The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban's shadow government, has denounced former British Prime Minister Tony Blair for calling "radical Islam" the "greatest threat" to the world. In a statement dated September 14, 2010, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan also accused the Western nations of diluting and distorting the "principles of Islam" in order to maintain their control of Islamic lands.
Tony Blair, while promoting his memoirs "A Journey: My Political Life" in early September, described "radical Islam" as the "greatest threat" facing the world, and also warned that the Islamists could use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons if they had them in their possession,.[1]
The Taliban statement, titled "Is Islam Really the Greatest Threat to the World Today?" slammed Tony Blair for the statement, noting that it were not the Muslim nations, but the United States which used nuclear weapons on Tokyo and Nagasaki. The statement also accused the Western countries of using uranium-based chemical weapons in Afghanistan.
Following are some excerpts from the statement:[2]
"European Powers... Concocted a Complicated and Malevolent Plan to Distort the Religion of Islam... They Tried to Dilute the Concept of Jihad in Islam"
"Recently, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair... asserted that 'radical Islam' is the greatest threat to the world today. However, the term 'radical Islam' is a comparatively recent phrase coined by the enemies of Islam to vilify Muslims [who are] seeking to organize themselves and live according to the edicts of Islam.
"After the defeat of European Crusaders at the hands of Muslim armies in Palestine, the European powers realized that they could never succeed in capturing and retaining any Muslims lands unless they distort the principles of Islam.
"Therefore, when European powers embarked on their aggressive colonial conquests, not only did they snatch these lands from the Muslims, but they also concocted a complicated and malevolent plan to distort the religion of Islam: Firstly, they tried to dilute the concept of jihad in Islam. Secondly, they introduced the European notion of separation of politics and religion. Thirdly, they abolished all Islamic laws and replaced them with man-made laws.
"The colonialists were aided in their plans by some hypocrites and heretics who, being enticed by worldly gains, actively supported the European powers in their designs against Islam.
"The enemies of Islam have succeeded in their plans to such an extent that today, our enemies can term any Muslims who recognize the validity and importance of these three aspects as radicals – and the whole world, including some simpleminded Muslims, actually believe their propaganda. This brief historical summary is being provided to clarify any misgivings that an average reader might have about the comments of the former British prime minister."
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"The U.S. and Its Coalition Allies Continue to Use Uranium-Depleted Weapons Against Innocent Civilians in Afghanistan"
"As for his comments that 'radical Islam' is the biggest threat to the world today – to call it a lie would be an understatement. Tony Blair said that radical Islamists believed that they are justified in the use of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. To our understanding, no Muslim country has ever been associated with the use of nuclear weapons; the only two nuclear weapons that were used against civilian populations were those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, and both of those crimes against humanity were carried out by Americans.
"Even today, the U.S. and its coalition allies continue to use uranium-depleted weapons against innocent civilians in Afghanistan. It was not the Muslims who invented or used chemical and biological weapons in conventional (or unconventional) warfare.
"The first deliberate large-scale use of chemical and biological weapons occurred in World War I, where all the warring parties were European powers. Muslims do not stockpile large quantities of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons. The only countries who have them are the very same ones that call themselves the defenders of world peace. Their refusal to disarm their nuclear weapons while denying other countries the same measure of security poses the biggest threat to world peace today.
"When confronted with the hypothesis that the Chechens, Kashmiris, Palestinians, Iraqis and Afghans are resisting foreign occupations of their lands, Tony Blair, who has always been a man more of form than of substance, could not answer in any meaningful way, and simply resorted to typical British rhetoric calling our entire way of life 'regressive, wicked, and backward-looking.'
"We are no more regressive than Tony Blair, with his nostalgic thinking of when Britain actually was a power that mattered. We are no more wicked than Tony Blair, who continues to justify his decision to invade Iraq without any legal pretext, despite the fact that no weapons of mass destruction were ever found in Iraq. And we are no more backward-looking than Britain, whose very way of life is based on what they received from us and the Roman way of life."
"People Like Tony Blair Know That Islam Is the Only Viable Force in the World Capable of Thwarting Their Colonial Ambitions"
"For over two centuries, Western powers have been plundering the resources of Muslim lands and murdering its inhabitants with impunity. Their aggressions against the Muslim populations have continued unabated to date. The discovery of vast natural resources and the strategic importance of the regions have reignited the greed of the Westerners seeking to further pillage our lands.
"The Muslim populations of these regions have been denied basic freedoms and their right to live according to their religion. This is why Western powers are so alarmed by this trend of Muslims returning to their religion and living according to its dictates. People like Tony Blair know that Islam is the only viable force in the world capable of thwarting their colonial ambitions in the region.
"It was largely due to this Islamphobia that, when the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan was established, the Western powers were so quick in condemning it, and were looking for any pretext to destroy this legitimate government. The attacks on the Twin Towers [World Trade Center] were just the excuse the enemies were looking for to try and destroy our religion once and for all. The United States began its invasions of Muslims lands based on nothing more than unproven speculation. The evidence they presented was mere circumstantial conjecture barely admissible in any legal tribunal."
The U.S. and Allies "Have Openly Burned Our Koran, and Perpetrated an Act of Desecration By Drawing Cartoons Of Our Holy Prophet... and Called Our Religion a Threat to World Peace"
"In one of the most ghastly acts in international law, the United Nations Security Council actually sanctified the invasion of Afghanistan [after 9/11] without asking for any kind of proof linking any attacks on foreign nations by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
"The very least the United Nations could have done was to verify the truth or falsity of the evidence presented by the United States [on 9/11], and negotiate with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan to set up a tribunal to give the accused culprits a fair trial under shari'a law. Instead, the Western forces began a policy of blatant violations of international norms and customs, while the United Nations and other so-called champions of human rights remained mute.
"The Truth Is That the Actions Taken By America, In Concert With Britain (Led at the Time Tony Blair), Have Proven To Be the Greatest Threat To the World Today"
"The truth is that the actions taken by America, in concert with Britain (led at the time by Tony Blair), have proven to be the greatest threat to the world today. They have invaded and violated the sovereignty of dozens of Muslim countries around the world. They have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Afghanistan, Iraq and other Muslim countries. They have taken innocent civilians off our streets and subjected them to the most grotesque forms of torture in Abu Ghuraib, Bagram and Guantanamo prisons.
"They have openly burned our Koran, and perpetrated an act of desecration by drawing cartoons of our Holy Prophet (PBUH), and called our religion a threat to world peace. They continue to bombard innocent Afghan civilians under the most unprovoked circumstances. And to top it all, they brazenly accuse us of terrorizing our own people and being a threat to the world. It is hard to imagine on which planet they live and which aliens they hope to convince with their lies.
"The reception Tony Blair received in Dublin [i.e. the anti-war protest] is clear proof that no humans believe his stupendous lies."
[1] BBC News (www.bbc.co.uk), UK, September 3, 2010
[2] Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (www.alemarah-ieu.com), Afghanistan, September 14, 2010. The text has been lightly edited for clarity.
