Al Qaeda No. 2 Takes Online Questions

Zawahiri will answer queries forwarded from jihadist websites
By Sam Gale Rosen,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 15, 2008 10:05 AM CST
Al Qaeda No. 2 Takes Online Questions
This image released by IntelCenter on Wednesday May 23, 2007, purportedly shows Al-Qaida's No. 2 leader, Ayman al-Zawahri presenting a eulogy for a slain Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Dadullah in a new video released on Tuesday May 22, 2007, according to a transcript issued by a U.S. group that monitors...   (Associated Press)

"Dear Abby" this ain't. Al-Qaeda no. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri is planning an online question-and-answer session. Zawahiri, an Egyptian doctor and Osama Bin Laden's top deputy, has authorized four jihadist websites to collect and forward questions to him, "regardless of whether they are in support of or are against" al-Qaeda, reports Der Spiegel.

Experts say the project has two propaganda goals: to attract attention and to make the terror organization seem tech savvy and hip to web 2.0. The hundreds of questions already submitted range from local—"Is there a branch of al-Qaeda in Kashmir?"—to philosophical—"Should women be allowed to carry out suicide missions?" (More Ayman al-Zawahri stories.)

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