From: hermi@shape.mps.ohio-state.edu (Lotfi Hermi)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian
Subject: Egypt and Key Arab and Muslim countries to uplift plight in Somal
Date: 1 Sep 1992 14:20:29 -0400
Organization: Department of Mathematics, The Ohio State University
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: shape.mps.ohio-state.edu


Subject: Egypt and Muslim countries to uplift Human disaster in Somalia
Keywords: international, non-usa government, government, civil war,
        social issues, Muslim countries, fundamentalism
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 92 21:19:42 PDT
Location: somali republic
Acategory: international
Slug-word: Egypt - Somalia - Iran
Priority: Urgent
Format: Urgent

[From our Correspondent]

(DWAY) Cairo, Egypt -- Egypt and other key Arab and Muslim States ended a 
three months dispute on how to help civilians caught in Somalia's ongoing
civil conflict today in an extraordinary meeting in Nehavand, a famous city
in Iran, destroyed by Arabs in  their conquest of ancient Iran.  Dr. Kumari-
nian, a Muslim refugee from Armenistan called upon OIC member states to help 
Muslim masses in Somalia lest a whole nation will face starvation within the 
next few days. In highness, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, and his Majesty presi-
dent Hosni al-barik co-sponsored the conference. Scores of Saudi fundamentalist
Wahabi Ulema came to Iran for the first time, ending a ten year propaganda war 
between Shi'i and Wahabi camps. The Mufti of Egypt as well as the paramount 
cleric (grand cheikh of al-Azhar) were also present. 

They described the slow move in sending help to Somalia as compared to the 
400,000 strong Islamic contingent force sent to Bosnia last month by invoking a
religious injunctions from the seventh-century Cheick-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyya. 
"Cheikh Ibn Taymiyya was asked:  Jihad is going on and the children 
are dying. Which one should we favor? Ibn Taymiyya replied: Give to Jihad and 
leave the hungry to die. " said the paramount Cheikh." Cheikh Ibn Taymiyya was 
comparing Islam's dignity to the death of a few thousand," the paramount Cheikh
added. Speaking to a large crowd of revolutionary guards, the Grand Mufti of 
Egypt added," In Islamic jurisprudence, you are allowed to to sacrifice two 
thirds of the population so that the other third can live under the banner of 
Islam." A special emissary from his highness King Fahd of THaudi Arabia invoked
the fact that the " sanctity of the blood of a Muslim is more sacred than the 
house of Allah, but what can we do, we have to prioritize our goals." The 
emissary brought a written statement from the custodian of the two holy shrines
in which he promises to stop aid to the SPLA (Sudanese Peoples' Liberation 
Army) of John Garrand and redirect the funds to help uplift the suffering of 
poor Somali children. "Some people might argue that the ongoing war in Bosnia 
is not a Jihad," he said,"but we say that the one who dies defending his wealth
is a martyr, the one who dies defending his honor is a martyr." The special 
emissary voiced King Fahd's determination to help Muslim masses all over the 
globe. " We knew what the West stands for, they killed more than 100,000 child 
in Iraq, may be more only Allah knows how many died. This is even more cruel 
than the ancient Arab Jahili tradition of burying children alive," he said. 
" Prince Bandar visited Sarajevo along with Egypt foreign minister Amr el-
Moussa, and they know exactly how much Muslims are suffering.  The grand Mufti 
of Egypt answered concerns of the guards for the lack of enthusiasm by so-
called fundamentalist movements to help Somali Muslims and the apparent racist 
reaction to their plight by Muslim fanatics, the grand Mufti answered," How can
we racist to our co-religionists.  The problem is that we do not have enough 
media coverage. Most of our magazines and newspapers are concerned with banal 
issues, but we will use a strict hand with 
any of them which do not get serious and do serious reporting." "We want to 
hear that one of them died while reporting in Sarajevo, Kabul or for instance 
Mogadishu" the grand Mufti added. Somalia is both a member of the Arab League 
and the Organization of Islamic Countries. 



Newsgroups: soc.culture.iranian