Phil Taylor's papers
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BACK TO : PROPAGANDA AND THE GWOT Year 3 - 2004 (mainly Iraq)
Pro-terrorism pop stars sell hate in Muslim neighborhoods by Jospeh Farah 
FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN Musical jihadists in U.S. Pro-terrorism pop stars sell hate in Muslim neighborhoods Posted: January 26, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern Editor's note: Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin is an online, subscription intelligence news service from the creator of WorldNetDaily.com - a journalist who has been developing sources around the world for the last 25 years. © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com Pro-jihadi activists in North America, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, use Arab pop stars as a tool to disseminate their propaganda, reports the premium online intelligence newsletter Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin. At the top of the list of pop stars and artists recommended by the militants is the Egyptian song writer Sha'ban Abed al-Rahim. The songs imported into the U.S. include praise of attacks against the U.S. and even justification of the Sept. 11 massacre claiming, "listen people, it was only a tower. I swear by Allah that they, the U.S., are the ones who pulled it down." Other songs by the same artist and some by other performers ridicule the U.S. war against terrorism, the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq and Jews in general. One of those highly successful lyrics in Egypt describes the U.S. road map to peace as a road map to destruction. The song called "Kharittat al-Tariq" means "The road map," uses idioms portraying President George Bush as a liar, claiming that with Israeli help the U.S. is turning the whole world into a jungle. Audio cassettes and CDs with such hate songs are imported into Canada and the U.S. as cultural items. They can be found in corner stores in predominantly Muslim neighborhoods in major U.S. cities, in mosques and on Internet radio networks. Customs officials say there is no ruling whether to search for such material and other propaganda tools, suggesting it is impossible for customs officers to read and understand labels of hate material printed in Arabic. Not only that but experts on homeland security and on the Patriot Act caution the issue could be dragged for years through U.S. and Canadian legal systems because promoters of terrorism will claim freedom of speech. Abd Al-Rahim's new album recently was reviewed in the Cairo Times. The song describes how "America is the spitting image of Israel and it carries out its desires, making the world into a 'jungle.' But it does not stop at that point. Abd Al-Rahim goes on to boldly sing that the USA is the perpetrator of the September 11th attacks," reports the Cairo paper. "Al-Rahim further sings that they purposely did it to make people think that Arabs and Muslims are terrorists and were behind that disaster. Now the U.S. can do what it pleases to the Arab world since everyone thinks they are to blame." The song also mentions President Bush, quoting from some of his speeches. One line states, "Sometimes [Bush] says Iran and sometimes he says Syria," and "He shortens his speech if someone says Korea." Al-Rahim's chief songwriter, who previously wrote hits entitled, "I Hate Israel" and "Striking Iraq," penned the road map song. "The album includes another nine songs that reflect the mood of the Egyptian street... Despite the fact that the album has not been released yet, the road map song has been a success on the music scene. Abd Al-Rahim has been doing publicity for his new song by singing it at wedding parties and in TV interviews," the Cairo Times reported. One fan named Muhammad, who has memorized the lyrics of "Road Map," said, "To me, this is the first public and daring accusation made against America concerning the September 11th attacks, and the song will soon be the No. 1 hit in the Arab world." |