On the anniversary of the September 11 WTC attacks a year ago, MEMRI published a number of translations of Muslims threats to damage and conquer Western nations.

MEMRI, as most readers know, is the Middle East Media Research Institute, which translates from Arabic, Farsi, and other languages the pronouncements of government leaders in the Middle East in order to make them accessible to English—speakers. Many of the translations are outright threats against other countries and religions, which are not necessarily reported to English—speakers.

This year, the threats have not only continued, but heightened in frequency and menacing tone, according to MEMRI Executive Director Steven Stalinsky, citing, for example:

The Ayatollah Ahmad Husseini Al—Baghdadi gave a series of statements from April through May to Al—Jazeera, Syrian TV, and ANB TV, in which he said, "We [Muslims] will conquer the world, so that 'There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah' will be triumphant over the domes of Moscow, Washington, and Paris."

He added, "We will annihilate America."

Stalinsky enumerates a fair number of such statements, selected from among the hundreds (or perhaps thousands) translated by MEMRI each year, and points out that:

This year also saw calls for other world leaders to convert to Islam. On June 15, the Indonesian militant cleric Abu Bakar Bashir called on Prime Minister Howard of Australia and President Bush to convert, saying it was "the only way to save their souls." Iran's Ayatollah Jannati called for Fidel Castro to convert this year, and President Ahmadinejad of Iran invited Mr. Bush to embrace Islam in a now infamous May letter.

The MEMRI Executive Director further notes [emphasis added]:

This past week, Mr. Zawahiri appeared on another video with Al Qaeda's Adam Gadahn, aka Azzam the American, who stated: "The truth of Islam is sweeping across America and constitutes a fearsome challenge to ... the survival of the crusader state [America]."

As the war on terror continues, it is worth quoting a line from Mr. Bush's speech yesterday: "We know what the terrorists intend to do because they've told us — and we need to take their words seriously."

Click on the highlighted link above for the full text of Mr. Stalinsky's report.

The Islamic fanatics have made it quite clear that they intended to conquer and convert or subjugate the world, destroying Israel and murdering as many Christians and Jews as they can while they're at it. Make no mistake about their seriousness or the religious fanaticism which prevents reasoning with their intentions.

Whether or not they can expect eventual success, it is certain that there will be much bloodshed to come as they pursue their quest —— and all the more so if not tempered by very forceful long—term resistance by the forces of democracy, of which American and the UK are the only two major powers so far to recognize the danger and have the guts to stand up against it. And even there, American and UK ostriches who refuse to believe what is clearly being announced and being seen to happen, have become "useful idiots" for our enemies by opposing and obstructing the resistance marshalled by Bush and Blair.

How the cut—and—run crowd, or the Islamic jihad deniers can live with themselves is beyond my ken, unless their minds are operating on some plane where rationality is not a dimension. They are the non—believers who are just as dangerous to our way of life as the Islamists who tell us that only their beliefs are true.

Richard N. Weltz    6 06 06