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A Q & A with Naeem Muhammad KhanStewart Bell,
National Post 

Published: Thursday, April 24, 2008More On This StoryA home-grown 'Champion of Islam'Related TopicsArmed ForcesCulture and LifestyleFederal Bureau of InvestigationGeert WildersIrshad ManjiStory Tools-+ Change font size
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Stewart Bell/National PostNaeem Muhammad Khan, a supporter of the Taliban, uses this flag, which combines the Taliban flag and the 'support our troops' mesage on his Facebook profile.Torontonian Naeem Muhammad Khan openly supports the Taliban and calls Osama bin Laden a hero. Stewart Bell speaks to a self-avowed fundamentalist:Q) Your profile picture on Facebook is a black flag with an AK-47 and the words "Support Our Troops." Which troops are you encouraging people to support and why?A) "Support our Troops" means supporting the mujahideen [soldiers of God] who are fighting for their freedom and rights against illegal occupation in many, many places over the world like Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya, Kashmir, Palestine and Somalia.Q) So in Afghanistan, where Canadian troops are deployed, you are rooting for their enemy, the Taliban? As a landed immigrant, how do you reconcile enjoying the benefits of Canadian society while at the same time cheerleading for an armed group that is killing Canadian soldiers?A) Firstly, I disagree that Taliban are our enemies, neither did they ever attack us and nor did they support any attacks on Canada. Mullah Muhammad Omar clearly stated, "We assure the whole world that neither Osama nor anyone else can use Afghan territory against anyone." So how are Taliban our enemies to begin with? When the Taliban demanded proof of Osama's involvement in September 11, 2001 which he himself denied in an interview with Ummat on 28th September, 2001, none were presented to them and none have been presented to the world ‘til this very day. Even the FBI website does not mention September 11 attacks in Osama's profile. Besides I have been to protests where the anti-war groups protested over our involvement in Afghanistan and wanted our troops to be back from a war that does not exist. I want our Canadian troops back in Canada and not in Afghanistan to fight the fake war on terror which is baseless and is making things worse for the Afghans rather then improving it.Q) The Taliban have killed 80 Canadian soldiers, as well as a senior Canadian diplomat responsible for reconstruction. When you say you support the Taliban, aren't you saying you support the things they are doing, and that includes the killing of Canadians? Isn't there a difference between opposing the Canadian deployment, and cheerleading for the Taliban?A) Let us put things in perspective here. We invaded a sovereign country based on no proofs whatsoever. We killed the innocent Taliban without them attacking us ever or even planning to attack us for that matter. And I guess we killed more innocent Taliban, at least 10 times more then our innocent soldiers were killed. How do we justify killing the Taliban in the first place? We are there on their land and not they on ours. They have a right to self-defence and we have no right to invade a sovereign country. We need to pressure our government to bring back our troops so that no more innocent lives are lost on both sides in this fake war on terror. Loss of any human life is sad whether be it Canadian or Afghani. Our soldiers are not considered as helpers but as invaders, and I don't think we can really help the situation by being there. I support Canadian troops and that is why I want them back.Q) You call Osama bin Laden a "hero" and "champion of Islam." Why?A) It must be understood and accepted that Osama bin Laden left all the immense comforts and luxuries of a life to take up a cause, which fell in full compliance with Islam. With him he brought many mujahideens who helped in fighting the Soviet occupation, backed by the U.S. They, the mujahideen, also diligently worked in opening up many welfare organizations to help that poor neglected country. They were the true helpers in liberating the people from oppressive forces. The world hailed his efforts, he was touted as a hero by all, including the Afghans. He left Afghanistan for Saudi Arabia after seeing the greed driven infighting between the different warlords and because he couldn't see a true Islamic leadership arising from such a situation. When the Americans began to build permanent bases in Saudi, which was a signal of another occupation, he left for Sudan in protest and began to analyze the real motives of U.S. policy towards the Middle East and its imperialist colonization. Osama, I believe , knew it was time to unite the Muslims against the oppressive nature of U.S. hegemony. He, I believe wanted a true Islamic leadership and found the best opportunity under the Taliban in Afghanistan, so he moved there. The U.S. were extremely insecure about this possibility and also that they didn't have control of the area anymore. After September 11th, it was easy to vent out ones anger over a country who no one cared about and a hyped up enemy such as Osama. There was never, ‘till this day any proof given that OBL was behind the attacks and most Muslims are aware of this. Added to this we have attacks on other sovereign nations, deaths of thousands of innocent Muslim civilians and the only person who is willing to stand up and fight against these oppressive forces is Osama. He has become a symbol of the resistance against the inhumane oppressive nature of the war which is been waged for material gains, the support for over fed rich dictators in the Islamic world and for that disastrous Israeli aggression against the people of Palestine. These are more than adequate enough reasons to consider any person to become a hero not only for Muslims but also for any humane soul who believes in justiceQ) You say in your YouTube video about the Geert Wilders film fitna that free speech is a responsibility, that it has limits, but you also have harsh words for Tarek Fatah, Tasmila Nasrin, Irshad Manji and others you call "pseudo Muslims" and "apostates." Can you explain?A) Yes, I certainly said freedom of speech has limits but I don't exactly remember where did I exactly say apostates (who have left Islam anyways) should leave Islam and become homosexuals (I must have been really angry when I said this I guess, you know people say a lot of things when they are angry and they don't mean it). Yes, I have harsh words against the people you mentioned and I don't consider them Muslims in the least bit. These people are destroying Islam and want to change Islam to make it look more acceptable to the West. Muslims should unite against them and refute them and should make the world know they don't represent Islam in the least bit. In an Islamic state the punishment for apostasy is death, but only in an Islamic state which I have made clear in an article I wrote in my group "Enemies of Islam" because some people misunderstood me. And a Qazi (Islamic judge) decides that and not me. According to my knowledge there is no doubt in their apostasy.Q) You reject democracy, you support the Taliban and you believe that fundamentalist Islam is the only way to live. So why do you choose to live in Canada, a democratic nation with freedom of religion that is at war with the Taliban? Isn't it hypocritical of you say you believe what you do, while you sit in Toronto enjoying all the benefits of Western society?A) Yes, I reject democracy and all other forms of governance except Islam. Yes, I support the right of Taliban to live freely and to defend themselves from any invasion based on lies and deceit. And yes it would have had been hypocritical of me to stay in the West had there been an Islamic state and still I would have had been living in the West but since there is no state in the entire world which has complete Islamic system in it and the Islamic world is full of either dictators supported by the West or leaders who are ready to crush any uprising calling for an Islamic system. Therefore it is better to be in the West where at least one can openly preach what he believes in unlike the so called Islamic countries where you can be jailed, tortured and even killed for speaking the truth against the government. Besides I was forced into coming to the West as my parents shifted here and I was not self sufficient enough to provide for myself back home. And believe it or not, me and many Muslims like me are willing to migrate ASAP to an Islamic state as soon as it emerges.

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