Bin Laden's reported call for holy war
draws little response so far in Pakistan
By Scott Schonauer,
Stars and Stripes
Scott Schonauer / Stars and Stripes
A Pakistani college student shouts anti-American chants during a protest Tuesday in
Islamabad, Pakistan. The protest was organized by Jamat-e-Islamic Islamabad, an Islamic
religious political group that has staged nationwide demonstrations against the United
States and any attack against Afghanistan. |
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Terrorist suspect Osama bin Laden reportedly has called on
Pakistan’s Muslims to use all they possess to stop U.S. troops from using Pakistan to
attack neighboring Afghanistan.
But most Muslims have met the Saudi exile’s demand for a jihad, or
"holy war" against the United States with a collective indifference, so far.
Whether bin Laden — accused of masterminding the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the
United States — actually made such a statement probably does not matter, some
religious leaders in Pakistan said.
Anti-American Islamic fundamentalists and fanatics might use the call to rally their
supporters, but it won’t sway most Muslims in Pakistan or around the world, said
Tahir-ul-Qadri, leader of one of the largest Islamic political parties, Pakistan Awami
Therik.
"There is no call of a jihad for the world," Qadri said. "He is
not in the authority."
An Arab television station, Qatar’s Al-Jazeera satellite channel, reported Monday
that it received a statement purportedly faxed and signed by bin Laden. In the letter, he
called on Pakistan’s Muslims to fight "the American crusade."
"I announce to you, our beloved brothers, that we are steadfast on the path of jihad
with the heroic, faithful Afghan people, under the leadership of Mullah Mohammed
Omar," he is said to have written.
Agha Shahi, a former foreign minister who is now a leading defense strategist in
Pakistan, said bin Laden’s statement might inspire Islamic fanatics, but it will have
little impact on what ordinary, mainstream Muslims think worldwide.
"I don’t think he can stir up the general Muslim populace in most Muslim
countries," he said. But Islamic fundamentalists will probably try.
"To what extent it will succeed, I don’t know," he added.
It didn’t seem to be working in the Pakistan capital. An Anti-America march by
college students attracted several thousand people but was peaceful. Most of the
demonstrations around Pakistan have been passionate but smaller than expected.
Extra law enforcement has helped keep a lid on street protests — sometimes with an
iron fist. In the port city of Karachi, police shot and killed three protesters.
In his statement, bin Laden supposedly wrote he was praying to God that the
demonstrators would be accepted as martyrs.
"We hope that they are the first martyrs in Islam’s battle in this era
against the new crusade and Jewish campaign led by the big crusader Bush under the flag of
the cross."
Mian Muhammad Aslam, deputy president of Jamat-e-Islamic Islamabad, an Islamic
political party, suggested bin Laden’s statement was just a strategic ploy to scare
the American people.
"There is no need for it," he said. "It is just something to cool the
people of the USA and their [military] build-up."
Aslam’s party has organized several demonstrations in Islamabad denouncing both
the United States and Pakistan’s offer to allow the U.S. military to use the country
to base troops and equipment. They fear thousands of innocent people would be killed in an
attack.
He predicts that Pakistan’s leaders will change their mind and eventually rescind
their support because of pressure of the demonstrations — not bin Laden.
"The USA will not be able to use our air bases or our land. We will not allow it.
I think the president has deceived the USA. This will not be a base for the murder of
[Afghanistan’s] people."
But at least some people will heed bin Laden’s call, said Javed Rana, a reporter
with The Nation, an independent Pakistani paper.
"Basically, he is sending a message to Pakistan that they must be a part of the jihad,"
he said. "He who kills an American is a martyr."
And there might be some — albeit not many — people willing to do it.
Back to September stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from August, 2001
Stories from July, 2001
Stories from June, 2001
Stories from May, 2001
Stories from April, 2001
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home |
