Mohammed Taheri-Azar's letter to police

"In the Qur'an, Allah states that the believing men and women have permission to murder anyone responsible for the killing of other believing men and women." I trust Ibrahim Hooper and others are readying refutations of this as we speak.

As for the "19" miracle, Taheri-azar is referring to an extrapolation of Qur'an 74:30, which says cryptically, and with no relation to the surrounding verses: "Above it are nineteen." This has given rise to a great deal of speculation in Islamic tradition, culminating in Rashad Khalifa's elaborate exposition of the alleged miracle, which you can find here (thanks to JS). Yes, that is the same Rashad Khalifa who was murdered in Arizona in 1990 by jihadists angered by his Islamic heterodoxy.

Since Taheri-azar has demonstrated that this Qur'anic number-game can turn deadly, here is an excellent refutation of the supposed 19 "miracle."

From The Herald-Sun, with thanks to Charles Johnson:

In the name of Allah, the merciful, the compassionate.
To whom it may concern:

I am writing this letter to inform you of my reasons for premeditating and attempting to murder citizens and residents of the United States of America on Friday, March 3, 2006 in the city of Chapel Hill, North Carolina by running them over with my automobile and stabbing them with a knife if the opportunities are presented to me by Allah.

I did intend to use a handgun to murder the citizens and residents of Chapel Hill, North Carolina but the process of receiving a permit for a handgun in this city is highly restricted and out of my reach at the present, most likely due to my foreign nationality.

I am a servant of Allah. I am 22 years of age and I was born in Tehran, Iran. My father, mother and older sister immigrated to the United States in 1985 when I was two years of age and I've lived in the United States ever since.

I attended elementary, middle and high school in North Carolina and I was accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I began my college career in August 2001 and graduated in December 2005 with a bachelor's degree in psychology and philosophy with Allah's help.

I do not wish to pursue my career as a student any further because I have no desire to amass the impermanent and temporary fame and material wealth this world has to offer. However I made the decision to continue my studies and to graduate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill so that the world will know that Allah's servants are very intelligent.

Due to the killing of believing men and women under the direction of the United States government, I have decided to take advantage of my presence on United States soil on Friday, March 3, 2006 to take the lives of as many Americans and American sympathizers as I can in order to punish the United States for their immoral actions around the world.

In the Qur'an, Allah states that the believing men and women have permission to murder anyone responsible for the killing of other believing men and women. I know that the Qur'an is a legitimate and authoritative holy scripture since it is completely validated by modern science and also mathematically encoded with the number 19 beyond human ability. After extensive contemplation and reflection, I have made the decision to exercise the right of violent retaliation that Allah has given me to the fullest extent to which I am capable at present.

I have chosen the particular location on the University campus as my target since I know there is a high likelihood that I will kill several people before being killed myself or jailed and sent to prison if Allah wills. Allah's commandments are never to be questioned and all of Allah's commandments must be obeyed. Those who violate Allah's commandments and purposefully follow human fabrication and falsehood as their religion will burn in fire for eternity in accordance with Allah's will.

Sincerely yours,

Mohammed Reza Taheri-Azar

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27 Comments

fireangel | March 26, 2006 7:04 AM

There you have it.... man made laws mean *nothing* to muslims. For them there is only sharia.

Null | March 26, 2006 7:10 AM

The MSM paid scant attention to Mohammad Sidique Khan's videotaped justification of his actions last July. Let's hope they do rather better in this instance.

sheik yer'mami | March 26, 2006 7:27 AM

Our 'administrators' will have a hard time to sweep that one under the carpet...

sheik yer'mami | March 26, 2006 7:29 AM

Also kind of strange that this comes from 'the Herald Sun' of Australia, rather than a major US paper, wouldn't you say?

You guys seem to have some serious problems in the US of A.

But don't we all?

Null | March 26, 2006 7:45 AM

The obfuscation has started already. The AP's initial coverage completely ignores his motives and instead headlines the fact that he couldn't get a handgun.

Ref: UNC grad says he preferred using gun, but couldn't get one.

Your turn, Reuters. How many words can you can use to say as little as possible?

kentim | March 26, 2006 8:15 AM

Hmmm.

The use of the word "murder", repeatedly, seems contradictory. "Allah" does not sanction "murder", in "Allah's" world, there is "law" and there is war, both justifying the death of a "transgressor" or enemy, but "Allah" knows what "murder" is. "He" defines it the same as us, except "he" has a different conception of what/who a "victim" is and what constitutes "innocence".
What this person did can only be justified as an act of war, "murder" is a legal term and is against the law in all societies/cultures. Yes, I know, there is "legalized" murder too, from our perspective, in which "criminal" "governments" redefine who/what a criminal offense is, which goes counter to traditional Christian philosophy-based law.
The point being: they do not call what they do "murder".

I am suspicious.

I would like to know what his actual immigration status was. Also, the reference to guns implies that "gun control" laws "saved"(oh, thank you, oh omnipotent "government") us from more serious harm, while most people are well aware that if someone really wants to get one they can on the black-market.

AMartinez | March 26, 2006 8:16 AM

Seams like an open and shut case. His intenionswere pretty clear. Are there outhers waiting in the wings, watching for the outcome of this case?

kentim | March 26, 2006 8:23 AM

Of course "mind-control" and Manchurian Candidates are things that only "kooks" consider, right?
Is'nt that interesting, think about it. Try to wrap your mind around the dynamics of that equation.

AlarmedKoranScientist | March 26, 2006 8:49 AM

As for the "19" miracle, Taheri-azar is referring to an extrapolation of Qur'an 74:30, which says cryptically, and with no relation to the surrounding verses: "Above it are nineteen."

Calypso Louie Farrakhan has gotten into that 19 stuff too and IIRC it was in relation to a Muslim friendly mother ship (UFO)

Caroline | March 26, 2006 8:49 AM

Sheik - no, this is from the Durham Herald-Sun in Durham, North Carolina (home of Duke University), which is very close to Chapel Hill.

JadeDragoness | March 26, 2006 10:09 AM

"it is completely validated by modern science..."

If you ignore that whole "The sun sets in muddy water each night" thing.

Shinoliite | March 26, 2006 10:13 AM

"Above it are nineteen."

A non sequitur elevated to the status of a miracle. I'm jealous. ;)

Fortunately, the Prophet Douglas Adams (pbuh) corrected/abrogated this verse when he revealed that the answer to the question of Life, the Universe, and Everything is, in fact, "42."

Seriously, though, the folks at CAIR must be swigging Maalox out of the bottle on this case; how can they refute Taheri-Azar and not open up a delightful can of worms?

x_achillesheel_x | March 26, 2006 12:01 PM

Umm... Hello? Malignant Narcissist alert anyone?

My God this guy is twisted. It also shows he has an extremely weak mind. The FBI needs to pursue and investigate everyone he talked to over the last 10 years who helped formulate these ideas in his head. He could not have come to these conclusions on his own. Every mosque, classroom, professor, muslim club, political action group, etc absolutley needs to be scrutinized to, yes ACLU, an intrusive degree of detail.

kufr | March 26, 2006 12:07 PM

I think 19 refers to this:

Mathematical Miracle of the Qur'an
http://www.submission.org/math-ap1.html

This might also explain why there were 19 hijackers.

Cato the Elder | March 26, 2006 12:30 PM

Every word he says is a lie, including "the" and "and."

Ecrasez l'Islam!

yadayada | March 26, 2006 1:08 PM

As for the "19" miracle...

...as in the nineteen 9/11 hijackers?

Coincidence?

kufr | March 26, 2006 1:12 PM

And the counter claims about the "mathematical miracle":

http://answering-islam.org.uk/Religions/Numerics/

yadayada | March 26, 2006 1:13 PM

so that the world will know that Allah's servants are very intelligent

Thanks for enlightening us on this, Mr. Taheri-Azar...your example truly shines.

toleranceorappeasement? | March 26, 2006 2:18 PM

Perhaps this is an odd tangent to explore, and I certainly don't want to divert attention from the crucial point here - muslim killing for allah - but, I do see where Kentim's going. Additonally, as someone who has graded a LOT of papers, the language and rythm of this letter seems off for someone schooled entirely in the U.S.

There is at least a heavy indication that his thoughts were influenced by a non-native speaker. The family expressed shock, and this guy is supposed to have been a lone wolf -- so why does this letter read this way? At worst, way more to this as Kentim implies. At "best" there is a hidden bee's nest in N.C. that needs to be poked.

Shinoliite | March 26, 2006 3:30 PM

Additonally, as someone who has graded a LOT of papers, the language and rythm of this letter seems off for someone schooled entirely in the U.S. -toleranceorappeasement

It does have that "bin Laden tape" kind of cadence to it. Stylistic immersion will do that-- read a great deal in one particular style, and you'll start to assimilate it in your own writing in spite of yourself.

In the case of Taheri-Azar, bin Laden, al-Zawahiri, et al, it seems to originate with the style of the Quran, insofar as English versions of their schtick compare with English translations of the Quran.

If anything, it further underscores the thorough indoctrination and single-minded fanaticism that culminated in Taheri-Azar's rampage with the SUV.

GaryK | March 26, 2006 4:11 PM

I wonder if Mr. Looney Tunes spent time at one of the many Wahabi run Islamic religious schhols in the U.S. that the Saudis established and fund?

GaryK | March 26, 2006 4:13 PM

Spelling corrected, Sorry.

I wonder if Mr. Looney Tunes spent time at one of the many Wahabi run Islamic religious schools in the U.S. that the Saudis established and fund?

duh_swami | March 26, 2006 4:27 PM

19...so what? So the Quran is structured by the number 19? What does Nick Berg care about that?
There are all kinds of number structures that mean something...For instance the Qaballistic concept of Ten Sephira and twenty two paths making up the entire Tree of Life. According to that, every physical thing in the universe is represented by the number 32. 1+9=10+22=32...3+2=5, the number of Man. The whole 'scientific' Islamic rip off is based on the Qaballistic Tree of Life. But, on the other hand, no one 'owns' these numbers, so if muslims can find a use for them fine, but they should refrain from giving them more credibility than they deserve, or understand... That and $4.00 will get you a beer in any joint in town...

Texican | March 26, 2006 4:53 PM

How many more are waiting in the aisles in America to mow down innocent Americans???

WIDEAWAKE | March 26, 2006 6:02 PM

he should be forced to eat 19 pork chops.....now I'M hungry.....that reminds me gotta go feed my horse. and no he's not 19.

Borg | March 26, 2006 7:27 PM

kufr~
I noticed when he counted up the numbers mentioned in the koran he didn't list the number 72.

adela | March 27, 2006 12:54 AM

Mr.President Bush,please read this peaceful muslim`s letter and tell us again about islam being the religion of peace.

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