Muslim clerics threaten jihad

A GROUP of prominent Muslim clerics warned yesterday they will call for jihad, or holy war, if the US sends troops to fight al-Qaida in Yemen.

The group of 15 clergymen includes the highly influential Sheik Abdul-Majid al-Zindani, whom the US has branded a spiritual mentor of Osama bin-Laden but who is also courted by the Yemeni government for his important backing.

The clerics’ warning goes straight to the Yemeni government’s dilemma in co-operating with Washington against an al-Qaida offshoot in the country. In doing so, Yemen’s weak regime must avoid upsetting al-Zindani and other radical Islamic figures whose support it needs to stay in power.