Bin Laden accused of terror tape plagiarism

There was uproar in Islamic countries across the globe last night after it was revealed large parts Osama Bin Laden's latest terror tape may not have been written by the Saudi himself.

The possibility of plagiarism was first raised by a professor at Qom College of Religious Education who noticed the similarity between words used in the tape and a paper submitted by one of his students several years ago.

"I couldn't believe it," he told The Rockall Times, "some of the phrases seemed to be exactly the same as my student's." The professor managed to dig out the paper and discovered that whole chunks were identical: "The sweeping criticisms of the West, the calls for attacks on America, the damning of infidels... you name it, it was all there."

The author — an Iraqi student called Mohammed al-Marsharab — confirmed that he had written the tracts two years previously and although he had posted it on the Internet, had not given permission for al-Qaeda or anyone else to use it.

Presently working at a fast-food outlet in Des Moines, Marsharab expressed surprise at Bin Laden's use of his study: "I've heard nothing from him at all although I'm sure he could have found me. It would have been nice to have had some proper recognition. Or even some money. Mind you if my bosses at Burger King HQ find out about this then I could be in big trouble."

British Prime Minister Tony Blair expressed himself deeply unimpressed by what has gone on: "The whole thing is a farce quite frankly. Can we believe anything Bin Laden says now we find out he just cut and paste the stuff from a university student? This should shoot his credibility to pieces once and for all."

US defense minister Ronald Dumsfeld explained that the discovery of Bin Laden's plagiarism was the final proof needed that the terrorist was working hand-in-hand with Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.