Following are excerpts from an interview with Ammar Umar, son of Sheik Omar Abd Al-Rahman. The sheik was convicted in the U.S. for seditious conspiracy. The interview aired on Al-Arabiya TV on October 8, 2010.
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, visit http://www.memri.org/legacy/clip/0/0/0/0/0/0/2698.
"We Reject Any Operation Carried Out by Al-Qaeda or Any Other Organization"
Ammar Umar: "The sheik [Omar Abd Al-Rahman] issued a fatwa, before leaving Egypt, forbidding fighting, violence, and clashes with the government, since these things lead to corruption more than the profit they yield. Indeed, some of the Jama'a Al-Islamiyya activists agreed to this. The best proof that the sheik renounced violence is the fact that he was not placed on trial in a single case in Egypt."
Interviewer: "If your father renounced violence and agreed to the Revisions, and his followers renounced violence, on the basis of a fatwa he issued – some people now want to release Sheik Omar through violent means. If he has indeed renounced violence, why is violent pressure being exerted on the U.S. to release him?"
Ammar Umar: "We, in the Al-Jama'a Al-Islamiyya, have renounced violence, and have forsaken the fighting. Before leaving Egypt, the sheik issued a fatwa to this effect. We demand that the U.S. [release him], but we do not employ violence. We reject any operation carried out by Al-Qaeda or any other organization, or anybody who loves the sheik. We reject any violent operation. [...]
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"In 1987, my brothers went to fight against the former USSR. Since the end of the Soviet occupation, they have had nothing to do with any Al-Qaeda operation. My brothers Muhammad and Ahmad were against 9/11, and they disagree with Al-Qaeda ideologically. If Ahmad is there, it is because he was educated since childhood in the mountains of Afghanistan – in Tora Bora and Kandahar. This place became his homeland, but my brothers have nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, and they reject... They totally opposed the events of 9/11. But Sheik Osama insisted upon this operation and carried it out."
Interviewer: "Is there any truth to the accusations leveled against one of your brothers that he was running a training center for Al-Qaeda youth?"
Ammar Umar: "This is not true. My brothers fought jihad along with the fighters in the days of [the battle in Afghanistan] against the Soviet Union. Since then, none of the Arabs have fought. They abandoned all the clashes and civil strife among the Afghans. My brothers Muhammad and Ahmad were in touch with Sheik [Omar] before his arrest, and he called them to refrain from carrying out any operations that were not related to fighting the Soviet Union. My brothers had nothing to do with any operations since the Soviets left Afghanistan. My brothers did not participate in any military operation." [...]
The Sheik Does Not Support Violence, and was Framed
Interviewer: "How does Sheik Omar Abd Al-Rahman view the path of Al-Qaeda?"
Ammar Umar: "My father was imprisoned in 1993, before Al-Qaeda had any presence among the Islamist movements. Before the establishment of the Al-Qaeda organization, the sheik rejected the principle of fighting and of clashing with the entire world."
Interviewer: "Did he take a position with regard to 9/11? Did he renounce these events?"
Ammar Umar: "Of course, the sheik learned about 9/11, but he did not tell us what he thought about it. But we knew in advance that the sheik would have rejected it, because our brothers were present at the place where 9/11 was being planned, and they rejected 9/11 completely, on the grounds that it would cause tremendous damage to the Islamic nation. One of the brothers even said.... Sheik Osama said that following 9/11, the U.S. would enter Afghanistan.
"One of the brothers said: I'm surprised at this. If there is a man who is sick with cancer, and all the doctors agree that he will die, should I treat him by killing him before he dies, or should I leave him to the fate Allah brings upon him? Logic dictates that we should leave him to the fate of Allah. That is the case of Afghanistan. [Bin Laden] said that the U.S. would attack them – but it had not done so yet. Why should we go and fight it? Even if we are bothered by some things, or if some brothers are bothered by some things that the U.S. does... Why should I start the fighting? This is extremely harmful. [...]
"As I recall, when some of the brothers would talk to the sheik about the Islamic conquest of America, he would say that America was the only place to give refuge to the Muslims at a time when the Jama'a Al-Islamiyya was undergoing clashes with the Egyptian government. The U.S. gave them refuge. He would say to them: We cannot [attack] this place, which is the only place that gave us shelter. The brothers kept insisting upon this..."
Interviewer: "You mean, the only place that opened its gates..."
Ammar Umar: Yes. That man, may Allah forgive him, forged [evidence] against the sheik, photographed him, and placed his pictures in certain places. The sheik was indicted because of this, and got a life sentence." [...]
