Egyptian Candidate for President Praises bin Laden as a Martyr
From WikiIslam, the online resource on Islam
According to a Weekly Standard article (September 12, 2011), the man featured in this clip, Egyptian candidate for president Hazem Salah Abu Ismail, "may well follow Mubarak as Egypt's first Islamist president."
It was originally posted on YouTube (August 4, 2011) and later reported on in several Arab media outlets. The subtitled video is below, followed by the full English transcript.
And Osama bin Laden—may Allah be pleased with him—may Allah take great mercy upon him. I ask Allah to accept him with the righteous and the martyrs, O Lord. Do not imagine that a martyr is only someone with whom you've always agreed throughout your life. If you had a different point of view from him, and then he was killed, this would not negate his martyrdom. Now this man (i.e. bin Laden) had religion wealth, and he was able to spend millions in the path of Allah, and speak the word of truth with power. However, he preferred to sacrifice his flesh, his offspring, his family, and his wealth, and go to the front lines to work in the path of Allah. The most glorious among us are always the martyrs. May Allah have mercy on him. The testimony which he obtained was a great fortune. I suppose that he—and Allah is his judge now—is among those of whom it is said, “If only my people knew,” Allah-willing. May Allah take great mercy upon him, and I ask Almighty Allah that the Muslims may soon be able to avenge him, as well as all of the martyrs of Islam, such as ‘Abdallah ‘Azam, Ahmad Yasin, and others, O Lord.
