COMMENT: Is John Howard linked to al-Qaeda?

Sydney readers beware! Osama bin Ladin's minions is on the prowl, seeking recuits for his grand jihad.

The Herald-Sun reports of ...

... a weekend recruitment drive by Muslim extremists espousing the teachings of Osama bin Laden.

The Hun also provides this amazing insight into the workings of anti-terrorist agencies:

Terrorist recruitment tactics have been in the spotlight since eight young professionals were arrested over the latest wave of UK bombings.

So until that thankfully-incompetent chap was found burning and screaming "Allah" at Glasgow, no one in the intelligence community bothered about how terrorist groups and cells recruit members.I can just imagine ASIO chief Paul O'Sullivan telling his researchers and operatives: "OK, fellas. I've just read in the Hun that a bomb's gone off. Let's find out how these people recuit!".

And what sophisticated methods are used by al-Qaeda to recruit in South Western Sydney? The Hun offers this insight:

Flyers for the event, the Islam Mercy to the Worlds Conference, have been dropped in cafes and restaurants around Sydney's southwest.

Mick Keelty had better send some of his blokes down to some of these places to watch these well-trained operatives in action.

With so much exclusive information, why would the Hun need to contact the organisers?

Conference organisers did not return the Herald Sun's calls last night.

I wonder why.

So what links these loud-mouthed and irrelevant imams to al-Qaeda? The Hun says they are ...

... devoted to bin Laden's poisonous brand of Islam, Wahhabism.

Wahhabism also happens to be the official religion of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is also the sect followed and promoted by one of Mr Howard's closest friends in Aussie Muslim circles. The Hun article refers to the young Sydney graduate Kamal Taleb who

... returned to Australia after 15 years in a Saudi Arabian seminary devoted to fundamentalism.

I know Taleb personally. He studied at the Islamic University of Madina in Saudi Arabia. Mr Howard's friend facilitated Taleb's enrolment and even wrote him a reference.

I guess, using the Hun's logic, John Howard is directly linked to al-Qaeda. So am I. And because you are reading this article, so are you!

I'm no fan of Wahhabism. But seriously, to claim all Wahhabis are linked to OBL is as lame as suggesting all Irish Catholics were and are linked to Sinn Fein. Or suggesting all Tamils are linked to the LTTE.

© Irfan Yusuf 2007