Prepare for holy war, Bin Laden tells followers

Saudi dissident Osama Bin Laden has warned that Muslims are under siege from a corrupt West and urged his followers to prepare for holy war.

His statement coincided with a convention in Pakistan, where 200,000 Muslim men celebrated the Deoband Dar-ul-Uloom Islamic teachings.

They inspired Afghan Taliban's interpretation of Islam.

Conference organisers said bin Laden's Arabic-language statement was not read out at the convention, but was issued to Pakistan news agencies.

It urged wealthy Muslims to support Afghanistan's Taliban rulers with money to be used to rebuild their war-shattered nation. It also urged the new generation to train for holy war.

"Issue a call to the young generation to get ready for the holy war and to prepare for that in Afghanistan because jehad (holy war) in this time of crisis for Muslims in an obligation of all Muslims," he said.

Successive speakers at the conference were sharply critical of the United States and the United Nations' moves to impose sanctions, which were an attempt to press the Taliban to hand over bin Laden for trial, either in the United States or in a third country on charges of terrorism.

The Taliban say it would betray Islamic tenets to hand over bin Laden to a non-Muslim country for trial. They also say the United States has not provided proof of bin Laden's involvement in terrorism.

In a taped address which was played at the convention, the Taliban's reclusive leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, called the United Nations a tool of Washington, which wants to see the destruction of Muslims worldwide. He also chastised Muslim countries for remaining within the United Nations, saying the global body has nothing to offer Muslims.

Bin Laden praised Omar's edict to destroy Buddhist statues in Afghanistan as a "great Islamic decision".