Qaeda deputy lauds dead Bali bombers, slams Saudis

Al-Qaeda number two Ayman Zawahiri paid tribute to three Indonesian Islamists executed last month for the deadly Bali bombings in 2002, in an Internet audio message released on Monday. [as-sahab media's video here]

Zawahiri also slammed the Saudi royal family, accusing it of working with the United States and Israel against jihadists in the Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and Iraq.

He praised the three Bali bombers, saying "they knew the price of their action and they paid it with satisfaction.

"They faced a long journey of torture, imprisonment and oppression. They received the verdict joyfully," Zawahiri said in the 20-minute message made available by the US-based SITE Intelligence Group.

Zawahiri called the three "steadfast heroes" and warned of consequences. "I remind the crusaders that killing our brothers will only increase our determination to vex them and eventually drive them out of Muslim countries."

Indonesian Islamists Amrozi, his brother Mukhlas and ringleader Imam Samudra were executed by firing squad on November 9 for the attacks on packed nightspots on the holiday island of Bali which killed 202 people.

On the Saudi royal family, Zawahiri accused them of "working with the United States and Israel to undermine jihadist resistance in Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq."

He described a Saudi-sponsored UN conference on religious tolerance last month as a "ridiculous farce" and "only another trick to negotiate and meet with the Israelis." -- Agence France-Presse - 12/1/2008 5:12 PM GMT

afp: World leaders plead for religious tolerance

Griffith University : Judge accuses Aussie varsity of promoting hardline Islam

Judge accuses Aussie varsity of promoting hardline Islam

MELBOURNE: A judge has likened Griffith University in Brisbane, which last year boasted it had attracted "two prominent Malaysian figures" to undertake their PhD research there, as propagating hardline Islamic teachings similar to the madrasah in Pakistan.

Queensland District Court judge Clive Wall also accused Griffith of promoting a Muslim ideology espoused by Osama bin Laden, founder of the al-Qaeda terrorist network.

In an e-newsletter last June, the Griffith Islamic Research Unit (GIRU) announced that Parti Keadilan Rakyat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim would undertake research at GIRU.

The Australian newspaper quoted Wall as accusing Griffith of becoming an "agent" for propagating hardline Islamic teachings by using funds from Saudi Arabia.

But GIRU director Mohamad Abdalla rejected accusations that funding from Saudi Arabia would be used to promote Wahabism, saying that his centre was opposed to the hardline ideology, and was in favour of moderate Islam. - Bernama
Griffith Islamic Research Unit - The central aim of the Griffith Islamic Research Unit is to promote a Wasatiyya or balanced and contextualised understanding of Islam and Muslims.
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