Imam To Obama: Convert Or Die
Or go to hell, anyway. That’s what I’m getting from this not particularly veiled message from an Egyptian cleric, who is PO’d that Obama has rejected the faith of his forefathers. via MEMRI:
Hassan Abu Al-Ashbal: “Let me take this opportunity to address the leader of Europe, and the leader of America, who is the leader of the world, the recently elected Obama, who is the leader of the Byzantines - he is like the Byzantine leaders in the days of Prophet Muhammad.
“My message to him is threefold. First, I invite him to convert to Islam. This is the call of the Prophet and of Allah. Oh Obama - convert to Islam, and you will be saved. I hope that Allah will reward you twice: once for converting to Islam, and another reward for all those who will convert in your footsteps. If you want glory - you will find it in Islam. If you want honor - you will find it in Islam. In religions other than Islam there is utter humiliation, even if you are the president of the entire world.
[...]
“You, Obama, are among those who have pledged before Allah - Allah who created you, sustained you, and brought you to this position - to be a Muslim who believes that Allah is the one God, especially since you have some kind of roots in Islam. Convert to Islam, and you will be saved. All glory and honor lie in following Allah and His messenger Muhammad. Know that the true religion is the religion of Islam, and all other religions are fabricated religions, which are null and void - religions that were abrogated by the shari’a of Muhammad.
“If you refuse to return to your [Islamic] origins, to the way Allah created you, withdraw your huge armies and military bases from the lands of the Muslims. Know that all your predecessors have ended up in the garbage bin of history, and that America’s black and bleak history in the land of the Muslims and the Arabs constitutes an evil omen for you, your predecessors, and your successors.
Blah blah blah. OK, here we go.
“Know, Obama, that America, with all its size and might, will know no peace as long as a single Muslim child lacks food, drink, medicine, or housing.
What? Our chickens in their pots? Take it up with the Saudis, ferchrissakes.
“If you refuse, Obama, and insist on remaining in Muslim lands, know that Allah still plants in [Muslims] obedience to Him, and that they are willing to wait for Paradise, which is closer than their own shoelaces.
“Know, Obama, that in the lands of Islam, there are people who seek death, and are eager for it, even more than you and your people are eager for life - any kind of life, even a life of humiliation.”
A little ominious as Obama plans a big speech in a Muslim capital, which probably means we can look forward to more messages like this one. NYT wag, mulling Obama’s options Islamic, rules out Dearborn, Mich., as well as more interesting choices such as Baghdad and Tehran. Abe Greenwald at Commentary says the consensus is on Cairo, which would give Hassan abu-Ashbal his big chance to show he’s not just another blowhard mullah. Either that or maybe get him and a lot of other Islamic extremist wackjobs put on ice for a few days.
“Why not Baghdad?” says the Weekly Standard, sneering at NYT’s “it could appear to validate the Iraq war” Headsup, NYT: Obama’s already done that. Goldfarb adds that NYT’s “too soon” dismissal of Tehran misses the point. Obama giving it Ahmadinejad on his own turf would be even better than the Columbia president giving it to A’jad in New York.
I’m liking the Tehran idea. Imagine the possibilities:
“Mr. Ahmadinejad, tear down those nukes! Mr. Ahmadinejad, free those political prisoners! Mr. Ahmadinejad, stop supporting terrorism!”
That speech gets my vote. Too bad he won’t make it.
Hot Air with the other ballsy choice. Mumbai. Plenty of Muslims there. But Dubai could use the tourism boost, and could underscore fundamental American values:
“Less religion, more filthy lucre” isn’t the worst message to send.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:31 pm on Thursday, December 4, 2008
5 Responses to “Imam To Obama: Convert Or Die”
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December 4th, 2008 at 10:51 pm
“Know, Obama, that America, with all its size and might, will know no peace as long as a single Muslim child lacks food, drink, medicine, or housing.”
To rephrase a famous leftie premise, the terrorists need to stop buying weapons and murdering children and pregnant women, and start buying food, drink, medicine, and housing.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:54 pm
Well, if the message is less religion, more filthy lucre (which I can get behind, actually), then Dubai would be the ideal place. One of those palm-shaped islands, in fact. On the roof of one of those giant luxury hotels.
December 5th, 2008 at 9:08 am
A big speech in a Muslim capital? What the hell? I am having major trouble getting my head around that one.
This Imam message has me puzzled, as well. They are telling him to convert? Don’t you have to be an infidel to convert? But they also seem to refer to him as having been a Muslim. I thought it was once a Muslim, always a Muslim, or off with your head. Are they just trying to be nice about it, or what? Maybe the Cairo talk is part of a deal where he gets to keep his head. It’s all very peculiar.
December 5th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
A snarky way to read this would be:
Imam admits: No peace until Islam is destroyed.
December 12th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
[...] Barack Obama, with his Muslim roots and confessed Christianity, may be about to learn what President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair seemed always to have understood — [...]