IRAQI Sunni tribal and political leaders singled out as "traitors" by Osama bin Laden have hit back, accusing the Al-Qaeda chief of being un-Islamic and mocking him as being weak.
"Bin Laden's statement doesn't affect us - he is making these threats from a position of weakness," said Sheikh Khalid Shahudh, a senior member of the Awakening Council in western Anbar province which came in for particular censure from the Western world's most wanted man.
Bin Laden, in a 56-minute tape released late Saturday, warned Sunni Muslims in Iraq not to take up arms against the terror network, saying those who did were "traitors". Those fighting Al-Qaeda, known as "Awakening" councils, have "betrayed the nation and brought shame and scandal, that will be followed by damnation forever unless they repent," he said.
Along with Awakening members, especially those in Anbar where the movement first began, bin Laden also rejected supporters of the Islamic Party of Iraq, a Sunni faction led by Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, as "traitors to Islam".
Sheikh Shahudh said bin Laden's threats carried no weight. "Al-Qaeda has no more power in Anbar province," he said. "The Awakening is now operating all across Iraq and involving all sects. We will continue chasing Al-Qaeda. We have no enemies except Al-Qaeda. The Americans are not our enemy anymore. Our forces will deal exclusively with Al-Qaeda. We will hunt them until we get rid of the last element."
The Awakening Council in central Salaheddin province, in a statement, accused bin Laden and his followers of being un-Islamic. "What the loyalists of bin Laden do contradicts Islamic principles and its moral standards," the council said. "Bin Laden should order his followers to stop targeting Iraqis ... he must apologise to Iraqis that have been harmed by Al-Qaeda's heinous crimes."
Abdul Karim al-Samarraie, a member of parliament for the Islamic Party, said the party did not wish to respond to bin Laden's comments as it would "give him legitimacy". "The message of Al-Qaeda has collapsed in Iraq because of their terrorist actions. All Iraqi people are turning against them and kicking them out. Iraqis have tasted the pain of their actions," Mr Samarraie said. |