Anwar Al-Awlaki - the Radical Islamic Iman of Doublespeak

Doublespeak. The use of language in which what is said is done so in such a manner that makes a statement clearly the opposite of what was spoken, thus disguising and changing the entire meaning of a statement. Anwar al-Awlaki gave a perfect example of doublespeak during an interview this week when he claimed he never pressured or had anything to do with the actions of Major Nidal Malik Hasan, an Army psychiatrist who committed the murders at Ford Hood on November 5, 2009.

Born a United States citizen in New Mexico in 1971, Anwar al-Awlaki (also called Anwar al-Aulaqi) left the United States in 2002, eventually settling in Yemen. The 38-year-old Awlaki earned a degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University and a master's degree in educational leadership from San Diego State University. Anwar al-Awlaki had previously served as an imam at several mosques located in Colorado, California and Falls Church, Virginia that was attended by at least three of the September 11th hijackers and by Hasan and his family.

This radical Muslim cleric (with suspected links to al-Qaida) was interviewed by a Yemen journalist named Abdulelah Hider Shaea. A journalist, mind you, who single-handedly and conveniently managed to find Al-Awlaki, when even the Yemen authorities have not been able to locate him. Allegedly, Awlaki has been sought since approximately March 2009 regarding an investigation into his possible Al-Qaeda ties.

Anwar al-Awlaki said Hasan first e-mailed him in December 2008 questioning the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan citing Islamic law, which demanded, "that what America was doing should be confronted." The imam told the Yemen reporter that the Fort Hood attack was acceptable under Islam stating, "America was the one who first brought the battle to Muslim countries. Investigators have reported that Hasan contacted the cleric by email regarding religious matters. There is no indication as of yet of what may have been discussed in letters or telephone calls that were not monitored.

Al-Awlaki also defended denouncing Muslims who condemned the attack when he said, "They say American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan should be killed, so how can they say the American soldier should not be killed at the moment they are going to Iraq and Afghanistan? . . . "I blessed the act because it was against a military target. And the soldiers who were killed were not normal soldiers, but those who were trained and prepared to go to Afghanistan and Iraq." However, the cleric continues to insist with his brand of doublespeak that he did not pressure Hasan to harm Americans.

Using quite deliberately ambiguous and evasive language, al-Awlaki, who claims he was nothing more than a friend and a confidant to Hasan, appears to have done much more by also being his "spiritual advisor". His subsequent explanation of his relationship with Hasan since the Fort Hood shootings and his backward justification for the attack on military and civilian Americans - proves the cleric, at the very least, minimally agreed with Hasan's planned attack on military personnel and he probably aggressively advocated him to do so.

Obviously, he has perfected doublespeak to a fine art. In other historical times, he would have been described as being able to speak out of both sides of his mouth at one time - with neither side speaking the truth. A few others would have even said he spoke with a "forked tongue" - with the ability to obscure the truth.

The truth of the matter is that Anwar al-Awlaki is not out there on the front lines taking a chance at losing his life (or his lifestyle), yet encouraging other radical individuals to wreck havoc on the lives of others and losing their own - all in the name of Islam and by the use of his sermons. Copies of his sermons and other radical teachings have been found on several computers seized of suspected or known terrorists.

There is a saying that "the devil is in the details" and, in this case, his name may very well be Anwar al-Awlaki.

Resources:
Report: Imam says he didn't pressure Hasan
Who is Anwar al-Awlaki? Imam contacted by Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan has long radical past, by Ethan Sacks, Daily News Staff Writer, November 11 2009
Radical imam Anwar al-Aulaqi: Fort Hood gunman Nidal Hasan 'trusted' me, but I didn't spark rampage, BY Brian Kates, Daily News Staff Writer, November 16 2009