Al Qaida: Muslims should wage Holy War
A spokesman for Osama bin Laden’s militant group has urged all Muslims to wage holy war on Americans across the world.
Speaking in a prerecorded video broadcast on al Jazeera television, the spokesman for al Qaida said: "Holy struggle is a religious duty for every Muslim."
America’s interests are everywhere, he said, citing a verse from the Islamic holy book, the Quran, that urges the faithful to fight whoever oppresses them.
The spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, praised the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, saying the hijackers "did something good" and took the battle to the heart of the US.
His statement was the first al Qaida has managed to get broadcast since the US and Britain began strikes on Afghanistan, targeting al Qaida bases, on Sunday night.
Shortly after the raids started, al Jazeera broadcast a speech by bin Laden, but that had been recorded beforehand.
The Western allies launched the strikes after the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan refused to hand over bin Laden and al Qaida members. Washington and London accuse al Qaida of instigating the September 11 attacks that killed about 6,000 people.
Abu Ghaith referred to the presence of US soldiers in Saudi Arabia, the home of Islam’s holiest shrines, and UN sanctions against Iraq, saying: "America must know that the battle will not leave its land until America leaves our land, until it stops supporting Israel, until it stops the blockade against Iraq."
He described the hijacking of four US airliners on September 11, and their crashing into the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, as a "storm of aeroplanes".
Shaking his hand for emphasis, Abu Ghaith warned there would be more attacks on the US because "there are thousands of young people who are keen on death as much as Americans are keen on life".
The US-British attacks on Afghanistan had "opened a new page of enmity", he said.
"But with our financial and spiritual power, and our trust in God, we are going to win.
"America has opened a door that, God willing, will not be closed,’’ he said, referring to the air strikes, which went into their third straight night yesterday.
He appealed to young Muslims across the world, telling them that Afghanistan was suffering a crusader war and the Islamic community must take its responsibilities "or else it will be shameful".
"This battle is a decisive battle between atheism and faith," he said.
Abu Ghaith wore a white turban, similar to that worn by bin Laden, and stood against a dark brown background.
Al Jazeera did not say when yesterday’s video tape was made.
An editorial staffer at al Jazeera’s headquarters in Qatar, Ibrahim Hilal, said the channel received the tape at its bureau in Kabul, the Afghan capital, yesterday.
