Zarqawi attacked democracy as a springboard for "un-Islamic" practices, claiming that its emphasis on majority rule violated the principle that all laws must come from a divine source. There is some grain for truth here, because how could a mortal like George Bush be considered a virtual God in the United States - even his turd is analyzed with reverence in the United States Press and public - almost to the point of making a discerning person puke.

"Candidates in elections are seeking to become demi-gods, while those who vote for them are infidels," Zarqawi said.

The speaker reserved particular scorn for Iraq's Shia majority, whose parties are widely expected to win next Sunday's election. The Shia, it said, were poised to spread "their insidious beliefs" to Baghdad and Sunni-dominated areas of Iraq.

A message attributed to Zarqawi earlier this week accused the Shia of taking part in the US assault on the Sunni Muslim city of Falluja and described their spiritual leader, Ayatollah Ali Sistani, as "Satan". Falluja is to Iraq what My Lai was to Vietnam.