A new message attributed to unemployed potentate Mullah Mohammed Omar, Commander of the Faithful and leader of the Taliban was received by AP yesterday and calls Western charities one of the "greatest enemies of Islam".
| That's 'cuz they try to hand out food and help people and stuff... |
The two-page message, written in Pashtu comes after repeated attacks against international aid workers in Afghanistan. âO Muslims know the enemies of your religion â the Jews and Christians. America, Britain, the United Nations and all Western aid groups are the greatest enemies of Islam and humanity. The greatest tragedy is that Muslims are becoming weaker and weaker and going from one humiliation to another. Instead of awakening, instead of freeing their holy places, they are losing other strategic places. Instead of trying to regain their dignity and prestige, they are further giving up their status. It is a sorry state that Muslims are currently in.â the message purportedly from Omar said.
| "Somehow, no matter how many people we kill, no matter how many things we blow up, we remain ignorant and backward. I just don't understand it..." |
Referring to the United States, Omar said, âIt attacked Iraq. America wants to capture the banking and financial treasures of the Islamic world.â
| "It's all about... ummm... cash." |
The authenticity of the message, which carried Mullah Omar's signature, could not be independently verified. International aid has slowed to a trickle because aid organizations have banned travel on most roads fearing they may be attacked by Taliban Mujahideen or local warlords. In Kandahar, the Talibanâs former power base, the presence of international workers has been dramatically reduced. Last weekend, the UN suspended road travel for its workers in southern Afghanistan after five policemen were wounded and Afghan aid workers were tied up and beaten.
| As usual, the complaint is that of "going from one humiliation to the other," and the humiliations are never of their own making. It's significant that this comes out at about the same time the UN in Baghdad was boomed. The Talibs didn't like having the UN around, and on at least one occasion the one-eyed potentate accused them of supporting the U.S. â try and figure that one. |
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