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April 25, 2002 Special Dispatch No. 372

The Saudi Ambassador to London's Ode to Suicide Bombers

April 25, 2002
Saudi Arabia | Special Dispatch No. 372

On April 13, 2002, the Saudi ambassador to London, Ghazi Al-Qusaibi, published a poem in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat criticizing America and praising suicide bombers. Al-Qusaibi is the author of an article which accused President Bush of having "complexes" and stated that "The entire world fears a future in the shadow of Dubya [i.e. George W. Bush];" the article was printed in Al Hayat on August 9, 2001.[1] The following are excerpts from Al-Qusaibi's poem:

"The Martyrs"[2]

May Allah witness that you are Martyrs,
[May the] Prophet and Holy men witness to that
You died to glorify the word of my God
In the land that was glorified with the 'Israa'[3]
Did you commit suicide?
[No] We are those who committed suicide
In a life whose dead are [still] living.

[O] Our nation: we have died
Let us hear what eulogy says about us.
We failed until failure was fed up with us…
We wept until tears got tired of us…
We knelt down until kneeling got disgusted…
We pleaded until pleading asked for assistance…
We complained to the idols in a White House
full of darkness
We kissed 'Sharon's' shoes,
He cried: Slowly, you are tearing my shoes;
Please!
O nation we are dead…
But mother earth refuses to accept us…
Tell 'Ayat'[4] the bride of heaven…
Everything that is beautiful we are ready
To sacrifice for your eyes…
The pure of our nation confronts the criminal…
When the steeds are castrated.
['Ayat'] The beautiful – kissed her death
While smiling with good tidings…
At the time when our leaders escape death
Paradise opened its doors
And Fatma, Al-Zahra'[5] received you… ['Ayat']
Tell those who issued 'the Fatwas'
Against 'Jihad':
'Don't rush!' perhaps your 'Fatwa' will be rejected by Heaven
When the call comes for Jihad
It is a time for the ink and paper,
For the books and the 'Learned men'
To be silent.
When the call comes for Jihad
There's no need for a referendum or a 'Fatwa.'
The Day of Jihad is the Day of Blood.


[1] Al-Hayat (London-Beirut), August 9, 2001.

[2] Al-Hayat, April 13, 2002.

[3] The Prophet's ascension according to the Koran.

[4]Ayat Al-Ahras carried out a suicide bombing at a Jerusalem supermarket.

[5] Fatma, the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, who, as a righteous woman, is surely in Paradise.

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