Former Egyptian Islamic Jihad Leader Sayyed Imam: Al-Zawahiri Did Not Know about 9/11 in Advance

Following are excerpts from an interview with Sayyed Imam, a former Egyptian Islamic Jihad leader, which aired on CBC TV on April 12, 2013:

Sayyed Imam: Ayman Al-Zawahiri's relations with Al-Qaeda began very late. He only joined Al-Qaeda in June 2001, three months before 9/11.When, in 1998, Osama Bin Laden founded the "World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and the Crusaders," [Al-Zawahiri] joined it, although the rest of the Jihad members opposed this. So they split away from him, and he joined the front with only a few men. But he officially joined Al-Qaeda only three months before 9/11. He was not involved in all that.

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Al-Zawahiri and Bin Laden did not trust one another, and [Bin Laden] did not tell him about 9/11 in advance.

Interviewer: Ayman Al-Zawahiri did not know about 9/11?

Sayyed Imam: No, he didn't.

Interviewer: He did not know about all of Bin Laden's preparations?

Sayyed Imam: No.

Interviewer: Are you certain about this?

Sayyed Imam: Absolutely.

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Al-Qaeda follows no ideology or methodology. What remains of Al-Qaeda after the death of Bin Laden are local organizations. This is no longer Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda consisted of Saudis and Yemenis. These young Saudis and Yemenis followed and obeyed Osama Bin Laden, but they had limited organizational skills, and limited knowledge in training, weaponry, and explosives. So they relied upon several operatives who were not Saudi or Yemeni – some Algerian and Egyptian commanders, as well as of other nationalities. But Al-Qaeda itself consisted of Saudis and Yemenis. All the other groups included in Al-Qaeda were local organizations,

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