The call for holy war came this week from Sufi Mohammad, an outspoken Muslim cleric who runs a madrassa, or religious school, in nearby Madyan. He exhorted ``true Muslims'' to mass and prepare to go to Afghanistan -- to repel any U.S. ground incursions.
How they will get there, and what they will do upon arrival, is uncertain. Their way station before entering Afghanistan is Bajur, a borderland tribal village where volunteers from different area will come together this weekend.
And the cleric's message -- that, despite its insistence to the contrary, the United States is waging war on Islam itself -- hits home.
``This is a strange occasion of world history,'' Mohammad said Friday. ``For the first time, all the anti-Islamic forces are united against Islam.''
All part of bin Laden's possible strategy behind 9/11.
Afghanistan has special significance to the world of militant Islam. It was once called Khurasan, along with parts of Iran and Pakistan. Muhammad said: "If you see the black flags coming from Khurasan, join that army, even if you have to crawl over ice, for that is the army of the Imam al-Mahdi and no one can stop that army until it reaches Jerusalem." That is one reason Osama bin Laden chose it as his base, or al-Qaida.
Mohammed's Prophecies
of the Imam Mahdi
Will Osama Appear In Pakistan?
Keeps your eyes peeled for jihadin carrying black flags.