July 18, 2005

"Burn the nasties," says Islamic spokesman of books endorsing Bin Laden . . .

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An Australian Associated Press wire story notes a newspaper investigation that found a number of Islamic bookstores and associations in Sydney selling “books endorsing Osama Bin Laden and discussing the effectiveness of suicide bombings.” According to the AAP report, Australia’s Daily Telegraph found numerous “distressing books” for sale, such as Defence of the Muslim Lands by Sheikh Abdullah Azzam, “which has an endorsement from Osama bin Laden on the cover.” The book includes the following passage about suicide bombing: “The form this usually takes nowadays is to wire up one’s body, or a vehicle or a suitcase with explosives, and then to enter a conglomeration of the enemy and to detonate.” “Muslim community spokesman” Keysar Trad says booksellers should get rid of all such books. “If they’re not wise enough to go through all the material they have on the shelves and assess it and burn the nasties . . . if they’re not willing to do that then we’ll have no option but authorities will have to confiscate such books because it’s not acceptable any more with what’s happening the world.”

Dennis Johnson is the founder of MobyLives, and the co-founder and co-publisher of Melville House.

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