British no longer seen as 'crusaders'

British no longer seen as 'crusaders'
TRIPOLI, Libya (UPI) -- The son of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi says Scotland's release of the Lockerbie bomber means Arabs no longer see Britain as "crusaders" against Islam.

Saif al-Islam al-Gadhafi told The Glasgow Herald in an exclusive interview published Friday that the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi had nothing to do with a deal on trade and oil.

Gadhafi praised the Scottish justice secretary for allowing al-Megrahi to return home to Libya after it was learned he was dying of prostate cancer.

"It showed the Libyans that the British and Scottish are civilized people because the perception here is that they are crusaders and they hate us and Islam and hate Arabs," the younger Gadhafi said.

Al-Megrahi was the only one convicted in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, that killed 270 people.

"Lockerbie is history," Gadhafi said. "The next step is fruitful and productive business with Edinburgh and London."

Copyright 2009 by United Press International

This news arrived on: 08/28/2009