We'll never give up bin Laden - Taliban leader

The leader of Afghanistan’s Taliban regime is refusing to hand over suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden because it would mean ‘‘Islam was finished’’.

Mullah Mohammed Omar made the claim in an interview with Voice of America, the United States’ equivalent of the BBC Foreign Service.

And the Islamic scholar who is the leader of the ultra-fundamentalist movement said he was ‘‘confident’’ America would not win a military confrontation with Afghanistan.

The 15-minute interview, conducted in the local dialect of Pashtun with the mullah in the Taliban’s stronghold of Kandrahar, was banned from being broadcast by the US State Department, which funds Voice of America, but a translation was published by the Washington Post.

In the interview, Mullah Omar said the Taliban would not hand over bin Laden and said: ‘‘This is not an issue of Osama bin Laden. It is an issue of Islam. Islam’s prestige is at stake. So is Afghan’s tradition.’’

He rejected American President George Bush’s declaration of a ‘‘war on terrorism’’ and promise to punish those who harbour terrorists.

‘‘I am considering two promises. One is the promise of God. The other is that of Bush,’’ he said.

‘‘The promise of God is that my land is vast. If you start a journey on God’s path, you can reside anywhere on this earth and will be protected.

‘‘The promise of Bush is that there is no place on earth where you can hide that I cannot find you. We will see which one of these two promises is fulfilled.’’

And he said he was not afraid of the consequences which his regime and Afghanistan could suffer for rejecting the American demands.

‘‘Almighty God is helping the believers and the Muslims,’’ he said.

‘‘God says he will never be satisfied with the infidels. In terms of worldly affairs, America is very strong.

‘‘Even if it were twice as strong or twice that, it could not be strong enough to defeat us. We are confident that no one can harm us if God is with us.’’

He also claimed the Islamic world would ‘‘revile’’ the Taliban for handing over the suspected leader of terrorist network Al Quaida.

‘‘Consider our point of view: If we give Osama away today, Muslims who are now pleading to give him up would then be reviling us for giving him up,’’ the mullah told the radio station.

‘‘The very same people would be asking, ‘Why did you sacrifice the prestige of Islam? Why did you bring shame on Muslims?’

‘‘Everyone is afraid of America and wants to please it. But let me tell you something. Americans will not be able to prevent such acts like the one that has just occurred because America has taken Islam hostage.

‘‘America has done that in the Islamic world and especially in the Islamic countries.’’

The fundamentalist leader claimed people in Muslim countries were ‘‘in despair’’ because they were not allowed to practise their beliefs - and blamed America for the kamikaze hijackings.

‘‘Secular law has replaced Islamic law,’’ said Mullah Omar.

‘‘But people remain firm in their Islamic beliefs. In their pain and frustration, some of them commit suicide acts. They feel they have nothing to lose.

‘‘If the US really wants to end this evil, it knows how to do it. It should end its virtual grip on Islam. It should let go. America controls the governments of the Islamic countries.

‘‘America has created the evil that is attacking it. The evil will not disappear even if I die and Osama dies and others die. This is US policy. The US should step back and review its policy.’’

He said there would be no handover of bin Laden and added: ‘‘If we did, it means we are not Muslims. That Islam is finished.

‘‘If we were afraid of attack, we could have surrendered him the last time we were threatened and attacked, so America can hit us again, and this time we don’t even have a friend.’’

And he said he did not believe the Taliban would be defeated and its people suffer if there was a war with America.

‘‘On the surface it looks as if that is the case, but I’m very confident that it won’t turn out this way,’’ he said.

‘‘Please note this: There is nothing more we can do except depend on almighty God.’’