AN ONLINE magazine published by al-Qaeda’s Gulf affiliate and linked to Anwar al-Awlaki, the cleric touted as a possible successor to Osama bin Laden, contains several references to Ireland, and quotes approvingly remarks by Richard Boyd Barrett, People Before Profit TD for Dún Laoghaire.
Inspire, an English-language magazine, offers advice on bomb-making and encryption. The references to Ireland appear in a timeline published in the autumn 2010 edition, which refers to developments in the story regarding the publication of cartoons lampooning the prophet Muhammad.
It says that “seven Muslims were arrested in the Republic of Ireland over an alleged plot to assassinate Lars Vilks (a Swedish artist who had drawn a controversial portrait of Muhammad)”.
In the same edition, under a caption that reads “Hear the World – a collection of quotes from friend and foe” a photograph of Boyd Barrett appears alongside those of failed Times Square bomber Faisal Shahzad, US president Barack Obama, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and a Taliban singer.
The magazine quotes remarks the TD made at a protest over Tony Blair’s book signing in Dublin last year, in which he excoriated the former British prime minister for his role in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and criticised his record on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Mr Boyd Barrett said he could not be held responsible for how others used his comments. “I have nothing but contempt for al-Qaeda and its ideas. This organisation is no friend of mine or the anti-war movement,” he said.
“The comments I made on Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine stand alone as views shared by many people across the world and I make no apology for them.”