SARGODHA, Pakistan – One of five Americans detained in Pakistan said their aim was to go to Afghanistan to wage jihad against Western forces, defending their intention as justified under Islam.
But he denied any links to al-Qaida or plans to carry out terrorist attacks in Pakistan, as alleged by Pakistani authorities.
Monday was the first time the young Muslims from the Washington, D.C., area have addressed a court after being arrested in early December in the eastern Pakistani city of Sargodha. The case has spurred fears that Westerners are traveling to Pakistan to join militant groups. Pakistani police have said they plan to seek life sentences for the men under the country’s anti-terrorism law.
“We are not terrorists,” one of the men, Ramy Zamzam, told The Associated Press as he entered a courtroom in Sargodha on Monday.
“We are jihadists, and jihad is not terrorism,” he said.
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abunoor
Dan 11:51 am on January 4, 2010 Permalink |
Yep, fighting for a movement that seeks to impose its own oppression and torture in the name of Islam.
AA 1:20 pm on January 4, 2010 Permalink |
These are Muslim supremacists using religion as their tool to advance their own agenda. No different from any other type of extremists with misguided and intolerant ideologies.
Naeem 11:21 pm on January 4, 2010 Permalink |
Wait, I’m confused. If what Zamzam is saying is true, how are they ‘Muslim supremacists’ and ‘fighting for a movement that seeks…oppression’? In fact, it seems quite the opposite as they claim to have gone there to fight the foreign, occupying NATO forces.
Am I missing something here?
Dan 12:42 am on January 5, 2010 Permalink |
Since you have demonstrated your blind support for the Taliban on here in the past, of course it is lost to you.
The Taliban’s rule in Afghanistan was one of oppression and brutality, and they prefer to fight for an entity that wants to oppress others while claiming to uphold the message of the Almighty, do I need to clarify myself even further?
Naeem 2:15 am on January 5, 2010 Permalink |
Real smooth Daniel. Not sure what blind support you’re referring to, but I’ll take your word for it slick.
Did I miss the part where they gave their allegiance to the Taliban? I’ve only read that their goal was to fight the forces occupying Muslim land – nowhere did they express their support for ‘oppression and brutality’. You seem to have taken the liberty to extrapolate their goals and objectives.