THE BIG STORY: Interview With Shaykh Hicham Kabbani
hosted by John Gibson

Fox News Network
Friday, October 26, 2001

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM
AND MAY BE UPDATED.

GIBSON: The supreme leader of Afghanistan's ruling Taliban calling
on supporters to hold worldwide rallies. How much support will
they likely get from the Muslim community worldwide or here in
this country? Joining us now to talk about this, the chairman of
the Islamic Supreme Council of America, Shaykh Hicham Kabbani. He
joins us from Washington, D.C.

So Shaykh, I'm very curious about the attitude of the Muslim
community in America to what happened on September 11th. We hear
stories about people saying that they know or saw Arabs or Muslims
cheering. Do you know anybody? Is that an attitude that is in the
Muslim community?

SHAYKH HICHAM KABBANI, ISLAMIC SUPREME COUNCIL OF AMERICA: I don't
think there are anyone in the Muslim community cheering what
happened on the 11th of September, especially in the United
States, because all of them, they have condemned it openly after
that.

GIBSON: Shaykh Kabbani, the Americans are -- all Americans,
Americans who are Muslim, Americans who are not are wondering if
the Muslim-American community can help finding these people who
were involved in terror in this country, or do you feel as
isolated from them as we do?

KABBANI: I think American Muslims knows more than the others of
what is going on, and there are some American Muslims that came
forward, and they have gave many tips to the government in order
to locate and to know what's going on in different places around
the country. But I think the majority doesn't know what's going on
because they are peaceful, and they go to the mosques only to pray
and then go home. So those who knows -- and I think many of them,
they gave already tips, but there are still, they know but they
are not coming forward. Might be they are afraid of being
assassinated or being killed. And we say that we are in a
democratic country. We hope that everyone knows anything comes
forward to tell the government.

GIBSON: Shaykh Kabbani, we have some video that's coming in from
Pakistan today. There were anti-American demonstrations, and there
is a call for a worldwide day of demonstrations against the
American attacks on Afghanistan. Why is it that so much of the
Muslim world has this hatred for America? What was it that America
did that offends them so much considering we went to war in Bosnia
and Kosovo in defense of Muslims and in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia?

KABBANI: I think that question has to be asked to the Arab
government, not to us in the United States, because we are -- we
pledge our allegiance to this country and we are citizens and part
of this country. And the Muslims of this country are part of this
whole society. The Arab world didn't do enough. The Arab world has
to come up, especially the Muslim World League, which is the
headquarter in Mecca, in Saudi Arabia. They have to come up and
issue a verdict against what's going on. They can make a fatwah
because they can control all these quarters around the world, and
the authority around the world. They have to come up with
something to tell the people what's right, what's wrong. By this
way, you can eliminate a lot of this demonstration around the
world.

GIBSON: Shaykh Kabbani, is it true, as we are hearing from Usama
bin Laden and from Al Qaeda and from the Taliban, that there is an
obligation placed upon Muslims to fight the nonbelievers
everywhere they find them, wherever they are in the world?

KABBANI: There was something like that. There was a fatwah like
that from bin Laden issued before, but you have to define who are
the unbelievers. For them, the unbelievers are -- even some
Muslims are unbelievers to them. Many of the Muslims are
unbelievers to them as the other religions. So we have to
separate, and that's why we need an authority in which we have a
Muslim authority around the world to come up and clear this
situation to the American government and to the American public
because too many of this technical issues, the irregular normal
American citizen doesn't know it.

GIBSON: Shaykh Kabbani, I think what Americans who are not Muslim
want to know is: Whose side are Muslim Americans on?

KABBANI: On the side -- many Muslims in the world are on the side
of justice, and they want these criminals who did that attack to
come to justice, but they are not coming in public and say it
because they are afraid for their uprising in their countries. And
this is where they have an obligation to -- not to make the whole
Muslim community as a victim for their chairs or for their
positions. They have to come up and they have to speak up. They
are not yet giving the right speech. They are not coming openly in
Arab countries and in Muslim countries for certain reasons that I
think you know it and we know it.

GIBSON: Shaykh Hicham Kabbani of the Supreme Muslim Council of
America, thanks very much for being with us today.

KABBANI: Thank you.

GIBSON: Still to come on THE BIG STORY, we'll be talking doves or
hawks. You'll hear my opinion and "My Word." And, of course, your
opinion comes every day just before the end of the show on "Your
Word."