July 28, 2006

Zawahiri cites Khomeini in apparent overture to Shiites

"My Brother Against My Brother, But Both Of Us Against Our Cousin" Alert from AKI, with thanks to Sr. Soph:

Doha, 27 July (AKI) - The latest statement by Ayman al-Zawahiri aired on Thursday by al-Jazeera is an unprecedented step by the number two leader of a Sunni militant group towards Shiite movements and perhaps even the Hezbollah militias. At the end of the statement announcing that al-Qaeda will avenge Israel's offensive on Lebanon and the Palestinians, Al-Zawahiri launches an appeal to the 'disposessed of the world' (in Arabic 'Mustadifin fil ard'), a Koranic term often used by the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in his speeches following the 1979 revolution.

Such a quote by the man who is widely considered al-Qaeda's strategist is unlikely to be a coincidence. An overture to a potential alliance with the Shiites must be viewed as part of a new Middle Eastern context within which the leader of the Shiite militia Hezbollah, Hassan Nasralla, is consider the new leader in the war on Israel.