Al-Zawahiri calls for toppling Arab rulers by Jihad, rather than demonstrations
Regional, Politics, 6/20/2005

The second ranking man in al-Qaida organization played down the peaceful calls to make change in the Islamic world. He said in a new video tape that "al-Jihad is the only way to reform the Islamic nation."

Ayman al-Zawahiri added that pulling out what he called the Crusaders invading forces and the Jews "will not be made by demonstrations, rather by fighting and al-Jihad," recalling verses from the holy Koran as a testimony supporting this.

He stressed that reform will be only made by removing current Muslim leaders from power, considering that reforms will not come under "governments ruled by the American embassies which inserts its nose in all its affairs and under the presence of Crusader forces in the Arab and Islamic countries."

He strongly criticized the governments of Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt and also the American conception of reform in the Islamic world.

In his new video tape, al-Zawahiri criticized the violations of the rights of women in demonstrations. This was in remarks to recent demonstrations that took place in Cairo in protest of amending the constitution in which female journalists and lawyers were attacked.

On the other hand, the leading figure in al-Qaida warned the "Mujahideen" in Palestine against the attempts to drag them to the game of elections in order to give legitimacy for the Palestinian authority and demanded them not to give up their "Jihad and weapons."

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