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Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaida's second in command, speaking in a video released on Friday. (AP)
Last update - 22:36 30/09/2006
Al-Qaida No. 2 urges Pope, Christians to convert to Islam
By The Associated Press and Haaretz Service

Al-Qaida second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri urged the Pope and Christians to convert to Islam in response to comments Benedict XVI made on Islam, and called U.S. President George W. Bush a failure and a liar in the war on terror, according to a video released Friday.

"If Benedict attacked us, we will respond to his insults with good things. We will call upon him, and all of the Christians to become Muslims who do not recognize the Trinity or the crucifixion," al-Zawahri said, according to the Washington-based Search for International Terrorist Entities (SITE) Institute.

Al-Zawahri also called a UN resolution to send peacekeepers into Sudan's war-torn Darfur region a "Crusader plan" and implored the Muslims of Darfur to defend themselves.
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"Do not allow the government of Khartoum to interfere, nor the governments of the Western Crusaders to interfere in your business. Be ready to stop the Crusaders campaign against you," he said.

The nearly 18-minute statement, titled "Bush, the Pope, Darfur and the Crusades," was produced by Al-Qaida's media arm, as-Sahab.

Al-Zawahri also condemned the leadership of President Bush. "Can't you be honest at least once in your life, and admit that you are a deceitful liar who intentionally deceived your nation when you drove them to war in Iraq," al-Zawahri said.

He also criticized Bush for continuing to keep Al-Qaida leaders in prisons, including al-Qaida Number 3 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged September 11 mastermind captured in Pakistan in March 2003.

"Bush, you deceitful charlatan, three years have passed since your capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, so how have you found us during this time? Losing and surrendering?" he said.

"What you have perpetrated against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other Muslim captives in your prisons and the prisons of your slaves in Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan and elsewhere is not hidden from anyone, and we are a people who do not sleep under oppression and who do not abandon our revenge until our chests have been healed of those who have aggressed against us," he said.

"And we, by the grace of Allah, are seeking to exact revenge on behalf of Islam and Muslims from you and your soldiers and allies," he added.

Al-Zawahri, the deputy to Osama bin Laden, accused the United States and its agents of torturing Muslim prisoners seized across the Middle East.

"Your agents in the Arabian Peninsula, Yemen, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have captured thousands of the youth and soldiers of Islam whom you made to taste at your hands and the hands of your agents various types of punishment and torture," al-Zawahri said.

"But we, by Allah's grace, are taking revenge on their behalf daily from your troops and the troops of your allies and agents in ... all Muslim countries from Indonesia to Morocco, and moreover, on your own soil every day."

Al-Qaida has released a string of videos earlier this month timed to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, showing increasingly sophisticated production techniques in a likely effort to demonstrate that it remains a powerful, confident force despite the U.S.-led war on terror.

An intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said U.S. experts view the latest video as a typical propaganda message, whose main thrust is a call for more people to join its jihad, or holy war.

It wasn't immediately clear when the message was recorded, but al-Zawahri made a reference to the Pope, indicating the message was produced sometime after Benedict's controversial comments about Islam on September 12, the official said.

In remarks that sparked outrage across the Muslim world, Benedict cited a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Mohammed as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith.
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  1.   Blah blah blah! 01:54  |  Lone Wolf 30/09/06
  2.   comment 02:03  |  talkback observer 30/09/06
  3.   stupid moslem 02:12  |  the torha bora 30/09/06
  4.   Imams from hell, (A Special Place !) 02:27  |  Akiva Patysh 30/09/06
  5.   al-Zawahri 02:33  |  robert 30/09/06
  6.   Retoric? 02:50  |  Myrlin 30/09/06
  7.   #2, Talkback Observor, think about it 03:00  |  Voice of Reason 30/09/06
  8.   how do the arab countires respond to this?? 03:00  |  vik 30/09/06
  9.   Convert 03:22  |  Brod 30/09/06
  10.   Amos Schocken,Yoel Marcus,Amira Hass already did 03:39  |  Absolute Sweden 30/09/06
  11.   to 7 03:50  |  TALKBACK OBSERVER 30/09/06
  12.   Zawahiri BEING HUMOUROUS 03:59  |  Mr Fun 30/09/06
  13.   Thats it!! 04:06  |  Australit 30/09/06
  14.   Doesn`t the word "torture" bother anybody? 05:18  |  Humanbeing 30/09/06
  15.   We must dry up the soil so al-Zawahri`s seed will not grow. 05:22  |  Timothy 30/09/06
  16.   Hey Al (Zawahri): How to Win Friends & Influence People 05:28  |  Brad 30/09/06
  17.   CHRISTIANS CONVERT TO ISLAM??!!??!! HAHAHA 05:44  |  ISLANDER 30/09/06
  18.   Timothy 06:05  |  Brad 30/09/06
  19.   Entire explanation of current conflict in less than 20 lines 06:07  |  MG 30/09/06
  20.   Quack , quack , quack , ouaiiiin, ouaiiiin, ouaiiin 06:19  |  Joseph E . 30/09/06
  21.   # 6 Myrlin , are you an al zawahiri fan ? 06:22  |  Joseph E . 30/09/06
  22.   # 7 Voice of Reason , Well said 06:25  |  Joseph E . 30/09/06
  23.   # 13 Australit , After reading your post , i smiled 06:30  |  Joseph E . 30/09/06
  24.   he sounds like hamas -hezbollah idiots 06:34  |  Joseph E . 30/09/06
  25.   Islamic terrorists/people should convert to Cristianity.... 06:44  |  Brazil Rules 30/09/06
  26.   let`s realize who the messenger is 06:49  |  JC 30/09/06
  27.   Religion should be respected not imposed 06:52  |  An Australian 30/09/06
  28.   # 10 Absolute Sweden , yours is a good laugh 06:53  |  Joseph E . 30/09/06
  29.   #19 MG 06:59  |  George Kaplan 30/09/06
  30.   conversion to christianity is not by force...it`s a choice. 07:04  |  maria 30/09/06
  31.   Response to 18 -- Brad 07:11  |  Timothy 30/09/06
  32.   Entire conflict explained in less than 20 lines 07:19  |  MG 30/09/06
  33.   If you can`t beat`em, join them. 07:35  |  Timothy 30/09/06
  34.   nations must have a "life in Stone Age" exhibit park at the UN ! 07:37  |  just an average joe 30/09/06
  35.   HE SEEMS A HAPPY MAN 07:42  |  indrajaya 30/09/06
  36.   Al-Qaida No. 2 not using his brains 07:44  |  Bernard K 30/09/06
  37.   promise amnesty for al-Zawahri and a visa to speak at the UN ! 07:59  |  spinach can kill you 30/09/06
  38.   comment #2 08:21  |  Linda 30/09/06
  39.   # 32 MG , or the fourth solution could be 09:24  |  Joseph E . 30/09/06
  40.   Hey, the "religion of peace" 09:53  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  41.   CHRISTIANS CONVERT TO ISLAM??!!??!! HAHAHA 09:58  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  42.   2. talkback observer 10:01  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  43.   Muslims should condemn Ayman al-Zawahiri 10:05  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  44.   Convert or be slaughtered, this is the religion of peace that 10:07  |  Shlomzion 30/09/06
  45.   Palestinian kidnappers force journalists to convert to Islam 10:09  |  Gina 30/09/06
  46.   Great chuckle for a Saturday morning!! 10:09  |  Clickfool 30/09/06
  47.   13. Australit: Thats it!! 10:09  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  48.   Ha`aretz, STOP inciting to religious hatred 10:16  |  Yankelowitz 30/09/06
  49.   Put That in Your Pipe and Smoke it ! 10:16  |  Klaudia 30/09/06
  50.   Good Muslims : Alcohol- No... Drugs - CLEARLY YES !!!! 10:25  |  Klaudia 30/09/06
  51.   He`s not preaching `religion` 11:11  |  Nechama 30/09/06
  52.   Timothy on his little island 12:00  |  Graham Greene 30/09/06
  53.   Timothy #33 In fact......................... 12:04  |  Joe Moer 30/09/06
  54.   yes lets all become terrorists 13:03  |  SJ 30/09/06
  55.   Hey, the "religion of peace" (2nd try)) 13:14  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  56.   Muslims should condemn Ayman al-Zawahiri (2nd try) 13:16  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  57.   Al-Qaida No.2. 13:27  |  David Nigel Braham 30/09/06
  58.   THIS IS A WARNING 13:53  |  Imma Jaja 30/09/06
  59.   # 30 Jesus di not condon force.Admit it he was Jewish 14:05  |  Haham me Bat Yam 30/09/06
  60.   CONVERSION IS NOT THE POINT 14:13  |  Stephen Connor 30/09/06
  61.   to30 14:26  |  *TALCKBACK OBSERVER* 30/09/06
  62.   Darfur 15:08  |  Jeroen 30/09/06
  63.   meshumad ??? 15:10  |  hadag nakhash 30/09/06
  64.   conversion to christianity was by force 16:21  |  Kind man 30/09/06
  65.   40.TALCKBACK OBSERVER* 16:24  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  66.   42 Kind man: the Middle Ages 16:37  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  67.   New consevatives in USA kill innocentes o 16:51  |  kind man 30/09/06
  68.   the old teastament is a big source of terrorismee 16:59  |  kind man 30/09/06
  69.   jeroen do nt be ignorant pls 17:03  |  kind man 30/09/06
  70.   Talkback observer 17:13  |  Sarah 30/09/06
  71.   Some truth in the message. 17:21  |  James 30/09/06
  72.   Thank God 17:24  |  John of Jordan 30/09/06
  73.   #42 KUTW 17:28  |  John of Jordan 30/09/06
  74.   ravings of a lunatic. treatment is immediate elimination 17:38  |  ralph 30/09/06
  75.   ISLAM IS THE SOLUTION 17:56  |  Moslem 30/09/06
  76.   Is`t `Terrorism` the world is fighting ? 17:57  |  Akram Zekaria 30/09/06
  77.   THE world will no no peace till Global Jihad is dealt with. 18:15  |  PETER SM 30/09/06
  78.   to KUYW 18:27  |  * TALKBACK OBSERVER* 30/09/06
  79.   #51 The Moslem from Quebac 18:33  |  Hasi 30/09/06
  80.   #33 Timothy "until the conversion of the Jews" 19:05  |  Yonatan 30/09/06
  81.   `Al Qaida:Christians to convert to Islam`? 19:34  |  Jacob 30/09/06
  82.   To #51 To Moslem and all infidels 19:47  |  Christian 30/09/06
  83.   Jesus is not the son of God 19:50  |  Sammy 30/09/06
  84.   this is the second time 20:21  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/09/06
  85.   49John of Jordan 20:43  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  86.   51. Moslem: I have seen enough already 20:47  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  87.   Some people are such idiots 21:01  |  skylark 30/09/06
  88.   Yonatan 71 21:05  |  Margie in Tel Aviv 30/09/06
  89.   81.I will never submit 21:17  |  KUTW 30/09/06
  90.   No, Thanks Ayman 21:28  |  Mark of Lewiston 30/09/06
  91.   84 Cipora Julianna Kohn 21:33  |  Mark of Lewiston 30/09/06
  92.   Makes alot of sense. 21:49  |  Clickfool 30/09/06
  93.   To # 83 Jesus son of God 21:58  |  Benyammeen ReshMany 30/09/06
  94.   sammy....Jesus is the Son of God. 22:10  |  maria 30/09/06
  95.   Islam and Anti-Islam: Islamism ! 22:10  |  Sharbel Roukoz 30/09/06
  96.   sure, I`ll convert 22:21  |  Harry 30/09/06
  97.   to moslem...islam is the solution. 22:22  |  maria 30/09/06
  98.   CHRISTIANS ARE NOT COWARDS 22:25  |  SEDES SAPIENTIAE 30/09/06
  99.   #94 Maria: God has no son. 22:32  |  Mahmoud 30/09/06
  100.   #91, Mark 22:35  |  Cipora Julianna Kohn 30/09/06
  101.   To # 93 Congratulations! 22:35  |  Charles Sawaya 30/09/06
  102.   What`s That Lump On His Forehead? 23:18  |  Sam The Sham 30/09/06
  103.   Yeah! Like I Should Ask All Muslims To Convert To Marine Biology! 23:22  |  Sam The Sham 30/09/06
  104.   response to mahmoud....i rest my case. 23:29  |  maria 30/09/06
  105.   If I Convert To Islam Can I... 23:30  |  Sam The Sham 30/09/06
  106.   Unfair. Part 3 23:32  |  Arabica 30/09/06
  107.   convert???? 00:11  |  michelle w. 01/10/06
  108.   Memory Lapses & Zawahri 00:26  |  Maxine Olson 01/10/06
  109.   105.Sam The Sham 00:32  |  KUTW 01/10/06
  110.   Convert or Die! 00:32  |  Jameel 01/10/06
  111.   Maria #94 Amen! and Amen! And... 00:45  |  Virginia 01/10/06
  112.   to all muslim 03:05  |  Peter 01/10/06
  113.   Pope convert to Islam??? 05:08  |  Joan d`Acre 01/10/06
  114.   Murderers 07:45  |  Navajo Joe 01/10/06
  115.   al Zawahri vs Bush 09:44  |  Aussie 01/10/06
  116.   Pray!! Pray 11:35  |  MeKong 01/10/06
  117.   #94 12:13  |  Jameel 01/10/06
  118.   We are One People 13:39  |  Zantheus 01/10/06
  119.   No.2 comment 03:52  |  romeo 02/10/06
  120.   To# 64. Filipinos were not forced 04:44  |  Gilbert 02/10/06
  121.   To Mr. Kind man 06:26  |  Bernie 02/10/06
  122.   Headshot 06:39  |  bonedaddy 02/10/06
  123.   Muslims 05:40  |  Jim 03/10/06
  124.   tolerance 17:40  |  tolerance 11/10/06
  125.   I No. 10 urge No. 2 to convert to Christianity 18:59  |  Al-Qaida No. 10 12/05/08
  126.   The audacity 20:36  |  Daniel 12/05/08
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