"Al-Qaeda chief's 'intifada' call in Bangladesh"
By Helal Khan
An audio tape purportedly from the Al-Qaeda has called on the Muslims
in Bangladesh to wage a battle to protect Islam before claiming that
the idea of the Bengali nation has not worked out.
Its chief Ayman al-Zawahiri in the clip interprets the Bengali
struggle for freedom from Pakistan in a way that is chillingly similar
to the one offered by the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Again, the global terror network is on the same wavelength with the
Islamist party, which is facing calls for a ban for 1971 atrocities,
that the
ongoing war crimes trial only aims to harass Islamic scholars.
The militant leader in the clip can be heard charging the government
with killing 'thousands of people' during last year's crackdown on the
violent rally by Hifazat-e Islam - in an echo of claims made by the
Chittagong-based outfit along with the BNP and the Jamaat.
The recording with the call to arms has hurried the Hifazat, perceived
to be bankrolled by the Jamaat, into denying any ties with the
al-Qaeda.
Speaking in Arabic on the tape released on a website used for militant
audios and videos, the
Egyptian-born surgeon derides the Bangladesh government for being
anti-Islam and secular.
The terror outfit's outrage at the trial of the Jamaat-e-Islami
leaders is also palpable.
The entire clip lasting 28 minutes and 58 seconds titled "Bangladesh:
Massacre Behind a Wall of Silence" features message by al-Zawahiri,
who appears only in a still image, along with other images, including
the Hifazat rally.
A copy of the supposed al-Zawahiri recording is available with us.
There, he claims that "a massacre of Muslims is being carried out
these days" and "the western media is colluding with the killers to
belittle its significance and hide the facts".
"This is the bloodbath taking place in Bangladesh, without the Muslims
paying least attention to it," the Egyptian-born eye surgeon, thought
to be in hiding in Pakistan or Afghanistan, observes.
The first two minutes of the clip screen footage of last year's May 5
police action at a Hifazat-e Islam rally in Dhaka. Then speaks
Zawahiri, hitting out at the Western media's alleged silence on 'how
Muslims are massacred in Bangladesh'.
Letting rip at the creation of Bangladesh, he says it has not worked
as a nation born more than 40 years ago 'to protect the
independence, glory, honour and freedom of its people'.
The al-Qaeda chief's tirade appears to have been provoked by the war
crimes trials. Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla has already been
hanged, drawing condolences in Pakistan's Parliament which said he was
hanged to death because "he was loyal to Pakistan and supported
Pakistan army during the 1971 war".
Several other Jamaat leaders face death and life sentences. In
addition, many Jamaat leaders and activists are in jail on charges of
involvement with violence last year.
Zawahiri in the clip says: "Bangladesh is the victim of a conspiracy
in which the agents of India, the corrupt leadership of Pakistan Army,
and treacherous power- hungry politicians of Bangladesh and Pakistan...
"However the real victim was the Muslim Ummah in the subcontinent
generally, and in Bangladesh and Pakistan specifically.
"The crimes that are being committed in Bangladesh today against the
core beliefs of Islam, the prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), and
the Muslim Ummah are only the fruits of the rotten seeds sown by these
criminals.
"Their purpose was not independence from Pakistan, stopping the
aggression against the people of Bangladesh or getting rid of military
rule in Pakistan.
Continues the 62-year old: "None of these was the real objective...
The real purpose was weathering the Muslim Ummah in the subcontinent.
"It was to rip the Ummah apart into pieces, bleed it to death by
getting it entangled in mutual strife, regional conflicts and wars.
struggle for freedom from Pakistan in a way that is chillingly similar
to the one offered by the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Again, the global terror network is on the same wavelength with the
Islamist party, which is facing calls for a ban for 1971 atrocities,
that the
ongoing war crimes trial only aims to harass Islamic scholars.
The militant leader in the clip can be heard charging the government
with killing 'thousands of people' during last year's crackdown on the
violent rally by Hifazat-e Islam - in an echo of claims made by the
Chittagong-based outfit along with the BNP and the Jamaat.
The recording with the call to arms has hurried the Hifazat, perceived
to be bankrolled by the Jamaat, into denying any ties with the
al-Qaeda.
Speaking in Arabic on the tape released on a website used for militant
audios and videos, the
Egyptian-born surgeon derides the Bangladesh government for being
anti-Islam and secular.
The terror outfit's outrage at the trial of the Jamaat-e-Islami
leaders is also palpable.
The entire clip lasting 28 minutes and 58 seconds titled "Bangladesh:
Massacre Behind a Wall of Silence" features message by al-Zawahiri,
who appears only in a still image, along with other images, including
the Hifazat rally.
A copy of the supposed al-Zawahiri recording is available with us.
There, he claims that "a massacre of Muslims is being carried out
these days" and "the western media is colluding with the killers to
belittle its significance and hide the facts".
"This is the bloodbath taking place in Bangladesh, without the Muslims
paying least attention to it," the Egyptian-born eye surgeon, thought
to be in hiding in Pakistan or Afghanistan, observes.
The first two minutes of the clip screen footage of last year's May 5
police action at a Hifazat-e Islam rally in Dhaka. Then speaks
Zawahiri, hitting out at the Western media's alleged silence on 'how
Muslims are massacred in Bangladesh'.
Letting rip at the creation of Bangladesh, he says it has not worked
as a nation born more than 40 years ago 'to protect the
independence, glory, honour and freedom of its people'.
The al-Qaeda chief's tirade appears to have been provoked by the war
crimes trials. Jamaat leader Abdul Quader Molla has already been
hanged, drawing condolences in Pakistan's Parliament which said he was
hanged to death because "he was loyal to Pakistan and supported
Pakistan army during the 1971 war".
Several other Jamaat leaders face death and life sentences. In
addition, many Jamaat leaders and activists are in jail on charges of
involvement with violence last year.
Zawahiri in the clip says: "Bangladesh is the victim of a conspiracy
in which the agents of India, the corrupt leadership of Pakistan Army,
and treacherous power- hungry politicians of Bangladesh and Pakistan...
"However the real victim was the Muslim Ummah in the subcontinent
generally, and in Bangladesh and Pakistan specifically.
"The crimes that are being committed in Bangladesh today against the
core beliefs of Islam, the prophet of Islam (peace be upon him), and
the Muslim Ummah are only the fruits of the rotten seeds sown by these
criminals.
"Their purpose was not independence from Pakistan, stopping the
aggression against the people of Bangladesh or getting rid of military
rule in Pakistan.
Continues the 62-year old: "None of these was the real objective...
The real purpose was weathering the Muslim Ummah in the subcontinent.
"It was to rip the Ummah apart into pieces, bleed it to death by
getting it entangled in mutual strife, regional conflicts and wars.
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