Al-Qaeda and Hamas

Hoping to have analysis of bin Laden's new tape later  but just a brief note right now:  it is striking that for the second time in months, al-Qaeda's leaders have issued a strong statement on Palestinian affairs... and Hamas has told al-Qaeda in no uncertain terms to get lost.   It happened back when Zawahiri attacked Hamas for taking part in the elections, and now it's happened in response to the bin Laden speech.   A fairly typical example of the refusal of many entrenched Islamist movements to accept al-Qaeda's claims to lead the Islamist umma (the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood was equally unimpressed with Zawahiri's criticism of their electoral participation, and issued strongly worded public statements to that effect) - and worth keeping in mind as the first wave of analysis of the new bin Laden tape pours out. 

Comments

[Mohamed]

you might want to take a look at this:

http://www.islamismscope.com/index.php?art/id:76
http://www.islamismscope.com/index.php?art/id:75

[Laila El-Haddad]

when I saw the audio-I was ready to shake the tv off the hook when he mentioned Palestine again-I just thought, Leave us the hell alone and fight your own damn crusade !! Honestly I feel he is living in a parallel universe now. As if we don't have enough problems to deal with in Palestine.

also marc did you notice how when he mentioned Sudan and called for jihad there, he made sure to say "this does not mean we are defending the current Sudani regime; remember-we are doing this for the sake of Islam"