Zawahiri... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as
the real brains of the outfit.Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
, the Egyptian-born head of the bad boy al-Qaeda organization, accused the United States of "plotting" Morsi's overthrow with the Egyptian military and the country's Christian minority.
"Crusaders and secularists and the Americanized army have converged ... with Gulf money and American plotting to topple Mohammed Morsi's government," he said in a 15-minute audio recording posted on bad boy Islamist forums.
In his first comments since the July 3 coup, Zawahiri also attacked Morsi's secular opposition and Coptic Christians, who he said wanted a secessionist state in Egypt, and called for a mass movement to install Islamic law.
"I give this piece of advice to whoever supported Morsi and I tell them first we have to admit that legitimacy doesn't lie in elections and democracy but it lies in Sharia," Zawahri said.
"Sharia is not electing Morsi president of a republic, a president of a secular and nationalistic state," he added.
"What has happened is the greatest evidence that taking democracy as a path to Islamic rule has failed," Zawahri said.