by Mona Eltahawy, Middle East Online, UK - Is the Pope playing hardball with Osama Bin Laden? In a March 19 audio recording, Bin Laden accused Pope Benedict XVI of leading a “new crusade” against Islam. The accusation was outlandish and no doubt aimed at giving the al-Qaeda leader a leg up onto the bandwagon of current affairs upsetting some Muslims, including a Danish cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed and an anti-Islam film by a right-wing Dutch politician.