November 29, 2005
by Laura Mansfield
It will probably come as no surprise to Iraqi-born Swedish journalist Salam Karam that a Stockholm mosque is selling audio cassettes calling for a Holy War against Jews. Swedish Radio News reports that one of the cassettes shows a picture of the Statue of Liberty wrapped in a burning American flag.
According to the report, a spokesman for the mosque blamed volunteers for stocking the mosque bookstore with the cassettes. (Sales of material promoting genocide are against the law in Sweden.)
But Salam Karam has had much the same experience that I did. He started investigating the mosque in Medborgarplatsen Square in Stockholm. His goal: to compare the Imam's speeches in Arabic with the interpreters Swedish translations.
He found that violent tirades against the United States and other Western countries were never translated.
His report cites the following example:
“America rapes Islam,” the Imam roars in Arabic from the platform
“We condemn USA:s torture of Iraqi prisoners” says the translator
Another example cited by Salam is the following:
Friday May 14, when SvD visited the mosque, the Imam was talking about the torture pictures of Iraqi prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. Hassan Mousa speaks formal, classical Arabic and roars into the microphone.
“What's wrong with you grandchildren of Mohammed? How long will you endure this humiliation of Muslims without reacting? American and British soldiers, grandchildren of Hitler, are torturing Muslims in Iraq.”
The words sink like a carpet bombing over the hall. Everybody feels them. Many have tears in their eyes. Heads are sunk and eyes are lowered onto the the blue coloured soft carpet.
Minutes later the Swedish translation of the speech is read by an interpreter. In Swedish, the American torture of Iraqi prisoners is condemned, but at the same time the translator emphasizes earlier good works for Muslims done by the US, among others in Bosnia. Not a word on how America is raping Islam, is the enemy of Islam and wants Muslims to be humiliated and under submission.
According to Salam, the Imam denies that the mosque spreads double messages. The Imam blames the Swedish language for the differences:
“It just happened. Arabic is a much richer language than Swedish. It's impossible to translate everything. I usually improvise as I speak as well and say things that aren't in the translation.”
Another example cited by Salam follows:
Quote from the Imam's sermon in Arabic:
“How long will you sit with your arms crossed and watch as the enemies of Islam imprisons your brothers and sisters, torture them, dishonour and kill them? Have we as Muslims sunk so low that we allow American soldiers to rape us and piss on us? Haven't you understood that America doesn't want what is best for the Muslims? Haven't you understood that the only thing America wants is the humiliation of Muslims? Haven't you understood that America wants that the grandchildren of the Prophet submit to Bush.
America will pay the price for all martyrs who have died in Palestine. There are those who are spreading lies in the media, saying that we in the mosque don't think that the former Hamas Leader, Sheik Ahmad Yassin, is a martyr, He is certainly a martyr and the martyr of martyrs. I want everybody in Sweden to know that.”
Quote from the interpreter's Swedish translation of the Imam's sermon:
“We condemn America's torture of Iraqi prisoners. The UN:s treaties forbid torture. We want the Americans who are responsible to brought before the court. America has committed inhuman acts. But at the same time we want to remind Muslims to not judge all Americans alike... Think about all American parents who sent their children to Bosnia in order to help Muslims there.”
How big of a problem is jihad in Sweden?
The infamous Jihadi Kids video, released on the internet in the summer of 2004 showing children reenacting the beheading of American hostage Nick Berg, originated on a Swedish website.
This weekend, a video was released on the internet from Sweden features a man claiming to represent a Swedish group loyal to Al Qaeda terrorist Abu Mus'ab al Zarqawi. The man identifies himself as a member of the Swedish Branch of the Tawhid wa Jihad group. In the video, the man sits in front of a poster with the word Allah featured prominently. A Qu'ran sits beside him, along with two items that appear to be shells which are wired to a third device, presumably a detonator. (See related article at http://www.lauramansfield.com/j/112605_sweden.asp)
It‚s clear that Sweden, like most other western countries, has a serious problem with Islamic radicals.
Houston, we have a problem!
And it‚s not just in the mosques of Sweden. It‚s happening in the mosques of the United states and throughout the world.
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For more translations and news on terrorism, visit http://www.lauramansfield.com