基地恐怖组织首领本拉登发出新的信息。他警告欧洲联盟说,欧洲报纸刊登描绘先知穆罕默德的漫画,欧盟将为此受到严厉惩罚。与基地组织有关的网站星期三晚间公布了一份讲话录音,录音中据信是本拉登的人说,刊登漫画的罪行比西方军队轰炸妇女儿童的家宅还要严重。这份录音与显示本拉登手持步枪的图像同时播放,配有英文字幕。
2006年,丹麦报纸刊登了讽刺伊斯兰先知穆罕默德的漫画,在世界各地的穆斯林国家引发大规模骚乱。丹麦报纸上个月重新刊登了其中的一幅漫画,在这幅度漫画中,穆罕默德戴的头巾是一枚炸弹。此前警方说,他们发现了试图刺杀那幅漫画作者的阴谋,丹麦报纸于是再次刊登这幅漫画,以表现对言论自由的坚定信仰。本拉登的声明说,漫画是讨伐伊斯兰的新十字军征战的一部分,罗马教廷在其中扮演着重要和长期的角色。
Al Qaida Terrorist Leader Osama bin Laden — in a new message — has warned the European Union that it will be severely punished for publishing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in European newspapers. In an audio recording posted to an al-Qaida-affiliated Web site late Wednesday, a voice said to be that of bin Laden’s says publishing the cartoons was a greater offense than Western forces bombing the homes of women and children. The audio track with English subtitles is heard over a video image of bin Laden holding a rifle.
Satirical cartoons of Islam’s Prophet Mohammed were published in Danish newspapers in 2006, sparking mass riots in Islamic nations worldwide. Last month they republished one of the cartoons — in which Mohammed is wearing a bomb as a turban — to show their commitment to freedom of speech, after police said a plot to kill the artist was uncovered. The bin Laden statement says the cartoons are part of a new crusade against Islam in which the Vatican has played a large and lengthy role.