Islam group urges forest fire jihad
by Josh Gordon, The Age (Australia), September 7, 2008 [here]
AUSTRALIA has been singled out as a target for “forest jihad” by a group of Islamic extremists urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfires as a weapon of terror.
US intelligence channels earlier this year identified a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to “start forest fires”, claiming “scholars have justified chopping down and burning the infidels’ forests when they do the same to our lands”.
The website, posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network, argues in Arabic that lighting fires is an effective form of terrorism justified in Islamic law under the “eye for an eye” doctrine.
The posting — which instructs jihadis to remember “forest jihad” in summer months — says fires cause economic damage and pollution, tie up security agencies and can take months to extinguish so that “this terror will haunt them for an extended period of time”.
“Imagine if, after all the losses caused by such an event, a jihadist organisation were to claim responsibility for the forest fires,” the website says. “You can hardly begin to imagine the level of fear that would take hold of people in the United States, in Europe, in Russia and in Australia.”
With the nation heading into another hot, dry summer, Australian intelligence agencies are treating the possibility that bushfires could be used as a weapon of terrorism as a serious concern. … [more]
by Jason
I have no idea. The link was working when I posted it this morning. However, I found another article about the same issue (forest fire jihad) with a working link. See the next post. (Special thanks to my new Twitter friend Lance Scoular for the new link).
The article referenced in this post is also available here:
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/4888
as was pointed out by Tallac in a comment to a previous post.
Jason,
I cross-checked all the links and made no posting mistakes. You are correct; The Age has apparently taken that story off the Web in the last few hours.
I surmise they did it to quell unpleasant and possibly violent reactions from traumatized Australians against the very vocal and antagonistic Muslim minority in that country. There is a history there, which includes the terrorist bombing of a hotel in Bali last year.
In some respects, though, the ignition source(s) whether it be lightning or arsonist, are not the root cause of the disaster. That would be the fuels. If the fuels are there, the fires will feed off them, regardless of what started the fires.
The best defense is proper land stewardship. To the extent that some elements in the AU government and political scene have resisted and prevented proper fuels management, they are as much or more to blame for what has transpired as the arsonists, in my opinion.
by Tallac
Mike, you are correct. I too believe it was taken down for fear of another race riot. Australia is trying to rid itself of racial stereotypes.
When ethnic gang rapes occur in Sydney and Islamic websites declare Jihad on their people and lands, the story usually gets buried, or scrubbed completely. As we may now have seen here.
No matter how politically correct the Oz government wants to be, they still will have to address the problems in their country. Be it fuels reduction, AGW enviros or radical Muslims who hate.
I wish them luck because it isn’t working in the U.S.A. either.
I am pleased to see this page up, I also tried to access it yesterday but it had gone.
These fires are truly a major catastrophe. What better way to hurt and threaten the Australians if a group are hell bent and hate so much, as the Islamic Jihadist.
Whoever started them must be brought to book, jail though is simply a soft punishment.
My sympathies go to all who have lost love ones, all those injured and who have lost their homes.
The news story linked to in the post is back up at the Age, when I check 5 minutes ago.
Does anyone have an idea why the original story was taken down? Does the Australian government sometimes make requests of the media down there not to spread stuff like that around?