MEMRI has translated an article posted on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood website in which cleric Salah Al-Din Sultan (aka Salah Soltan, Salah Sultan) in which he wrote that “terrorism” committed by the US is worse than that by the late Osama Bin Laden. According to the MEMRI translation:
Egyptian cleric Dr. Salah Al-Din Sultan, Bahrain resident and advisor to Bahrain’s Islamic Affairs ministry as well as a member of the International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS) which is headed by Sheikh Yousef Al-Qaradhawi, wrote in a recent article that the terrorism committed by the U.S. is worse than that by Osama bin Laden. In the article, which appeared on the website of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, he explained that while the U.S. committed terrorism in the service of hegemony, oppression, and tyranny, bin Laden had raised the banner of jihad for the sake of Allah and had served a lofty goal, even if he had done so in a misguided way. Following are excerpts from the article:
[1] ‘Bin Laden’s terrorism was in the defense of Islam and the resistance against the occupiers, [even if it was waged]in a way that deviated to some extent from the middle path of moderation. The terrorism of the U.S., [on the other hand,]is in defense of hegemony, oppression, and tyranny and [aimed at]subjugating the peoples and regimes of the world to American [uni-]polarity. ‘Bin Laden’s terrorism raised the banner of jihad for the sake of Allah after the Islamic countries had renounced it as part of their resistance to Zionism in Palestine, to communism in Afghanistan, and to Hinduism in Kashmir. [True], bin Laden may have rushed in to things without first consulting the clerics and preachers of the ummah. He exercised independent discretion in matters of religious law and erred in some of his deeds. But the terrorism of the U.S. [is much worse because it]is essentially hegemony over money and power aimed at humiliating the regimes and peoples, at stealing the good of their [lands], plundering their resources, and producing tyrants in our Arab and Islamic world.
Read the rest here. In April 2010, MEMRI translated comments by Dr. Sultan in which he accused Jews of using Christian blood for Matzoh (substitute for bread used during the Jewish holiday of Passover) in an example of what is called “blood libel”, the accusations that Jews use human blood in religious rituals. Historically these are accusations that the blood of Christian children is especially coveted and date back to the 1st Century.
Dr. Salah Sultan (aka Solah Sultan, Sallah Sultan) had left the U.S. following negative press reports in the U.S. media which led the authorities there to suspend his application for American citizenship and, as discussed in a previous post, relocated to Bahrain in 2007. Dr Sultan’s online resume indicates that he is or was a member of several important U.S. and European Muslim Brotherhood organizations including the European Council for Fatwa and Research, the Fiqh Council of North America, and the Islamic American University, closely associated with the Muslim American Society (MAS).This resume also expresses Dr. Soltan’s vision “To live happily. To die as a martyr.” Another previous post discussed some of Dr. Sultan statements including an appearance on Saudi TV where Dr. Sultan asserted that the US planned the 9/11 attacks as a pretext for terrorizing the world and praising Osama bin Laden confidante Abd Al-Majid Al-Zindani. A recent MEMRI TV report identified previously virulently anti-Semitic and anti-American comments made by Dr. Sultan on Egyptian TV in late December. Another post discussed a seminar featuring Dr. Sultan sponsored by the European Assembly for Imams and Spiritual Guides, closely associated with the Federation of Islamic Organizations In Europe (FIOE).