Al-Zawahiri says that Muslim Pakistanis must fight against Americans, or else “we shall not only contribute to the destruction of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but we shall also deserve the painful punishment of Almighty Allah.” Not that this appeal has anything to do with Islam, or will resonate with anyone in Pakistan on religious grounds.
“Al Qaeda No. 2: U.S. a Grave Threat to Pakistan,” from AP, July 15 (thanks to B.):
CAIRO, Egypt “” Al Qaeda’s No. 2 leader warned the Pakistani people in a new audio message that the U.S. interference in their country’s affairs poses a grave danger to Pakistan’s future and very existence.
The English-language audio message by Ayman al-Zawahri was dated July 14 and addressed to “my Muslim brothers and sisters in Pakistan.” In it, the militant group’s second-in-command called on Pakistanis to join the fight against the United States or support the battle financially.
He warned that without that help “we shall not only contribute to the destruction of Pakistan and Afghanistan, but we shall also deserve the painful punishment of Almighty Allah.”…
“The current ruling class in Pakistan is lining up under the cross of the modern Crusade and competing for American bribes. Hence, the actual ruler of Pakistan is the American ambassador, who pays the bribes and issues the orders,” he said.
He said “the only hope to save Pakistan from this disastrous fate is Jihad” because the political institutions were “either sunk in the swamp of corruption or are too helplessly crippled and paralyzed to bring about any change.”
Stressing the need for money, al-Zawahri called on people to join the fight and contribute money.
“It is the individual duty of every Muslim in Pakistan to join the Mujahedeen, or at the very least, to support the Jihad in Pakistan and Afghanistan with money,” he said….
This accords with the Islamic principle that if an Islamic land is attacked, jihad becomes fard ayn, or incumbent upon every individual believer to join or to aid in any way he can.
(Yes, that photo is photoshopped. Just a little joke. Lighten up.)