Former Qaeda No 2 mentor in bitter war of words

From Dawn.

Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri is a plagiarist who worked for Sudanese intelligence before his handlers grew tired of his jokes, his former spiritual mentor has claimed in a newspaper article. The accusations are the latest in an increasingly bitter war of words between Zawahiri and Sayed Imam, the former spiritual guide of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad movement to which Osama bin Laden's deputy once belonged. Imam was highly regarded for his erudition by militants. The feud began in 2007, after Imam penned a book from his Egyptian prison cell denouncing Al-Qaeda for killing innocent people and being responsible for the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The intellectual turbulence within the Muslim community continues.