‘Alī is sceptical about al-Qāī‘dah’s threats to the Coptic Orthodox Church. He questions why the group would threaten an Egyptian church for allegedly detaining two women and do nothing about the United States violating Iraqi prisoners’ human and moral rights. Another question was why the Iraqi police would attempt to free hostages from armed kidnappers without trying to negotiate first.

Key Words: al-Qāī‘dah – Iraq