Alarm in Spain over al-Qaeda call for its "reconqu

Does Islam have the right to retake land once under the banner of Islam, even though the lands were taken by the sword. I tend to believe that most Muslims do not agree with this, but if you are a Muslim who does agree with reconquest of former Muslims lands then please tell us why. What is your justification??? Would Greece and other Balkan countries be next for al-Qaeda or another group? I am sure there are a few who dream about a restored Ottoman Empire, just like a few Greeks dream of a restored Byzantine Empire.

Alarm in Spain over al-Qaeda call for its "reconquest"
Alarm in Spain over al-Qaeda call for its "reconquest"
We have warned about this for years, but what do we know?

An update on this story: "NEWS FEATURE: Alarm in Spain over al-Qaeda call for its 'reconquest,'" by Sinikka Tarvainen for DPA:

Madrid (dpa) - The emergence of a new al-Qaeda-linked organization in Northern Africa is alarming Spain, which is concerned about Islamists' calls for the reconquest of the country they regard as a lost part of the Muslim world. "We will not be in peace until we set our foot again in our beloved al-Andalus," al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb said on claiming responsibility for an attack which killed at least 24 people in Algiers on Wednesday.
Al-Andalus is the Moorish name for Spain, parts of which were ruled by Muslims for about eight centuries until the last Moorish bastion, Granada, succumbed to the Christian Reconquest in 1492.

The terrorists will undoubtedly attempt to extend their offensive from Northern Africa to European soil, anti-terrorism judge Baltasar Garzon warned, cautioning that Spain was at a "very high risk" of suffering an Islamist attack.

The reference to al-Andalus was not the first by al-Qaeda, which has also vowed to put an end to the Spanish "occupation" of the enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla on the Moroccan coast....

The Algerian-based al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), intends to federate North African Islamist cells under a common umbrella.

Some of the people who could attack Spain may already be in the country, where nearly 80 per cent of prison inmates jailed on charges related to international terrorism have come from Northern Africa over the past five years.

Islamist radicals proselytize at an estimated 10 per cent of Spain's hundreds of unofficial mosques, which operate in garages, basements and the like.

Spain has become an important base for the recruitment of suicide bombers who are sent to Iraq, according to press reports. Some of the fighters are believed to be trained in new al-Qaeda camps in Sahel countries such as Mali, Niger or Mauritania.


http://www.eux.tv/article.aspx?articleId=6283

I swear, al-Qaedia is a puppet of western fear-factories.

al Qaeda is trying to make the Spanish and other Europeans paranoid about all Muslims. The fact is it's a fringe organization and shouldn't be treated like it represents Islam.

Originally posted by DukeC al Qaeda is trying to make the Spanish and other Europeans paranoid about all Muslims. The fact is it's a fringe organization and shouldn't be treated like it represents Islam. The best way to deal with this sort of thing is to strengthen ties between Muslims and other groups in Europe, not to be stampeded into action that is going to make things worse. This is phsycological warfare, nothing more.

Agree with DukeC. If we assume that al-Qaedia wants to destroy the west, then there is only one achievable way to do this, that is to start a civil war in the west.

It doesn't and will never have the numbers to actually pose anything more than a nuisance to anyone. But if that nuisance causes the European non-muslims to attack the European muslims, which will then provoke a retaliation by the non-European muslims, then the west will be embroiled in war and turmoil once again, and al-Qaedia will have succeeded.

The problem with radicals though is it only takes one to a handful to kill hundreds or thousands.

The solution for Spain: Santiago Matamoros !

Originally posted by S&D The thing with al Qaeda now is it's more like a Franchise. Groups take up the same cause and say they are apart of al Qaeda and they probably have no real conection with the big bosses.  Belief in a ideologies are very powerful. And it only takes a interpreting a belief one way to gain many followers.

I think that is a result of the reporting and not the actuallity. For example Abu Saief in the Phillipines is a resistance movement that has its roots in the American invasion of the Phillipines and Mindinao. It is now fighting against the phillipine government for an independent Mindinao, they existed long before al-Qaedia and have naught to do with it, so why are they now called al-Qaedia in the phillipines? Cause the Phillipino government wants american money and assistance in "the war against terror".

Well, actually I think - and our muslim friends can verify or otherwise - that in religious islamic texts it is explicitly stated that Muslim land must never be allowed to be taken by non-Muslims and must be reclaimed.  Perhaps this is the root of this ridiculous statement about reconquest.

It is explicitly stated that if your denied the freedom to practice your religion peacefully that you must fight (peacefully or otherwise) to regain that right. This doesn't necessarily translate into the above, but is often implicitly interpreted that way.

The root of feelings about Spain doesn't have anything to do with religion, it is entirely historical. 500 years of a Spanish genocide, inquisition, and highly anti-muslim laws leave a significant amount of resentment. It is not the reconqista that raises emotions but the expulsions and forced conversions.

So?
All your saying is that the Spanish bear resentment too. In fact using intolerances by the Almohads or Almovads to justify genocide is a really stupid argument.

As latin americans also felt the hard end of forced conversions and cultural assimilation I'm quite surprised that your defending it.


Edited by Omar al Hashim - 16-Apr-2007 at 22:20