Sometimes Physicians And Other Sick Care Workers May Behave Differently From What You Expect

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Walt Bogdanich’s 1991 book, The Great White Lie: How America’s Hospitals Betray Our Trust And Endanger Our Lives, documented some episodes of apparent crimes (e.g., serial killing) by physicians and other sick care workers.

The New England Journal of Medicine, New York Times and The Lancet have printed pieces suggesting that US physicians and other sick care workers behaved badly, even criminally, at Abu Ghraib:

Writing in the July 29, 2004 The New England Journal of Medicine, psychiatrist Robert Lifton, placed the behavior of physicians at Abu Ghraib on a continuum of behavior in direct line with the Nazis, who, “In addition to cruel medical experiments, many Nazi doctors, as part of military units, were directly involved in killing.”

According to Steven H. Miles, a University of Minnesota internist and geriatrician, “At the operational level, medical personnel evaluated detainees for interrogation, and monitored coercive interrogation, allowed interrogators to use medical records to develop interrogation approaches, falsified medical records and death certificates, and failed to provide basic health care.”

M. Gregg Bloche, an attorney, stated in a New York Times op-ed piece, “(military doctors and nurses who examined prisoners at Abu Ghraib) returned the victims of torture to the custody of their victimizers. Rather than putting a stop to torture, they tacitly abetted it, by patching up victims and staying silent…By staying silent for months, until an inquest began, doctors and nurses abandoned their patients.”

“The Hippocratic Oath…is one of the oldest binding documents in history. Written in antiquity, its principles are held sacred by many doctors to this day. ‘The Oath of Hippocrates,’ holds the American Medical Association's Code of Medical Ethics (1996 edition), ‘has remained in Western civilization as an expression of ideal conduct for the physician.’ Today, most graduating medical-school students swear to some form of the oath, usually a modernized version. Indeed, oath-taking in recent decades has risen to near uniformity, with just 24 percent of U.S. medical schools administering the oath in 1928 to nearly 100 percent today.” [i]

Psychiatrist Robert Lifton, commenting on the reported situation at the Abu Ghraib prison, made special mention of it in his July 29, 2004 article that appeared in The New England Journal of Medicine [ii], “Moreover, the Hippocratic Oath declares, ‘I will use treatment to help the sick according to my ability and judgment, but never with a view to injury and wrongdoing.’" [iii] His use was in support of a physician’s duty not to participate in torture. One could reasonably extrapolate from this to suggest that physicians have a direct duty not to kill or damage or cause others death, injury, disfigurement, etc.

“The exact wording of the original oath has long been subject to dispute, as translations and interpretations of the original Greek have varied. Complicating the picture are the many "modernizations" of the oath which take into account changes in language, social mores, and medicine itself over the centuries.” [iv]

Still, the Hippocratic Oath is broadly understood to contain a direct proscription against physician violence.

The phrase, “First, do no harm” or “Above all, do no harm,” is the frequently used shorthand to convey the essence of the Hippocratic Oath. The belief is that neither of these exact phrases was part of the original Oath. Still, either has become so associated with the Hippocratic Oath that the National Institutes of Health publishes a version that begins with these words. [v]

There are other professional prohibitions against physician violence.

The World Medical Association International Code of Medical Ethics [vi] specifically states under the “Duties Of Physicians To The Sick” that, “

A PHYSICIAN SHALL always bear in mind the obligation of preserving human life.

The DECLARATION OF GENEVA [vii] maintains:

AT THE TIME OF BEING ADMITTED AS A MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION:

I SOLEMNLY PLEDGE myself to consecrate my life to the service of humanity;

I WILL MAINTAIN the utmost respect for human life from its beginning even under threat and I will not use my medical knowledge contrary to the laws of humanity;

I MAKE THESE PROMISES solemnly, freely and upon my honor.

Adopted by the House of Delegates of the American Medical Association

in San Francisco, California on December 4, 2001,  The “Declaration Of Professional Responsibility Medicine’s Social Contract With Humanity” [viii] states in its Preamble, “Wars and acts of terrorism enlist innocents as combatants and mark civilians as targets… Today, our profession must reaffirm its historical commitment to combat natural and man-made assaults on the health and well being of humankind. Only by acting together across geographic and ideological divides can we overcome such powerful threats. Humanity is our patient. Further, in its Declarations, this document asserts,

“We, the members of the world community of physicians, solemnly commit ourselves to:

I.          Respect human life and the dignity of every individual.

We make these promises solemnly, freely, and upon our personal and professional honor.

The AMA and Declaration of Geneva expand the duties owed by a physician to include those who are not necessarily sick (i.e., “humanity”) and describes a pattern of behavior for all doctors (e.g., “the world community of Physicians.”).

The languaging of these Oaths and Declarations leaves little wiggle room or space for interpretation as to physician behavior: “Above all, do no harm,” “I will maintain the utmost respect for human life,” “A physician shall always bear in mind the obligation of preserving human life.”

Bottom line: Physicians, adhering to these Oaths and Declarations, generally made “solemnly, freely, without coercion and upon (one’s) personal and professional honor,” have no choice but to respect and preserve life under any and all circumstances.

The Islamic Medical Association of North America ("IMANA”) makes the Oath of a Muslim Physician [ix] available to the world. It can be accessed from the IMANA Website. [x] According to IMANA, this oath “was officially adopted by I.M.A. in 1977.” (IMA is presumably the Islamic Medical Association.) This Oath ends with the following words:

“Hereby we take this oath in Thy name, the Creator of all the Heavens and the earth and follow Thy counsel as Thou has revealed to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).

‘Whoever killeth a human being, not in liew of another human being nor because of mischief on earth, it is as if he hath killed all mankind. And if he saveth a human life, he hath saved the life of all mankind.’ (Qur'an V/35)”

Compared to the other Oaths and Declarations [xi], the Oath of a Muslim Physician appears to be unique in its possibly more conditional nature. The phrase, “not in liew of another human being nor because of mischief on earth,” suggests, licenses, allows or can certainly be interpreted or misinterpreted as to give understanding to a physician taking this Oath and who “killeth a human being,” that the killing is okay as long as it is “in liew of another human being” or “because of mischief on earth.” [xii]

“Mischief on earth” has also been translated as “corruption” on earth.

So who are the corruptors and mischief-makers?

We have guidance from some apparent experts:

“Non-Muslims ‘cannot be called human beings but are animals who roam the earth and engage in corruption.’ said Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati last week at a ceremony in north-eastern Iran to commemorate the 'martyrs' of the Revolutionary Guards and the war against Iraq (1980-88).”[xiii]

"The non-Muslims are [like] those animals that graze, chew their cud, and cause corruption." [xiv]

“…in 1988, the singer of ‘Peace Train’ authored an ‘informational pamphlet,’ called ‘Eyewitness,’ containing these words:

‘The Jews seem neither to respect God nor his creation. Their own holy books contain the curse of God brought upon them by their prophets on account of their disobedience to Him and mischief in the earth. We have seen the disrespect for religion displayed by those who consider themselves to be ‘God's chosen people.’” [xv]

Also:

"'The sons of Israel are mentioned as those who are corrupting humanity on earth,' Abbas said...," quoting Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), the leader of Fatah and Yasser Arafat's replacement.

(From: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=53732)

Also unlike the other Oaths and Declarations, the Oath of a Muslim Physician contains the added dimension of religious quotation. As with all religious writings, there is opening to interpretation. The quoted Sura, V/35, appears in the Arberry Koran [xvi] as:

“…whoso slays a soul not to retaliate for a soul slain, nor for corruption done in the land, shall be as if he had slain mankind altogether.”

This interpretation of the Koran, hailed by Wilfred Cantwell Smith of Harvard University as “…the one that comes closest to conveying the impression made on Muslims by the original,” provides some insight as to an understanding of this Sura.

The terrorist physicians (as some may interpret their actions) killing or harming others or causing others to be killed or harmed may believe that it is permitted by Oath for the purposes of “retaliation” or perceived  “corruption in the land.”  As an example, the historically physician-led Hamas organization frequently justifies its attacks by proclaiming that its assaults are in “retaliation.” [xvii]

Some might argue that certain physicians provided this quality of care well before the adoption of the Oath in 1977. Or, even those who have not taken the Oath, may be in agreement with it.

As IMANA states, “This medical oath [which] is a composite from the historical and contemporary writings of physicians of (the) Islamic World.”  The Oath would appear to be merely a reduction to writing while the concepts comprised by it were in play well before 1977 and wider spread in the Muslim world thereby providing justification for a sick care outcome different from that a patient might desire. 

Another possibility for unexpected physician behavior is the subordination of the physician's mentality to a particular interpretation (or misinterpretation, you decide) of Islam—a situation where non-Muslims may be perceived as inferiors. [xviii]

“Infidel” is a term applied to describe non-Muslims [xix] and can be interpreted quite inclusively [xx].

The Koran has been understood to contain a specific command to wage a war against non-Muslims:

"Fight those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and do not forbid what God and His Messenger have forbidden -- such as men who practice not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book -- until they pay the tribute out of hand and have been humbled." (Repentance 9:25)[xxi] [xxii]

Where the infidels are not killed, they are to be subject of “tribute.” This tribute is known as “jizya.” [xxiii]  If the jizya could not be paid, slavery might result. [xxiv] They were also subject to the dhimmi laws. [xxv] [xxvi]

Recently [xxvii] and today, there is still talk of jizya [xxviii], violence against and subjugation of non-Muslims [xxix] and restoration of the Caliphate (together with its attendant meanings). [xxx] Perhaps this language is the language of misunderstanders of Islam.

Quite possibly a religion-based system that can be interpreted or misinterpreted to divide peoples, demand protection money until the payors “have been humbled” and advocate fighting against and the killing of non-believers could lead to physicians’ involvement in what some might consider as behavior unbecoming a physician (as is classically accepted in the West, for example). (See here, here and here.)

Of course, other sick care workers may be subject to similar propensities. Physicians have been used merely as examples.

Some people would not consider the following to be terrorist organizations. Some would. Their relationships to physicians are described.

Physicians are or were either in charge of, near to the top of or involved with these major terror groups.

Al-Qaeda:       Born in 1951, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, is a licensed physician and the Number Two of al-Qaeda, just a heartbeat away from bin Laden's Number One spot. Dr. al-Zawahiri is also the Number Two most wanted terrorist in the world, after only bin Laden himself. Dr. Zawahiri is reported to be a surgeon [xxxi] and/or a psychiatrist. [xxxii]

“His grandfather is one the former Imams at the Al-Azhar mosque, and his other grandfather from his mother’s side, doctor Abdul Wahab Azzam had several significant posts. He was an eastern literature professor and the dean of the school of arts and the president of Cairo University, then he was the ambassador of Egypt to Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, at the same time he was considered one the greatest Sufis in Egypt where they named him the ‘diplomatic Sufi.’” [xxxiii] [xxxiv]

His father was Dr. Mohammad Rabi’ Al-Zawahiri, a professor at the medical school of Ain Shams University, one of the most famous doctors before he died in 1995. [xxxv] There is some data to suggest that Zawahiri the Elder was a pharmacologist. [xxxvi]

In February 1998, bin Laden and Dr. al-Zawahiri The Younger issued a fatwa [xxxvii] [xxxviii] under the aegis of "the World Islamic Front for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders" saying that "to kill Americans and their allies, civilians and military, is an individual duty of every Muslim who is able." Interestingly, this doctor’s prescription was given the same year as the first major terrorist act reliably attributed to al-Qaeda: the embassy bombings in East Africa, which resulted in about 300 deaths. [xxxix]

According to the Center for Defense Information [xl], Dr. al-Zawahiri is a leading figure in Egypt's Islamic Jihad which continued as an independent group until 2001 when it was formally folded into al-Qaeda. He was jailed for three years in connection with the murder of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat at a military parade in 1981.

Charges against Dr. al-Zawahri include ordering the attempted assassination of Egyptian interior minister Hassan al-Alfi in August 1993. He is reputed to have run a Jihad training camp near Kabul, capital of Afghanistan.

The names under which he practices terror-care include Abu Muhammad, Abu Fatima, Muhammad Ibrahim, Abu Abdallah, Abu al-Mu'iz, The Doctor, The Teacher, Nur, Ustaz, Abu Mohammed, Abu Mohammed Nur al-Deen, Abdel Muaz.

Al-Zawahiri’s areas of specialization include assassination and homicide bombing; his office staff is an army of mujahideen fighters; his practice of jihad medicine is global.

Dr. “Abu Hafiza is a Moroccan psychiatrist and a master planner for Al Qaeda.

In the Spring of 2003, while secretly traveling undetected to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, Abu Hafiza recruited Al Qaeda combatants for the battles in Fallujah.

He again secretly traveled undetected to Pakistan, in the fall of 2003, this time to the mountains of Waziristan, where he met Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri to propose strategies for Al Qaeda's 2004 campaign. He claimed that Iraq would be Al Qaeda's battlefront where it would confront the United States. His intention with the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks was to damage Spain's "psyche" in order to influence elections and to start a domino effect which would eventually affect Britain's Tony Blair, Italy's Silvio Berlusconi, and the U.S. President George W. Bush.

‘After knocking over one domino after another, we will stand face to face with the key domino, the United States.’ - Abu Hafiza” [xli]

“Since the mid-1990s, Hafiza has been part of the tight bin Laden-Zawahiri circle. He was the brains and commander of the Moroccan cell that provided logistics for al Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks. Their lead hijacker Mohammed Atta, under orders from Hafiza confirmed by Zawahiri, paid a brief visit to the Spanish city of Tarragona to pull the operation’s last ends together with the Moroccan cell. Intelligence agencies are still very much in the dark about how Atta’s Hamburg cell worked with the al Qaeda network in Madrid, Tarragona, Tangier and Casablanca. It is rarely mentioned that a good deal of the preparatory work for the September 11 attacks was done in Morocco or locations on the Mediterranean coast across from Spain.

Hafiza pulled strings similarly for the April 2002 attack on the 2,000-year-old El Ghriba synagogue on the Tunisian resort island of Jerba that killed 21 people, and the May 2003 bombings in Casablanca in which 45 people died.

The strategist-psychiatrist is currently in charge of operational interchanges between all Qaeda’s Moroccan rings in Spain and Morocco and the cells in Saudi Arabia.” [xlii]

Hamas:            Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, is a pediatrician who trained at the University of Alexandria Medical School. [xliii] Dr. al-Rantisi led Hamas.

Hamas terrorists have conducted many attacks—including large-scale homicide bombings against civilian targets, generally in populous city areas. [xliv] Between the years 2000 and 2004, hundreds of Israeli civilians were killed in these homicide attacks. Many hundreds more were injured, mutilated and crippled. Hamas includes civilians as "military targets" by virtue of living in a highly militarized state with military draft.

On March 28, 2004, Dr. al-Rantisi stated in a speech given at the Islamic University of Gaza City that "America declared war against God. Sharon declared war against God, and God declared war against America, Bush and Sharon." [xlv]

Hamas is considered a terrorist organization by the United States [xlvi], the United Kingdom [xlvii] and the European Union [xlviii].

The charter of Hamas cites a number of anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. It claims that The Protocols of the Elders of Zion are genuine [xlix]; and that the Freemasons [l], Lions Clubs [li] and the Rotarians [lii] all secretly "work in the interest of Zionism." [liii] Hamas members further allege that the Jewish people are collectively responsible for the French Revolution [liv], Imperialist colonization[lv], Communism [lvi], both World Wars, really, all wars (“There was no war that broke out anywhere without their fingerprints on it.”) [lvii] Top Hamas leaders are promoters of holocaust denial. Dr. Abdel Aziz al-Rantissi held that the Holocaust never occurred, that Zionists were behind the action of Nazis, and that Zionists funded Nazism. [lviii]

Hamas uses female suicide bombers, including a mother of six [lix] and a mother of two children under the age of 10 [lx]. Pediatrician al-Rantisi sent explosives-bearing young Arab homicide bombers to blow up themselves together with Israelis.

An obituary in the British paper Observer [lxi] described him as "the man who loved the Palestinian children so much that he admitted openly that he was prepared to slaughter Israeli infants to guarantee the future of their Palestinian counterparts." [lxii]

Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, a surgeon and lecturer at the Islamic University in Gaza [lxiii], led Hamas following Dr. al-Rantisi. [lxiv] [lxv]

“Al-Zahar was born in Gaza to a Palestinian father and an Egyptian mother. He studied medicine at Cairo's Ain Shams University, specializing in general surgery. It was in Cairo that he was influenced by Egypt's oldest and largest Islamist organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, whose ideology nourished Hamas.” [lxvi]

Dr. al-Zahar was elected chairman of the Arab Medical Association of Gaza in 1990 [lxvii]. Before Dr. al-Zahar took control of Hamas, he functioned as a Hamas spokesman, was Sheik Ahmed Yassin's (the spiritual leader of Hamas) personal physician and had been al-Rantisi's deputy.

Dr. al-Zahar, has described the PLO-Hamas relationship as being “like the wings of a bird...that work together.” Of Reem Raiyshi, the 22-year-old mother of two small children who blew herself up at an Israeli checkpoint and became the first female suicide bomber from Hamas [lxviii], Dr. al-Zahar said, "It is not enough to call her a hero. Calling her hero does not give the whole truth. This woman abandoned her husband and children in order to win paradise." [lxix] At the funeral, he also said, "She is not going to be the last (attacker) because the march of resistance will continue until the Islamic flag is raised, not only over the minarets of Jerusalem, but over the whole universe." [lxx]

Islamic Jihad and Fatah:        Dr. Fathi `Abd al-`Aziz Shiqaqi, is a physician from Gaza. [lxxi] He established the Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in 1981. [lxxii]

The PIJ began its armed operations in 1984. It “launched attacks against Israeli targets in a ’race’ (Shiqaqi's own word) to halt the peace process. By 2000, PIJ could take credit for killing several dozen Israelis, mostly civilians.”  [lxxiii]  The PIJ, alone among Sunni Islamist movements, saw the Ayatollah Khomeini the Shi`i leader of the Islamic revolution in Iran [lxxiv] as the rightful leader of the entire Muslim world. Shiqaqi enhanced the PIJ’s ties with Hezbollah and Iran. Iran became the movement's major financier, and Hezbollah provided it with training facilities and logistical aid. With Hezbollah's support, the PIJ expanded its network in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. Islamic Jihad became an instrument of Iranian policy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. PIJ, along with Hamas, embraces jihad as the only way to drive Israel out of the West Bank and Gaza, as the first phase in the complete destruction of Israel. It enjoyed full freedom of action and apparently some logistical support from PA officials, as well. On the operational level, Islamic Jihad activists joined hands with Hamas and Fatah activists in carrying out attacks against Israeli targets. PIJ could take credit for killing several dozen Israelis, mostly civilians.

There are other so-called terrorist organizations. Perhaps many others. Less famous than the ones already mentioned, they possibly serve as training programs for unknown numbers of sick care providers whose behaviors are different from what many would expect.

[i] The Hippocratic Oath Today: Meaningless Relic or Invaluable Moral Guide? NOVA Online http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/doctors/oath.html

[ii] N Engl J Med 351;5

[iii] N Engl J Med 351;5

[iv] "First, Do No Harm" Is Not in the Hippocratic Oath. http://www.geocities.com/everwild7/noharm.html

[v] Oath of Hippocrates (alternate translation)

"Above All, Do No Harm"

I swear by Apollo the physician, and Aesculapius, and Hygeia, and Panacea and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill, according to my ability and judgment, this Oath and covenant:

To hold him, who has taught me this art, as equal to my parents, and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage, and to teach them this art if they desire to learn it without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me, and to pupils who have signed the covenant and who have taken an oath according to the medical law, but to no one else.

I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.

I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness, I will guard my life and my art.

I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are [skilled] in this work.

Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief, and in particular of sexual relations with both male and female persons, be they free or slaves.

What I may see or hear in the course of treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account [ought to be] spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.

If I fulfill this Oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.

From http://history.nih.gov/history/laws/hippocratic.html

[vi] from http://www.wma.net/e/policy/17-a_e.html), adopted by the 3rd General Assembly of the World Medical Association, London, England, October 1949 and amended by the 22nd World Medical Assembly Sydney, Australia, August 1968 and the 35th World Medical Assembly Venice, Italy, October 1983

[vii] adopted by the 2nd General Assembly of the World Medical Association, Geneva, Switzerland, September 1948 and amended by the 22nd World Medical Assembly Sydney, Australia, August 1968 and the 35th World Medical Assembly Venice, Italy, October 1983 and the 46th WMA General Assembly Stockholm, Sweden, September 1994

[viii] Available at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/upload/mm/369/decofprofessional.pdf

[ix] In its entirety:

The Oath of a Muslim Physician

Praise be to Allah (God), the Teacher, the Unique, Majesty of the heavens, the Exalted, the Glorious, Glory be to Him, the Eternal Being Who created the Universe and all the creatures within, and the only Being Who contained the infinity and the eternity. We serve no other god besides Thee and regard idolatry as an abominable injustice.

Give us the strength to be truthful, honest, modest, merciful and objective.

Give us the fortitude to admit our mistakes, to amend our ways and to forgive the wrongs of others.

Give us the wisdom to comfort and counsel all towards peace and harmony.

Give us the understanding that ours is a profession sacred that deals with your most precious gifts of life and intellect.

Therefore, make us worthy of this favoured station with honor, dignity and piety so that we may devote our lives in serving mankind, poor or rich, literate or illiterate, Muslim or non-Muslim, black or white with patience and tolerance with virtue and reverence, with knowledge and vigilance, with Thy love in our hearts and compassion for Thy servants, Thy most precious creation.

Hereby we take this oath in Thy name, the Creator of all the Heavens and the earth and follow Thy counsel as Thou has revealed to Prophet Mohammad (pbuh).

"Whoever killeth a human being, not in liew of another human being nor because of mischief on earth, it is as if he hath killed all mankind. And if he saveth a human life, he hath saved the life of all mankind." (Qur'an V/35)

This medical oath which is a composite from the historical and contemporary writings of physicians of Islamic World, was officially adopted by I.M.A. in 1977.

Islamic Medical Association of North America

[x] www.imana.org

[xi] In addition, the Oath of a Muslim Physician can be distinguished from oaths of other belief systems. As examples:

The Oath of a Christian Physician (from cmdahome.org):

With gratitude to God, faith in Christ Jesus, and dependence on the Holy Spirit, I publicly profess my intent to practice medicine for the glory of God.

With humility, I will seek to increase my skills. I will respect those who teach me and who broaden my knowledge. In turn, I will freely impart my knowledge and wisdom to others.

With God's help, I will love those who come to me for healing and comfort. I will honor and care for each patient as a person made in the image of God, putting aside selfish interests.

With God's guidance, I will endeavor to be a good steward of my skills and of society's resources. I will convey God's love in my relationships with family, friends, and community. I will aspire to reflect God's mercy in caring for the lonely, the poor, the suffering, and the dying.

With God's blessing, I will respect the sanctity of human life. I will care for all my patients, rejecting those interventions which either intentionally destroy or actively end the lives of the unborn, the infirm, and the terminally ill.

With God's grace, I will live according to this profession.

Passed by the CMDA House of Delegates

Judaism has generated the “Daily Prayer of a Physician”:

Almighty God, Thou has created the human body with infinite wisdom. Ten thousand times ten thousand organs hast Thou combined in it that act unceasingly and harmoniously to preserve the whole in all its beauty the body which is the envelope of the immortal soul. They are ever acting in perfect order, agreement and accord. Yet, when the frailty of matter or the unbridling of passions deranges this order or interrupts this accord, then forces clash and the body crumbles into the primal dust from which it came. Thou sendest to man diseases as beneficent messengers to foretell approaching danger and to urge him to avert it.

Thou has blest Thine earth, Thy rivers and Thy mountains with healing substances; they enable Thy creatures to alleviate their sufferings and to heal their illnesses. Thou hast endowed man with the wisdom to relieve the suffering of his brother, to recognize his disorders, to extract the healing substances, to discover their powers and to prepare and to apply them to suit every ill. In Thine Eternal Providence Thou hast chosen me to watch over the life and health of Thy creatures. I am now about to apply myself to the duties of my profession. Support me, Almighty God, in these great labors that they may benefit mankind, for without Thy help not even the least thing will succeed.

Inspire me with love for my art and for Thy creatures. Do not allow thirst for profit, ambition for renown and admiration, to interfere with my profession, for these are the enemies of truth and of love for mankind and they can lead astray in the great task of attending to the welfare of Thy creatures. Preserve the strength of my body and of my soul that they ever be ready to cheerfully help and support rich and poor, good and bad, enemy as well as friend. In the sufferer let me see only the human being. Illumine my mind that it recognize what presents itself and that it may comprehend what is absent or hidden. Let it not fail to see what is visible, but do not permit it to arrogate to itself the power to see what cannot be seen, for delicate and indefinite are the bounds of the great art of caring for the lives and health of Thy creatures. Let me never be absent-minded. May no strange thoughts divert my attention at the bedside of the sick, or disturb my mind in its silent labors, for great and sacred are the thoughtful deliberations required to preserve the lives and health of Thy creatures.

Grant that my patients have confidence in me and my art and follow my directions and my counsel. Remove from their midst all charlatans and the whole host of officious relatives and know-all nurses, cruel people who arrogantly frustrate the wisest purposes of our art and often lead Thy creatures to their death.

Should those who are wiser than I wish to improve and instruct me, let my soul gratefully follow their guidance; for vast is the extent of our art. Should conceited fools, however, censure me, then let love for my profession steel me against them, so that I remain steadfast without regard for age, for reputation, or for honor, because surrender would bring to Thy creatures sickness and death.

Imbue my soul with gentleness and calmness when older colleagues, proud of their age, wish to displace me or to scorn me or disdainfully to teach me. May even this be of advantage to me, for they know many things of which I am ignorant, but let not their arrogance give me pain. For they are old and old age is not master of the passions. I also hope to attain old age upon this earth, before Thee, Almighty God!

Let me be contented in everything except in the great science of my profession. Never allow the thought to arise in me that I have attained to sufficient knowledge, but vouchsafe to me the strength, the leisure and the ambition ever to extend my knowledge. For art is great, but the mind of man is ever expanding.

Almighty God! Thou hast chosen me in Thy mercy to watch over the life and death of Thy creatures. I now apply myself to my profession. Support me in this great task so that it may benefit mankind, for without Thy help not even the least thing will succeed.

Attributed to Moses Maimonides, a twelfth-century Jewish physician in Egypt. Some believe it was written by Marcus Herz, a German physician, pupil of Immanuel Kant, and physician to Moses Mendelssohn. First appeared in print in 1793.

From http://www.library.dal.ca/kellogg/Bioethics/codes/maimonides.htm

There is a Hindu Physician Oath

1) You must put behind you desire, anger, greed, folly, pride, egotism, jealousy, harshness, calumny, falsehood, sloth and improper conduct.

With short-cut nails, ritually clean and clad in the orange garment, you must be pledged to truth, and full of reverence in addressing me...

2) If, however, you behave perfectly, while I profess false views, I shall be guilty of sin and my knowledge shall bear me no fruit.

3) (after having finished your studies) with your medicaments you shall assist brahmins venerable persons, poor people, women, ascetics, pious people seeking your assistance, widows and orphans and any one you meet on your errands, as if they were your own relatives. This will be right conduct...

From Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics (EJAIB) Vol 9 (2) March 1999 at http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/EJ92/ej92f.html. I was unable to find another reference to a “Hindu Physician Oath” in attempting to confirm this version.

Seemingly, none of these contain “escape clauses” similar to the Oath of a Muslim Physician.

[xii] Lest it be thought that this is not a possible interpretation, one can readily find the following from a set of FAQs published on a number of Islamic Websites:

DOES ISLAM PROMOTE VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM?

No. Islam is a religion of peace and submission and stresses the sanctity of human life. A verse in the Quran says (Chapter 5, verse 32), that anyone who saves one life, it is as if he saved the whole of mankind and anyone who has killed another person except ( in lieu of murder or mischief on earth), it is as if he killed the whole mankind." Islam condemns all violence which happened in the Crusades, in Spain, in the 2nd worl (sic) war, or by acts of people like the Rev. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Dr. Baruch Goldstein, or the atrocities committed in Bosnia by the Christian Serbs. anyone who resorts to violence is not practicing his religion at that time. However, sometimes violence is a human response of oppressed people as in Palastine (sic) (italics added)…

 

[xiii] From http://www.adnki.com/index_English.php?ln=1, IRAN: ZOROASTRIAN LAWMAKER FACES SLANDER CHARGES, November 28, 2005

[xiv] From http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR3906#_ednref12. Scroll to the section entitled “On Shahada - 1. Guardian Council Secretary Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati”

[xv] From http://www.politicalusa.com/columnists/schlussel/schlussel_026.htm

[xvi] The Koran Interpreted, Arberry, AJ, copyright 1955 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd., Macmillan Publishing Company, New York

[xvii] http://www.borrull.org/e/noticia.php?id=22074

[xviii] “The anti-Semitism of the Middle East groups that oppose Israel's right to exist often seems instrumental—anti-Jewish stereotypes are another weapon in the anti-Israeli armamentarium. The rhetoric is repellent, but in the past it did not quite touch the malignancy of genocidal anti-Semitism. The language has changed, however. In April, in a sermon delivered in the Gaza Strip, Sheikh Ibrahim Madhi, a Palestinian Authority imam, said, ‘Oh, Allah, accept our martyrs in the highest Heaven. Oh, Allah, show the Jews a black day. Oh, Allah, annihilate the Jews and their supporters.’ (The translation was made by the Middle East Media Research Institute.) In Saudi Arabia, where anti-Semitism permeates the newspapers and the mosques, the imam of the Al Harram mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Abd al-Rahman alSudais, recently declared, ‘Read history and you will understand that the Jews of yesterday are the evil forefathers of the even more evil Jews of today: infidels, falsifiers of words, calf worshippers, prophet murderers, deniers of prophecies . . . the scum of the human race, accursed by Allah.’ Hezbollah has been at the vanguard of this shift toward frank anti-Semitism, and its leaders frequently resort to epidemiological metaphors in describing the role of Jews in world affairs. Ibrahim Mussawi, the urbane and scholarly-seeming director of English-language news at Al Manar, called Jews ‘a lesion on the forehead of history.’ A biochemist named Hussein Haj Hassan, a Hezbollah official who represents Baalbek in the Lebanese parliament, told me that he is not anti-Semitic, but he has noticed that the Jews are a pan-national group ‘that functions in a way that lets them act as parasites in the nations that have given them shelter.’" From “In The Party Of God” by Jeffrey Goldberg Issue of 2002-10-14 and 21; Posted 2002-10-07.

[xix] From The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 13:

“When did the infidels do justice to the believers?

‘But the Jews will not be pleased with thee, neither the Christians, until thou follow their religion; say, The direction of Allah is the true direction. And verily if thou follow their desires, after the knowledge which hath been given thee, thou shalt find no patron or protector against Allah.’ (The Cow - verse 120).”

[xx] From The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 22:

“The imperialistic forces in the Capitalist West and Communist East, support the enemy with all their might, in money and in men. These forces take turns in doing that. The day Islam appears, the forces of infidelity would unite to challenge it, for the infidels are of one nation.”

[xxi] The Koran Interpreted, Arberry, AJ, copyright 1955 by George Allen & Unwin Ltd., Macmillan Publishing Company, New York

[xxii] 'FIGHT IN THE WAY OF ALLAH THOSE WHO FIGHT YOU'

What follows are selected Koranic references to fighting and killing infidels.

- Baqara (2):190 - "And fight (qaatiloo) in the way of Allah those who fight you."

- Baqara (2):193 - "Fight them (qaatiloohum), till there is no persecution and the religion is Allah's"

- Baqara (2):244 - "So fight (qaatiloo) in the way of Allah, and know that Allah is all-hearing, all-knowing."

- Nisaa' (4):76 - "Those who are believers fight (yuqaatiloona) in the way of Allah, and the unbelievers fight in the idols' way. So fight (qaatiloo) the friends of Satan; surely the guile of Satan is ever feeble."

- al-Anfaal (8):39 - "Fight them (qaatiloohum), till there is no persecution and the religion is Allah's entirely."

- al-Taubah (9):12 - "But if they break their oaths after their covenant and thrust at your religion, then fight (qaatiloo) the leaders of unbelief."

- al-Taubah (9):29 - "Fight (qaatiloo) those who believe not in Allah and the Last Day and do not forbid what Allah and his messenger have forbidden -- such men as practise not the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book -- until they pay the tribute out of hand and have been humbled."

- al-Taubah (9):123 - "O believers, fight (qaatiloo) the unbelievers (kuffaar) who are near to you, and let them find in you a harshness (ghilza)."

- Baqara (2):191 - "And slay them (aqtuloohum) wherever you come upon them"

- Baqara (2):191 - "But fight them not by the Holy Mosque until they should fight you there; then if they fight you, slay them (aqtuloohum) -- such is the recompense of unbelievers."

- Nisaa' (4):89 - "then, if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them (aqtuloohum) wherever you find them"

- Nisaa' (4):91 - "If they withdraw not from you, and offer you peace, and restrain their hands, take them, and slay them (aqtuloohum) wherever you come on them; against them we have given you a clear authority."

- al-Taubah (9):5 - "Then when the sacred months are drawn away, slay (aqtuloo) the idolaters wherever you find them, and take them, and confine them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush."

- Nisaa' (4):74 - "So let them fight (yuqaatil) in the way of Allah who sell the present life for the world to come; and whosoever fights (yuqaatil) in the way of Allah and is slain, or conquers, we shall bring him a mighty wage."

- Muhammad (47):4 - "When you meet the unbelievers, smite (darba) their necks, then, when you have made wide slaughter among them, tie fast the bonds; then set them free, either by grace or ransom, till the war lays down its loads."

Compiled by Gordon Nickel

From http://www.canada.com/components/print.aspx?id=c53fc4cd-528a-42a9-b092-2b7b0ccce158

[xxiii] “The Jizya

The Jizya is a right that Allah (swt) enabled the Muslims to take from the Kuffar as a submission from their part to the rule of Islam. It is general money that can be spent on the welfare of the subjects as a whole. It becomes due every year and cannot be collected beforehand. The Jizya is established through the text of the Qur'an. Allah (swt) says: [9-29] "Until they pay the Jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued." T.M.Q. Abu Ubayd has reported in Al-Amwaal (i.e. The Funds) on the authority of Al-Hassan Ibnu Mohammed who said: “The Messenger of Allah (saw) wrote to the Magi of Hajar calling them to Islam: “He who embraces Islam, it will be accepted from him, and he who does not, the Jizya will be imposed upon him, provided no slaughtered meat of his is to be eaten and no women of his is to be wed.” The Jizya is taken from the Kuffar as long as they remain in Kufr; if they embrace Islam it will be waived off them. the Jizya is imposed on the head and not on the wealth; thus it is collected from every individual from the Kuffar, not on the basis of the wealth. The word Jizya is derived from Al-Jazaa (i.e. retribution). Hence it is taken as a retribution for being Kuffar and this means that it cannot be waived unless they embraced Islam. The Jizya is cannot also be waived off the Kuffar who take part in fighting because it is not levied as a retribution for protecting them. it is only levied from the individual who is capable of paying it, because Allah (swt) says: [9-29] "with willing submission.." T.M.Q. meaning with capability; thus it is not levied from invalid. The Jizya is only imposed upon men; thus it is not levied from women nor is it levied from children, nor is it levied from the insane. Even if a woman came to live in Dar-al-Islam and offered to pay the Jizya in exchange for her right of abode, she would be allowed in Dar-al-Islam and would be given leave to reside and no Jizya will be levied from her. No fixed amount is estimated for the Jizya, it is rather left to the opinion of the Imam and his own Ijtihad, provided that the amount set by the Khalifah is no higher than the payer could bear. Bukhari extracted that Abu Najeeh reported: “I said to Mujahid: “What is with the people of Al-Sham? They have to pay four Dinars, while the people of Yemen have to pay only one Dinar?” He said: “This was determined according to solvency.” If the Jizya became due on a capable Kafir and he could not pay it, it will remain a debt on his neck and he would be treated like the debtor facing difficulty, thus he would be given time to pay it.” From http://www.hizbuttahrir.org/culture/Jizya.htm.

“Kuffar” is the plural form of “Kafir.” A kafir is a person who refuses to submit himself to Allah (God), a disbeliever in God. From http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/glossary/term.KUFFAR.html and http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/glossary/term.KAFIR.html

“Kufr” is to show ungratefulness to Allah and not to believe in Him and His religion. From http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/glossary/term.KUFR.html

[xxiv] “The Role of Islam in African Slavery” from http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa040201a.htm

[xxv] In 634 C.E., in Jerusalem, shortly after Prophet Muhammad’s death, Omar, the second leader of Islam, under the agreement called the "Covenant of Omar," guaranteed safety to Christians and Jews and protection for the people, their holy sites, and for their property. From the Islamic Center of Boston, Wayland, Massachusetts at http://www.icbwayland.org/outreach/justice.html.

[xxvi] The cost of this “protection” may have been onerous. “Melet or dhimmi was a system that separated minority religious groups from the social, political and military mainstream of the empire’s life. As the Arabs consolidated their control over conquered people and as the number of Muslims increased, the disabilities under dhimmi began to increase. Non-Muslims paid special taxes, and as time went on, the taxes grew heavier, the social discrimination became more oppressive, and a system of Christian disabilities developed in the official and legal circles. The Covenant of Omar describes the disabilities as it developed in the ninth century. A dhimmi was bound by the contract of his position to revere the Muslim’s Holy scripture, refrain from uttering a falsehood against the Prophet Mohammed, and never to speak against Islam. Furthermore, he was forbidden to approach a Muslim woman for marriage or illicit intent; to try to apostate a Muslim or harm his property or person, and to assist an enemy of Islam or harbor a spy. All these obligations were to be kept. There were others which were commendable and included the use of a distinctive dress, prohibition from erecting buildings higher than those of the Muslims, from using church bells, from drinking wine and displaying a cross or a pig in public, from pomp and lamentation in burial offices, and from horse riding. (Aziz S. Atiya, op.cit., pp. 269-272.)” From http://www.religion-online.org/showchapter.asp?title=1553&C=1368

[xxvii] Per Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini:

Islam makes it incumbent on all adult males, provided they are not disabled or incapacitated, to prepare themselves for the conquest of [other] countries so that the writ of Islam is obeyed in every country in the world…

But those who study Islamic Holy War will understand why Islam wants to conquer the whole world…

Those who know nothing of Islam pretend that Islam counsels against war.

Those [who say this] are witless.

Islam says: Kill all the unbelievers just as they would kill you all!

Does this mean that Muslims should sit back until they are devoured by [the unbelievers]?

Islam says: Kill them [the non-Muslims], put them to the sword and scatter [their armies].

Does this mean sitting back until [non-Muslims] overcome us?

Islam says: Kill in the service of Allah those who may want to kill you! Does this mean that we should surrender [to the enemy]?

Islam says: Whatever good there is exists thanks to the sword and in the shadow of the sword! People cannot be made obedient except with the sword!

The sword is the key to Paradise, which can be opened only for the Holy Warriors!

There are hundreds of other [Qur’anic] psalms and Hadiths [sayings of the Prophet] urging Muslims to value war and to fight.

Does all this mean that Islam is a religion that prevents men from waging war?

I spit upon those foolish souls who make such a claim.

From http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/2006/01/009702print.html

[xxviii] From http://www.pcusa.org/pcnews/2006/06104.htm, dated February 17, 2006:

Christians living in Jesus’ birthplace are bracing themselves as the militant Islamic group Hamas prepares to take power as the Palestinian Authority government after winning legislative elections in January.

“There are many Christians who are afraid,” said Shatha, a student at the Roman Catholic Bethlehem University. “Since Hamas is new to the government, I doubt they will be able to implement Islamic law,” she said the day before Hamas was to take over the Palestinian authority on Feb. 17. “But it’s possible they might in the future.”

Bethlehem’s Christian community was already concerned after a member of the city council that is controlled by Hamas suggested imposing a tax known as Jizya on Christians, one traditionally imposed by Islamic rulers on non-Muslim subjects. The councilor has since said that such a tax would only be imposed once Sharia law is imposed in line with Hamas’ charter, which calls for the destruction of Israel and the establishment of an Islamic state on its ruins.

[xxix] From http://jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/009630.php, comes this:

D. C. Watson collects some interesting quotations that portray Muslims in the West in a somewhat different light from what you might hear from, say, Allen Colmes:

 

United States: “We must not forget that Allah's rules have to be established in all lands..." ~ Imam Muzammil H. Siddiqi, Islamic Society of North America

http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/009583.php

 

United States: “Ultimately we can never be full citizens of this country. . . because there is no way we can be fully committed to the institutions and ideologies of this country” ~ Ihsan Bagby.

http://www.nationalreview.com/mowbray/mowbray040303.asp

 

Great Britain: "We don't make a distinction between civilians and non-civilians…Only between Muslims and unbelievers. And the life of an unbeliever has no value." ~ British career welfare recipient Sheikh Omar Bakri

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/2005/07/007262print.html

 

United States: “To permit Islam to attain its rightful place requires that the ideology of Islam prevail over the mental horizon of the American people.” ~ Shamim A. Siddiqi

http://www.lorenzenfamily.com/paul/islam/militant-islam.html

 

United States: “I have a vision in America, Muslims owning property all over, Muslim businesses, factories, halal meat, supermarkets, all these buildings owned by Muslims. Can you see the vision, can you see the Newark International Airport and a John Kennedy Airport and LaGuardia having Muslim fleets of planes, Muslim pilots. Can you see our trucks rolling down the highways, Muslim names.” ~ Imam Siraj Wahhaj

http://www.danielpipes.org/article/77

 

United States: TV Host Kathy Fountain to Ahmed Bedier: On the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Sami Al Arian’s involvement: Fountain asked, "If he was associating with the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, doesn't that seem immoral, in your opinion?"

 

Answer: "To a certain degree. Now, before 1995 there was nothing immoral about it." ~Ahmed Bedier, the Communications Director of CAIR-Florida.

http://www.americansagainsthate.com/releases/PR-BedierPIJ.htm

 

Britain: "The real weapons of mass destruction are the desire for martyrdom. Millions of you are ready to be shaheed. Half a million martyrdom shaheed is enough for Muslims to control the whole of earth forever. In the end of the day, Islam must control earth, whether we like it or not."~ Abu Hamza al-Masri, Islamic Cleric

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/articles/10435138?source=Evening%20Standard

 

United States: “Islam isn't in America to be equal to any other faiths, but to become dominant. The Koran…should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on Earth.” ~ Omar Ahmad, Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR).

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=32341

 

Australia: "I am telling you that my religion doesn't tolerate other religion. It doesn't tolerate. The only one law which needs to spread, it can be here or anywhere else, has to be Islam"~ Abu Bakr, Muslim Cleric

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/11/07/australia.terror.bakr/

 

Canada: "We know what happened over the last week and how the brothers of the monkeys and the swine (Jews) assassinated and murdered one of the heroes of Islam, the Salah al-Din of this day and age, Ahmed Yassin." "Then what will happen? Listen to the good news after that. The prophet ... says that the stone and the tree will say, 'Oh Muslim, oh slave of Allah, that verily behind me is a Jew. Then come and kill him,'"~ Sheik Younus Kathrada

http://www.cbc.ca/bc/story/bc_abubaker20041022.html

 

United States: “I wouldn't want to create the impression that I wouldn't like the government of the United States to be Islamic sometime in the future.” ~ Ibrahim Hooper, (CAIR).

http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=6473

 

Canada: “Any Israeli over age 18 is a legitimate target for suicide bombers because adult Israelis were required to do military service.” They are part of the Israeli army, even if they have civilian clothes." Mohamed Elmasry, President, Canadian Islamic Congress.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/10/25/muslimleaders_041025.html

 

Australia/New Zealand: "We are proud of the Islamic resistance in Palestine, Lebanon, Kashmir, and everywhere in the world that seeks to achieve its legitimate rights in accordance with the international resolutions, the human rights conventions, and the U.N. resolutions..."We are also proud of the Islamic resistance that liberated southern Lebanon, led by Hizbullah, the legitimate Lebanese national movement, that forced the Israeli occupation army to withdraw from southern Lebanon, dragging trails of disappointment and shame behind it.”

 

"We are also proud of what Hamas and the Islamic Jihad are both doing in the occupied territories. We support the resistance and support, with all our might, the martyrdom operations carried out by the Palestinian liberation movements, operations that are a legitimate act against the cruel occupation, according to all international norms and conventions.

 

"Also, whoever carries out a martyrdom [operation] is a pure Shahid and one of the men of Paradise. Moreover, he stands at the head of the Shahids." ~ Taj Al-Din Hamed Abdallah Al-Hilali.

http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/000924.php

 

United States: "The first principle is that terrorism, and terrorism alone, is the path to liberation. . . . If what they mean by jihad is terrorism, then we are terrorists." ~ Fawaz Damra, Convicted Imam, Ohio

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/12230983.htm?source=rss&channel=miamiherald_state

 

United States: “Let us continue the protests. Let us damn America. Let us damn Israel. Let us damn their allies until death.” “Mohammad is leader. The Qu’ran is our constitution. Jihad is our path. Victory to Islam. Death to Israel. Revolution! Revolution! Until Victory! Rolling, rolling to Jerusalem.” ~ Sami Al Arian

http://www.siteinstitute.org/bin/articles.cgi?ID=news5203&Category=news&Subcategory=0

 

United States: "The Day of Judgment will never happen until you fight the Jews. . . . The trees and stones will say, oh Muslim, there is a Jew hiding behind me. Come and kill him!" ~ Hatem Bazian, Lecturer, University of California at Berkeley.

http://www.politicalusa.com/columnists/schlussel/schlussel_011.htm

 

United States: “Muslims cannot accept the legitimacy of the secular system in the United States, for it "is against the orders and ordainments of Allah . . . the orientation of the Qur'an pushes us in the exact opposite direction as the forces that are at work in the American political spectrum."~Zaid Shakir, former Muslim chaplain at Yale.

http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/charen121401.asp

[xxx] See http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Brookes_031504,00.html?loc=OPED, http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/12/11/news/letter.php, http://www.cfr.org/publication/9053/prepared_remarks_by_stephen_hadley_assistant_to_the_president_for_national_security_affairs.html and http://www.khilafah.com/home/category.php?DocumentID=12544&TagID=1, for example.

[xxxi] http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,881096,00.html

[xxxii] http://www.psychassault.org/bosnia_kosovo.html

[xxxiii] From http://www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/2RAD-2004-600457-Trans.pdf

[xxxiv] Apparently, some modern day Sufis assist this physician and his staff. “When Pakistani intelligence received a tip-off that Zawahiri was there, it seemed to be a likely hideout. The village is controlled by a pro-Taliban party, the Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi, led by the charismatic Sufi Mohammad, whose supporters are believed to help Taliban and Al-Qaeda leaders on the run.” From http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1986114,00.html.

[xxxv] http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:Pt0tMQKp670J:www.ctc.usma.edu/aq/2RAD-2004-600457-Trans.pdf+zawahiri+ain+shams&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox-a

[xxxvi] http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?020916fa_fact2a

[xxxvii] “A Fatwa (فتاوى) is a legal pronouncement in Islam, issued by a religious law specialist, on a specific issue.” From http://www.fact-index.com

[xxxviii] “In Islamic jurisprudence, fatwa means the opinion of a scholar based on that scholar’s understanding and interpretation of the intent of the sources of Islam, that scholar’s knowledge of the subject in question, and the social milieu that produced the issue or question.” From Dr. Maher Hathout, the Islamic Center of Southern California at http://www.islamctr.org.

[xxxix] http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Al-Qaeda

[xl] http://www.cdi.org/terrorism/aljihad.cfm

[xli] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Hafiza

[xlii] http://www.debka-net-weekly.com/issue.pl?username=&inumber=150

[xliii] http://www.palestinehistory.com/palbio37.htm

[xliv] http://library.nps.navy.mil/home/tgp/hamas.htm

[xlv]http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2004%20News%20archives/March/29%20n/Bush%20Is%20Enemy%20of%20Muslims%20Rantissi.htm

[xlvi] 2001 Report on Foreign Terrorist Organizations Released by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism October 5, 2001. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/rpt/fto/2001/5258.htm

[xlvii] http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism/threat/groups/index.html

[xlviii] “FIGHT AGAINST TERRORISM - Acts adopted by the Council” at http://ue.eu.int/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/misc/DOC.69068.pdf

[xlix] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 32

[l] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Articles 17, 22, 28

[li] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Articles 17, 22, 28

[lii] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Articles 22, 28

[liii] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 28

[liv] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 22

[lv] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 22

[lvi] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 22

[lvii] The Charter of Allah: The Platform of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), Article 22

[lviii] Al-Risala, August 21, 2003

[lix] http://terrorism.about.com/od/terroristorganizations/p/hamas.htm

[lx] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas

[lxi] The Observer is the national Sunday quality (broadsheet), sister paper of The Guardian

[lxii] http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1194570,00.html. Sunday, April 18, 2004.

[lxiii] http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1039700,00.html. Thursday, September 11, 2003.

[lxiv] http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1195592,00.html. Tuesday, April 20, 2004.

[lxv]http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2004%20News%20archives/April/27n/Israel%20Says%20Zahar%20New%20Hamas%20Chief.htm

[lxvi] http://zionism.netfirms.com/hamaswho.html

[lxvii] http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A39999-2004Apr24?language=printer

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