Common Hatred: Arabs Flood to Iraq, to Fight America

By Abdallah Daher & Andrea Garrett
CBN News Producer; Senior Reporter

In the desert, for the last few weeks, thousands of Muslim volunteers have set aside their differences and come together, not so much because they love Iraq, but because they hate America.

Arab nations have been fighting among themselves for years. But right now, thousands of Muslims from neighboring Arab countries are coming together, training for war at camps inside Iraq. Footage shows the volunteers who all say they are ready to die as "martyrs" fighting the American "crusaders." They have put aside their differences and stand united under a common hatred.
When Arab leaders met in Qatar for a unity summit a few weeks ago, the meeting quickly turned ugly. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah and Libya's Moammar Ghadhafi denounced each other. And representatives from Iraq and Kuwait engaged in a shouting match, insulting one another on live television.

Iraqi Vice President Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri shouted at a Kuwaiti official, "Shut up you little traitor! Shut up you monkey! I curse your moustache." The Kuwaiti demanded "You must apologize!" as another Kuwaiti official stood up and began waving the Kuwaiti flag.

Islamic nations have been fighting among themselves for years. A recent political cartoon from an Arab website sums it up. It shows two Arab men sitting in wheel chairs, representing crippled Arab nations. In the cartoon, their tongues are swords, and the swords are clashing. Their only weapon is their sharp tongues.

So if the Arab nations in the Middle East cannot get along, what explains an ongoing scene outside of Baghdad right now?

In the desert, for the last few weeks, thousands of Muslim volunteers have set aside their differences and come together, not so much because they love Iraq, but because they hate America.

They are training to fight in the name of Allah against their common enemy — the United States. Trainees from Syria, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Yemen all say they are ready to die defending Iraq.

One Arab, who hid his face as he talked, said, "I am from Saudi Arabia. I came to defend with my brothers and my Arab people from other countries, to fight with our brothers in Iraq. We know all the problems that happen in the area or mostly on all the continents are done mostly by the United States of America. Because they want to be the leaders of this world."

One Tunisian, speaking in French, explained what has been going on in Iraq. "Here there are thousands of people who are training for battle and who are supporting Saddam Hussein up to the final hour," he said.

Some of these would-be martyrs actually went to the Iraqi embassy in their own countries before coming here. They filled out a "martyrdom application," which amounts to a visa that allows them to come and fight on Iraqi soil.

These martyrs-in-training hate America, the West, Christians and Jews more than anything. From the time many of them were children in religious schools, they have been taught to sacrifice themselves for the cause of Islam.

A videotape shows a sheik speaking in a mosque inside Iraq, telling his fellow Muslims, "We are the nation of Mohammad. And for this reason we must prepare for victory. We have two good alternatives: either defeat the Americans and the Jews, or die as martyrs."

All over the Middle East, Muslim clerics call upon all Muslims to join together to fight what they call the "crusaders."

A unnamed Muslim cleric, also caught on video, said at a demonstration in Iraq, "God is great, the victory is for believers. God is great and martyrdom is our most precious wish."

Also inside Iraq, a Muslim cleric named Imam Al-al Nasser Ala told a group, "We're calling for jihad to defend Iraq and our wise leadership."

But it is not just their hatred for America that drives them to sign up for martyr training. These men do it primarily because they believe the Koran teaches them it is their ticket to favor with God, and ensures them an eternal reward.

Footage shows how the fighters are taught the proper way to throw a hand grenade. The technique includes making sure they say, "God is great, God is greater than the Americans, and the Jews, and God is greater than Zionism. "

It may sound silly to a Westerner, but it is a long-standing Muslim tradition to praise God and curse the enemy before going into battle.

The American military expects a decisive victory in Iraq. But for these martyrs, the jihad, or holy war, against America has only just begun.

And to assist in its worldwide jihad against America, Al Qaeda has announced it is forming a women's suicide division. The unit trains women in suicide attacks. Apparently, the division was formed to make up for a shortage of male suicide volunteers.

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