Former Taliban Minister: "Two Million Martyrs" to Defend UBL
By Evan Kohlmann
The NEFA Foundation has obtained and translated an online jihadi magazine interview with former Taliban Deputy Justice Minister Jalaluddin Shinwari, once considered one of the more moderate Taliban leaders who would cooperate with the Karzai administration. During the interview, Shinwari said, “we welcome Sheikh Usama bin Laden and his Arab brothers and others in Afghanistan, and we defend them in obedience to Allah before anything…The Afghani people are fully ready to provide—for the cause of Allah—two million other martyrs in defense of Sheikh Usama bin Laden and his brothers, because we consider this a pillar in our religion; we cannot [possibly] neglect the Sheikh and his brothers…it is an impossible matter for us. The love of the Afghani people to Sheikh Usama bin Laden—we believe—is stronger than the love of the Arabian Peninsula to his because he is a Muslim Mujahid.’” He added, “We consider the Sheikh Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajir—may Allah protect those— leaders of Jihad against the crusader occupation to our beloved Iraq.”
It should be noted that the official Taliban media wing in Afghanistan has distanced itself from Shinwari: "There was a famous person named Jalaludeen Shinwari whose position was Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Justice during the Islamic Emirate government, and not as the representative of the Amir al-Mumineen. But, today, he is not with the mujahideen and he does not work with the Islamic Emirate.”
A complete English translation of the interview with former Taliban Deputy Justice Minister Jalaluddin Shinwari can be accessed on the NEFA Foundation website.
