Hassan Butt leaves the 'network' associated with al Qaeda

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

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But that’s just the start of the recruiting process – it’s bringing them into the tent. Hassan Butt would follow up with young men in his gym in Manchester, England, and in neighborhood pool halls. He says he personally recruited between 50 and 75 people to receive training in Pakistan; thousands more were being recruited elsewhere in Britain.

"We’d talk about the suffering of the Muslims all over the world," Butt tells Simon. "We were very well-versed in the Koran, in the verses of the Koran, in the sayings of the Prophet and show that how it was permissible for people to go around killing innocent men, women and children."

"You would explain to them why it's permissible to kill innocent men, women and children?" Simon asks.

"Well, a better way to put it is, we would take away the innocence from the person so they were no longer innocent men, women and children," Butt explains.

"So, men, women and children would become non-innocents?" Simon asks.

"Become non-innocent and hence, combatants and allowed to be targeted," Butt says.

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He became one of the network’s star fundraisers. Over the next couple of years, he says he raised $300,000.

His biggest contributors? "Doctors. People who were businessmen. Professional people basically who wanted to donate substantial amounts of money," Butt tells Simon.

Butt says he openly told them he was raising funds for Jihad.

And he says he didn’t just solicit from the professional classes: he also targeted criminals, drug dealers who were told that their activities would be cleansed for a percentage of their earnings.

What kind of percentage?

"Twenty percent," says Butt.

The drug dealers were told the 20 percent would legitimize them in Islamic eyes and that the rest of their income was, in Butt's words, "purified."

"As long as the drugs weren't being sold to other Muslims. They were being sold to non-Muslims. In fact, we saw it as a tactic of war to keep, you know, one of the people that I sat with said, 'Well, let's keep poisoning the non-Muslim community in the West. Let's feed their addiction,'" Butt adds.

This was a tactic Butt discussed with the drug dealers and he says it made them feel better for the work they were doing.

..................................................

"What I've come to realize is that killing for the sake of killing, and killing in the name of Islam for the sake of killing, is completely and utterly prohibited. And there's a big disease, a big problem and a cancer in the Muslim world. And it's a very dangerous cancer, and it needs to be dealt with," he says.

How? "And I really believe, if Muslims can pluck up their courage to ask questions, regardless of the consequences, then I do see that there is still hope, you know, to solve, to cure this cancer," Butt says.

Hassan Butt made his about face public last January at Cambridge University, at the debating union. For the first time he revealed that he had left the network and announced his strategy to confront radical Muslims.

"The position of moderate Muslims is that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Do you buy that?" Simon asks.

"No, absolutely not. By completely being in denial about it's like an alcoholic basically. Unless an alcoholic acknowledges that he has a problem with alcohol, he's never gonna be able to go forward," Butt argues. "And as long as we, as Muslims, do not acknowledge that there is a violent streak in Islam, unless we acknowledge that, then we are gonna always lose the battle to the militants, by being in complete denial about it."

Butt’s private life is a shambles right now. His family has called him a traitor to Islam and his former friends from the network have threatened his life. He’s writing a book about his transformation and his challenge to Muslims.

He says he wants to make right what he calls the bad work he did before – bad work that may have included more direct involvement in terrorism than fund raising and recruitment.

Asked if he considered the work he used to do bad, Butt says, "Yeah, absolutely, not just bad work. I mean, bad is an understatement. It's evil, wicked work."

What's the most evil, wicked thing he did?

"It's not something that I want to talk about on camera," he tells Simon.

Asked if he loses sleep over his past deeds, Hassan says, "Yeah."

How does he atone for them?

"Well, hopefully, by the work that I intend to now start," Butt says. "Whatever it costs, I'm willing to make sure I see this through to the end."

[mawilson 2,133]

Was he the Butt of everyone's jokes at Al Qaeda?

[Sofiyya 1,687]

"The position of moderate Muslims is that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Do you buy that?" Simon asks.

"No, absolutely not. By completely being in denial about it's like an alcoholic basically. Unless an alcoholic acknowledges that he has a problem with alcohol, he's never gonna be able to go forward," Butt argues. "And as long as we, as Muslims, do not acknowledge that there is a violent streak in Islam, unless we acknowledge that, then we are gonna always lose the battle to the militants, by being in complete denial about it."

"The position of moderate Muslims is that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Do you buy that?" Simon asks.

"No, absolutely not. By completely being in denial about it's like an alcoholic basically. Unless an alcoholic acknowledges that he has a problem with alcohol, he's never gonna be able to go forward," Butt argues. "And as long as we, as Muslims, do not acknowledge that there is a violent streak in Islam, unless we acknowledge that, then we are gonna always lose the battle to the militants, by being in complete denial about it."

I saw the interview and, as I read, I expected to find this part in bold, and, predictably, I did.

This guy says he asked his handlers why it was permissable to kill innocents in Islam and received no answer. He says now he knows it's not permitted. The problem with talking to former terrorists about Islam is that if they knew anything about Islam, they wouldn't have become terrorists in the first place. Hassan Butt was not then, nor is he now, a reliable source of knowledge re Islam. He was steeped in violent interpretations, and he has yet to truly reinterpret them as they should be reinterpreted. But, I'm sure he will sell books. That's the hot thing right now, former 'Jihadis" selling books.

Edited March 26, 2007 by Green-eyed girl

[Otto 83]

<---- Message for Hassan and others like him... Edited March 26, 2007 by Karin und Otto

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

"The position of moderate Muslims is that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Do you buy that?" Simon asks.

"No, absolutely not. By completely being in denial about it's like an alcoholic basically. Unless an alcoholic acknowledges that he has a problem with alcohol, he's never gonna be able to go forward," Butt argues. "And as long as we, as Muslims, do not acknowledge that there is a violent streak in Islam, unless we acknowledge that, then we are gonna always lose the battle to the militants, by being in complete denial about it."

"The position of moderate Muslims is that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Do you buy that?" Simon asks.

"No, absolutely not. By completely being in denial about it's like an alcoholic basically. Unless an alcoholic acknowledges that he has a problem with alcohol, he's never gonna be able to go forward," Butt argues. "And as long as we, as Muslims, do not acknowledge that there is a violent streak in Islam, unless we acknowledge that, then we are gonna always lose the battle to the militants, by being in complete denial about it."

I saw the interview and, as I read, I expected to find this part in bold, and, predictably, I did.

This guy says he asked his handlers why it was permissable to kill innocents in Islam and received no answer. He says now he knows it's not permitted. The problem with talking to former terrorists about Islam is that if they knew anything about Islam, they wouldn't have become terrorists in the first place. Hassan Butt was not then, nor is he now, a reliable source of knowledge re Islam. He was steeped in violent interpretations, and he has yet to truly reinterpret them as they should be reinterpreted. But, I'm sure he will sell books. That's the hot thing right now, former 'Jihadis" selling books.

He was spot on about that denial part wasn't he?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

"The position of moderate Muslims is that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Do you buy that?" Simon asks.

"No, absolutely not. By completely being in denial about it's like an alcoholic basically. Unless an alcoholic acknowledges that he has a problem with alcohol, he's never gonna be able to go forward," Butt argues. "And as long as we, as Muslims, do not acknowledge that there is a violent streak in Islam, unless we acknowledge that, then we are gonna always lose the battle to the militants, by being in complete denial about it."

"The position of moderate Muslims is that Islam has nothing to do with terrorism. Do you buy that?" Simon asks.

"No, absolutely not. By completely being in denial about it's like an alcoholic basically. Unless an alcoholic acknowledges that he has a problem with alcohol, he's never gonna be able to go forward," Butt argues. "And as long as we, as Muslims, do not acknowledge that there is a violent streak in Islam, unless we acknowledge that, then we are gonna always lose the battle to the militants, by being in complete denial about it."

I saw the interview and, as I read, I expected to find this part in bold, and, predictably, I did.

This guy says he asked his handlers why it was permissable to kill innocents in Islam and received no answer. He says now he knows it's not permitted. The problem with talking to former terrorists about Islam is that if they knew anything about Islam, they wouldn't have become terrorists in the first place. Hassan Butt was not then, nor is he now, a reliable source of knowledge re Islam. He was steeped in violent interpretations, and he has yet to truly reinterpret them as they should be reinterpreted. But, I'm sure he will sell books. That's the hot thing right now, former 'Jihadis" selling books.

He was spot on about that denial part wasn't he?

Denial? The big river in Africa? How does that factor in here?

[Robor007 0]

I'm not touching this one with a 50 foot pole.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Was he the Butt of everyone's jokes at Al Qaeda?

I heard Al Qaeda kicked him out because of his ridiculous last name.

[Ban Hammer 13,334]

Was he the Butt of everyone's jokes at Al Qaeda?

I heard Al Qaeda kicked him out because of his ridiculous last name.

i figured he'd be quite popular in that group