Bin Laden Archives

(Photo: Today’s Zaman)

December 20, 2014,

Leader of Turkey’s Tahşiye group Mehmet Doğan, who is at the heart of the latest crackdown on media, has told CNNTurk that he “loves Osama bin Laden.” report today zaman

Turkish authorities carried out a large-scale operation in the weekend, detaining dozens of journalists, scripwriters and police officials after Doğan filed a complaint that the group plotted against him. A Turkish court issued an arrest warrant for Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen on Friday on charges of publicly criticizing the leader of the al-Qaeda group.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan defended Doğan and his group, accusing detained journalists and Gülen for orchestrating a plot against him. Doğan was jailed for 17 months and he was later released pending trial.

Speaking to Akif Beki, former spokesman of Erdoğan, Doğan denied any links to al-Qaeda, but said he loves bin Laden because he is a Muslim. When asked if he views bin Laden as a terrorist or not, Doğan said he doesn’t know if “his jihad is right or wrong” because he is living a reclusive life.

In another video extensively broadcast on TVs, Doğan is heard praising bin Laden and al-Qaeda. In one case, Yiğit Bulut, who is now Erdoğan’s chief aide, says “we need to cleanse Islam from this al-Qaide affiliates.”

An Islamic seminary for women in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad has renamed its library after Osama Bin Laden, the former al-Qaeda chief, the BBC reported.

The Jamia Hafsa Madrassa is linked to the Red Mosque, known for its alleged links with militants.

A paper sign on one of the doors proclaims Bin Laden a “Shahid” (martyr). Bin Laden was killed in a raid by US commandos in 2011.

Pakistani troops raided the mosque in 2007. Dozens died later in clashes.

The BBC’s Shumaila Jaffrey in Islamabad says there are no chairs or any table in the library – just two computers on the floor.

The library is in a huge complex in the heart of Islamabad, part of which is still being built.

A spokesman for the madrassa said the new name was a tribute to Bin Laden, who was “a hero.”

The chief cleric there is Maulana Abdul Aziz. He warned that “if the government makes madrassas and mosques its target then Sharia (Islamic law) allows us to retaliate – if anyone will be harsh with us, they should not expect flowers in return.”

He also uses the library as his office. It has about 2,000 books – all of them related to Islam.

There are books about Sharia, Jihad and interpretations of the Koran in Arabic, Urdu and English.