Interview With a Jihadist

The current issue of UK's Prospect Magazine has an interview titled Dying to Kill: Interviewing a British Jihadist. Freelance journalist Aatish Taseer interviews 25 year-old Hassan Butt (yes, his last name is Butt) of Manchester, England. Interesting (and chilling) stuff. I encourage you to read the entire interview. The following is an excerpt that I found interesting:

[Aatish] Taseer: Clearly you have a sense of an enemy. What is the face of this enemy? Is it America?

[Hassan] Butt: At the moment, America.

Taseer: Who else is part of it?

Butt: You have an apparent enemy and a hidden enemy.

Taseer: The apparent enemy?

Butt: The American enemy. As far as I'm concerned, you have America spearheading the attack, followed by Britain, France, the EU, the UN, the World Bank, the IMF…

Taseer: India?

Butt: India.

Taseer: Thailand?

Butt: Thailand, especially after what happened recently. [Attacks on Muslim rebels in the south of the country]

Taseer: What does it take to join the enemy?

Butt: To support them. The Japanese only have 500 troops in Iraq; as a result they've declared war on Islam. China from day one has been testing its nuclear missiles in the Xinjiang province; it's a Muslim province, so China is another enemy of Islam. As far as we're concerned, until an Islamic government makes treaties with these people, the world, for me, is an enemy. But there will be people who we prioritise, so I won't start attacking the South American states. I have bigger and more important enemies to deal with, those who are having direct influence in the Muslim world, like America. [Emphasis by Solaman]

So if I understand Mr. Butt, the "apparent enemies" are those having a direct influence on the Muslim world (i.e. America, Britain, France, India, China, EU, UN, etc.) Who are the "hidden enemies" then? Mr. Butt names at least some of them when he says he won't start attacking South America. In other words, the "hidden enemies" are the non-Muslim countries which are not supporting America and its allies. President Bush famously said, "You are either with us or you are with the terrorists". The terrorists believe that you are either with them or you are their enemy. There are no neutral countries in their eyes.

[HT: Limbic]