Qaeda Sympathizers Turn to Rap to Battle 'Infidels'
By Miral Fahmy
DUBAI (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's newest weapon against the West is a violent English-language rap tune urging young Muslims to wage holy war.
The song is being broadcast on the Internet in an attempt to lure music-loving youth into the terror network, which is blamed for the September 11, 2001 attacks on U.S. cities and other bombings around the world.
Titled "Dirty Kuffar" or "Dirty Infidels," the song is performed by a London-based group which Islamists said was deeply sympathetic to Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s network.
A music video accompanies the catchy yet violent lyrics, belted out by the group's lead singer Sheikh Terra -- rap lingo for terror -- and the Soul Salah Crew, a take-off on gritty British rappers So Solid Crew. Salah means righteousness or piety in Arabic.
The song calls on Muslims to wage jihad, or holy war, against "Crusaders and apostate Arab rulers," saying they will be "thrown inna fire."
"Be prepared for the battle with the infidels," it says.
The video, which uses footage from news agencies and television, opens with images of a U.S. soldier killing an Iraqi man and then cheering.
"Dirty Kuffar wherever you are; From Kandahar to Ramallah; OBL (Osama bin Laden) Crew be like a shining star; like the way we destroy them two tower ha ha," one singer raps in front of images of the September 11 airliner attacks on New York's World Trade Center.
Another frame shows the balaclava-clad Sheikh Terra, brandishing a pistol and a Koran, while denouncing a long list of Arab and Western heads of state -- mostly from countries that have cracked down on militant groups -- as "dirty infidels."
In the video, al Qaeda's second in command Ayman al-Zawahri morphs into a lion while President Bush (news - web sites) becomes a chimpanzee. Saudi Arabia's King Fahd turns into a devil and Egypt's "apostate" President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) becomes a vampire.
The video also shows Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites), reviled in the Middle East for his hardline policies against Arabs, turning into a pig. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat (news - web sites) is labeled a traitor.
Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) is not spared -- a text reading "Allah doesn't protect tyrants" is superimposed on images of the bushy-haired Saddam shortly after U.S. troops captured him in December.
"Send 'em home in body bags," reads another blurb above images of U.S. troops in Baghdad. A U.S.-led military force toppled Saddam in April.
Reuters received a copy of the video from the Committee for the Defense of Legal Rights, a London-based Islamist group headed by Saudi dissident Muhammad al-Massari.
― Gear! (Gear!), Tuesday, 10 February 2004 04:14 (twenty-two years ago)