Bin Laden slams Europe for anti-Islamic cartoons

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden addressed the “wise men” of the European Union in a new audio message slamming the publication of drawings insulting to the Prophet Muhammad and vowed a strong reaction.

The message, which appeared on a militant website that has carried al-Qaida statements in the past and bore the logo of the extremist group’s media wing al-Sahab, showed a still image of bin Laden aiming with a AK-47.

A voice meant to be Bin Laden’s described the attacks of the Europeans on women and children, but said these “paled (in comparison) when you went overboard in your unbelief and freed yourselves of the etiquettes of dispute and fighting and went to the extent of publishing these insulting drawings, this is the greatest misfortune and the most dangerous.”

Bin Laden also attacked former British prime minister Tony Blair alongside his long-time nemesis, the King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, whom he described as the “crownless king in Riyadh” and said he could have ended the entire dispute over the cartoons because of his influence with European governments.

“(He) ordered your legal institutions to stop their investigations into the embezzlement of the billions from the al-Yamamah deal and Blair carried this out and he is today your representative in the Quartet,” he said, referring to Mr Blair and his role in quashing a corruption investigation into a British arms deal.

In December, the British Guardian newspaper printed documents showing how Mr Blair persuaded the attorney general to cancel a fraud investigation in 2006 into an agreement under which Britain supplied Tornado fighter jets and other military equipment to Saudi Arabia.

The tape came as the Muslim world marked the birthday of Prophet Mohammed and less than a week after the Danish intelligence service said the reprinting of a cartoon depicting the Prophet had brought “negative attention” to Denmark and may have increased the risk to Danes at home and abroad.

Bin Laden did not make any mention of the 5th anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq which takes place at the same time.

Danish newspapers republished a cartoon showing Muhammad wearing a bomb-shaped turban on February 13 to show their commitment to freedom of speech after police said they had uncovered a plot to kill the artist. The move reignited Muslim ire and brought the condemnation of several Muslim leaders.

The drawing was one of 12 cartoons first published in a Danish newspaper that triggered major protests in Muslim countries in 2006.

Bin Laden went on describe the cartoons as taking place in the framework of a “new Crusade” against Islam, in which the Pope has played a “large and lengthy role” and warned the Europeans that a reaction would come.

“The response will be what you see and not what you hear and let our mothers bereave us if we do not make victorious our messenger of God,” he said, without specifying what action would be taken.

The five-minute message, which featured English subtitles, is Bin Laden’s first for 2008 and follows up an hour-long, audio missive from December 27 in which he warned Iraq’s Sunni Arabs against fighting al-Qaida in Iraq and vowed new attacks on Israel.