Zawahri calls for strikes against West

By Firouz Sedarat

DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda’s deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri
called on Muslims to attack the West in an audio tape posted on
the Internet on Saturday, urging similar strikes as those
against New York, London and Madrid in recent years.

In a video of his remarks aired by Al Jazeera television,
Zawahri also urged the Islamist militant Hamas not to recognize
peace deals signed by the Palestinian Authority with Israel.

He also called on Muslims to boycott countries where
satirical cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad had been published,
including Denmark, Norway, France and Germany, and said that
Muslims should prevent the West from “stealing Muslims’ oil.”

“(Muslims have to) inflict losses on the crusader West,
especially to its economic infrastructure with strikes that
would make it bleed for years,” said Zawahri, an Egyptian.

“The strikes on New York, Washington, Madrid and London are
the best examples,” he said.

“We have to prevent the crusader West from stealing the
Muslims’ oil which is being drained in the biggest robbery in
history,” he added. It was not clear if the tape was made
before the failed al Qaeda attack last month on a major Saudi
oil facility.

“Reaching power is not a goal by itself … and no
Palestinian has the right to give away a grain of the soil,”
said Zawahri. “The seculars in the Palestinian Authority have
sold out Palestine for crumbs… Giving them legitimacy is
against Islam.”

The audio track of the video aired partially by the news
television was posted earlier on a Web site used by Islamist
groups.

Commenting on Zawahri’s remarks, Hamas official Osama
Hamdan said the group had no intention of recognising the
deals.

“The Hamas movement will not fail the Palestinian people
and the (Islamic) nation,” he told Al Jazeera. “There is
nothing wrong with (offering) advice but what we want … is
support from the nation.”

BOYCOTT CALL

As well as physical attacks on the West, Zawahri, who is
deputy to al Qaeda’s leader Osama bin Laden, called for an
economic boycott against several countries.

“It is our duty to take part in a mass economic boycott of
Denmark, Norway, France, Germany, and all countries that take
part in this crusader attack against Islam,” he said, referring
to the cartoons first published in a Danish newspaper last
year.

He described the cartoons as part of a U.S.-led “crusader”
campaign, intimating at a religious war.

“An example of the hatred of the crusaders led By America
… are the repeated offences against the personality of the
Prophet Mohammad, may peace be upon him,” Zawahri said.

Saturday’s tape came as U.S. President George W. Bush
concluded a visit to Pakistan, where Zawahri and Osama bin
Laden are believed to be hiding.

Zawahri, in a tape aired by the Qatar-based Al Jazeera
satellite channel in January, described Bush as a “butcher” and
said a recent U.S. air strike in Pakistan targeting him had
killed only innocent people.

Zawahri, who wore a black turban and a white robe, sat in
front of a curtain. He did not appear to have a customary
assault rifle next to him, in the tape which carried the logo
of al-Sahab, al Qaeda’s media arm.

He called for the overthrow of pro-Western Muslim
governments, singling out the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Jordan,
Egypt, Pakistan and Tunisia.

The Web posting said the tape was made in the Muslim month
which approximately corresponded to February. Zawahri made
reference to a ferry disaster on February 2 in the Red Sea.

(Additional reporting by Inal Ersan)