15 - 21 November 2001
Issue No.560
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 15 - 21 November 2001 Issue No.560 |
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Militant Islamists, in Afghanistan and outside it, are feeling, and reacting to, the heat of the "war against terrorism". In three separate stories below, Khaled Dawoud reviews some of the developments, focusing on the Egyptian connection
Qa'eda invokes Palestine
While Ayman El-Zawahri devotes Al-Qa'eda's latest statement to the Palestinian cause and warns America of more strikes to come, Bin Laden claims he possesses a nuclear capability
In a calm and determined voice, Ayman El- Zawahri, leader of Egypt's Jihad group and Osama Bin Laden's closest associate, devoted Al- Qa'eda's latest statement on Friday to the Palestinian cause. It was a move that is likely to have netted Al-Qa'eda significant goodwill with much of the Arab and Muslim audience.
Bin Laden
As has been the case since the 11 September attacks in New York and Washington, Zawaheri's statement was aired by the Qatari satellite television channel, Al-Jazeera. However, following the downfall of the Afghani capital, Kabul, to anti-Taliban Northern Alliance forces on Tuesday, and the punitive US shelling of Al-Jazeera's office there, many observers are now wondering whether the controversial satellite channel will carry any further Al-Qa'eda statements.
Unlike Bin Laden's two earlier statements following the start of the US military strike against Afghanistan on 7 October, Zawahri, remained calm throughout the transmission. He started by refuting what he dubbed as "contradictions" in a speech made by US President George Bush on Thursday, a day previous to the airing of his statement by Al- Jazeera. To observers, that reference defied claims that leaders of the armed militant organisation were isolated in their hideouts in Afghanistan. On the contrary, Bin Laden has reportedly developed a network of contacts that are said to keep him updated around the clock on war developments.
After a long review of what Zawahri described as "US crimes" against Arabs and Muslims, the 50-year-old doctor reached what he considers to be the core of the conflict between the two sides: Palestine.
"We will concentrate our statement on one evident case which we consider as the main element in the existing conflict between Muslims and America: the ongoing American-Israeli crime in Palestine over more than 50 years," Zawahri said. "Ironically and surprisingly, Bush's speech, and an earlier statement (in Arabic) made by State Department spokesman, Christopher Ross, did not mention a single letter on Palestine. When asked about that, Ross replied that this was not the subject of discussion. Such statements confirm further the belief among Muslims that the United States will never change its criminal policy towards Palestine."
Zawahri wondered "if talking about Palestine, the central issue for Muslims over more than 50 years and the main catalyst behind most events in the Muslim world and New York and Washington, was not the issue, then we have no option but to resort to Jihad for the sake of God to liberate Palestine from Jewish and American hands."
The reference in Zawahri's statement that the Palestinian cause might have been the main "catalyst" behind the New York and Washington attacks was another indication for observers that Bin Laden's group was responsible for the terrorist acts. Zawahri also ended his speech by a clear warning to Americans that "America could lie as much as it wants, but the whole world will know after the upcoming strikes, God willing, who is the liar and who is saying the truth."
The murder of Palestinian child Mohamed Al- Dorra by Israeli troops during at the outset of the Intifada was also invoked by Zawahri. "If Bush was claiming that we don't respect the human soul, and that he is carrying out this campaign to defend this soul, did he forget while delivering his speech what America did in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Did he forget how Mohamed Al-Dorra -- may God bless his soul and those of his brothers -- was killed by American weapons," Zawahri said.
He added, "how can we forget Mohamed Al-Dorra's pictures while he was intentionally shot at and killed by American arms, while America did not take a single move? The picture of Mohamed Al-Dorra became a living symbol in the heart of each Muslim who is now calling for revenge against those who did this crime, topped by America," Zawahri said.
Ayman El-Zawahri
In his speech at the UN, Musharraf, while calling for the resolution of Muslim and Arab grievances said, "The images of Palestinian child Mohamed Al-Dorra were etched on the hearts and minds of people all over the world."
On the day following Zawahri's remarks, Bin Laden came out with even more stunning revelations in an interview with a Pakistani respected daily, The Dawn.
Bin Laden told Hamid Mir, who has interviewed the Saudi dissident twice already, that "We have chemical and nuclear weapons as a deterrent, and if America used them against us, we reserve the right to use them." However, he denied that his organisation could be behind the anthrax- contaminated letters in the United States.
In the same interview, Bin Laden clearly tried to avoid declaring direct responsibility for the New York and Washington attacks. Yet, he attempted to find an Islamic justification for attacks in which innocent civilians die. "In my view, if an enemy occupied a Muslim territory, and uses common people as human shield, then it is permitted to attack that enemy. For instance, if bandits barge into a home and hold a child hostage, then the child's father can attack the bandits and in that attack even the child may get hurt."
He added, "America and its allies are massacring us in Palestine, Chechnya, Kashmir and Iraq. The Muslims have the right to attack Americans in reprisal. The 11 September attacks were not targeted at women and children. The real targets were American icons of military and economic power."
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