Former Islamist Warlord Vies for Afghan Presidency -- KABUL—A former Islamist warlord who brought al Qaeda's leading figures to Afghanistan registered Thursday to run in the country's presidential elections, backed by major power brokers and the chairmen of both chambers of the Afghan parliament. -- Abdul Rasoul Sayyaf—the most conservative, and most controversial, among Afghanistan's presidential hopefuls—is seen as a credible contender for the job, in part because of his Islamic credentials and his past as a leading mujahedeen commander with high name recognition. -- As Mr. Sayyaf, an Egyptian-trained cleric with a long white beard who espouses the ultra-rigid Salafi interpretation of Islam, presented his documents, hundreds of backers erupted in loud chants of "Long live Islam" and "Long live jihad." - wall street journal