"Americans are the killers, the butchers, the murderers," observes the mild mannered but plain speaking secretary-general of Pakistan's Jamaat-i-Islami party, Syed Munawar Hassan. The views of Mr Hassan and his party are not new. Like much of the Muslim world they are convinced that the United States and Israel have formed a tag team for the purpose of oppressing Muslims, a belief fanned into fury by the American bombing of Afghanistan, Israel's assaults on Palestinians and now the threat of war against Iraq. Until now, such views could be treated as dissent, blasting Pakistan's pro-western policies without injuring them. Pakistan has been among the most valuable members of the American-led coalition against terrorism. Last week's general election may have changed that. The MMA grouping of religious parties, including Jamaat-i-Islami, stormed from the fringes of Pakistani politics into the centre, positioning themselves to govern two of Pakistan's four provinces and winning more seats in the national parliament than they have ever done. There is a chance that this group will be part of the coalition in charge of the central government.
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