Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris: "America will be destroyed"

Steve Stalinsky, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, writes in FrontPage, "Incitement Official"

Under Yasser Arafat, Palestinian Authority sermons were filled with incitement, including calls to kill Jews and destroy America. Few in the West at the time understood the danger posed by these religious proclamations; those intimately involved in the peace process were often willing to overlook them.

The Khatibs, or preachers, who give such sermons, are paid employees of the PA. Their messages are broadcasted live every Friday at noon from mosques controlled by the PA and appear on official PA TV.

Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris was a favorite Khatib of Arafat. Mr. Mudeiris is based at the Sheikh 'Ijlin Mosque in Gaza and makes regular appearances during the coveted Friday noon timeslot. One of his notable proclamations about America, from September 5, 2003, was, "America will collapse ... we consider America to be our no. 1." On May 21, 2004, Mr. Mudeiris made reference to America again: "the American dog, the Byzantine dog of our days ... To the Byzantine dog, you son of a bitch, I have brought an enormous army upon you, that starts here and ends here." In sermon from March 21, 2003, he said, "Allah will drown the little Pharaoh, the dwarf, the Pharaoh of all times, of our time, the American president. Allah will drown America in our seas, in our skies, in our land ... America will be destroyed."

When Abu Mazen came to power following Arafat's death, he promised to end incitement. On December 3, 2004, he appeared live on PA TV at the President's Mosque as an audience member of an exceptionally moderate sermon calling for Palestinians to recognize and tolerate others, and to avoid extremism. Mr. Mudeiris was notably absent at the President's Mosque, but quietly reclaimed his pulpit and TV spot soon afterward.

Recent sermons by Mr. Mudeiris include one from April 15, 2005, in which he said that Muslims prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan were forced to convert to Christianity. In his sermon on February 4, 2005, he called for Palestinians to conquer Israel. This year's New Year sermon was devoted to the destruction of America: "America has reached the top and we admit it, but it is headed for a bottomless pit, Allah willing. America, which is being led by its current president, to a bottomless pit. He leads it to death and destruction, Allah willing. America's grave was dug by Bush the day he invaded Afghanistan. Bush prepared this grave on the day he invaded Iraq."...

| 33 Comments
del.icio.us | Digg this | Email | FaceBook | Twitter | Print | Tweet

33 Comments

A jealous little man. If America ever falls it will be from within, not because of some little pi$$ant like him.

And we just annouced today to give the Palestians and Abbas $50 million. Before they destroy us they might want to wait until the check clears!

No Problem! Just kill him NOW!

Ibrahim Mudeiris I Mean! He is a Rabid Muslim cockroach after all.

alaskan1000 says,

"And we just annouced today to give the Palestians and Abbas $50 million."

If he hasn't already, it is time for Mahmoud Abbas, AKA Abu Mazen, to open up a Swiss bank account.

The $50 million in U.S. aid promised by Bush to the Palestinian government should be given in the form of gold bars, flown by choppers over the house of Mudeiris, and then dropped on top of this ranting psychopath in one glittering 'delivery'.

Why not solve at least one problem in the region with this blood money before it disappears into secret bank accounts in Switzerland or the Cayman Islands?

Poetic justice is better than none.

Wow,so 5 million muslims in America will be slaughtered for Allah's cause and that's all fine and dandy since that is their destiny in the great scheme of Islam and the road to paradise.

This explains why the "Good/True" Muslims in Iraq are becoming suicide bombers that now focus on slaughtering the "Bad" Muslims that were destine to die along with the American Muslims
that befriend the infidels(fill in your faith here_______ ) and are offensive to Allah.

Excellent was to promote a faith of peace.

Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris.

Is that pronounced "murderous"?

the madrassas must go,
then the mullahs,
then the universities.
Then we can breathe
the fresh air of the free.

Call me religious but...

The Bible says,

"I will bless those that bless you, and curse those that curse you"

God talking to Abraham and the treatment of those treating the Jews.

Depite the massive amount of moral decay in the US, the US, I believe WILL NOT fall while they keep on supporting Israel.

Long live the US! And long live the ONLY democracy AND NON MUSLIM country in the ME - ISRAEL.

More empty talk from a sawed off little Islamic runt. Islam already will never be a trusted entity in America, and they have kooks like this representing them.

"Allah will drown America in our seas, in our skies, in our land ... America will be destroyed."

Ya, I guess the earthquake in Iran and the tsunami last December was really meant for us, but as usual, it was driven be the Muslim Allah, who steered it all in the wrong direction. oops!

Correction: Driven by the Muslim Allah. Be, by, it all ended up a horrific ordeal, no matter what religion, or so-called religion was affected.

And, why are our tax dollars being wasted on Palestine? Will they not make more bombs with it? Is this a loan?

If it's a loan, will we ever be repaid with anything other than Muslim blood and guts?

So MEMRI continues its apparent goal of furthering its political agenda...what's new?

Shukri, get over this denial. That is what he said. You've heard it all before in Arabic haven't you. Why do you hang out here? Get some help for that denial problem. Maybe an enema may clear your mind. Get it? Your 'mind.'

Shuggi:

how many times have you already posted that crap? How many times have you been refuted? You are a nuisance poster and Spencer should eliminate you.

As for 'militant' and 'moderate' Islam, we know that there is no difference. Anyone that furthers the cause of this murderous cult is a co-conspirator and must be interned and eventually convicted and evicted.

All we need to know about Islam is Bali, Beslan, 9/11, Moskow, Madrid, hijack, beheadings, rape, murder, violence wherever Islamics are allowed to move, and on top of that the vile and criminal 'profit' pedophile from the 7th century:

All who contribute to this cult in any way are criminals and must be treated that way. That day will come!

They're so pathetic, those people. All they do is blame America and Jews, and do nothing but drum up anger and hatred. No wonder Islam is such a backward failure. Instead of doing something productive with themselves, it's all about hating and blaming somebody else. It'll never amount to anything. Just a bunch of wild-eyed, fist-waving, hollering lunatics believing in some mythical Allah to deliver them a great life. Even if America were to "drown in seas", they'd still be a bunch of wild-eyed, fist-waving, hollering lunatics. If the entire world was Islamic, they'd be looking for someone else to blame for the fact they're pathetic failures. Islam is a joke. A sick joke created by a sick man. And these people don't get that they're the butt of this joke. It would be hilarious if people weren't suffering and dying needlessly.

Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris-

One more excellent example of why Islam is a murderous death cult and not a religion.

NOW THEY THINK WE ARE THE GREEKS!!

OH but we have been here many times before they just never finished the Job!!!

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=15201
John Quincy Adams Knew Jihad
By Andrew G. Bostom
FrontPageMagazine.com | September 29, 2004

READ THE WHOLE THING!!

Bemis’ landmark 1949 review also included a vague footnote referring to a work which I located formally in a comprehensive annotated bibliography of John Quincy Adams’ writings, compiled by Lynn H. Parsons 2:

“Unsigned essays dealing with the Russo-Turkish War, and on Greece, written while JQA was in retirement, before his election to Congress in 1830” [Chapters X-XIV (pp. 267-402) in The American Annual Register for 1827-28-29. New York, 1830.]

A brief contribution appeared in the Claremont Review in December, 2002, purporting to summarize the contents of John Quincy Adams’ 136 pages of analysis (although, curiously, never providing the citation, above, for the original essays). Upon reading Adams’ full set of essays, however, it is apparent that this rather uninformed, sanitized Claremont Review piece missed the mark widely.

John Quincy Adams possessed a remarkably clear, uncompromised understanding of the permanent Islamic institutions of jihad war and dhimmitude. Regarding jihad, Adams states in his essay series,

“…he [Muhammad] declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind…The precept of the Koran is, perpetual war against all who deny, that Mahomet is the prophet of God.”


LIKE I SAID READ THE WHOLE THING!!

And Adams captured the essential condition imposed upon the non-Muslim dhimmi “tributaries” subjugated by jihad, with this laconic statement,

“The vanquished may purchase their lives, by the payment of tribute.”

Indeed, the famous Shafi’i jurist of Baghdad, al-Mawardi (d. 1058), highlights the most salient aspect of the consensus view of classical Islamic jurisprudence regarding the vanquished non-Muslims “tribute”, i.e., the jizya: the critical connection between jihad and payment of the jizya. He notes that “The enemy makes a payment in return for peace and reconciliation.” Al-Mawardi then distinguishes two cases: (I) Payment is made immediately and is treated like booty, however “it does, however, not prevent a jihad being carried out against them in the future.”. (II). Payment is made yearly and will “constitute an ongoing tribute by which their security is established.” Reconciliation and security last as long as the payment is made. If the payment ceases, then the jihad resumes. A treaty of reconciliation may be renewable, but must not exceed 10 years.4 The nature of such “protection”, i.e., a blood ransom, is reinforced in this definition of jizya written by E.W. Lane, based on a careful analysis of the etymology of the term:

“The tax that is taken from the free non-Muslim subjects of a Muslim government whereby they ratify the compact that assures them protection, as though it were compensation for not being slain” 5


READ THE WHOLE THING!!

Adams’ staunch anti-imperialism, one of the “fourteen fundamentals” of U.S. foreign policy which Samuel Flagg Bemis states, “…we may connect with the name of John Quincy Adams more than with that of any other man” 6, is consistent with Old Man Eloquent’s support for the struggle of the Greeks 7 to liberate themselves from the yoke of centuries of dhimmitude, imposed by the imperialism of Ottoman jihad 8. At minimum, in light of the global war on jihad terrorism, John Quincy Adams’ candid, timeless ruminations should be required reading for all contemporary U.S. diplomats and politicians.

Key annotated excerpts from John Quincy Adams’ remarkable series of essays, are provided below.

Adams on Jesus Christ and Christianity, Relative to Muhammad and Islam

"And he [Jesus] declared, that the enjoyment of felicity in the world hereafter, would be reward of the practice of benevolence here. His whole law was resolvable into the precept of love; peace on earth – good will toward man, was the early object of his mission; and the authoritative demonstration of the immortality of man, was that, which constituted the more than earthly tribute of glory to God in the highest… The first conquest of the religion of Jesus, was over the unsocial passions of his disciples. It elevated the standard of the human character in the scale of existence…On the Christian system of morals, man is an immortal spirit, confined for a short space of time, in an earthly tabernacle. Kindness to his fellow mortals embraces the whole compass of his duties upon earth, and the whole promise of happiness to his spirit hereafter. THE ESSENCE OF THIS DOCTRINE IS, TO EXALT THE SPIRITUAL OVER THE BRUTAL PART OF HIS NATURE." (Adam's capital letters)….[pp. 267-268]

“In the seventh century of the Christian era, a wandering Arab of the lineage of Hagar [i.e., Muhammad], the Egyptian, combining the powers of transcendent genius, with the preternatural energy of a fanatic, and the fraudulent spirit of an impostor, proclaimed himself as a messenger from Heaven, and spread desolation and delusion over an extensive portion of the earth. Adopting from the sublime conception of the Mosaic law, the doctrine of one omnipotent God; he connected indissolubly with it, the audacious falsehood, that he was himself his prophet and apostle. Adopting from the new Revelation of Jesus, the faith and hope of immortal life, and of future retribution, he humbled it to the dust by adapting all the rewards and sanctions of his religion to the gratification of the sexual passion. He poisoned the sources of human felicity at the fountain, by degrading the condition of the female sex, and the allowance of polygamy; and he declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. THE ESSENCE OF HIS DOCTRINE WAS VIOLENCE AND LUST: TO EXALT THE BRUTAL OVER THE SPIRITUAL PART OF HUMAN NATURE (Adam's capital letters)….Between these two religions, thus contrasted in their characters, a war of twelve hundred years has already raged. The war is yet flagrant…While the merciless and dissolute dogmas of the false prophet shall furnish motives to human action, there can never be peace upon earth, and good will towards men.” [p. 269]


READ THE WHOLE THING!!

“Had it been possible for a sincere and honest peace to be maintained between the Osmanli and his christian neighbors, then would have been the time to establish it in good faith. But the treaty was no sooner made than broken. It never was carried into effect by the Turkish government.” [p. 276]

“From the time when the disaster of Navarino ref had been made known to him, the Reis Effendi [Ottoman diplomat assigned to Russia] had assumed the tone of the aggrieved party, and made formal demands of indemnity, and the punishment of the offending admirals. He still manifested however, a solicitude to prevent the rupture of the negotiations by the departure of the ambassadors…” [p. 298]

“Upon the departure of the ambassadors, the Sultan, who must have been, however, unwillingly preparing his mind for that event, immediately determined upon two things; a war with Russia alone – and a dallying attempt to protract the negotiation, and gain time of preparation for the conflict.” [p. 298]

AGAIN READ THE WHOLE THING!!

“The last appeal of the Sultan to the fanaticism of his people, and to the protection of his prophet, has been vain. He told them, that since the happy time of their great prophet, the faithful Mussulmen had never taken into consideration the numbers of the infidels. He reminded them, too truly reminded them, how often they had put millions of Christians to the sword; how many states and provinces they had thus conquered, sword in hand.” 9 [p. 302]

“[More from the Ottoman Sultan’s pronouncement to his subjects]...‘all infidels are but one nation…This war must be considered purely a religious and national war. Let all the faithful, rich or poor, great or little, know, that to fight is a duty with us; let them then refrain from thinking of arrears, or of pay of any kind; far from such considerations, let us sacrifice our property and our persons; let us execute zealously the duties which the honor of Islamism imposes on us – let us unite our efforts, and labor, body and soul, for the support of religion, until the day of judgement. Mussulmen have no other means of working out salvation in this world and the next.’”


AGAIN READ THE WHOLE THING!!!

Justice of the Greek Revolution

“If ever insurrection was holy in the eyes of God, such was that of the Greeks against their Mahometan oppressors. Yet for six long years, they were suffered to be overwhelmed by the whole mass of the Ottoman power; cheered only by the sympathies of all the civilized world, but without a finger raised to sustain or relieve them by the Christian governments of Europe; while the sword of extermination, instinct with the spirit of the Koran, was passing in merciless horror over the classical regions of Greece, the birth-place of philosophy, of poetry, of eloquence, of all the arts that embellish, and all the sciences that dignify the human character. The monarchs of Austria, of France, and England, inflexibly persisted in seeing in the Greeks, only revolted subjects against a lawful sovereign. The ferocious Turk eagerly seized upon this absurd concession, and while sweeping with his besom of destruction over the Grecian provinces, answered every insinuation of interest in behalf of that suffering people, by assertions of the unqualified rights of sovereignty, and by triumphantly retorting upon the legitimates of Europe, the consequences naturally flowing from their own perverted maxims.” [p. 278]

READ THE WHOLE THING THEN DO SOME SURFFEN!!!

HOW DO YOU THINK THE PARTHNON WAS DESTROYED THE MULSUMS MOVED IN TO MAKE IT HIS BEDROOMAND A MOSQUE LOOK IT UP THEN LOOK UP PHILLIPPENS AND BLACKJACK PURSHION sp


Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WISDOM, SIGHT, AND COURAGE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST[NO MORE TAX] AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM OPEN THE WORLDS EYES TO THEIR THREAT GIVE THE WORLD COURAGE TO STAND UP AND FIGHT THIS EVIL LET NOT THE WORLD BE DECEIVED BY THEM AMEN

poetess,

I have question about your poetry. Would you please email me?

Thanks,

Infidel (one of many)
terrorists.suck@gmail.com

Muslims act as if Americans and Isrealis are masters of the universe responsible for all their problems. Rather then Muslims taking a look in the mirror to try to discover why they are such failures. If they stopped to think they'd see that Islam is the problem. Where Islam is dominate there is brutality, poverty and ignorance. Lands that are free of Islam are advancing and prospering. BTW- Why are US taxpayers giving even one dime to worthless,hateful, violent "Palestinians"? If Palestinians are Arab Muslims and beloved by their brothers let their fellow Muslims feed them, stop picking the pockets of the Americans you hate.

Roxane:

You are making one mistake: You are trying to apply reason, logic and common sense.

Common sense is not common.
You can not reason with unreasonable people.
Logical thoughts fail against the dogma of lies and deceit which is Mohammedan Indoctrination.

You are not the only one puzzled by this, please don't be offended. I simply feel the need to understand that only force and defeat of the menace can advance our cause. So far we are far from it.

Roxane:

You are making one mistake: You are trying to apply reason, logic and common sense.

Common sense is not common.
You can not reason with unreasonable people.
Logical thoughts fail against the dogma of lies and deceit which is Mohammedan Indoctrination.

You are not the only one puzzled by this, please don't be offended. I simply feel the need to understand that only force and defeat of the menace can advance our cause. So far we are far from it.

Roxane,

Not to be mean, but it's two mistakes.

1) The logic argument presented by Terminator.

2) They're picking our pockets BECAUSE they hate us, and because they know we just can't stop ourselves.

Meanwhile, at the gas pump, I just contributed some more money to their fellow Muslims in Saudi Arabia.

This must all be great comedy to them.

As a rationalist, a jew and a zionist i must say god bless america from the bottom of my heart, you're country is differnet,americans i truly beleive believe in right, justice and freedom no matter what the lefties and msm say. don't ever let anyone take that away from you.

Hey Shukri,

Did you see this article? Two islamists form Cbechnya have just been implacted in the willful, wanton, premeditated with malice aforethought murder of Theo Van Gogh! Wow, either Holland is occupying Chechnya or it has now become a puppet state of Russia to justify, in the law according to Shukri, a Chechen's involvement. Do you want to inform Queen Beatrix of this?

Authorities have arrested two Chechen citizens in France and the Netherlands in connection with the November slaying of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, prosecutors said Thursday. One of the suspects was arrested May 18 in Tours, France and was identified under Dutch privacy rules only as Bislan I., 25, prosecution spokesman Rob Meulenbroek said. The second suspect, identified as Marad J., 22, was arrested April 19 in Amsterdam. Both are believed to have ties to a group of Islamic fundamentalists which prosecutors dubbed the Hofstad network, Meulenbroek said.

Lisa - Thats awesome news! I hope the PC Dutch give these guys what they deserve.

Great post re Shukri logic also! No doubt these Muslims (according to Shukri and IA "gray matter" logic), they were defending "Dutch" Muslims from oppression, hence their actions are justified. No wait, its a Jewish and Great Satan plot!!!

Shukri: Hows the hunt going for a nine year old for sex? Just so you can be like your pedophile Mohammed (may pigs piss be upon him).

Shakran/Shuki,

Muslims don't lie. It's Haram to lie!

">Mor Muslim truths.

A boorish man does not know; neither does a fool understand this.
When the wicked flourish like grass, and all workers of violence blossom, only to be destroyed to eternity.
But You remain on high forever, O Lord.
For behold Your enemies, O Lord, for behold Your enemies will perish; all workers of violence will scatter.

- Psalms 92:7-10

And with that I wish my Jewish brethern a Shabbat Shalom from Jerusalem. :)

"America has reached the top and we admit it, but it is headed for a bottomless pit, Allah willing."

From "top to bottom"...a path the Islamic world's already taken. It's still at the bottom. Allah willing it? One wonders why He might be using "colonial imperialists" to keep His beloved mired there. But He knows best. At least I've heard.

So after you suicide bomb, behead, stone and honor kill your way to the top, how do you plan on staying on top?

Reminds me of the two-bit thief who breaks into Bill Gates home in the middle of the night, eliminates Mr. Gates and lays claim to all his belongings. Then he heads into work the next day and starts to run Microsoft...

This is the one part of the "Islam will rule the world" idea that they sell to young people, who then go blow themselves up for this dream. After you achieve this (never will), how do you plan on maintaining it? Oh wait, don't think about that - Just head to the local school yard with this cell phone and large belt strapped to you, we will worry about the rest... Allahu whatever.

Moose

I read the "Selective Memri" article Shukri posted earlier. Though I have my own suspicions of the Guardian's agenda, I think it makes a decent case for questioning MEMRI's partiality, which is why I'd be all for MEMRI going private so that it doesn't have that "tax-payer-funded" albatross hanging around its neck. I'm sure it'll have more than enough financial support from the private sector. And MEMRI won't have to change what it does, which I believe is an important service as is.

That said, the article makes another good point:

It is not difficult to see what Arabs might do to counter that. A group of Arab media companies could get together and publish translations of articles that more accurately reflect the content of their newspapers.

It would certainly not be beyond their means. But, as usual, they may prefer to sit back and grumble about the machinations of Israeli intelligence veterans.

Exactly. All anti-MEMRI folks would have to do is get together and set up a website that ---

  • translates and posts up-to-date TV/radio messages from the Arab/Islamic world broadcasting positive things about Israel, USA, Jews, Christians, etc.
  • translates and posts up-to-date TV/radio messages from Israeli media broadcasting vitriol, bile, and hate towards the Arab/Islamic world.

How hard could that be? After all, if a bunch of wayward jihadis can post videos of beheadings on the Internet, then certainly posting Arab/Islamic pro-Israel-pro-Jew-pro-USA broadcasts (i.e. the best possible quotes from the Muslim world, as Ibrihim Hooper believes there to be) should be a snap for decent, peace-loving Muslims the world over.

Unless, of course, there just isn't that much material out there to be found that would justify making such a website. But I'll give anti-MEMRI folks the benefit of the doubt...if there is such a website already, let me know (and no, jewwatch.com doesn't count, as it does not translate and post up-to-date TV/radio broadcasts the way MEMRI does, as far as I can tell).

Yadayada, there is such a counter-MEMRI organization - AAD.

Guess who's one of the only ones to publicize its existence? You guessed it!

:)

Yadayada:

the Guardian is hardly an objective media outlet and Yigal Carmon, president of MEMRI, has addressed Whitaker's shabby piece of reportage very nicely. I have brought this to fullofshukri's attention many times, yet he continues with his post-and-run/state of denial conduct.

Yigal Carmon
Wednesday August 21, 2002

Brian Whitaker's Selective Memri is an example of selective journalism.
Disregarding the Guardian's own code - "A newspaper's primary office is the gathering of news" - Whitaker has simply recycled inaccurate and previously published material.

Two days before his piece appeared on the web, he called our Washington office to ask for the Arabic original of an article translated by Memri from the London daily Al-Hayat. He could have used this opportunity to check his facts. He chose not to do so.

To start with, Memri is not a "mysterious organisation". Our telephone number, fax and email appear on every dispatch. True, the office address is no longer posted on our website. Whitaker may scoff, but we have received threats from rightwing radicals in America.

Had he asked, we would have provided him with our addresses in Washington, London, Berlin, Moscow and Jerusalem (as well as informing him that I retired from government office almost a decade ago).

We could also have told Whitaker that we have over 30 employees of different nationalities, rather than six. But then, facts might have got in the way of a "good story".

Memri is involved in a variety of projects, apart from translating material into most European languages and Turkish: an economic project, headed by a former World Bank expert, an Arab anti-semitism documentation project, studies of school books from Arab educational systems, monitoring Friday sermons in the Arab world.

Most important and innovative is our reform project, which highlights liberal voices, not only from western capitals, but also from within the Arab and Muslim world, courageously calling for political, religious, social and economic reform, and taking all the risks involved.

Is this "Selective Memri"? No, it's Selective Whitaker. He cites the Memri-translated "Blood Libel" - an article that resurrected an ancient myth that accuses Jews of using the blood of (non-Jewish) children to make a special pastry for the Purim religious festival - published by the Saudi al-Riyadh daily.

This is a paper which, contrary to Whitaker's statement, is identified as government-controlled by the Saudi government's website, by the BBC and by news agencies such as Associated Press.

It is true that the editor later apologised and the columnist was sacked. Memri reported all this, giving the paper credit even though these events came in the wake of severe US criticism.

Whitaker implies that this was a marginal case - another article deliberately "selected" by Memri that merely reflects the "ignorance of many Arabs - even those [as] highly educated" as the author of the piece - a university teacher.

Does Brian Whitaker still think it mere ignorance when the major Egyptian government daily Al-Ahram follows a similar line? The government-appointed editor-in-chief is currently facing prosecution in France (and possible prosecution in the UK) for incitement to anti-semitism and racial violence.

The editor is prepared to do battle over his right to spread this poison and he is supported by most of Egypt's literary elite, parliamentarians, trades unions and various organisations throughout the Arab world.

Surely the Guardian's editorial board would agree that this goes far beyond ignorance. It is the deliberate dissemination of a Blood Libel.

Another supposedly marginal issue "selected" by Memri is the Ode to Terrorism by the Saudi Ambassador to the UK, Ghazi Al-Qusaybi. Were Whitaker a regular reader of the Arab papers published in London, he would know that it is not a matter of poetry.

Al-Qusaybi has authored several articles expressing the same political position (Memri Dispatches 251, 256, 389 at www.memri.org). Indeed, does Whitaker read the Arab press at all? Or does he rely on Arab Media Watch?

If this is the case, we could provide him with some documentation on their bias. In any event, I wouldn't blame him for seeking assistance. Monitoring the Arab media is far too much for one person to handle. We have a team of 20 translators doing it, and we can't possibly cover it all.

Whitaker's view of Memri's work is not shared by others. In fact most of the well-known media in the US respect and frequently quote Memri, for example the New York Times, Washington Post, New Republic, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe and Miami Herald.

The Guardian itself published Thomas Friedman's column (October 16 2001) commending Memri translations. The Qatari Al-Jazeera television channel also trusts Memri and frequently asks me to appear on their programmes.

Even the Palestinian National Authority website has posted our material - with attribution. On the other hand, it is interesting to see whom Whitaker did choose to quote to back up his allegations against Memri. Ibrahim Hooper is the spokesman of CAIR, the Council on American Islamic Relations, which supports Hamas.

· Yigal Carmon is president of the Middle East Media Research Institute (Memri)

Waterdragon:

Thanks for this. But I doubt this will prevent Shuggi from posting the same old tired crap again on the next occasion when something from MEMRI comes up.

Site Meter