Esam Omeish, Jerusalem Day Rally, 12-22-2000, Full Speech

December 22, 2000

http://www.investigativeproject.org/499/esam-omeish-jerusalem-day-rally-12-22-2000-full-speech

Dr. Omeish's full speech:

"(Greetings in Arabic). In the name of Allah the gracious, the merciful, all praise is due to Allah (SWT), our Lord the gracious, the merciful and the prayers of Allah (SWT) be upon our Prophet Muhammad (SAS). My dear respected Brothers and Sisters, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allah His most high. We the Muslims of the Washington metropolitan area are here today in sub-freezing temperatures to tell our Brothers and Sisters in Filasteen that you have learned the way, that you have known that the Jihad way is the way to liberate your land. And we by standing here today, despite the weather and despite anything else, we are telling them that we are with you and we are supporting you and we will do everything that we can, Insh'Allah, to help your cause.

"My dear respected Brothers and Sisters, as we enjoy the last ten days of Ramadan, as we enjoy the last portions of the month of fasting in the blessed month of Ramadan, we must realize that Allah (SWT) as he prescribed fasting upon us in the same Surah and in the same phraseology in the same use of words, Allah (SWT) said that ‘Fighting for just cause has been prescribed upon you as well.' As we experience the spirit of fasting and we experience the spirit for sacrifice for the sake of Allah (SWT), as we experience that which gives up all worldly pleasures for the sake of Allah (SWT), we realize that our Brothers and Sisters in Filasteen have elevated the level of their worship from just fasting to that of giving up everything that they have, giving up their lives, giving up their wealth, giving up their time and energies, and everything they have for the sake of the Muslim holy shrines, for the sake of the Muslim honors. They have indeed stepped up to what the Prophet (SAS) has told his companions when he was asked, ‘What is the reward of al-Mujahid?' He said, (Arabic), he said, ‘You can not do it.' And they repeated the question, ‘Oh Prophet of Allah, what is the reward of the Mujahid?' And he told them, ARABIC ‘You can not do it.' And then they asked him again, ‘Oh Prophet of Allah, what is the reward of the Mujahid?' And he said ‘He is the like of a person who is standing all day long, fasting all day long, praying to Allah (SWT) all day long, never stops, never slows down. That is the reward of the Mujahid until he stops.'

"And so if we are fasting, if we are putting all our efforts into fasting and coupling it with our nightly prayers and Tahajib, and tonight may in fact be the ‘Night of Power', we have done a small portion of what our Brothers and Sisters in Filasteen are doing day in and day out. We need to stand fast by them. We need to share with them their hardships and their Jihad for our sake, for our honor, for the land Muslim of Filasteen, for the land, for the Muslim shrines of Al Aqsa and that lands that surround it. Why is Filasteen in the forefront? Why is the cause in the forefront? Because my dear respected Brothers and Sisters, Allah (SWT) put it in the forefront. Allah (SWT) told us that Filasteen is the land of the Prophets. Filasteen is the land that has been blessed around it, that Masjid al-Aqsa is the Masjid when the Prophet (SAS) stood and led all of the prophets in prayer to emphasize that the message of Islam is the message that prevails upon all humanity; the message of Islam is the guidance for all humanity and the land of Filasteen is where Allah (SWT) has made that message clear to us. We must rise to the occasion, we must step up to the challenge.

"We, as the Muslim community here in the United States, we must rise up top the challenge that faces us. We must realize that we have a responsibility upon our shoulders, not only to show moral support of our brothers and sisters in Filastin, not only to show verbal support for our brothers and sisters in Filastin, but also to let our voice be heard ands let our actions be seen in this country, in our own country here where we can make a big difference, where we can make a lot of changes that will impact the rest of the Islamic world.

"My dear respected brothers, the time of being an immigrant is far gone. The time of being a sideline person is far gone. The time of being marginalized is far gone. We are Muslims, and this is the land of Allah (SWT). We are Muslims and we are in this country. We are taxpayers, we are citizens, we are righteous citizens in this country. We must demand that the policy of this country must be changed so that fair and justice must be ensured. We are no less than 10 million Muslims strong and we must let it be heard. We must let the administration know that we as Muslims, as righteous citizens of this land, we must make it known that the faulty policy of the United States in the Middle East must be terminated; that the use of tax money, of our tax money, to help support the brutal, aggressive regime of the Zionist entity in the Middle East must be terminated. We must stand up and we must let our voices be heard. We must tell them that our brethren in the Far East and our brethren in Filastin are part of us, and the Muslims are but one body; that if one part of it aches, everybody aches. And we must show that acheness must be translated into action, that acheness must be translated into actual doings that will make this administration change its mind about its unconditional support for the Zionist entity in Filastin.

"My dear, respected brothers, the coolness of this day, or the coldness of this temperature, is nothing compared to the struggles our brother are outing up with in Filastin. You must look at the pictures and you will see a 6-year-old child opening his bare chest to the bullets of the Israelis and telling them, ‘Go ahead and fire at my chest.' These are brothers and sisters who are literally giving up their lives to save the honor of the Muslims, and it is time for us to show our strength and our support of our brothers and sisters. My dear respected brothers, let us spare no effort to support the cause in Filastin. Let us spare no effort to stand up top the aggressions of the Israelis and the aggressions of the Zionist entity in Filastin. Let us spare no effort to let our administration know – and we are only across the street – we need to let them know that as Muslims, as people who will contribute to the righteousness of this society, as people who have helped build this society in the best of ways, we are also people who are willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of justice and for the sake of peace in the Middle East.

"We want a peace that will make sure that every person is giving back his righteous place in his land. We want a peace that will ensure that everyone has the right of return to his land. We want the peace that will ensure that Al Quds – Jerusalem - and al Aqsa, the holy shrine of al Aqsa, must be kept under those who will keep peace and under those who will keep justice. Let us not spare any effort to be with our brothers and sisters. Let us remember then in our du'ah tonight as we engage in what may be the lailat al-qadr – the night of power. Let us remember them in our efforts every day. I salute you for coming today in the cold. I salute you for being there for your brothers and sisters, insha'allah. But I also will tell you that what we are doing today is only but very small compared to what our brothers and sisters are doing in Filastin.

"We pray to Allah to bless them. We pray to Allah to bless us all. We pray to Allah to make their feet steadfast, to make their hearts strong and to give them the blessings and victories in this blessed month of Ramadan. I say this, and I pray to Allah to embrace us with his blessings and his forgiveness in this month of Ramadan. And I pray that our community will stay united, united in our causes, united in our efforts. (Arabic words to close)."