Bow down to Allah or be knocked down - why an SUV instead of gun ?

Submitted by Ben van de Polder (United States), Mar 17, 2006 at 17:09

As Dr.Pipes pointed out ,Tahieri-azar's claim that he " didn't act out of hatred of Americans but out of love of Allah" deserves to be pondered. It is also significant that Tahieri -azar rented an SUV instead of buying a gun ( for which he had a valid permit).

One could speculate that the choice of an SUV murder weapon was symbolic. Tahieri -azar,who saw himself as a 'slave of Allah' believed it was his duty to push people 'in the path of Allah' to become Muslims. By driving his way into a crowd he was literally forcing them 'to their knees',(the position Muslims take when praying).

Al Tahieri was quoted as saying he specifically asked to rent a vehicle- "which could keep going after knocking something down". He also said that he had been planning the attack for two years. It appears that in his warped way - Tahieri-azar saw himself as the 'hands on' Islamic missionary. His calm phone call to the police in which he specifically mentioned that he was "standing" is more proof to support the premise, that he was trying to get people to bow down to Allah by force.

"Yes, sir. I just hit several people with a vehicle," Taheri-azar said on the recording. "Right now, I'm standing, you can come arrest me."http://www.federalnewsradio.com/index.php?nid=80&sid=345924

Tahieri-azar's subsequent smiles after his arrest and declaration to the arraigning judge ,that he was "thankful to have the opportunity to spread the will of Allah" is more evidence to support the theory that he used an SUV in place of a sword. His rampage appears to be a calculated attempt to force people into physical submission to Allah. His answer to a reporter's question that he did intend to kill people - leaves no doubt that his attack was Jihad.

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