Islam Group Honors 9/11 Hijackers

(CBS)  The group that calls itself al Muhajiroun and claims to be the eyes and ears of militant Islam, held a very different 9/11 commemoration Thursday, reports CBS News Correspondent Mark Phillips.

This remembrance was not filled with grief and tears but with a perverse sense of pride. Today they honored not those who were murdered, but those who killed them.

"They revived the obligation of jihad worldwide. 19 Brave warriors, mujahedeen who made the ultimate sacrifice,'' said a speaker at a London rally, referring to the 19 9/ll hijackers.

On its Web site, the 9/11 hijackers are revered as "the magnificent nineteen."

"The operation which took place on 9/11 for Muslims was a retribution for the atrocities which have been committed against Muslims," said Anjem Choudray, a member of the group.

And as for the attackers he said, "As far as Muslims are concerned, they will be considered heroes."

And they still look for leadership to the man who inspired the attacks -- Osama bin Laden.

"Every audio he releases, every statement he releases, every pronouncement he makes, he is inspiring, he's instigating the wider Muslim community to oppose the United States, to fight the United States," said Rohan Gunuratna, author of "Inside al Qaeda."

And the wider Muslim community -- or at least the violently anti-American elements of it -- has responded. The other side in the war on terror appears to have re-grouped and is on the offensive.

Last year's Bali nightclub bombing is just one example.

Al Qaeda affiliated or inspired groups are now active from Indonesia, to Pakistan, to Chechnya and, it seems, in Iraq.

"It is an undeniable fact that the phenomenon of jihad is like wildfire," says Choudray.

Two years later, the war on terror is being fought by both sides, and the other side still sees 9/11 as a great victory.