CAIRO: Al-Qaeda threatened yesterday to kill Egyptian Islamist movements expert Diaa Rashwan, a researcher at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies. The statement was published on an online forum affiliated with Al-Qaeda called Al Ikhlas, accompanied by a photo of a bloody knife. Diaa Rashwan, Islamist movements expert at Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, stop slandering Islam and Muslims and stop opposing Allah and his messenger, said the statement We can make you face the same destiny as Benazir Bhutto who was assassinated, so don t be happy with those who pay you and know that the lions are watching, so be careful, they added. In response, Diaa Rashwan told Daily News Egypt he believes that his analysis of their last tape marking the Sept. 11 anniversary which was aired on Al-Jazeera, where he said that they didn t achieve anything, was what triggered their anger. I am not party to any political conflict, but they analyze things from a different perspective. Anyone who harbors an opinion that is different to theirs is accused of 'haraba,' which means waging war against Islam, Rashwan said. But this was not the first time Rashwan is threatened. "I was even mocked by them and was compared with Saudi sheikhs but this time the statement was directed to me by name and from senior and important members, he added. However, Rashwan rules out the possibility of them carrying out their threat because they don t have enough adherents in Egypt. Even if they had the resources needed for an operation like this, they have more important priorities in Egypt than Diaa Rashwan, he said He noted that their approach is different this time, since leaders like Osama Bin laden and Ayman Al-Zawahiri never threaten people by name unless they were presidents or heads of state but not analysts or journalists. Ironically, within Egyptian circles, Rashwan is considered to have Islamist leanings and many Islamic movements in Egypt regard him as an ally and a supporter. But this is not how Rashwan sees himself. I am a nationalist Nasserite and the Egyptian authorities know that very well; all I do is try to be objective when talking about Islamist movements. This is why many consider me pro-Islamists, which isn t true, he said.
