By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Al-Qaida's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri issued a new videotape Saturday along with a man identified as an American member of the terror network, inviting Americans to convert to Islam.
The 41-minute video, posted on an Islamic militant Web site, had footage of al-Zawahri and a man the video identified as Adam Yehiye Gadahn, an American who the FBI believes attended al-Qaida training camps in Pakistan and served as an al-Qaida translator.
It would be the first time Gadahn has appeared in a video released by al-Qaida. He is believed to be a masked figure who appeared in two previous videos not officially from al-Qaida, given to the American television network ABC in Pakistan in 2004 and a few days before Sept. 11, 2005.
"To the American people and the people of the West in general ... God sent his Prophet Muhammad with guidance and the religion of truth ... and sent him as a herald," al-Zawahri said.
Gadahn and al-Zawahri did not appear together in the footage. Gadahn spoke with his face uncovered, with his name and nom de guerra - "Azzam the American" - written in titles in Arabic and English next to him.
"We invite all Americans and unbelievers to Islam," Gadahn said, dressed in a white robe and turban with a long, thick black beard and a computer terminal in the background.
Gadahn, a 28-year-old from California who converted to Islam, is wanted by the FBI in connection with possible terrorist threats against the United States.