Pentagon Meditation Club
PMC message to Sheikh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin, December 15, 2005
RESPONSE TO FATWAH AGAINST AMERICANS
In the name of Allah, the beneficent, the merciful. Praise be to the Lord of the Universe who has created us and made us into tribes and nations. That we may know each other, not that we may despise each other. If the enemy incline towards peace, do thou also incline towards peace, and trust God, for the Lord is the one that heareth and knoweth all things. And the servants of God. Most Gracious are those who walk on the Earth in humility, and when we address them, we say, “ PEACE.”
This message is a response to your Fatwah ordering Jihad Against Americans published on February 23, 1998 and signed by you, Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Abu- Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, a leader of the Islamic Group; Sheikh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan; and Fazlul Rahman, leader of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh.
We call Muslims and Americans to a Sacred Summit where East meets West, and there can be a meeting of minds and hearts in the presence and in the name of Almighty God. This invitation marks another turning point in the war and an opportunity for divine intervention. Looking at the world the way it is and the way opposing forces would like it to be, you will ask, “How in God’s name do we get from here to there.” The short answer is, “In God’s name.”
We respectfully ask that you cancel your order for a holy war (Jihad) against Americans now, and join us in calling on all combatants to show the mercy and love of Allah by terminating all acts of violence.
We in turn call for all participants in Islamic jihad, for governments, and for citizens of all nations, particularly the United States, to consider and adopt a strategy for spiritual transformation instead of destruction to realize aspirations for the welfare of Muslims as set forth in your FATWAH and in the foregoing Muslim Prayer for Peace.
The Pentagon Meditation Club advocates a spiritual transformation approach seeking thereby to first bridge the gap between True Believers of Islam and True Believers of all religions, who worship the one True God who is above all and who willingly accept Muhammed as a prophet of God.
On the one hand as spokespersons for Islamic interests you call for violence to transform inadequate United States diplomatic efforts and counterproductive foreign policies in Muslim countries. Admittedly there has been a failure by everyone concerned to formulate and implement mutually satisfactory policies and strategies that will end violence and war, show respect for Muslim people, Muslim culture, Muslim lands, and Muslim religion, and that still meet challenges the world faces today. Participants in Jihad against the West apparently believe that exporting revolution and anarchy in the name of Allah is obligatory in the interests of an overarching concept of Islamic world order. You say:
The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God."
As Jihadists you also reject the idea of secular, non-Islamic nation-states. Following Islamic rules in an ideal Islamic world order there is no room for a modern secular national or international system of governance and cooperation with Western nations, particularly when the ruling power is not expressly aligned with the God of Islam as you interpret the Qur’an. Your ambitions and those of fundamentalist and revolutionary Islamic movements worldwide threaten national and international stability and the wellbeing of people globally, even those who worship almighty God.
Several United States government studies blame administration policies for bad American-Muslim relations and call for radical transformation of policies, but the administration has not been paying heed to those findings. The important point is that bad United States policies are not necessarily a function of ignorance or evil intentions, but are an indication of a lack of spiritual resources and inner Light needed to resolve religious differences.
Ijitihad
In both western nations and in the Muslim world new ways of thinking and being are required to reverse policies and prejudices which give rise to anger, rage, and killing. You criticize the United States government for failure to understand the culture and history of the people it purports to influence, while you fail to recognize that America exists as “one nation under God.” In the opinion of critics the U.S. government needs to develop a better grasp of target audiences and to realize the harmful effects of its policies.
On the opposing side, even Muslims criticize the ulama's rigid control over what can be said and what can be discussed openly. They complain that such rigidity effectively cuts off the rest of the Muslim community from intellectual developments and progress that needs to take place in Islamic legal, theocratic and philosophical circles. In Islamic discourse Muslims must be free to be more open or egalitarian, for example in respect of non-Islamic Believers, and the treatment of women and children. Spirituality and love of God is not be an exclusive prerogative of Muslims or of Muslim clerical elite who pass tests of accreditation.
On the other hand, Americans pray and hope for transformation of the hostile world of Islamic fundamentalism. The United States and its allies in the struggle with Islamic extremists and fundamentalists have searched unsuccessfully for a coherent spiritual strategy, and continue to lack a strategy for spiritual transformation and peacemaking. Western hostility to Islamic fundamentalism and hostility to Arab nationalism, stems admittedly from self interests and self defense against violence by those elements which seek our demise and fight to achieve world domination and hegemonic goals of an Islamic state to which you are unconditionally committed world-wide.
Jihad To Kill or to Transform the Enemy?
One American soldier warned the world of the consequences of failure to achieve spiritual transformation, but left to future generations the task of working out specific strategies and tactics. He said,
Men since the beginning of time have sought peace... Military alliances, balances of power, leagues of nations, all in turn have failed, leaving the only path to be by way of the crucible of war. . . . We have had our last chance. If we do not now devise some greater and more equitable system, Armageddon will be at our door. The problem is basically theological and involves a spiritual recrudescence [transformation] and improvement of human character that will synchronize with our almost matchless advances in science, art, literature, and all material and cultural developments of the past two thousand years. It must be of the spirit if we are to save the flesh.
General Douglas MacArthur
In this context Spiritual recrudescence is interpreted to mean spiritual transformation, where spiritual transformation is inner movement of minds and hearts from one level of being to higher levels of being in cooperation with and in union with God. That is, moving from one level of consciousness to higher levels of consciousness, reaching ultimately to fully enlightened problem solving.
Real growth in consciousness brings spiritual transformation, changes perceptions and leads to resolution of complaints. This is the prize when individuals learn the art and science of praying and meditating on God’s name. They successfully maneuver on the inner battlefield of human consciousness.
Reconciliation of Muslims and Americans With God: The Common and Higher Ground of Being
Wars are waged first in the minds and hearts of human beings before being acted out on actual battlefields. Therefore, maneuvering successfully on this inner battlefield of consciousness is necessary in order to eventually reach a peaceful place so that we can extend our hands in friendship to each other. Friendship with one’s enemies, and within one’s own mind and heart is effectively accomplished by a spiritual discipline which involves transcending in silence on the name of God, a practice unfamiliar to many people the world over , even to Believers who pray five times a day.
Beliefs are essentially mental things held in the mind, so God must be more than an object of belief. Because no one has ever seen Allah, belief in God and His Holy Spirit is established not only on faith, but also on experiencing His abiding presence. But, the Father of all creation is said to exist beyond all senses and sensory things, beyond all shapes, color, measure, and places; is wholly without form and image, is beyond limits and limitations, and while present to all things is above all things, having created all things from an inner space of no-thingness; from within Himself. This belief about the nature of Almighty God is held by many Muslims, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, and possibly by other religions. Therefore, by transcending all sensory things, and all physical and mental limitations anyone can commune with God albeit in absolute silence.
In the inner space of silence we find that differences between Muslims and Americans do not exist. There is convergence of the silence for individual Muslims and Americans: “Let the whole world be silent before him;” (Habakkuk 2:20) “Be still and know that I AM God” (Psalm 46.10). “He is the First (al-Awwal) and the Last (al-Akhir ), The Outward (Ias-Zahir) and the Inward (al-Batim); He is the Knower of all things” (al-Hadid 57/3). Nevertheless, He can be found within ourselves, in our soul every time we truly seek him through our prayers and meditations and in deep silence. God can be found and the divine presence experienced in an inner space of absolute silence; beyond and transcending all imagining.
Human minds by their very nature have no capacity for grasping this realm of silence beyond the mind. But human consciousness can merge with the mind of God, and experience union by turning the mind back on itself, teaching it to be silent and guiding it to find the grand silence by invoking the Holy Word. “We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Messengers after him; We sent inspiration to Abraham, Isma’il, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon, and to David We gave the Psalms.” (Qur’an 4.163), and in the Psalms we find God’s promise: “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. . . . Thou shalt not be afraid for terror by night, nor the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in the darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. . . . Because he hath set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high because he hath known my name” (Psalm 91); YHWH (Yahweh) is the unspeakable name encoded in the original language in which the Psalms and Torah were written; and it is Allah in the Arabic language of the Qur’an.
You say, "If ye do love Allah, Follow me: Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful" (Qur’an 3.31). A comprehensive strategy for public diplomacy on the part of the United States must in the first instance be based on love of God. “Remember Allah's favour unto you: How ye were enemies and He made friendship between your hearts so that ye became as brothers by His grace; and (how) ye were upon the brink of an abyss of fire, and He did save you from it. Thus Allah maketh clear His revelations unto you, that haply ye may be guided.” Qur’an 3.103 In spiritual warfare, then, this is a more enlightened policy for personal, national and international security: “Love of God and love of enemies is the ultimate first strike capability.”
Forgiveness by Jews, Christians, and Muslims
An important step in the transformation process for Americans, for Muslims, and for everyone and which was called for by another one of God’s messengers (Jesus), is to forgive offenses. These initial steps (transcending, being in the grand silence, and forgiveness) are necessary for transformation of True Believers, non-believers, people of all religious persuasions, and for pagans and infidels to move forward healing old wounds. “Allah will redeem a people whom He loves, and who love Him.” (al-Ma’idah 5/54) Further, “Let them forgive and disregard [the transgressions of others]. Do you not wish that Allah forgive you? Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.” (al-Nur 24/22)
We call on all Arabs and Americans, Muslims, Jews, and Christians and all non-Muslim Believers to engage in the mental act of transcending, by meditating on and praying the name of God. There is only one God above all and by whatever name(s) He is called, He is the One who hears all, and sees all. This discipline activates a human technology for spiritual transformation eliciting wisdom and more Light for enlightened decision making.
We find that when a critical mass of people hold the same intentions, such as are expressed in the Muslim Prayer for Peace, that which is prayed for tends to become reality.
This is our intention:
Spiritual transformation spreads within the minds and hearts of people everywhere causing an attitude of peace and fullness. Middle East countries effectively end hostilities and are more successful at resolving conflicts. Further unnecessary suffering and loss of life ends. United States and coalition forces return home safely and with honor and dignity.
We affirm that:
With respect we call for “immediate and dramatic spiritual transformation” in United States’ diplomatic and foreign policies toward all Muslims.
With respect we call on Muslims and Americans everywhere to follow the prescription in Psalm 91. That is, to discover and dwell in “the secret hiding place of the most high God” that is beyond limitations of mind.
Enemies and old enmities that result from anger and hatred will die a painless death through transformation to love, forgiveness, compassion, and mercy. “Their Light will run forward before them and by their right hands while they say, ‘Our Lord! Perfect our Light for us, and grant us forgiveness: for Thou hast power over all things’ " (Qur’an 66:8) . . . and can help us all win the war on evil.
“In God we trust”
"Truly, your God is truly One!" [Qur'an 37:4]
Contact:
Edward E. Winchester, C.M.
Pentagon Meditation Club
105 Overlook Dr.
Cross Junction, VA. 22625
540-888-4960
This message is posted on the website of the PMC: http://pentagonmeditationclub.org click on syllabus and scroll to CONTRA FATWAH
See also: Convergence of Silences:
http://pentagonmeditationclub.org/Convergence%20of%20Silences__world_religions.htm
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APPENDIX 1
________________________________________________________________________Text of Fatwah Urging Jihad Against Americans
Published in Al-Quds al-'Arabi on Febuary 23, 1998
Statement signed by Sheikh Usamah Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ladin; Ayman al-Zawahiri, leader of the Jihad Group in Egypt; Abu- Yasir Rifa'i Ahmad Taha, a leader of the Islamic Group; Sheikh Mir Hamzah, secretary of the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan; and Fazlul Rahman, leader of the Jihad Movement in Bangladesh
Praise be to God, who revealed the Book, controls the clouds, defeats factionalism, and says in His Book "But when the forbidden months are past, then fight and slay the pagans wherever ye find them, seize them, beleaguer them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war)"; and peace be upon our Prophet, Muhammad Bin-'Abdallah, who said "I have been sent with the sword between my hands to ensure that no one but God is worshipped, God who put my livelihood under the shadow of my spear and who inflicts humiliation and scorn on those who disobey my orders." The Arabian Peninsula has never--since God made it flat, created its desert, and encircled it with seas--been stormed by any forces like the crusader armies now spreading in it like locusts, consuming its riches and destroying its plantations. All this is happening at a time when nations are attacking Muslims like people fighting over a plate of food. In the light of the grave situation and the lack of support, we and you are obliged to discuss current events, and we should all agree on how to settle the matter. No one argues today about three facts that are known to everyone; we will list them, in order to remind everyone:
First, for over seven years the United States has been occupying the lands of Islam in the holiest of places, the Arabian Peninsula, plundering its riches, dictating to its rulers, humiliating its people, terrorizing its neighbors, and turning its bases in the Peninsula into a spearhead through which to fight the neighboring Muslim peoples.
If some people have formerly debated the fact of the occupation, all the people of the Peninsula have now acknowledged it.
The best proof of this is the Americans' continuing aggression against the Iraqi people using the Peninsula as a staging post, even though all its rulers are against their territories being used to that end, still they are helpless.
Second, despite the great devastation inflicted on the Iraqi people by the crusader-Zionist alliance, and despite the huge number of those killed, in excess of 1 million... despite all this, the Americans are once against trying to repeat the horrific massacres, as though they are not content with the protracted blockade imposed after the ferocious war or the fragmentation and devastation.
So now they come to annihilate what is left of this people and to humiliate their Muslim neighbors.
Third, if the Americans' aims behind these wars are religious and economic, the aim is also to serve the Jews' petty state and divert attention from its occupation of Jerusalem and murder of Muslims there.
The best proof of this is their eagerness to destroy Iraq, the strongest neighboring Arab state, and their endeavor to fragment all the states of the region such as Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Sudan into paper statelets and through their disunion and weakness to guarantee Israel's survival and the continuation of the brutal crusade occupation of the Peninsula.
All these crimes and sins committed by the Americans are a clear declaration of war on God, his messenger, and Muslims. And ulema have throughout Islamic history unanimously agreed that the jihad is an individual duty if the enemy destroys the Muslim countries. This was revealed by Imam Bin-Qadamah in "Al- Mughni," Imam al-Kisa'i in "Al- Bada'i," al-Qurtubi in his interpretation, and the shaykh of al-Islam in his books, where he said "As for the militant struggle, it is aimed at defending sanctity and religion, and it is a duty as agreed. Nothing is more sacred than belief except repulsing an enemy who is attacking religion and life." On that basis, and in compliance with God's order, we issue the following fatwa to all Muslims
The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies--civilians and military--is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim. This is in accordance with the words of Almighty God, "and fight the pagans all together as they fight you all together," and "fight them until there is no more tumult or oppression, and there prevail justice and faith in God."
This is in addition to the words of Almighty God "And why should ye not fight in the cause of God and of those who, being weak, are ill-treated and oppressed--women and children, whose cry is 'Our Lord, rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and raise for us from thee one who will help!'"
We -- with God's help -- call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan's U.S. troops and the devil's supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.
Almighty God said "O ye who believe, give your response to God and His Apostle, when He calleth you to that which will give your life. And know that God cometh between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall all be gathered."
Almighty God also says "O ye who believe, what is the matter with you, that when ye are asked to go forth in the cause of God, ye cling so heavily to the earth! Do ye prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life, as compared with the hereafter. Unless ye go forth, He will punish you with a grievous penalty, and put others in your place; but Him ye would not harm in the least. For God hath power over all things."
Almighty God also says "So lose no heart, nor fall into despair. For ye must gain mastery if ye are true in faith."