Centanni and Wiig - FREE
Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig are now free and in Israel. Their captivity was not rosy as it appeared in their first video. Details of their captivity and release are now out in the open. According to DEBKAfile, (hat tip to Paul) Palestinian warlord Zakaria Dughmush kidnapped Centanni and Wigg. They were forced to make other videos:
On the tape shown Sunday morning, New Zealander cameraman Olaf Wiig read out an anti-American statement blaming Apaches firing Hellfire rockets made in America for Palestinian deaths. He said that George Bush is seen as “an evil man in some parts of the world and his statements about Islam-fascists do not help.”He called on leaders of the West to stop “hiding behind the ‘I don’t negotiate with terrorists’ myth” and added “Salaam Aleikum” and some words in Arabic.
The tape titled in Arabic gave the journalists “Islamic names.” The American journalist Steve Centanni was billed as Steve Khaled.
Fox News website reports that in one segment of the footage, Wiig was seen sitting cross-legged on the floor dressed in a beige robe and reading from crumpled notes. Fox reports that both the men appeared tired and their statements apparently made under duress. DEBKAfile
The two men were blindfolded, had guns to their heads and jammed into their sides. After being forced into a car and driven to what they believed to be a garage or warehouse with a loud generator. Centanni felt this would be the perfect place to be shot, the loud generator would cover the sound of the guns firing. They were placed in the dirt, face down. Both in pain, shoulders hurting, backs 'wrenched', this going on for hours. They were not allowed to talk to each other, their captors 'shushing' then each time they tried to communicate. ... (from interview of Centanni with Shep Smith of Fox)
They were also forced to convert to Islam:
Centanni said he and Wiig were forced to convert to Islam at gunpoint."I have the highest respect for Islam ... but it was something we felt we had to do because they had the guns and we didn't know what the hell was going on."
At times in the video they were wearing long Muslim robes.
"I changed my name to Khaled. I have embraced Islam and say the word Allah," Centanni said. A statement from the captors before the men were freed had said the two journalists had to choose either Islam, a tax imposed on non-Muslims to be paid to a Muslim ruler, or war.
"They chose Islam and that is a gift God gives those whom he chooses," the statement said. source
On Palestinian warlord Zakaria Dughmush and the kidnapping:
The Hamas team which abducted Israeli soldier Gilead Shalit on June 25 sought to ease the pressure for his release by staging a more spectacular snatch. For this reason, they hired Zakaria Dughmush and his masked men to capture the two Fox News journalists in Gaza City on Aug. 14.DEBKA-Net-Weekly's exclusive sources on Aug. 25 identified the kidnapper as Dughmush, a former follower of the late Jemal Semhadana, head of the Palestinian Popular Resistance Committees who was killed in Rafah by rockets fired from an Israeli warplane on June 8, 2006.
Semhadana was the first Palestinian terrorist to attack Americans. He staged the bombing attack of October 15, 2003 on a US embassy convoy from Tel Aviv as it drove past Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza Strip.
Three American security officers died in that attack.
After Semhadana’s death, his PRC fragmented into several small militias, one of them led by Dughmush, a rabid fundamentalist who set up base in Gaza City. He was adopted by Hamas, but also draws funds and weapons from al Qaeda and Hizballah elements working together in the Gaza Strip.
Our counter-terror sources reveal that Dughmush was handed the contract to kidnap one or more Americans by the abductors of the Israeli soldier when their efforts to negotiate a prisoner swap broke down. Hamas ended up refusing the quid pro quo of a promise by Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, already deposited with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, to release 600 Palestinian prisoners. They held out for a simultaneous trade and then withdrew from the talks.
They turned to Dughmush when pressure built up to end the episode from many quarters, including the Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya, the Egyptians and the head of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
Because neither set of abductors wanted Palestinians branded as kidnappers of Americans, they invented a group no one had heard of, calling it the Brigades of the Holy Jihad. This phantom group released a communiqué and videotape Wednesday, August 23, demanding the release within 72 hours of Muslim prisoners in American jails. The deadline was up Saturday noon with no word from the abductors.
Nothing had been said about the fate of the captives if the deadline was not met.
With three hostages in hand, the Palestinian terrorists expect a higher price for their release, such as a large number of Palestinians held in Israel and possibly the United States as well.
DEBKAfile adds: Mahmoud Abbas and Ismail Haniya both know exactly who kidnapped Steve Centanni and Olaf Wiig. They are embarrassed enough to go through the motions of protesting the abductions, but not enough to take real action to put a stop to the Hamas scheme of holding the two Fox journalists hostage to raise the ante for the Israeli soldier. DEBKAfile
Wiig and Centanni both encouraged journalists to continue coming to Gaza and telling the story of the Palestinian people.
Big hat tip to 'Paul'
Cross posted at In the Bullpen
Others reporting:
Stander's Point, " Halle-flippin'-LUJAH!"
Wizbang
Hot Air
In the Bullpen
bRight&Early
Plus Ultra Blog, "Eerie Image of Cross Hovers Over ‘Converts’ Centanni/Wiig" (go look at the video)
Outside the Beltway
Ms Underestimated who has more video
Assorted Babble
The Jawa Report
Blue Crab Boulevard
Dive-Desk
Woman Honor Thyself
Fore-Left, " Fox guys freed, but why?"
Nancy, I know what you are asking, and I don't know the answer. I don't know if Centanni and Wiig are religious and if so what religion. I do know that when Muslim terrorists take prisoners they generally force them to do lots of things at gunpoint. To my knowledge none of the reports said that they denounced any religion. So I can't speak to that. I realize many have died in the past refusing to denounce God/Christ and accept any other religion. It's a matter for the individual to decide I suppose.
Posted by: Debbie | August 28, 2006 at 10:21 PM
As a Christian, I'm confused regarding the "conversion". Were Centanni and/or Wiig Christians before the kidnapping? If so, did they not denounce Jesus and the Christian faith by "embracing" Islam? How can they say they only did it under duress but were not sincere? What if all of the Christian martyrs thus far denounced Jesus when their lives were at stake, and then later claimed they "really didn't mean it" and were "under duress?"
Don't get me wrong. Of course I am grateful they are free and arrived home safely-but this topic still concerns me...
Posted by: Nancy | August 28, 2006 at 08:12 PM
Great reporting Debbie!
Posted by: Angel | August 27, 2006 at 10:54 AM
Now THAT'S news to wake up to, ain't it? Good morning!
Posted by: Stander | August 27, 2006 at 08:05 AM