Anwar al-Awlaki's call to arms

Anwar al-Awlaki, a Yemeni-American Muslim lecturer and preacher, called on American Muslims to turn against their government because of its actions against Muslims around the world. Believed to be a senior talent recruiter and motivator for al-Qaeda and described as “the bin Laden of the Internet,” Anwar al-Awlaki described his own radicalization after U.S. operations against Muslims in his latest message, aired on CNN yesterday.

“I […] came to the conclusion,” he said, “that jihad against America is binding upon myself just as it is binding on every other Muslim. […] To the Muslims in America I have this to say, how can your conscience allow you to live in peaceful coexistence with a nation responsible for the tyranny and crimes against your own brothers and sisters? How can you have loyalty to a government leading the war against Islam and Muslims?”

It was thought that he might have been killed in a pre-dawn air strike by Yemeni Air Force fighter jets on a meeting of senior al-Qaeda leaders at a hideout in Rafd, a remote mountain valley in eastern Shabwa, on December 24, 2009, but this was clearly a forlorn hope: he is as alive as he can communicate his peaceful thought—please don’t forget that Islam is “the Religion of Peace”—by addressing the American Muslims on Cnn.

By the way, just a few hours ago I was appreciating not only how much Islam is a peaceful and loving religion, but also its tolerance and gracefulness towards other faiths...