Earlier, Yemeni authorities claimed al-Awlaki was "just a preacher." Then, they said they were working on detaining him, but only waiting for U.S. to supply the necessary intelligence.
Now, whatever they do, if and when they feel like getting around to capturing him, he'll supposedly face trial in Yemen. That does not inspire confidence, given Yemen's track record for letting jihadists walk, and for the series of mixed signals on al-Awlaki prior to this announcement.
Friend-and-Ally, or, Yemen the Jihadist "Bus Station" Update. "Yemen refuses to let U.S. try cleric," by Eli Lake for the Washington Times, May 12:
Yemen's government has announced it will not extradite Anwar al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born jihadist cleric who is credited with inspiring the recent wave of anti-American terrorist plots by al Qaeda recruits.Over the weekend, Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al Qirbi said Mr. al-Awlaki would be tried in the Arabian Peninsula state once he is captured.
"The man the U.S. wants to be extradited will stand trial in Yemen under the national law," Mr. al Qirbi was quoted as saying in the Yemen state news agency, al Saba.
Earlier in the weekend, Mr. al Qirbi told the Kuwaiti newspaper al-Dar that "because of his recent terrorist activity, al-Awlaki is now wanted by the Yemeni government. Hence, he must be tried ... in his homeland, but never by other governments."...
There are also apparently constitutional issues, as described later in the article, but it is curious that al-Qirbi does not cite them.
"Now, whatever they do, if and when they feel like getting around to capturing him, he'll supposedly face trial in Yemen." -- from the article.
Not to worry. He'll be sentenced to finger painting school for rehabilitation and everything will be all right. You'll see.
How could the Yemeni Muslims possibly be expected to hand over a fellow Muslim to a non-Muslim entity?
From Ibn Ishaq's canonical Sira, or Life of Mohammed, p. 231 of the English translation:
“Muslims are one ummah (community) to the exclusion of all men.
" Believers are friends of one another *to the exclusion of all outsiders* {my emphasis added - dda}.”
Loyalty to a fellow Muslim is supposed to trump everything else. Muslims are supposed to close ranks in the face of the Infidels, no matter how ferociously they may war amongst themselves.
This, incidentally, is a principle that all non-Muslim law enforcement personnel in all majority-kafir countries need to learn off by heart. They need to *expect* that as a rule the entire Muslim 'community' will close ranks around its wrongdoers, just like any standard organised-crime 'family'.
(There is, however, another principle that may come into play over and above this: since as Hugh Fitzgerald has observed, Islam itself is the object of worship; sometimes Muslims who feel temporarily threatened by the infidels, may throw a fellow Muslim 'under the bus' in order to protect Islam from too searching a scrutiny...this accounts for the strange phenomenon whereby, when a Muslim 'Goes Jihad' within the West, so very often everybody down at the local mosque, even one he is known to have attended, are found swearing black and blue they didn't know a thing about him and they're sure they never saw him at prayers).
If the Yemeni Muslim authorities think it will protect the interests of Islam to throw the Americans a bone, Al-Awlaki might be handed over; but if they don't think such a handover will benefit Islam, they will close ranks and play dumb.
al Awlaki said this at Christmas "Some people and governments are distinguished by certain qualities; as you may say this person is tall, and that is stubborn. The Yemeni government's special quality is lying"
If Faisal Shahzad had escaped to Pakistan, it would have been the same scenario, with Pakistan first insisting on a variety of proofs and evidence, then reluctantly putting up a big show of hunting for him and then if there was no way they could delay the inevitable, they would find a reason to try him for a local offence along with the US one, drag it for years, while the man would be roaming free. This is exactly what's happening to the LeT plotters of the Mumbai terror attack, who have the blood of nearly 200 innocent people on their hands.
This is exactly the same line of excuses/reasoning provided by the best allies of the US when they were asked to take action against the 26/11 Mumbai massacres by the military personnel of the ISI. The origins of these excuses must lie in their common book of the religion of peace! i guess obama and his highly intelligent CIA/Pentagon/FBI et al, cannot see through this modus operandi of the allies and they trust the ISI far more than idiots/dimwits like you and me.
Yemen and Pakistan are only doing and learning well from their master and alms giver the USA.
Why blame Yemen and Pakistan when there is ZERO accountability or will to prosecute fully and speedily the likes of Nidal Hassan, who mowed down a dozen Americans in cold blood and the US is still wondering how to make it all go away or to drag ass and prosecute in such a way as to not hurt Islamic feeling perhaps.
Why worry about Yemen giving up Awlaki or Pakistan handing over terrorists when they can bank on the US being spineless. Our president has already forecast his foreign policy - you shake your fist at us and we will reach out to shake your hand.
The US generals and officials are warned to kiss ass first and ask only certain allowable questions later when it comes to "keeping and improving relations with the Muslim world".
It would be haram to turn over a Muslim to an infidel system of justice. Such systems do not allow for the rules from Allah and, as such, are haram.
Haram! Haram! Haram! I tell you.
-Abdullah Bhullah, the wacky mullah.
"Earlier, Yemeni authorities claimed al-Awlaki was "just a preacher." Then, they said they were working on detaining him, but only waiting for U.S. to supply the necessary intelligence."
In English we call it "payment due."
Frankly speaking America want to gain enemies. Obama said that his policy will not be like bush policy. but now he is practicing the same policy. The want to interfere in every local affair and consequently the gain a enemies. Anyone who stand against the personal interest of America will be considered a as a terrorist. Look at omer al-basheer,sudan president, he is considered as a criminal because he disobey American orders which want to destroy his homeland. I am Yemeni, so I have a perfect idea about alawlike. He a good religious man.
And the Yemeni government refused to deliver him to America, in order to avoid problem with Yemeni people who are sure alwlike is innocent.
America should avoid such problem. It should think a bout the tough lesson it learnt from Iraq.
Ah, another devout Muslim, this time from Yemen itself.
Al-Awlaki has inspired Ft. Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan, Nigerian underwear bomber Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, and Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad. Yes, we have a "personal interest" in not being murdered by your vicious co-religionists.
"I am Yemeni, so I have a perfect idea about alawlike. He a good religious man." I'm sure he is a "good religious man"—unfortunately, in Islam, that does not preclude his calling for the murder of innocent Infidels.
I see with your comments re Sudan that you consider it perfectly Islamic to murder non-Arab Muslims. What a vicious creed you follow!
"innocent Infidels"
Aren't these mutually incompatible terms in Islam?
But it is interesting that there is a JW reader in Yemen.
Welcome, mofeed! Where in Yemen are you posting from? Tell us a bit about yourself.
If you decide to continue to post here, I hope you won't mind being jostled around a bit. As you probably know, this site is devoted to critiquing Islam.
On the Islamic culture of falsehood.
A non-scholar's view (the first-hand testimony of an American who learnt the hard way how things work, or more correctly, do not work, inside the Ummah)
http://antiprotester.blogspot.com/2006/04/life-in-iraq-part-ii-civilization-of.html
Friday April 28, 2006: Life in Iraq Part II, A Civilisation of Deception.
And a scholarly study that explains perfectly the phenomena discussed in the first article.
http://www.meforum.org/2538/taqiyya-islam-rules-of-war
DDA, thanks for the links. The one describing an American's experience in Iraq is especially illuminating, capturing nicely the increasingly uneasy realization that many people are beginning to have about the whole PCMC/all-cultures-are-equal swindle that has been perpetrated on the entire West. That piece, and the second one as well, ought to be required reading, sans PCMC commentary to dilute or dispute it, in the training courses of diplomats assigned to the Middle East countries. And a test should be given to see if anything was absorbed from the pieces, and a passing grade required before any of them are posted to the Middle East or assigned to help drafting treaties etc.
They don't consider it throwing them under the bus. They consider it the duty of a Muslim to die for Islam if the "deceit" of war requires it. In trying keeping the infidel population ignorant/confused/divided until the global jihad is in a position of global power, they will sacrifice their own.