, one by one. If America had considered these
suggestions there would not have been a chance of such a great misunderstanding.
We appeal to the American government to exercise complete patience, and we
want America to gather complete information and find the actual culprits.
We assure the whole world that neither Osama nor anyone else can use the
Afghan land against anyone else. And if even after this, America wants to use force and wants to attack
Afghanistan and our innocent and oppressed people and wants to destroy the
Islamic emirate, we seek your guidance and a fatwa (ruling) on the issue in the
light of Islamic Sharia."
Servant of Islam,
go to top read clerics decision following the meeting
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Below is the same speech as reported and translated by the Associated Press:
Speech by Taliban's Leader to Clerics
By The Associated Press, Sept 19, 2001
http://members.tripod.com/questions5/usaattack/id399.htm
http://www.oureffort2001.com/RESEARCH/TALIBAN/mulla%20omar%20speech%20to%20scholars.htm
Here is a translation of the Pashtu-language speech by the leader of Afghanistan Islamic Taliban government, Mullah Mohammed Omar, that was read to the hundreds of clerics meeting in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Wednesday. It was obtained by the Afghan Islamic Press, a Pakistan-based Afghan news agency with close ties to the Taliban.
"Our system is the true example of an Islamic system. For the enemies of religion and our country, this system is like a thorn in their eyes, and they are trying to destroy it under various pretexts.
Holding Osama bin Laden responsible for the strikes in New York and Washington is an excuse. Afghanistan does not have resources, nor is Osama that powerful, nor does he have contacts with the outside world to carry out or plan such attacks. We also do not give him permission to use Afghan territory against any other country.
We have never tried to create problems with America. We have held talks in the present and the past with U.S. governments several times, and we are ready for more talks.
We have told America that we have severed all the communication links of Osama, and he cannot have contact with the outside world.
America considers him as a suspect (in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Osama has denied his involvement. It is unfortunate that America doesn't listen to us and levels all sorts of charges and threatens military action.
We have told America that if it has any evidence, give it to the Afghan Supreme Court, or let the clerics from any three Islamic countries decide his case, or he could be placed under the observation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, (a body representing 52 Islamic nations). But these offers have all been rejected.
We appeal to the American government for tolerance and ask it to conduct an investigation and track down the real culprits. We want to assure the world that Osama cannot use Afghan soil against any country.
Despite all this, if America still wants to attack us, and to punish our innocent people, and to destroy the Islamic government of Afghanistan, we want to get the religious decision from you, our respected religious scholars. You should make a decision in light of Islamic Shariat (law)."
Servant of Islam, Leader of the Faithful, Mullah Mohammad Omar, 19th September, 2001
Source (Islamic News and Network & Sky)
go to top read clerics decision following the meeting
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Dawn report on above statement:
By M. Ismail Khan - September, 20th 2001
http://www.dawn.com/2001/09/20/top3.htm
PESHAWAR, Sept 19: Mulla Muhammad Omar on Wednesday accused Washington of being
arrogant and indifferent on the issue of Osama bin Laden and urged ulema to
issue a fatwa to counter a possible US strike on Afghanistan. go to top read
clerics decision following the meeting
"We have repeatedly assured the United States that the Islamic Emirate of
Afghanistan and Osama were not involved in past incidents (of terrorism).
Unfortunately, however, the United States turned down our argument and kept
talking with arrogance," the Taliban supreme leader said in his message to
a congregation of over one thousand ulema, cabinet ministers and government
officials.
The shura meeting which took place at the bombed-out, heavily guarded Arg
(Presidential Palace) began at 10.00 am (Afghanistan Time) and lasted until 1.00
pm in the afternoon. The Taliban later distributed a questionnaire amongst the
shura participants who are expected to come up with answers and announce a
decree on Thursday.
"We appeal to the American government to stay calm, gather complete
information and find the actual culprits. We assure the whole world that neither
Osama nor anyone else can use the Afghan soil against anyone else. But despite
all this, America wants to use force and attack Afghanistan... and destroy the
Islamic Emirate. We seek your guidance and a fatwa (decree) on the issue in the
light of Islamic Shariah," Omar said in his message to ulema read out by
education minister, Mulla Amir Khan Muttaqi.
It was evident from Mulla Omar's message that he was seeking a fatwa on a
possible US attack on Afghanistan rather than seeking a solution to the issue of
Osama ben Laden, whom the US believes is a prime suspect in the Sept 11
terrorist strikes in Washington and New York.
Over six hundred ulema, twenty each from the thirty-one provinces of
Afghanistan, are attending the shura meeting. An eyewitness to the proceedings
said that going by the mood of the participants, the ulema were likely to issue
a fatwa declaring Jihad against the United States in the event of an attack on
Afghanistan.
Leader of his own faction of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Maulana Samiul Haq told a
news conference in Islamabad that ulema in Pakistan would follow the decree
issued by their comrades-in-faith in Afghanistan.
Mulla Omar said the Islamic system (in Afghanistan) rankled in the heart of the
enemies of Islam and Afghanistan and wanted to finish it on one pretext or the
other. The presence of Osama ben Laden, he said, was one such pretext.
Defending ben Laden, the Taliban spiritual leader said the United States had not
given any documentary evidence that linked the Saudi dissident with the
incidents in Washington and New York. "The question is, where did Osama ben
Laden train pilots, which airports did they use for the purpose and whose planes
were those? The answer is: all this happened in America and Afghanistan does not
have such resources, neither does Osama have the capability nor access nor would
we allow him to use Afghanistan's soil against anyone," he said.
Omar said the Taliban had tried to avoid friction with the United States and had
tried to resolve the matter through negotiations with the present as well as the
past administration.
"We have assured them that we don't want trouble with you. You have several
big and small enemies in the world, don't blame every incident on Afghanistan,
don't harm the Afghans to cover up failure of your intelligence agencies and
internal security."
The Taliban supreme leader said that the Americans had been told that Osama had
been stripped off all facilities and that he could no longer communicate with
anyone abroad.
He said the Taliban had also proposed to the United States to hand over all
evidence against ben Laden to the supreme court of Afghanistan for adjudication.
"The Americans did not accept that", he said.
He said that the Taliban had also offered to let ulema from three Islamic
countries decide the fate of ben Laden which too was turned down. He said that
the Taliban then offered to let observers from the Organisation of Islamic
Countries (OIC) monitor the activities of ben Laden.
"Had these proposals been accepted, there would not have been such great
misunderstanding."