Excerpts: Al-Zawahiri video comments

Zawahiri urged defeat of "Zionists and Crusaders"

Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al-Qaeda's deputy leader, has warned in a video statement that those backing attacks on Muslims in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip will be made to pay.

Below are excerpts of the tape broadcast by al-Jazeera TV.

Gaza and Lebanon

The current serious events in Gaza and Lebanon prove to every sane person that the Crusader-Zionist war does not respect any ties or kinship. Nobody cared about the 10,000 prisoners in Israel's prisons while the world went into uproar over [the abduction of] three Israeli soldiers.

The events that are taking place now show the significance of the two jihad fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq

The war with Israel is not about a treaty, a ceasefire agreement, Sykes-Picot borders, national zeal or disputed borders. It is rather a jihad for the sake of God until the religion of God is established. It is jihad for the liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine, as well as every land that was a home for Islam, from Andalusia to Iraq.

The whole world is an open field for us. As they attack us everywhere, we will attack them everywhere. As their armies got together to wage war on us, our nation will get together to fight them.

The shells and missiles that tear apart the bodies of Muslims in Gaza and Lebanon are not purely Israeli. Rather, they come from and are financed by all countries of the Crusader alliance. Thus, all those who took part in the crime should pay the price. We cannot just stand idly by in humiliation while we see all these shells fall on our brothers in Gaza and Lebanon.

How can we remain silent while we are the sons of Abu-Bakr, Umar, Uthman, Hamzah, Ja'far, Ali, Al-Husayn, Sa'd, Khalid, Talhah, Al-Zubayr, Ikrimah, Salah-al-Din, Yusuf Bin-Tashfin, and Muhammad al-Fatih [caliphs and Prophet Muhammad's companions].

We are the sons of those who fought the apostates, conquered the world, moved the people from the darkness of polytheism to the light of monotheism and from worshipping slaves to worshipping the God of slaves, put out the fire of the Magians, and conquered Constantinople.

We are back to the field again, with the favour of God.

'Obligation of jihad'

I do not wish to move your feelings with an over-zealous speech or with an emotional address. But I ask you by God Almighty; by your love for God's messenger, may God's peace and blessings upon him; and by the obligation of jihad, which is a duty on every Muslim, to rise and seek martyrdom to hurt the Crusaders and the Zionists.

Battle your enemies, the worshippers of the world, with death-loving weapons

The events that are taking place now show the significance of the two jihad fronts in Afghanistan and Iraq. All Muslims must support them in order to drive out the forces of America from them, paralysed and powerless, and push them back to their country and make them pay the price for their aggression against the Muslims and their support for Israel.

Iraq is characterised by its proximity to Palestine. The Muslims must support its mujahidin so that a mujahid Islamic emirate can be established there which can, with the will of God, move jihad to the borders of Palestine. Then, the mujahidin inside and outside Palestine can unite and the great conquest will arrive, God willing.

Perhaps, the events of the Crusader-Zionist aggression on the Muslims may push the traitors in Iraq to end their disgrace and treason and stop justifying and supporting the US-Crusader presence in Iraq.

'Helpless' Arab nations

O my Muslim nation, it has become known to you without doubt that the governments of the Arab and Muslim states are not only helpless, but also involved in collusion [against you]. The institutions are paralysed and defeatist and you are left in the field alone. Put your trust in God and do not rely but on Him. Battle your enemies, the worshippers of the world, with death-loving weapons.

Stand by Muslims in the face of this injustice which humanity has never witnessed before

Almighty God says: "Then fight in Allah's cause - Thou art held responsible only for thyself - and rouse the believers. It may be that Allah will restrain the fury of the Unbelievers; for Allah is the strongest in might and in punishment." [Koranic verse]

As for you, the oppressed and wronged people in the world, the victims of the Western oppressive civilisation led by America: Stand by Muslims in the face of this injustice which humanity has never witnessed before. Support us as we are supporting you against injustice and tyranny that was forbidden by God in His book: "The blame is only against those who oppress men and wrongdoing and insolently transgress beyond bounds through the land, defying right and justice: for such there will be a penalty grievous." [Koranic verse]

Stand by us so that rights can be returned to their owners and the symbol of injustice in the history of human beings collapses.

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