Yemen protects radical sheikh on US terrorist list
SANAA (AFP) - Washington accuses Islamic preacher Sheikh Abdul Majid Zendani of being an ally of Osama bin Laden but the extremist cleric operates freely in Yemen with the blessing of the pro-Western government.
The red-bearded sheikh, complete with "jambiya" (traditional dagger), is the second most senior official of Yemen's main religious opposition party.
He runs an Islamic university described by its critics as a hotbed of radicalism.
Respected as a religious scholar throughout the Gulf, loathed in the West as an advocate of the Al-Qaeda leader's virulent brand of political Islam, Zendani is personally protected by America's ally, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The preacher has been on the cutting edge of radical Islamic politics, often working at cross purposes with the West.
He has worked closely with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, helping them raise funds in March in the face of Western sanctions to pressure the militants to recognize
Israel.
Zendani and Saleh's tight-knit relationship serves as a pointed lesson for the United States of the difficulties its faces with crucial allies in waging its war on terror.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the White House and Saleh forged a strategic partnership to crack down on militants in bin Laden's ancestral homeland.
Famously, Saleh even tolerated a US Predator missile strike on a wanted Al-Qaeda member in 2002.
The government has hauled dozens of suspected Al-Qaeda militants to state security court, although a recent jail break by 23 militants proved an embarrassment to the government and strained Sanaa's ties with Washington.
Yet, cooperation goes only so far in Yemen's labyrinth of politics where even Washington's friends are often chummy with America's enemies.
Zendani is a case in point.
In February 2004, the United States branded Zendani "a global terrorist", "one of (bin Laden's) spiritual leaders," a recruiter for Al-Qaeda training camps and a weapons procurer for the terror network.
Citing "credible evidence," Washington persuaded the
United Nations to add the preacher to the world body's list of terrorists.
But back in this impoverished land of guns and daggers, Sanaa has resisted pressure to deliver Zendani to Washington.
In a recent interview with AFP, Zendani exuded confidence, certain he was far beyond Washington's reach.
The preacher quite happily gave an account of Washington's latest bid to pressure Saleh to arrest him. The appeal took the form of a telephone call from a White House official to Saleh.
Saleh then summoned the US ambassador, Thomas Krajeski, and Zendani for a meeting during which he played the call from Washington.
He then defended the cleric in front of the diplomat, calling him "a moderate and wise man", and adding emphatically that "the government vouches for him and I personally vouch for him", according to Zendani.
The US ambassador refused to comment on Zendani's claims to AFP.
Zendani is today one of the main leaders of the influential Islamist party Al-Islah. Although part of the opposition, Islah works in tandem with Saleh, diplomats and experts say.
Defiant in the face of the charges levied against him by Washington, Zendani says Washington has made him a target because he has "strongly criticised their policies".
He admits to having known bin Laden during the 1980s war of US-backed Jihadists against the Russian-supported government in
Afghanistan when Zendani actively recruited mujahedeen fighters.
"I knew him like many others knew him in that period. We were encouraged by the Americans to meet bin Laden and to support him," he said.
He last saw bin Laden in the mid-1990s in Sudan, where the Al-Qaeda leader was living at the time. "When he heard I was there, he came to see me."
Since that time, Zendani claims to have lost contact with the world's most wanted man.
The cleric makes light of being on the US hit list, comparing the allegations against him to "their accusations against Iraq on weapons of mass destruction."
He also defends his Al-Iman university, home to 5,000 students, denying any links between the school and some famous militants, like the American Taliban John Lindh Walker, who is thought to have visited the campus in 2000 before making his way to Afghanistan.
In an answer that could apply to all accusations levied against him, he asks: "How can I be responsible?"
The red-bearded sheikh, complete with "jambiya" (traditional dagger), is the second most senior official of Yemen's main religious opposition party.
He runs an Islamic university described by its critics as a hotbed of radicalism.
Respected as a religious scholar throughout the Gulf, loathed in the West as an advocate of the Al-Qaeda leader's virulent brand of political Islam, Zendani is personally protected by America's ally, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
The preacher has been on the cutting edge of radical Islamic politics, often working at cross purposes with the West.
He has worked closely with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, helping them raise funds in March in the face of Western sanctions to pressure the militants to recognize
Israel.
Zendani and Saleh's tight-knit relationship serves as a pointed lesson for the United States of the difficulties its faces with crucial allies in waging its war on terror.
In the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the White House and Saleh forged a strategic partnership to crack down on militants in bin Laden's ancestral homeland.
Famously, Saleh even tolerated a US Predator missile strike on a wanted Al-Qaeda member in 2002.
The government has hauled dozens of suspected Al-Qaeda militants to state security court, although a recent jail break by 23 militants proved an embarrassment to the government and strained Sanaa's ties with Washington.
Yet, cooperation goes only so far in Yemen's labyrinth of politics where even Washington's friends are often chummy with America's enemies.
Zendani is a case in point.
In February 2004, the United States branded Zendani "a global terrorist", "one of (bin Laden's) spiritual leaders," a recruiter for Al-Qaeda training camps and a weapons procurer for the terror network.
Citing "credible evidence," Washington persuaded the
United Nations to add the preacher to the world body's list of terrorists.
But back in this impoverished land of guns and daggers, Sanaa has resisted pressure to deliver Zendani to Washington.
In a recent interview with AFP, Zendani exuded confidence, certain he was far beyond Washington's reach.
The preacher quite happily gave an account of Washington's latest bid to pressure Saleh to arrest him. The appeal took the form of a telephone call from a White House official to Saleh.
Saleh then summoned the US ambassador, Thomas Krajeski, and Zendani for a meeting during which he played the call from Washington.
He then defended the cleric in front of the diplomat, calling him "a moderate and wise man", and adding emphatically that "the government vouches for him and I personally vouch for him", according to Zendani.
The US ambassador refused to comment on Zendani's claims to AFP.
Zendani is today one of the main leaders of the influential Islamist party Al-Islah. Although part of the opposition, Islah works in tandem with Saleh, diplomats and experts say.
Defiant in the face of the charges levied against him by Washington, Zendani says Washington has made him a target because he has "strongly criticised their policies".
He admits to having known bin Laden during the 1980s war of US-backed Jihadists against the Russian-supported government in
Afghanistan when Zendani actively recruited mujahedeen fighters.
"I knew him like many others knew him in that period. We were encouraged by the Americans to meet bin Laden and to support him," he said.
He last saw bin Laden in the mid-1990s in Sudan, where the Al-Qaeda leader was living at the time. "When he heard I was there, he came to see me."
Since that time, Zendani claims to have lost contact with the world's most wanted man.
The cleric makes light of being on the US hit list, comparing the allegations against him to "their accusations against Iraq on weapons of mass destruction."
He also defends his Al-Iman university, home to 5,000 students, denying any links between the school and some famous militants, like the American Taliban John Lindh Walker, who is thought to have visited the campus in 2000 before making his way to Afghanistan.
In an answer that could apply to all accusations levied against him, he asks: "How can I be responsible?"
posted by Marko at 5/12/2006 04:25:00 AM
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