Justification by some of the attendees for sympathizing with Saddam Hussein, as they claim he is the only one capable of crushing America and lifting the humiliation and degradation from the Muslims.

The questioner : The humiliation of the Muslims and the submission of the Arab nation, with all its peoples and states, has weighed heavily on hearts. Muslims and people in general have come to feel humiliation, disgrace, and shame from these regimes that claim Islam, or that claim disbelief. They have not felt this, my teacher.

The Shaykh : But you said they do not claim, and they do not claim.

The questioner : I said they claim Islam, or they do not claim it.

The Shaykh : Then, do they claim disbelief, or do they not claim it?

The questioner : No, they may not claim disbelief; it is not necessary.

The Shaykh : What did I say? I am asking you.

The questioner : The important thing is, let us focus.

The Shaykh : Take it away.

The questioner : Well, of all these regimes, which ones claim Islam, from which Islam is naturally innocent, or which do not claim Islam? They may claim other methodologies and principles, but the people found their salvation in this man. They are not doing it out of love for them, but they want to break America’s head. They will call upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to support them against them, in the sense of disgracing these disbelieving people who are the enemies of the Muslim nation since we were created on this earth. At least we, this generation, understand that they are calling upon Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to support this man, not out of love for him. I know this. But as I said, all these nations came at the command of America. The British, the Yugoslav, the German, whoever comes, it is all American. He is bringing the command of America. So they want to defeat these people, humiliate them, and rub their noses in the dust at the hand of this man or another. My dear teacher, this is our wish, all of us. We do not believe that Saddam Hussein is the Commander of the Faithful or the Caliph of the Muslims. I do not think anyone disagrees on this...

Another questioner : O Shaykh, please, complete the two matters. They have made two mistakes from your perspective.

Another questioner : We want an opinionThe Shaykh : on this feeling and this emotion that is currently overflowing and abundant.

The Shaykh : Our problem is emotion.

The questioner : But this is reality.

The Shaykh : I remember a hadith, and I have not yet been given the opportunity to verify its authenticity. If religion were based on wishes, I would wish it to be authentic: that the Hour will not come until you see men with no dreams. And I fear, what I most fear, is that this fitnah has revealed the meaning of this hadith, whether it is authentic or not. What are you talking about now? You are talking about emotions. And finally, you said a word: is there anyone who wishes for the Americans to be victorious over the Iraqis?

The questioner : Absolutely not. In my opinion, neither Muslims nor non-Muslims.

The Shaykh : If that is the case, it is not the subject of the discussion. The subject of the discussion is addressing this existing problem today. If the Iraqis fight the Americans, and in the face of the Americans are the Muslims, do we remain neutral, or do we fight the Muslims with the Muslims? You, intentionally or unintentionally, and I do not know what to say after this long discussion, you are not visualizing the situation. You are not saying we want to fight the Muslims with the Muslims. You are saying we want to fight the Americans with the Muslims. Is that not the reality? If that were the reality, all this discussion you have heard until this hour would not have happened. But the reality is that we want to say: is it permissible for us to fight with the Iraqi Muslims, the Egyptian Muslims, the Syrian Muslims, the Saudi Muslims, who are the vanguard of the Americans? This is the reality.

The questioner : As long as they have accepted to be in this position.

The Shaykh : My dear friend, I do not want the answer from you right now. I want you to visualize the subject when you want to enter it. Do not say, "What do you think about fighting with the Iraqis against the Americans? Do we fight the Americans or not?" That is not the subject. The subject is: do we fight with the Iraqi Muslims against the other Muslims who are the face of the Americans? This is how you must present the picture. Then say what you wish, and at that time the subject will be discussed.

The questioner : Let us assume another hypothesis: that the Americans will enter Iraq themselves. You say, "Fight the Americans."

The Shaykh : We are saying, and we have said, no, that is not the end. We have not addressed the reality. Well, this is a picture. I answered you; answer me. Allow me to give this answer and the matter is over. You are not giving the answer.

The questioner : As long as these people have accepted to stand in this row and in this position, it means their blood has become lawful for the Muslims. This is what I am saying... An enemy, one person, and my brother, the son of my mother and father, stands with him and carries a weapon with him. This is an oppressive enemy who has joined with him. He becomes like him. He has sold his blood to the Muslims. I want to hear an opinionThe Shaykh : on this.
The attendees: ...

The Shaykh : O Doctor, may Allah reward you. Is it not supposed that the Americans, if they attack the Iraqis, would occupy their land? Why do you not give a clear answer on the subject? Because you have thought of a necessary matter, is that not what is supposed? When the Americans want to fight the Iraqis, do they not have to occupy their land, along with Kuwait? Yes or no? What do you think? Will they send Muslim soldiers or American soldiers to occupy the land of the Muslims? Please, give me an answer.

The questioner : The answer is, I do not know. They may send these, and they may send those.

Another questioner : ... A difficult position. Saudi tanks, then Egyptian tanks, and by Allah, I am protecting you from the missiles. All of this is one battle.

The Shaykh : O Sir, that is correct.

The questioner : The planes above are American, striking the artillery. The Iraqi ones are... with the missiles. There are Egyptian ones. It is one battle.

The Shaykh : But excuse me, you did not answer my question, my dear friend. You mentioned tanks and planes, and so on. Will the tanks in the first row contain American soldiers or Muslim soldiers? Do you think that those who want to descend in the first convoy to occupy the coast of Kuwait or the coast of Iraq will send the Americans or the British with their soldiers to protect the Muslim soldiers?

The questioner : Allow me to answer you.

The Shaykh : I am asking you so that you answer me.

The questioner : Sir, the battle is not a battle of a column of tanks facing a column of tanks.

The Shaykh : I did not say that, O Doctor.

The questioner : I did not come to ask for a visualization.

The Shaykh : The one who visualizes, my brother, does not mention anything. I am not Tariq. They are not Tariq.

The questioner : Let him give you his visualization.

Another questioner : O my dear Sir, the battle now, and wars now, although I am a man whose knowledge of the military is limited, is not a battle of tank against tank, or plane against plane, or battleship against battleship, or infantry against infantry. The battle is taken as a whole, as a strategic battle, from A to Z, involving all weapons, all technology, and all fighters at their various stages. It may begin with an air bombardment, or it may begin with a land bombardment, or it may begin with the advance of tanks, or it may begin with the advance of gases. The battle is in its entirety, us.

The Shaykh : May Allah bring you, O long patience, O Professor.

The questioner : If the one flying above is striking the Iraqi army, how do I know if the one sitting above is Egyptian, or Saudi, or one of the Kuwaiti pilots who fled, or American? This is in the trench of battle. How do I know who he is? These are the group, the Egyptians, the Saudis, and the Americans, making one group. What can I do?

The Shaykh : Be patient a little, be patient! You have brought me in, O Doctor.

The questioner : No, O Sir, I answered you.

The Shaykh : You answered? I am telling you, it is over, it is over, it is over. Did you answer my question?

The questioner : Yes, my master.

The Shaykh : I do not think you answered, unfortunately. I say, you are telling us, "Let us talk, please, talk." You talked, you finished, but we did not get the answer. Now I want to ask a question other than that question, because it appears there is no room for an answer to that question due to its difficulty, although it is the easiest thing. If you said you know something of military systems, I am not like that, but I have a mind that judges, and I have Shari'ah texts that I follow. Is the explanation you gave us about the outcome of the war: will Iraq be emptied of the fighting soldiers, American, British, Saudi, Egyptian, and so on? Will Iraq be under the hand of the Iraqis, or is it necessary for the soldiers of the belligerents to descend into Iraq?

The questioner : ... They have to enter upon them.

The Shaykh : You haven't answered me. Tell me, my friend, I am showing you that the coalition forces overpowered the Iraqis with these weapons that you have specialized in; someone else would specialize more. When the troops land, the path will not be paved with roses; there will inevitably be resistance in the corners, roads, and streets, as is well known. So, do you imagine that a British or American army will land on the Iraqi coast, or will it be our Muslim soldiers?

The questioner : The problem is, I doubt that Muslims will land. If I were conducting the battle, I would not bring in a Saudi soldier.

The Shaykh : Look, he said he is conducting the battle.

The questioner : It is known, sir, who told you that the Saudi soldier will die, or the Egyptian soldier?

Another questioner : I swear by Allah, I want to say this without bias.

The Shaykh : Did you hear what he said?

The questioner : Personally, my feeling is that the American Marines will land. And I do not say this out of enthusiasm for the victory of the opinion, but if they want to win the battle, they have to invade. The ones who will land are the American Marines; they are the trained ones...

The Shaykh : And all the Arab armies are just watching? I am asking a question: are they just watching?

The questioner : The commander of the allied forces, the forces of disbelief, said with his own tongue: if the Egyptians had sent soldiers or Egyptian shoes, the matter would not have been... Two reasons: first, because they would not fight in the first place; second, the Arab soldiers present there are only to legitimize the presence of American forces.

The questioner : If what you are saying is true, the enemies would not have entered Iraq or Kuwait before. Allow me to speak, or... The main objective and the greatest fear of the Americans is human losses. The greatest human losses occur in a land invasion. The Americans did not enter the land to fight the Iraqis on their soil, and the Americans did not kill...

The Shaykh : They would not be the scapegoat.

The questioner : If an entry is to happen, it will happen.

Another questioner : Let me give you the picture that all military analysts are saying: the battle will be as follows. They will keep... Iraq with long-range weapons and... and missiles until it becomes... When they land, it will be over.

The Shaykh : This is impossible. This is imaginary talk. No battle has ever happened with this strategy; it is contrary to reality, Professor.

The questioner : Ask for what is reasonable. A soldier is sitting in a trench, and a tank is coming at him. Do you want him to think that the tank has an Egyptian or a Jordanian on it?

The Shaykh : Look at this talk? This is strange talk.

The questioner : A question.The Shaykh : It is not like that, question.The Shaykh : It does not say you start.

The Shaykh : Why, Doctor? You are also getting excited about the topic. But why do you say that you do not imagine who is telling you that he imagines this picture? Are these Muslim armies free, or are they under American command?

The questioner : Unified command.

The Shaykh : Allow me, sir. I am asking you a question that is not being answered. My brother, what happened? What is to happen is under Arab command.