Public vs Private Face of Omar Bakri Mohammed: "Peace" vs. "Hooray al Qaeda!"

This IHT report, also published in the New York Times, portrays Omar Bakri Mohammed as a man who has moderated his views and who is trying to promote peace between the Lebanese government and the al Qaeda linked Fatah al Islam fighters holed up in Palestinian villages. I was stunned, literally stunned, when I read that Bakri Mahammed was actually promoting himself as a peacemaker between the two sides. He further had the audacity to advise clerics not to say that the Lebanese Army was an apostate force. As AllahP put it in his link to it yesterday, whitewash -- indeed.

Why? Because I have an audio of Omar Bakri Mohammed recorded around the time that the IHT report cites him as trying to mediate the conflict between Fatah al Islam and the Lebanese government, May 20th. In the audio sent to me by Glen Jenvey a few days after that, Bakri Mohammed is heard claiming that the Lebanese government was "attacking Muslims" and that al Qaeda in Lebanon and Fatah al Islam represented "true Muslims".

Jenvey has dozens and dozens of these recordings, many of them the source for stories published in the British press, so I have no idea why Bakri Mohammed doesn't watch his tongue when he has his little online chats with his followers in Britain like he does when he's talking to reporters.

Bakri Mohammed in the IHT:

This year he opened a public library, equipped with computers and Islamic texts, in addition to a lecture hall where he preaches. He also travels to various mosques.

Bakri has grown more rotund, less bellicose and more tactful to those of other faiths.

Bakri Mohammed to his followers in private:

So we don't know yet what going to be the response of al Qaeda's message, because he was very tough. Al Qaeda's message declared takfir [unbelievers], obviously on the Lebanese Army.

He declared condemnation on the head of the Christian Bishop in Lebanon, like the Pope of the Christians, he condemn him physically, and condemn him verbally and said to him, "If you do not stop this Lebanese Army from killing our brothers and our sisters we are going to start launching bombing operations all over Lebanon. And we're going to drive all the Crusaders out." ...[followed by a prayer, by Bakri Mohammed, for Muslim victory]

No condemnation of al Qaeda's message, only a prayer in support of them.

Bakri Mohammed in the IHT:

Bakri says that the violence was needless and that it violated Islam. He has worked to prod clerics in the area to persuade Fatah al Islam to end the confrontation.

"They keep saying the army is a force of apostates," Bakri said of Fatah al Islam. "We say, both of you, sort it out between you, but don't you dare try to apply the case of Iraq here."

Here is Bakri Mohammed in private:

But somehow, I think the Lebanese Army has breeched the truce. ...

It was their own advance warning, and when nobody take them [Fatah al Islam] seriously they take over, and there is a big fight, and obviously the Lebanese casualties beyond the imagination. But when they [Lebanese Army] start to lose so many so-called "chocolate Muslims", so-called Sunni muhaji, and the muftis, and the others [inaudible] who have not to do with Islam, nothing to do with this nothing to do with that....

Bearing in mind many people stand together from the Palestinians and from the so-called Sunni Muslims against Fatah al-Islam. And unfortunately people denounce them. And they [Fatah al Islam] are true practice Muslims. Through their own sharia courts, that is all of them have the Koran, have the Hadith [sayings of Mohammed]....

Some of them are from students of [Arabic], these were known scholars of supporting al Qaeda, and his students from al Qassim, and from Berada, they came there [Lebanon] and some people came from Iraq and joined them [Fatah al Islam] and some people came from Yemen and joined them. Some people inside the camp from Bangladesh as well.

Yup, supporting al Qaeda in Lebanon and an al Qaeda linked group, Fatah al Islam, against the Lebanese Army. Sounds like he's really moderated to me.

The reason I didn't publish this conversation previously is because this recording is so absolutely damning of Bakri Mohammed that I thought it best to pass it along to law enforcement in Lebanon. So, I sent it to Michael Totten to see if he could pass it along to his contacts there. We talked about maybe running a story together on it, but unfortunately both of us got distracted by other pressing matter. Totten is back in Iraq, I had kid #4, and then simply forgot about the recording. Until I saw the IHT piece, which AllahP knew would goad me into writing something. Well, he was right.

A more complete, yet still partial transcript below. Unfortunately even as an MP3 the audio file is still over a megabyte, so I don't have the bandwidth to host it. Hopefully Charles will find the time between debugging to put it up. Charles has put up the audio of Bakri Muhammad here. But since Bakri Mohammed claims he's being taken out of context when people claim he supports al Qaeda, I'll make the audio available to any one that wants it. If anything, the complete audio makes him look even worse. Transcript follows:

There is a global campaign against Islam and the Muslims. And USA now sending the weapon and forces in order to help the Lebanese Army in their own fighting against Fatah al Islam, another Islamic organization, launched in al Barad camp, got with it all, or most of the student of [Arabic?] many of sharia [Islamic law] student from Arabia and other countries.

However, it seem to me there is a conspiracy against [Arabic?], in particular amongst all other Muslims. That's why when they see there is attack against the Muslims there with mass bombing, al Qaeda decide to launch its body. This is why I think the situation become so difficult.....

[Description of fighting between Fatah al-Islam and Lebanese]

My views about Fatah al Islam? I believe they are an Islamic movement. Have the [Arabic?], and got many sharia student which has joined them, and they are sincerely...was established in order to prepare Muslims for the fight in Palestine, or in Iraq, or to defend the Sunnis in general and to balance because they are the only people who got weapon.

And because of the situation inside the Palestinian camps, as agreement with the Lebanese authority, for years now, that is the Palestinians have a right within their own camps, of their own autonomy there, and to have their own weapon, etc. On condition not to fight the Lebanese or Syrian Army.

But somehow, I think the Lebanese Army has breeched the truce. And this is why they put up a siege. Certain people who are belong to Fatah al Islam, and those other people who do not belong to Fatah al-Islam support them and protect them, because apparently they was building themselves to be al Qaeda in Lebanon, and then the security has discovered some of them.

So when they tried to raid their own building...so they sent Fatah al-Islam, sent them immediately to the Lebanese security saying, "If you do not release them [captured Fatah al-Islam members claiming to be "al Qaeda in Lebanon"] and fulfill the truce with us and come safely to the camp then we have to attack the Lebanese Army at their own checkpoints."

It was their own advance warning, and when nobody take them seriously they take over, and there is a big fight, and obviously the Lebanese casualties beyond the imagination. But when they [Lebanese Army] start to lose so many so-called "chocolate Muslim", so-called Sunni muhaji, and the muftis, and the others [inaudible] who have not to do with Islam, nothing to do with this nothing to do with that....

[History of Fatah al-Islam as pro-Syrian movement started by Syrian government as "Fatah" and then "sold out to America" and then becoming Islamists, also a note on the establishment on that day of "al Qaeda in Lebanon" as real group not connected to Fatah al-Islam]

I think people were not sympathize with Fatah al Islam in the beginning, and they was accusing them of a lot of accusations out of hatred toward Islam and Muslims, or out of jealousy of them. However, after the bombing of al Barad camp and many civilian people suffer--no electricity, no water, people start to be killed. And obviously Fatah al-Islam until now got at least 17 of their own people been killed and they declared them a shahid [martyr].

What is the casualties of the Army is become over 70 and whereas the casualties of the civilian people was become very high....

Bearing in mind many people stand together from the Palestinians and from the so-called Sunni Muslims against Fatah al-Islam. And unfortunately people denounce them. And they [Fatah al Islam] are true practice Muslims. Through their own sharia courts, that is all of them have the Koran, have the Hadith [sayings of Mohammed].

Some of them are from students of [Arabic], these were known scholars of supporting al Qaeda, and his students from al Qassim, and from Berada, they came there [Lebanon] and some people came from Iraq and joined them [Fatah al Islam] and some people came from Yemen and joined them. Some people inside the camp from Bangladesh as well. It is quite serious issue.

So we don't know yet what going to be the response of al Qaeda's message, because he was very tough. Al Qaeda's message declared takfir [unbelievers], obviously on the Lebanese Army.
He declared condemnation on the head of the Christian Bishop in Lebanon, like the Pope of the Christians, he condemn him physically, and condemn him verbally and said to him, "If you do not stop this Lebanese Army from killing our brothers and our sisters we are going to start launching bombing operations all over Lebanon. And we're going to drive all the Crusaders out." ...

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