Some excerpts from Osama bin Laden's broadcast on November 3, 2001, after the invasion of Afghanistan by the US in October:
A person who is guided by God will never be misguided by anyone and a person who is misguided by God can never be guided by anyone.
We must be loyal to the believers and those who believe that there is no God but Allah.
We should also renounce the atheists and infidels. It suffices me to seek God's help against them.
God says: "Never will the Jews or the Christians be satisfied with thee unless thou follow their form of religion."
Under no circumstances should we forget this enmity between us and the infidels. For, the enmity is based on creed.
So the creed of the crusaders and the infidels demands enmity between them and the followers of Allah? Then what about this story, which by rights should be splashed on the front page of every Canadian and Afghani newspaper?
One month ago, a dying, six-year-old Afghan boy arrived at the gate of the Canadian army base in this city, brought by his grandfather in a desperate effort to find help for the suffering child.
Horrified by the huge, infected tumour on his face, and the cancer that had spread to his lymph nodes and liver, Canadian medical staff said they couldn't save the boy's life but would try to ease his pain until he died.
On Tuesday, the boy came back to the base for the first time since that fateful introduction -- his tumour gone, his cancer in extraordinary retreat, and a small, shy smile upon his face -- a living testament to the power of human kindness in this hard and unforgiving land.
"When he first came here there was no indication that he would survive," says Cpl. Brian Sanders, one-half of a miracle-working Canadian tag team that appears to have saved the boy's life.
"Instead of certain death, he now has a 70-per-cent chance of survival."
Sanders belongs to a church back in Canada, the North Edmonton Christian Fellowship, that had been looking for a worthy cause to support in Afghanistan. He e-mailed photographs of Namatullah to the congregation, asking for help.
Within days, the church, along with other Canadians who heard about the boy's plight on the television news, had raised $10,000 to give Namatullah whatever medical care he needed.
Sanders says the money for Namatullah continues to roll in from Canadians, who to date have raised about $18,000 for his continued care.
"If he needs more money, there'll be more coming," he says.
I guess bin Laden didn't read that part of the infidel creed that inspires infidels to help those Allah sees fit to strike down with cancer. Fortunately for this young boy, his grandfather was able to look beyond the hateful rhetoric and see the foreign forces in his country for what they are -- people hoping to help, to put Afghanistan on its feet again, so that it never again is home to those who insist that they are guided by God to kill.
[Of course, this might explain why Islamic fundamentalists feel so threatened by Christians, and why moderates like Afghani President Harzai need to make sure Abdul Rahman is not executed for the crime of making the personal decision to become a Christian. Christians have gone to great lengths to help a Muslim facing death. Seems to me it's only fair to expect the same in return.]
