Terror chief warns Brown over Rushdie knighthood

Osama Bin Laden’s number two has warned Gordon Brown that al-Qaida will attack Britain again in retaliation for awarding a knighthood to controversial author Salman Rushdie.

Ayman al-Zawahri, the terrorist network’s deputy chief, accused the UK yesterday of defying the Muslim world by granting the honour.

Addressing the new prime minister, he said Britain’s strategy in the Middle East had “brought tragedy and defeat upon you, not only in Afghanistan and Iraq but also in the centre of London”.

He went on: “And if you did not understand, listen, we are ready to repeat it for you.”

A Downing Street spokesman, while not responding directly to al-Zawahri’s remarks, said: “As the Prime Minister has said, we will not allow terrorists to undermine the British way of life.

“The British people will remain united, resolute and strong.”

The British Foreign Office said it would maintain efforts to thwart terrorists.

“We will continue to tackle the threat from international terrorism as a priority in order to prevent the risk of attacks on British interests at home and overseas, including from al Qaida,” a spokesman said.

“These terrorists care nothing for the peoples of the Middle East, Iraq and Afghanistan. Al-Qaida has been killing civilians of all faiths, including many fellow Muslims, for years.”

On the knighthood of Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses, the British Foreign Office reiterated that it was awarded purely in recognition of his literary achievements.

“The government have already made clear that Rushdie’s honour was not intended as an insult to Islam or the prophet Mohammed,” the spokesman said.

“It was a reflection of his contribution to literature throughout a long and distinguished career.”

The al-Qaida comments emerged in a new audiotape obtained by a US-based monitoring group.

In a 20-minute speech, entitled Malicious Britain And Its Indian Slaves, Osama bin Laden’s deputy lashed out at Britain for the knighthood announced in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last month.

According to the Site intelligence group, which monitors al-Qaida messages, the tape was produced by as-Sahab, the multimedia wing of al Qaida, to be distributed to extremist websites.

In it, al Zawahri said a “very precise response” was being prepared to retaliate for the knighting of Rushdie, who was vilified by many Muslims for The Satanic Verses.

The British Muslim Initiative condemned the threat to Britain.

Spokesman Anas Altikriti said: “We have said that the timing and the manner in which Salman Rushdie was knighted was insensitive at a time when Muslims were being targeted here and abroad.

“While we criticise the knighthood, we would totally reject any notion that threatens Britain and its people.

“Al-Qaida doesn’t really need an excuse to unleash terror on the streets of Britain or any other place that they can, and this is really an excuse.

“We will continue to denounce and disown the rhetoric of al Qaida.”

Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said: “To reward Rushdie with a knighthood was an ill thought out decision, it was bound to cause outrage among many Muslims around the world, considering the way Rushdie portrayed key Islamic figures in his book, The Satanic Verses.

“However, it was quite predictable that al-Qaida would try to use the knighthood to try to further their own goals, of polarising Muslims and the West, it was not unexpected.”

Conservative MP for Wycombe Paul Goodman, who is also a shadow minister with responsibility for community cohesion, said: “It is ludicrous for al-Qaida to imply in any way that it is a peaceful organisation, which is taking up violence because of the Rushdie knighthood.

“Al-Qaida, as we know from events in Glasgow, is a terrorist organisation, intent on establishing a worldwide caliphate through fear and violence.”