In June 23, 2005, the Al-Qa'ida commander in Iraq, Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, announced the death of 'Abdallah Al-Rashoud, a member of the Shari'a Committee of Al-Qa'ida in Saudi Arabia who was wanted by the Saudi authorities. In his announcement, Al-Zarqawi also eulogized Al-Rashoud. The news of Al-Rashoud's death came about a month and a half after he left Saudi Arabia in order to join the Jihad fighters in Iraq. [1]

Following the news of Al-Rashoud's death, the Bahraini paper Akhbar Al-Khaleej published an article by columnist Hafez Al-Sheikh Saleh praising Al-Rashoud and the resistance in Iraq.

In response, liberal Bahraini journalist and author Sawsan Al-Sha'er wrote a scathing attack on Al-Sheikh Saleh's comments, which, she said, could have a negative influence on young people and, in her words, "lead Bahrain into Hell."

The following are excerpts from Al-Sheikh's and Al-Sha'er's columns:

Columnist Hafez Al-Sheikh Saleh: "Allah Gave Al-Rashoud Martyrdom – the Most Beautiful Death"

In his June 25, 2005 column, titled "The Martyr Al-Rashoud," Hafez Al-Sheikh Saleh wrote: "Since the fall of the Ottoman state and the disintegration of the central [part] of the Arab homeland – there has been, in every stage and in every era, a vanguard that overcame the division [of the Arab homeland into states] and waved the united pan-Arab banner... Each era had its own roster of fedayeen and martyrs...

"The martyr Abdallah Al-Rashoud... discerned the ridiculous nature of the old agreements with the British Empire. [He] crossed the obstacles, rose up against the laws that divide [the Arab homeland into states], and, a month and a half ago, entered Iraq, wearing the garb of Jihad and seeking martyrdom for the sake of Allah. Allah gave him martyrdom, and now he enjoys His grace. This was his most wonderful journey, and the most beautiful death."

"Al-Rashoud was a Lamp that Illuminated Iraq with His Blood"

"The resistance in Iraq is now rejuvenating hope and reviving optimism, because it unites the people [loyal to] the Sunna and to the community [of Muslims] – the sons of the central stream of the nation, the Jihad warriors and fedayeen, from all corners of the earth, from the Maghreb to the Arabian Peninsula. [The resistance] heralds the birth of the new era, which we see with our own eyes emerging and rising everywhere, despite the difficult hour and even though despair is taking over the hearts of the many weaklings who seek to please America and the Zionist state.

"The Shahid Abdallah Al-Rashoud is the lamp from the Arabian Peninsula who illuminated Iraq with his blood." [2] Liberal Author Sawsan Al-Sha'er Responds: Has Saleh Counted the Killed Iraqis Whose Blood Al-Rashoud Permitted?

The next day, liberal journalist and author Sawsan Al-Sha'er wrote in the Bahraini daily Al-Ayyam: "Who is this Abdallah Al-Rashoud, who was eulogized yesterday in the newspaper of the kingdom of Bahrain, in a column that heralded and praised his martyrdom? Abdallah Al-Rashoud is No. 22 on the Saudi Department of Counterterrorism list of the 26 most dangerous wanted [terrorists].

"[After Al-Rashoud's death,] Al-Zarqawi eulogized him in a communiqué on Friday: 'He yearned to meet with Allah, to attain [Allah's] grace and the beautiful virgins of Paradise. He left the Arabian Peninsula to flee the tyrants, [going to] the fields of Jihad and the war in Iraq'…

"Al-Rashoud, 37, was born in [the city of] Al-Madina, and studied at the Faculty of Shari'a at Al-Imam University in Riyadh… He stood out due to his extremist positions, and left university in the mid-1990s in order to join the opposition. He was one of the leaders of the young theoreticians in the Takfir movement, which emerged from Salafism. [This] movement included fundamentalist activists calling for Jihad against anyone who does not join their school of thought.

"In the [online] magazine, Sawt Al-Jihad, which [is addressed to] the Jihad fighters in the Arabian Peninsula, Sheikh Al-Rashoud issued fatwas . In his last piece [in Sawt Al-Jihad], Al-Rashoud called upon all Muslims to wage Jihad, to assassinate the Saudi interior minister, and to take revenge upon the [Saudi] royal family…

"[But] lo and behold, colleague [Al-Sheikh Saleh] has depicted Abdallah Al-Rashoud as 'a lamp from the Arabian Peninsula who illuminated Iraq with his blood.' We must ask this colleague [Saleh] whether he has counted the killed Iraqis whose blood this 'lamp' permitted before he died. Perhaps he will tell us which car bombs this 'lamp' contributed to... before his death. Is it the one that blew up in the restaurant in central Baghdad, killing 30? Or the one that blew up in the marketplace, killing 20?...

"The colleague [Al-Sheikh Saleh] and those in charge of our media should know that our youth is like soft, easily molded putty, and that an ideology like that in which Abdallah Al-Rashoud believes does not end with mere war on the Crusaders and the desire for the lovely virgins of Paradise – but is an ideology that sees tyrants all around it. This is the opening to one of the gates of Hell, and the best example of this is Saudi Arabia. Do we want to live under a similar experience?

"Likewise, have mercy on our brothers in Iraq. Those who are dying there are not cats run over in the street. They are human beings, whose mothers become bereaved, whose wives become widows, and whose children become orphans.

"Finally, enough with the simplistic attitude towards anyone with a different opinion – as if they were 'weaklings who seek to please America and the Zionist state.'" [3]