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In an interview with the Egyptian Dream2 TV channel, former Libyan official Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam said that he supported ISIS, which was composed of "pious young men." "This enterprise should have been carried out 50 years ago," said Al-Dam, a cousin of former Libyan leader Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi.
Following are excerpts from the interview, which aired on January 17, 2015.
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: Libya was a safe and secure place, "its provision coming to it in abundance from every location." For 40 years, Libya was stable and safe, and it was the eighth wealthiest growing economy in the world. Libya was a country that had freedom, honor, and pride. It played an active role in leading Africa towards the vision of a "United States of Africa." We took pride in ourselves, and every Libyan was held in high regard all over the world. Now the situation speaks for itself – there is no security, no livelihood, no stability, no electricity, or anything. This simple equation is indicative of the reality. Today, everybody realizes that this was a conspiracy.
I don't want to defend the past – we had greater expectations, and a new generation emerged, which wanted to express itself, and to revolt against to topple the regime. That is the Libyans' right. The new generations did not share our dreams, the dreams of Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi, and did not have the same vision. But what happened in Libya – and this is a shameful thing in our history – is that treachery became a legitimate point of view.
All of a sudden, we sought help from foreigners. We befriended the Jews and the Christians – like Bernard-Henri Levy, France, and Italy… In 2011, after 100 years, the Italian airforce was bombing us again, while we cried "Allah Akbar" and ululated as the missiles rained down upon us. It was the Libyans' right to rebel against and to topple Mu'ammar al-Qadhafi. The entire Arab world is in need of a revolution.
[…]
Interviewer: Why did the [West] want to kill Al-Qadhafi?
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: Because Al-Qadhafi was leading Africa toward the light, toward unity. He wanted to insulate Africa from the greedy ambitions of the West. They considered him a threat to the future of Europe. We were on the verge of establishing the "United States of Africa."
[…]
Mu'ammar Al-Qadhafi, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, used to lead millions of Muslims in prayer every year in a different African country. He brought hundreds of thousands – perhaps millions – into the fold of Islam. The West feared he would turn Africa into a "green" continent. They brought that this would be at the expense of Christianity. These colonialists realized that Christianity and the French and English languages would fall back in the face of the Arab and Islamic wave in Africa.
[…]
When I say that World War II has not yet ended, I mean that the conspiracy against the Islamic nation, or the Western ambition to target and divide this nation, is nothing new. Some people conspired and succeeded in robbing us of our dreams, and turning them into nightmares. Yes, the Arab world is backward, and is in need of a hundred revolutions, not just one. This backwardness stems from our lack of knowledge. As long as this nation remains this way… why are we backward? The world has made it to Mars, and we can't even collect the garbage from our streets. We fight one another.
[…]
Interviewer: You claim that the [West] planned the Prophet Muhammad cartoon scandal…
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: Of course, because they knew how we would react. Our young men are innocent, even the ones from the ISIS organization. I support ISIS. I support its establishment. Our young men are looking for a way to extract this nation…
Interviewer: You support ISIS? That ignorant backward organization?
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: Excuse me, but it's not ignorant. If we say that ISIS is the State of Iraq and the Levant… The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria… This enterprise should have been carried out 50 years ago. We are the only nation that has not found its place on Earth, because it is fragmented. The whole world has united – Germany has united, Italy has united. Turkey was a nation, and it became a state. The Persians established the state of Iran. Where is the Arab state?
Interviewer: But I still cannot support the barbaric bloodthirsty enterprise of ISIS.
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: I am talking about the pious young men who joined this movement because their government did not present an enterprise to defend the honor of our nation.
Interviewer: The young men you are talking about are a bunch of murderers.
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: The young men you are talking about are a bunch of murderers. Excuse me, but they had nowhere to go, so they fled to Allah.
Interviewer: They fled straight to Satan…
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: Excuse me, but I don't want to be misunderstood. These young men believe that salvation lies in a return to the past, because the Arab world is in a state of wretchedness and defeat. Even the clothes they wear are the clothes worn hundreds of years ago, and some of them even use swords. This shows their psychological state of mind, which requires treatment…
Interviewer: What they need is to be eradicated. You are giving them excuses. They are Satanic terrorist organizations.
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: Excuse me, but you are talking about our boys. I am blaming our governments, not the boys. We did not offer another way of confronting the West.
[…]
Interviewer: Sarkozy was the staunchest supporter of the toppling of Al-Qadhafi, and it is said that he avenged his honor. Some people wrote that Al-Qadhafi may have sexually harassed Sarqozy's ex-wife, Cecilia, when she went to Libya to deal with the crisis of the Bulgarian nurses, when she went to Libya to deal with the crisis of the Bulgarian nurses, who were accused of infecting Libyans with AIDS. This was the story that made the rounds when she went to Libya, and Sarqozy subsequently avenged his honor by toppling Al-Qadhafi.
Ahmad Qadhaf Al-Dam: First of all, those people have no honor when it comes to these matters. You are familiar with the Westerners, and you know this. Besides, this Cecilia… She looks like a ghoul. Even if for the sake of argument… I apologize to the viewers… This is not even a woman, so how could anyone desire her? This story was invented by Arabs with an Arab mentality. This is fabrication.
[…]
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