Purported Al-Qaida Tapes Criticize Bush, France

Portions of separate audiotapes attributed to Ayman al-Zawahri, the No. 2 figure in al-Qaida behing bin Laden, were aired a few hours apart on Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera, which both are based in the Persian Gulf.

In the broadcast on Al-Arabiya, the speaker, purported to be al-Zawahri, called France’s move toward banning “conspicuous” religious items in schools, most notably Muslim headscarves, more of the West’s campaign against Islam. The speaker compared a headscarf ban to “killing children in Iraq.”

If found to be authentic, the tape had to have been made recently. France’s lower house of Parliament passed the measure to ban religious symbols in public schools Feb. 10. Early next month, the law is expected to go before the French Senate, where little opposition exists.

In the tape aired by Al-Jazeera, the speaker, again purported to be al-Zawahri, taunts President George W. Bush, challenging his claim to have liberated Iraq. The speaker also indicates al-Qaida is still running operations from Afghanistan.