At least three of the Guantanamo six are coming home today according to papers. The three are Abdulla Al-Nuaimi, Adel Haji and Salman Al-Khalifa. The government hasn’t announced when they are to actually arrive in Bahrain, probably not wanting a welcoming committee at the airport, which is understandable. They will however present them to the public prosecutor on arrival for further investigation which I sincerely hope to be thorough and if indeed they have been involved in any terrorist activities they should be shown the inside of a Bahraini prison cell faster than they can shout Allah Akbar. Then let their re-integration in society start by psychoanalysing them to arrive at an answer to a very important question: WHY? And as importantly WHO?
If these people come back into the country still loaded with their purported hatreds, then we need to turn them into responsible citizens, we need to find out why they went to Afghanistan and we need to know what they were doing there. And we need to do that publicly as soon as possible.
If we just pat them on the back and pretend that nothing has happened, we are doing ourselves and these people a huge disservice. We most certainly don’t need to throw them any parties and laud them as heros.
As far as I’m concerned they are cowards who have been hoodwinked into doing dastardly deeds that they need not for an instant feel proud of.
And Mr. Government, if you DARE to treat them as heros, or allow others to do so, then you will have only yourselves to blame when WE pick up body parts because of people who have emulated these people start blowing things up in central Manama or any other village in Bahrain.
Be responsible. Investigate them and find out what has been going on before you release them if they deserve to be released, this is the very least you can do to exonerate yourselves and to demonstrate to the whole world that you are capable, responsible and act with honour.
Boys, you should have learnt your lessons, if not, you’re not welcome back. Go back to your Taliban minders. With that said, I demand a full apology from you to the Bahraini people for dragging our name in the mud.
Nothing else will do.
Comments
The boys are coming home
HUH?
The boys are coming home
here’s the thing, the US investigated these guys for a long, long time and i personally doubt that a bahraini investigation would do more..
relatives have said the men were providing humanitarian relief to afghan refugees before being detained by pakistani authorities.. if the US had proof otherwise, then the men would not have been released, instead they would’ve been charged.. the fact that none of those who returned will be charged, at all, speaks for itself..
i’m glad they’re back because that means they’re not terrorists.. i don’t care how extremely fanatically religious they are as long as they’re not hurting anybody.. we can’t demand an apology from these men.. they never got convicted of anything, they never went to trial and they never got charged.. i’m happy for them and their families.. hopefully they will move on now..
The boys are coming home
yea mahmood, what you say is wise. but i am afraid not all bahrainis (esp. in the government) will share this wisdom.
The boys are coming home
The thing that bothers me most is that theses people don’t care about the well being of people who do not agree with them and demand that they should be treated with courtesy when they end up in trouble.
Leif
The boys are coming home
I totally agree with you on this, we need to know why they went there, it is definitely not for tourism purposes, and of course not for kind of purpose one might think of but JEHAD. So if they were arrested there while they were training to kill people, mostly innocent, why they worked so hard to release them? And why every one is praying for their arrival? If they were there under Osama command, then basically they do not differentiate between Muslim and non Muslim , innocent and not innocent as long as they disagree with their Jihad doctrine, and I would assume that this doctrine is not going to be changed by torturing they have gone through.
So should any one be happy for their arrival?
I think they should be exiled because they are extremely dangerous.
[color=darkred][/color]
The boys are coming home
[quote]rehabilitate them into the society[/quote]
i like it .. its like am watching that movie “shawshank redemption” its not nice having them back.
Hashem
The boys are coming home
“if the US had proof otherwise, then the men would not have been released, instead they would’ve been charged..”
I agree with that statement, but one must also realize that the US would not have detained these individuals for 4 years if they had no proof as to their association with any terrorist organization. I, as a Bahraini, do not demand an apology from these individuals because no charge has been made as to their involvement, directly or indirectly, in any terrorist act. However, I agree with Mahmood that these individuals do not deserve a “Hero” welcome.
Peace Y’All
The boys are coming home
Wow, look at those beards. Why not just kill two birds with one stone and have them sweep the streets for us?
The boys are coming home
First thing that needs to be done is to get some SHEEP SHEERS and FLEECE thoese BEARDS. Beards and Turbans most often = “Trouble” with these types. Then house arrests with NO PHONE or Interent connection for at least 2 years.
The boys are coming home
I think the very worst thing we can do is to try to put this all behind us so to speak. To adopt an attitude of “out of sight out of mind.� It’s as much the right of the society itself as it is also the individuals’ to now have a fair, transparent and thorough trial. If found guilty we must be firm in punishing them, but more importantly we need to acknowledge that the blame also lies partly on us.
These were our neighbours, our work colleagues; and if so inclined- the people we sat next to in the mosques. What sort of environment did we allow to flourish where fellow citizens reach this despicable state? If you feel that your influence has been a positive one, well there’s still much to be done, but in the other hand, if like most of us you’ve been complacent -like myself- Well its high time we act.
We should never again stay silent when an imam preaches hatred against others; nor should we allow a school book that has even a faint whiff of prejudice and discrimination to be taught to our sons and daughters. It’s high time we claim back our religion, our children’s education and indeed our culture from those who advocate extremism and violence. We must create a society where picking up arms and killing civilians for any cause is not just objectionable by most of us but unthinkable for all of us.
The boys are coming home
Good grief …must be that sunday feeling… first I submitted the comment to the wrong post, and now I forget to sign it,,,, anyhow the last one “I think the very worst…” is mine folks.
A Saudi
Re(3): The boys are coming home
Solutions? Sure.. Why not. I say the solution rests for the most part with Muslims cleaning their own acts up instead of alienating the rest of the world from whatever “cause” they claim is hip at the moment.
Terror acts around the world, riots in France, terror on the high seas, calls from leaders of muslim nations to destroy Israel, constant treatment of women as third class citizens and the list goes on.
[b]SOLUTIONS[/b]
1) Clean up the Education System
2) TRUE FREEDOM of the PRESS
3)Introduce MORE DEMOCRATIC REFORMS ASAP at an accelrated RATE.
4)Economic reform to stop the BRAIN DRAIN that is happening
5)Stop treating those who support terror in a positive light.
Partial list of course but I think cleaning up the educational system will lead in the long term to taking care of many other problems the Arab/Muslim world is facing.
The Religious Policeman has a good post today here: [url]http://muttawa.blogspot.com/2005_11_01_muttawa_archive.html#113126767844142075[/url]
Re: The boys are coming home
I wholeheartedly agree. It would be very callous to just forget about this and not insist on a fair and public trial or at least a thorough investigation. Doing anything less, as seems very likely already with the flurry of MPs visiting and posturing besides these men, would be a complete injustice to our community, and wider to the whole Muslim nation.
The released men above all need to know that should they be found mistaken, they should feel the whole weight of the law in order for them to recognise their mistakes and that the law will not be trifled with, and for others not to follow in their steps.
I fear however that in the current climate and a completely indecisive and ineffective government that this will not come about. It is much easier for the government to sweep this “incident” under the carpet and just claim that they have assiduously worked to get them released, thus once again lose a golden opportunity to garner the real respect of its citizens and the world at large and more importantly for it to declare that it is the rule of law that governs this country, rather than the rule of personalities.
Re(4): The boys are coming home
“It takes a whole village to raise a child” the proverb goes. Alianating and sidelinging Muslims and being prejudicial about it is not going to help integrate Muslims in the world community nor allay the very real threat of reprisals by both sides. Because there has been this attempt at integration by the various forces in the world by direct and indirect means, the “cleaning our acts up” is already happening. Else do you think that this kind of blog which criticises the establishment (government and governed) would have been possible? Would the excellent Religious Policeman be able to write even anonymously?
No, we have, as have tens if not hundreds of others in the Arab and Muslim worlds, found our voice and are unafraid of using it to the better of our communities. This is a major shift as you well know and will lead to a lot of good things, and these things are happening faster than either of us assume.
Re: The boys are coming home
😆
no worries!
Re(5): The boys are coming home
I agree 100% with you Mahmood. I don’t think we are that far off each other in our thinking. I will be the FIRST to admit I am not the best at expressing my thoughts in writing. Yes you are correct that many are gaining their voices but I say MORE most RAISE their VOICES and condem the very actions that are taking place. And yes I know it is happening. I want what you want and that is an end to the BULLSHIT.
Re: The boys are coming home
I agree with you , A Saudi, that it is high time we claim back our culture from those who advocate extremism and violence. But I do not think that , back in 1980s, it would have played any role if more of us refused to a stay silent when an imam preaches hatred against others. Indeed, some of us, and I dare say most of us, did not stay silent… but the process was simply unstoppable.
John K. Cooley ( [i][b]Unholy Wars[/b][/i], Pluto, 1999) presents an interesting version of the story of the Jihad in Afghanistan.. His accounts present some of the intricate details in the formation of the a Jihad Alliance. (Tariq Ali’s [i][b]Clash of Fundamentalisms[/b][/i], Verso: 2002, includes an account of the evils that emerged from ‘the holy womb of jihad’. )
The list of actors directly involved in the formation of the Afghani Jihad Alliance, is long and highly colourful. By mid-1980s, it included such diverse and apparently unlikely partners: some of the well known names of the wheelers and dealers of the Middle East as well as less known figures such as those who masterminded the Iran/Contra affair. (Does names like CIA Chief Casey, General Secord and Oliver North, or BCCI ring a bell these days?) In addition, there of course were the intelligence services of several countries including the USA, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Pakistan.
The Jihad Alliance was indeed a messy marriage of convenience. John Cooley accounts for three partners in that marriage. The first was made of people who, out of greed or conviction or bother undertook the task of recruiting Arab volunteers, the mujahideen, trained them and led them in the field. The second was made of those who were financially sponsoring the jihad, paying for the recruiters, the trainers, the trainees, and for those mujahideen in the field and their commanders. The third was made of the shadowy men of the major secret services involved, and of arms dealers and drug smugglers. In addition to the officers of various intelligence services, clandestine actors, moneymen, religious activists, there were also regional and world leaders. Cooley describes in some details the political intrigues that brought together leaders of the anti- communist coalition led by President Reagan and Prime Minister Thatcher and included such a colourful lesser actors such as the rulers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Pakistan. To these three categories I would add a fourth one. This is made of the multitudes of clerics, including well known fuquhaa, who preached Jihad and participated in active mobilisation of recruits.
I believe Cooley is right when does not include the recruits themselves in that marriage of convenience. They simply were too small fish to consider in that big game.
Unfortunately for the home-coming boys they were just there when the recruiters started to recruit. And probably they were fool enough to believe that they were going to kill and get killed while raising high the banner of Allah.
And, yes Mahmood, I hope these boys, and others, have learnt their lessons.
AbuRasool
Re(1): The boys are coming home
In trying to know the situation better (thanks again for your insight into this issue) I’m reading the excellent “Saudi Arabia Exposed” by John Bradley in which he also tries to trace at least how the 15 out of the 19 highjackers within the Saudi community and exposes the deep divisions and machinations of the disparate Saudi society, from the Flower Men whose region in Asir by the Yemeni border which produced 12 of those 15 through Al-Jouf by the Iraqi border and passing through Najd and of course Jeddah where he highlights the attempt at moderates influence in the likes of Dr. Sami Angawi and others.
It is a fascinating book and well recommended.
We have to know how these guys were recruited and what they were doing in Afghanistan, even if they were there on a completely humanitarian premises, an investigation must be mounted and its result must be made public so that others won’t fall in the same trap and even if these people are essentially minnows or cannon-fodder.
The boys are coming home
They dont deserve a “heros welcome” at the same time they have been convicted or charged with nothing. I find it a shame that people here and other places are still saying these people are at fault. If no crime can be proved, they are guilty of nothing and have nothing to be ashamed of.
If they are guilty, throw the book at them, if they were doing nothing more than working for legitimate charities providing aid, lets hope they are allowed to get back to the work.
Re: The boys are coming home
Nonsense about the beards and turbans. Some people wear them as signs of religion, others as a culture marker. Being deeply religious, even for a Muslim, does not mean the person is a terrorist. There are many people out there who are deeply religious, as Muslims, but completely reject violence and terrorism. I am one of them.
Re: The boys are coming home
totally agree. What happened to the “innocent until proven guilty” the Americans keep repeating every now and then…
Re(1): The boys are coming home
How can you prove innocence or guilt without a fair trial? The Americans didn’t do it, they jailed and interrogated them and we have no idea what information they provided. Obviously the Americans have no more use for these three and as such have been released. However, WE need to know what they know and why they were in Afghanistan in unambiguous terms. If they are indeed terrorists we can’t let them out until they have reformed. Doing anything else is like giving them whatever budget they need to start giving “Terrorism 101” courses to other impressionable twits.
They’re more than welcome back home, but we need some answers. Like you, I shall assume innocence, but still require they put through the judicial procedure to find out the answers to the questions raised above.
Re(1): The boys are coming home
There is NO “innocent until proven quilty” in war. This is a war. A war muslims arround the world are waging on everyone else. Frankly they are lucky the US didn’t excute them as the US had a legal right to do.
Re(2): The boys are coming home
This is becoming a very tired generalisation. Get over it. Look for solutions rather than perpetuating the problems and alienating those of us who are with you as moderates and liberals.
The boys are coming home
i think these boys need to get laid. and then get laid again. then have a good meal. maybe some wine. or ribena.
and then , maybe then, they will be ready for civilization.
The boys are coming home
You know, Miranda Rights for suspected terrorists need to be adjusted. You have the right to be investigated and interrogated until we feel satisfied of your innocence or guilt. War sucks, as does Osama, see what he has done?
Damnit, I feel there are special circumstances in this war on terror. What kind of trial and procedures do the terrorist give us, “You have the right to be blown up for being innocent?”
BUT I am in favor of some form of Judicial procedure, there is no advantage to holding innocent people.
I do suspect that the US would not let these guys go if they were guilty, so they must have been in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I would hope that if any error is made it is made on the side of caution. The stakes are so high, for the enemy wishes to get their hands on the nuke and millions of lives are at stake. The nature of war has changed in the past POWs were held until the war was over.
If a Bahraini I would think that you would want to be really sure that these unfortunates were indeed not terrorists.
Read the UN charter if that organization was not a bunch of thieving hypocrites and living up to their words we’d have World Marshals swooping
in to put a stop to the injustices of the world that may have caused these problems.
If we’re not blown to kingdom come by radicals with nukes we may have that situation sooner because of the terrorist. I some times wonder if that is the goal of Osama ? Or, it is indeed an ill wind that blows no good.
Lets be wise. I could also think they were released because they informed us about some other worse terrorists. I do not think this is so because they would probably like to disappear into the swamps of Somalia rather then go home.
.
Re: The boys are coming home
That’s about what I expected. All this talk about a fair trial and appeals to justice was just rhetorical cover to bring their jihadis back for a hero’s welcome.
We should have killed them when we had the chance.
Steve
Re: The boys are coming home
Yes, I’m sure these guys are great humanitarians who were just caught by accident running with Al Qaeda. Personally, I like the alibis about going to Afghanistan for a wedding better. They’re much better than the alibis about going to Afghanistan to study Islam.
And yes, if they’re released that means they were never terrorists at all, right? It couldn’t be because they were small fish and the US felt compelled to ease political pressure from Arab allies by kicking a few Gitmo prisoners loose, could it?
How quickly all that talk about giving them a fair trial went out the window. Now the fact that they are released means they’re completely innocent, right?
What a farce.
Steve
Re(1): The boys are coming home
Bloodthirsty once again I see? Your own government hasn’t charged them with anything. That means they are innocent unless that concept just does not have any weight in your mind.
What I and others like me are demanding however that their not being charged by your government not withstanding, we still need to know the truth of why they were in a combat zone and who incited them to be their in the first place because we genuinely want to ensure that others do not emulate them.
Get off the hatred thing Steve. It’s not very practical nor condusive to understanding a situation.
Re(1): The boys are coming home
Meanwhile, I will be watching the media for the day the reports come that they have rejoined their jihadi brothers in their campaign of terror. And what are you going to say when that day comes?
Steve
Re(1): The boys are coming home
The farce is your government who let them out without being charged or ever charging them for any wrongdoing in the first place. Now that they are out and even provided with military transport that the likes of you have paid for (thanks by the way) all the way to their home country and an envelope containing $1,000 and SR500 as well as release papers and a small Quran, what can you deduce from all this? Other than they might well have been innocent in the first place.
However I reitterate once again, what I need to see is them put on trial here or an investigation mounted to find out why they were in Afghanistan and should their purpose be anything close to joining the jihad, then they need to be thrown into prison and forgotten about.
Re(2): The boys are coming home
What do you think? Do you think you’ll find me clapping and jofully dancing in the street?
Re(2): The boys are coming home
I’m not nearly as bloodthirsty as the terrorists, Mahmood. I just want the killers stopped. They want the innocent killed for their religion.
They are not criminal defendants who need to be charged with a crime, no matter how many times you want to apply criminal law to them improperly instead of the international laws of war to them, as they deserve. We did not charge the German and Japanese prisoners we took in WWII. We do not need to charge jihadi combatants with a crime to hold them legally.
This is not a hard situation to understand, Mahmood. Pakistan scooped your boys up, probably on the basis of intelligence we don’t care to share with anyone. They were small fish who gave up what intel they had. Our politicians made a calculation that springing them might buy some good will in Bahrain, an Arab ally. Most Bahrainis know, or suspect, they are guilty as sin of being jihadis but that’s not a particularly bad thing in their eyes. So they blow a lot of smoke about due process and justice, then prepare a big feast for them when they return home to a hero’s welcome. Once free, they will probably abandon any pretense of innocence and start telling war stories of how they fought jihad to an admiring public in Bahrain.
Steve
Re(1): The boys are coming home
[quote]AbuRasool: “And, yes Mahmood, I hope these boys, and others, have learnt their lessons.”[/quote]
The lesson they learned, along with their jihadi comrades, is that even if you get caught red-handed as a member of Al Qaeda, you can talk the foolish Americans into freeing you with a little political pressure from the Arab world. And then you can join the jihad again.
Steve
Re(3): The boys are coming home
That’s quite heartening Steve. But I wouldn’t go comparing myself with terrorists or their thirst for blood.
Once they do that, there should be absolutely no question about throwing them in jail and throwing away the key. Absolutely none.
The boys are coming home
wow this is some deep international shit
The boys are coming home
pretty heady philosophical stuff going on here…but most of all the important thing is…
COMMUNICATION! Which is much more than the world had in the past. The Internet ROCKS!
The boys are coming home
So, what have they done? And what chance does Bahrain have of finding that out if America has already given up? What are you gonna do, torture confessions out of them?
Re: The boys are coming home
Yes, communication is key, but also attitude and acceptance that whatever is different has a right to exist, good or bad (to the extent that it doesn’t physically harm or impose something on anyone else).
It would be great if the views expressed in these forums were displayed in traditional Arab media but I doubt that will happen freely in my lifetime. The internet is a drop in the bucket. A good start, but much more is needed.
The boys are coming home
Mahmood its been a couple of weeks any news. I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed that Bahrain will make some sort of effort to prove to the world they are either innocent or guilty. My country didnt to its shame.
billT
Re: The boys are coming home
Nothing official yet other than they will not be put on trial and won’t be prosecuted. They seem to want to sweep it under the carpet… They have been paraded in front of the press with a few MPs in tow in “look at me look at me” stunts, but nothing, oh, they’re threatening to sue the US for wrongful imprisonment and torture.
I guess they’re working up books and movies deals for all I know.
Such a shame, another opportunity wasted.
== update ==
Ah they won’t sue according to the GDN this morning
Another thing that is interesting from my observation is that I don’t see Nabeel Rajab, who was the only one working for their release in any of their press outings, nor was his name mentioned with a lot of thanks, but all the credit it seems is taken by others much less deserving like the Salafi MPs Mohammed Khalid and Adel Al-Moawdah. I’m surprised too that our beloved and much respected Jassoom Al-Saidi didn’t kill a few camels in their honour.
Re(1): The boys are coming home
You comment is interesting to me. As a Christian raised and living in the USA, I consider myself “deeply religious.” The problem, though, is that some of my fellow “deeply religious” Christians would view me and my views as clearly not “deeply religious.” There are even strains of “deeply religious” Christians who take it upon themselves to judge who is really (or truly) religious and who is not. They live in a world where, by their own making and design, they are right, others are wrong, and it is their appointment to correct those others using any and all means at their disposal. From my perspective, based purely upon my observation and experience, there is a strong correlation between those who view attire and other outward manifestations as evidence of deep religious conviction and those who have appointed themselves as God’s enforcers. A person who will spout off rules and regulations concerning what one can wear, what one can do on the Sabbath, what is the “Christian thing to do,” is a person who, as I said, in my experience, will tell you the role of women in the church, the role of women in society, the role of men, the role of children, etc, and any deviation, is simply “unchristian.” As you might imagine, these roles they would impose are to the best of my understanding more similar to roles common a couple of hundred years ago. The enforcers have a remarkably clear understanding of the will of God, down to the most minute detail, and I find that surprising when their supposed Master Himself seems to maintain a low profile, satisfied even though His many blessings (even His Presence) go unnoticed and unacknowledged except by those with faith. AGA