Osama Bin Laden wins African cult status

GUSAU, Nigeria (CNN) -- Muslims in Nigeria are flocking to a state capital -- to pick up Osama bin Laden memorabilia.

In the state of Zamfara, Nigeria, where the Muslim Sharia law is practised, the curious and the fanatical are buying copies of the Koran and pictures of bin Laden.

Buyers also travel from neighbouring Lagos -- a 10-hour drive to Zamfara's capital Gusau -- to get a glimpse of pictures of the man and his message.

Bin Laden, who has also been accused of masterminding two bomb attacks on U.S. embassies in Africa, is wanted by the U.S. for plotting the suicide strikes on the World trade Center and The Pentagon.
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Governments are waiting to see the impact this popularity could have on their nations -- Muslims make up nearly half of Africa's 750 million people.

African involvement in the war on terror has mostly been limited to offering air-space and intelligence support. No country on the continent has been able to assist militarily or logistically to the coalition forces.

But many African countries could become unstable if Muslims and Christians clash over their national policies towards the war on terror.

Nigeria is the most populous, and plans a series of demonstrations to show growing dissatisfaction with the U.S.-led coalition.

Clerics say the interest in bin Laden is a repeat of the Islam hero-worship during the U.S.-led Gulf War against Iraq 10 years ago.

Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzak, a Muslim cleric in Zaria, Nigeria, told CNN: "Then they put up posters of Saddam and a lot of people named their children born at that time Saddam.
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The state's governor, a staunch Muslim and the man credited with bringing Sharia to Nigeria, says the country's new democratic constitution allows for such freedoms.

Alhaji Ahmad Sani, governor of Zamfara state, said: "You can find posters of the Pope, you find posters of all sorts of people.

"It is an individual's right. We are in a democratic dispensation. We have total freedom of association, total freedom of belief, freedom of religion, freedom of thought. Whatever one wants to do."

He condemns the attacks on the U.S. -- saying such violence is against the Koran. But, he adds, that does not justify an eye-for-an-eye approach.
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