When I write about Danish citizens who travel to Syria or Iraq to wage jihad in the cause of Allah, I usually refer to them as “Danes”. The quote marks are added as a shorthand reference to their status as culture-enrichers hailing from one of the world’s innumerable bucolic bailiwicks where Islam holds sway.
The news story below, however features both a Dane and a “Dane”. The former is a young Danish man who converted to Islam, was radicalized in one of Denmark’s mosques, and then traveled to Iraq and blew himself up. The latter is his imam, who views the young martyr as “best” in the eyes of Allah.
Many thanks to Henrik Ræder Clausen for translating this report from TV2 Østjylland, and to Vlad Tepes for subtitling it:
Henrik includes these observations with his translation:
The Grimhøj Mosque in Aarhus, Denmark is widely known for its Salafist interpretation of Islam. A remarkable number of its regular worshippers head off to participate in the Syrian war.
In a reaction to the news that a Danish convert to Islam named Victor Christensen staged a suicide attack in Iraq, the mosque’s spokesman Oussama El Saadi told Danish television that this was “an act of heroism” and that doing so was “best with Allah”. He said these things without any sign of remorse or shame. Danish politicians scrambled to find a way to deal with such views.
This imam is leader of a major mosque in Denmark, and would certainly know Islam and its scripture in detail, as well as the relevant possible interpretations.
So when he states that suicide bombings is what is best for Allah, it begs the question:
What if he is RIGHT?
Transcript:
A powerful bomb exploded outside a bus station in the Nigerian capital Abuja during the morning rush hour, killing at least 71 people and wounding more than a hundred. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion has fallen on the Islamic terrorist group Boko Haram.
For the past five years I have been fighting a hate speech charge, one that was later turned into a “denigration of religious teachings” charge, and — not surprisingly — have lost all the way to the Austrian supreme court. I am sure most of you already know the details of the case, and even more of you have donated to my defense fund. Without these donations, I would not have been able to pay my exceptional lawyer, Dr. Michael Rami, who has been with me all the way to the supreme court and who has represented me — and us — so valiantly. Without your donations and your generosity, I would not have been able to continue this fight, the fight for the truth, the fight for our God-given right to criticize an ideology driven to eliminate any form of equality, dissent, and our way of life.