To The Reader
On September 11th America spoke of
the New York and Washington bombings as if they were synonymous with the
surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. Yet our response was entirely different. Rather
than defending ourselves by identifying the enemy, declaring war, and
galvanizing America’s resolve by disseminating truth, we enriched our enemy,
lamely attacked a symptom, and told our people a lie—one that will lead to
global war if we don’t come to understand the root cause of
terror.
We met with the enemy—actually sat
down and had tea with them: al-Qaeda, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Fatah, Force 17, and
Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade. We dug into the deepest caves of a doctrine that drives
them to madness and murder. We know who they are, why they kill, and what can be
done to stop them. Soon, you will too.
Our political leaders and many in the
media have been involved in a cover-up. Whether reckless or purposeful, their
errant portrayal of the deadliest story of our time has already led to the
deaths of thousands—and soon terrorist weapons of mass destruction, ignited by a
warmongering doctrine, may kill millions. Tea with
Terrorists
leaves no stone unturned (or unthrown) in the most controversial issue of our
day: terrorism. We shine a bright light on Islam, Judaism, Christianity,
Communism, Fascism, political correctness, profiling, intelligence gathering,
American, Israeli, and Islamic politics, the so-called Palestinians, martyrdom,
and the peace process, as well as the media’s coverage of these
issues.
Though a novel, much of this book is
nonfiction. For example, the chapter entitled Tea with
Terrorists
actually occurred just as it is written. The scene is meticulously recreated, as
are our questions and their answers. Our meetings with Israeli and Palestinian
ministers have been woven into our tale. The press accounts within the story
depict actual events and are presented as they were reported. Intelligence
briefings from Israel’s IDF, Mossad, and Shin Bet and America’s military, CIA,
and FBI are faithfully portrayed. Much of the drama, set three years in the
future, was derived from Biblical and Qur’anic sources. The geopolitical,
economic, and societal conditions depicted are accurate, as
well.
The world is in a precarious place,
standing on the edge of a horrible abyss, not unlike the one that awaited us in
the 1930s. We compare the similarities between Muhammad and Hitler, the rise of
Islam and Nazism, and the “peace process” in Palestine as it relates to the
abandonment of Czechoslovakia—the catalyst for the last world war. Hopefully, we
will not miss the signs once again.
Today’s terrorists have but one thing
in common: Islam. And Islam itself is based entirely upon the Judeo-Christian
scriptures. The Qur’an can’t be understood apart from the Bible any more than
terror can be understood apart from Islam. Therefore, our journey of discovery
tours these ancient scriptures with a sometimes critical, always discerning, and
uniquely revealing eye. They show, as nothing else can, the heart, purpose, and
soul of terror.
We are indebted to the scholars who
preceded us. We found Sir John Glubb’s work The Life and Times of Muhammad to be
a well-researched portrayal of Islam. When comparing the similarities between
Muhammad and Hitler and the rise of Islam and Nazism, we relied on a scholarly
work entitled The Hitler Cult. While its author draws no connection between the
two leaders or their doctrines, we have incorporated a number of his historical
insights into the dialog. Thoughts on the holocaust’s prophetic significance
were inspired by David Dolan’s Israel in Crisis. The anthology, Israel and a
Palestinian State: Zero Sum Game, contributed to our ability to provide factual
evidence.
When quoting from the scriptures of
the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths, we combined existing versions,
concordance analysis, and our own translations to communicate the meaning of
what was written in as clear, contemporary, and accurate a manner possible.
Although meanings were never altered, we took the liberty of abridging
narratives and making the English more intelligible for modern
readers.
Our story’s “Yasman Alafat” is a
composite character, fictional, yet modeled closely upon the real Chairman of
the PLO, founder of Fatah, and President of the Palestinian Authority, Yasser
Arafat. His actions prior to the publishing of our story are based upon this
man’s actual history, words, and deeds. After that time the characterization is
fictional. We can only speculate how a man with his past might conclude his
life.
Our strategy was to prove our case
through an abundance of factual evidence. The impact Tea With
Terrorists
will have on you will differ depending upon your personal perspectives, beliefs,
biases, and political views. If you share some of ours, we hope you’ll be
inspired to be part of the solution. If your beliefs, biases, and politics are
diametrically opposed to what we’ve discovered, we suspect you will be troubled
by what we have to say. For those in the middle—the swing vote politically,
agnostics spiritually—you will find truth. No one, however, will be
bored.
Craig Winn, Ken
Power
July
2002