New statement from al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghreb: "Response on the Recent Lies for Mauritania's Client [France]"

UPDATE: The following is an English translation of the below statement in Arabic via Flashpoint Partner.
Click here for a safe Pdf copy: Statement from al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghreb- “Response on the Recent Lies for Mauritania’s Client [France]” (English)

NOTE: AQIM blasts Mauritania for taking a deal with the “devil” [France] and they are following in the footsteps of Algeria by fighting the mujāhidīn. AQIM does not believe Mauritania’s claim that on two occasions in the past month, a group of six and then twenty-eight men surrendered as former AQIM fighters. AQIM asks Mauritania to release their identities. These actions according to AQIM shows France’s true colors as dirty liars who are trying to stop the mujāhidīn tide. AQIM calls on the journalists of Mauritania not to get swept up in these hypocrisies and lies. AQIM continues by stating Mauritania’s [and France’s] actions are futile and that it will not weaken the mujāhidīn on the front lines. They conclude by calling out the President of Mauritania who they describe as a “tyrant” and a client of France. They previously wrote a letter to him in late August, which you can see here.

Click here for a safe Pdf copy in Arabic: al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghreb — Response on the Recent Lies of Mauritania’s Clients
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New statement from al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula: "Statement on the Operations of Defense for the People of the Sunnah"

UPDATE 2: Here is an English translation of the below statement in Arabic:
al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — Statement on the Operations of Defense for the People of the Sunnah (English)

UPDATE: Here are a few key selections translated into English via Evan Kohlmann:

Special units have been formed to defend our Sunni brothers against… the evil plots of Iranian Shiites in Saada… led by Houthis.
The Shiites are a legitimate target for us, so we advise our fellow Sunnis to avoid their gatherings… before it is too late.


NOTE: The below statement from al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula claims responsibility for the two car bombs that went off this past week in northern Yemen. The first attack came on ‘Īd al-Ghadīr, which is a Shīʻah holiday commemorating the appointment of Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib by the Muslim prophet Muḥammad as his immediate successor. The second attack occurred two days later during the funeral procession for Badr ad-Dīn al-Ḥūthī, who is seen as the most influential Zaydī scholar of the past generation.
AQAP differentiates between Zaydī’s writ-large, who range from 30-40% of the Yemeni population and the Ḥūthī’s who have fought six battles on and off with the Yemeni government since 2004. AQAP describes the Ḥūthī’s as Rāfiḍah or rejectionists. This is a derogatory term usually used to describe Ithnā ‘Asharī Shī’ī (Twelver Shī’ism as practiced in Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon). This is an important distinction for AQAP since as Christopher Anzalone noted so well on Twitter:

Zaydis’ place in Yemeni society is quite different from the situation in Iraq. Many Yemeni Sunnis consider Zaydis to basically be Sunnis. The weakening of Zaydi religous institutions with the fall of the Imamate and the coming of Salafism to northern Yemen, areas traditionally dominated by Zaydis, has also led to a number of Zaydis considering themselves to be closer to Shafi’i Sunnism than Ithna ‘Ashari Shi’ism. A number of Zaydis also became Salafis as a way of protesting rigid social hierarchies dominated by Zaydi sayyids.

Bottom line, though, is that this is not good for Yemen as a whole. This could plunge the country into tit for tat tribal and intra-religious warfare. I will have more to say about this in the coming days.

Click the following link for a safe Pdf copy of it: al-Qā’ida in the Arabian Peninsula — Statement on the Operations of Defense for the People of the Sunnah
 

As-Saḥāb Media Production releases second edition of Dr. Ayman aẓ-Ẓawāhirī's "Knights Under the Prophet's Banner"

NOTE: The first edition of Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner (which you can download here) was completed around the time of 9/11 and it was published and serialized by the Saudi newspaper Ash-Sharq al-‘Awsaṭ in October 2001. Click here to see an in depth description of the first edition from Ash-Sharq al-‘Awsaṭ. Also see Youssef H. Aboul-Enein’s critical review of the book here. The first edition was 252 pages while the second is 507 pages.

Click the following link for a safe PDF copy of the second edition of the book: Ayman al-Zawahiri — Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner (Second Edition)

Articles of the Week – 11/20-11/26

Saturday November 20:
A False Target in Yemen – Gregory D. Johnsen, The New York Times: https://nyti.ms/bSt3Sc
Al Qaeda’s Organizational Structure and its Evolution – Rohan Gunaratna & Aviv Oreg, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism: https://bit.ly/cSs9B6
Tuesday November 23:
3 Questions on Inspire Magazine – Gregory D. Johnsen, Waq al-Waq: https://bit.ly/fMIbJX
Drone Debate: A follow-up – Gregory D. Johnsen, Waq al-Waq: https://bit.ly/e5BQmD
Death by a Thousand Cuts – Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Foreign Policy: https://bit.ly/fWKxyH
Wednesday November 24:
A Crash Course in Jihadi Theory (Part 3) – Joas Wagemakers, Jihadica: https://bit.ly/gzAT5g
The case for chasing al-Awlaki – Thomas Hegghammer, Foreign Policy: https://bit.ly/gjDimn
Al-Qaeda in Iraq Hopes Baghdad Church Attack Will Involve Egypt’s Traditional Salafists in Jihad – Murad Batal al-Shishani, Terrorism Monitor: https://bit.ly/eonO5i
Jihadists in Crisis – Aaron Y. Zelin, The Atlantic: https://bit.ly/iiirs5
Negotiate with bin Laden? – Andrew Lebovich, al-Wasat: https://bit.ly/fQBegZ
Thursday November 25:

Taliban Realism over the September 11 Attacks – Alex Strick van Linschoten, A Different Place: https://bit.ly/dRWCP8

Friday November 26:

Zachary Chesser: an American, Grassroots Jihadist Strategist on Raising the Next Generation of Al-Qaeda Supporters – Christopher Anzalone, Perspectives on Terrorism: https://bit.ly/f8Q9Vy

New statement from ash-Shamūkh al-Islāmīyyah Arabic Forum: "Important Statement for your security"

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الإخوة أعضاء شبكة شموخ الإسلام
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته وطبتم وطاب ممشاكم
فهذه مجموعة قرارات توصل إليها إخوانكم نرجو الالتزام بها وفقكم الله ومساعدتنا على تطبيقها بغية الحفاظ على أمنكم وسلامتكم .
القسم التقني ليس مخصصا لتبادل البرامج وروابط الكراكات، وإنما هو مخصص للشروح والاستفسارات، وعلى الراغبين في الحصول على البرامج البحث عنها في المواقع الموثوقة المتخصصة بهذا المجال.
-المشرفون والمراقبون فقط هم الذين لهم الصلاحية في طرح مواضيع تقنية تحتوي روابط لبرمجيات.
على الإخوة معدي الشروح الاستغناء عن روابط البرامج داخل الشرح و يكتفى بالإشارة لاسم البرنامج المطلوب ويترك للأعضاء البحث عن هذه البرامج بطرقهم الخاصة.
في حال صعوبة الاستغناء عن وضع بعض الروابط لبرامج تنفيذية داخل الشرح فيجب أن يكون الرابط للموقع الرسمي للبرنامج أو على أحد مواقع البرمجيات المشهور التالية:download.comsoftpedia.comfilehippo.com ( بشرط أن تكون البرامج موثوقة ومن شركة معروفة ).

أما روابط الرابد شير وغيرها من الروابط المُعاد رفعها فلا يسمح بها مطلقاً إلا في حالات خاصة وبعد الرجوع للإدارة ومراقب القسم .
الكراكات ومولدات السيريال ممنوعة ، لكن يسمح بالسيريال النصي ، أو شرح لطرق تفعيل البرنامج بحيث يطبقها الأعضاء بأنفسهم.
على الأعضاء التعاون مع الإدارة بالإبلاغ عن أي مشاركة أو رد مخالف.
أي عضو يخالف هذا سيتم التعامل معه بصرامة.
يعتبر هذا المنع على روابط البرامج، وملفات الفلاش، أما الصور، وملفات PDF و WORD فليس عليها هذا التشديد لكن سيتم فحص كل ما سينشر من هذا القبيل من قبل جهاز الدعم الفني والإخوة المراقبين في القسم بإذن الله
تعتبر هذه القرارات سارية التنفيذ من تاريخ نشر هذا البيان

وفقكم الله وأعمى أعين الطواغيت عنكم

 

حرر بتاريخ:
الجمعة 20 ذو الحجة1431 هـ
المـــــــــوافق 26/11/2010 مـ

 
 

The Global Islamic Media Front releases an English translation of Shaykh Ibrāhīm bin Sulaymān al-Rubaysh's audio message: "Between Islamists and Liberals"

NOTE: Ibrāhīm bin Sulaymān al-Rubaysh is one of the senior leaders within al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula and is their chief ideologue.Prior to joining up with AQAP, al-Rubaysh was in Guantánamo Bay prison until December 2006. Following his release he entered into the Saudi rehabilitation program, which supposed to reform jihadists and transition them back into regular society. He went to Yemen, though, in 2008 and joined up with AQAP. The below English translation/transcription is unedited and came from al-Rubaysh’s Arabic audio message, which was released on September 18.

In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful Praise be to Allah, Lord of Creation, prayers and peace be upon the noblest of the prophets and messengers, our Prophet Muhammad, and his family and companions until the Day of Judgment. Thereafter:

I send this message to every sympathizer of the Ummah in the Land of the Haramain (the Two Sanctuaries: Makkah and Medinah). I send it to the scholars and the preachers, to the sermonizers on the pulpits and the imams of the mosques, to the teachers and instructors in the universities, to the caretakers in the homes and to the jealous fathers and guardians, to every Muslim man and woman who prefers the commandments of Allah over all other else, and are not among those who, if provided a salary,, pay no mind to what is occurring to the religion. To all those, I send this message asking them to take it into great consideration. I remind you of Allah who entrusted you with your Religion and granted you guardianship over what is under your hands. As the Honest and Trustworthy, prayers and peace be upon him, said
“If the shepherd to whom Allah granted guardianship dies having neglectedhis flock, Allah will ban him from Paradise.”
I remind the people of knowledge of the covenant by which Allah bound them:

{ وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّه ُمِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّه ُلِلنَّاسِ وَلَا تَكْتُمُونَه ُفَنَبَذُوهُ وَرَاءَ ظُهُورِهِمْ وَاشْتَرَوْا بِه ِثَمَنًا قَلِيلًاۖ فَبِئْسَمَا يَشْتَرُونَ }

“And remember Allah took a covenant from the people of the Book, to make it known and clear to mankind, and not to hide it; but they threw it away behind their backs, and purchased with it some miserable gain! And vile was the bargain they made!” (Aali Imran: 187)
If Allah had not made it a duty for us to give advice to Muslims, I would not have taken it upon myself to send this message.
To begin, I ask this question: Are you satisfied with the situation of society and its state of deterioration from which is apparent that it is heading towards an abyss? Each year brings more evil than the last.
Some will answer me by casting a hadith of the Messenger of Allah, prayers and peace be upon him and his household, in which he said:


“If a man says that people are damned, he is more damned than they.”

I will be characterized as a fear-mongerand conspiracy theorist but all this does not matter. He, who wishes to ascertain the truth, let him examine the situation without prejudice.
What will be apparent to those who study the situation is that the problems of sinfulness and corruption have increased and diversified to the point that the senses are inured to them. Inappropriate veiling of women has increased and no market is without it. Even the Masjid-ul-Haraamhas not been spared from it. Cases of impermissible seclusion and its consequences have increased manyfold, and those who sit with the Committee for the Prevention of Vice and Promotion of Virtue know of these calamities!
The calamity is that our society has delivered itself to its executioner through carelessness or feigning indifference. You see society toying with it without arousing the least resentment, resulting in the appearance of all kinds of legalized sinfulness and corruption, aimed at transforming and westernizing society and effacing all that bespeaks an Islamic identity in societal customs.
As a result, we see foreign exchange programs whereby women are sent out more than men, and they are provided more jobs than men. An identification card for women has been instituted and a serious effort made to gradually enforce this upon them. We hear of a female dean of a certain college who refused to allow female students to take a test without an ID card and the judge who suspended a case until a female client was issued an ID card. It is as if they can do what they want: they will stop marriage contracts, the distribution of inheritances, the purchase or sale of property until the women clients are issued ID cards.
Another form of sinfulness and corruption, of which there is inundation of reports, is the employment of women as actresses and their work as announcers and correspondents on official networks.
Part of the legalized sinfulness and corruption that we see is the mixing of sexes in the hospitals, even though the ability to segregate the sexes is easily available to any who wish to do so. And if they claim that there is a need for men to treat women in some cases, why are the male sections filled with female doctors and nurses?
Another kind of intermingling has come, contrived by the king’s genius. He has realized his dream for which he has been waiting 25 years through the universities where men and women, male and female students mix.
Their plan is to spread corruption and transform society, but gradually so that society will not reject it. As it is said, “Slowly but surely”. Although in fact recent years have witnessed an acceleration in their measures, this will perhaps expose them quicker. Perhaps their haste is due to the fact that they feel secure. Those who think they are safe from punishment will misbehave! They do not fear Allah, and all past experiences have proven that there is no reaction from the people to be feared.
One of their cunning plots to introduce sinfulness and corruption is through claiming journalistic freedom. The beginning was when the Minister of Justice issued a circular to the Shari’ah judges requiring adherence to article 37 of the press and publication laws, stipulating that issues of publication in the newspapers are the purview of the Ministry of Information and not the Shari’ah courts. When the wolf is entrusted with the flock, the field has been opened for people to write what they want with no accountability or supervision, but of course this privilege is not given to all. It is only for certain kinds of writers. They write what they want, in violation of the Shariah, and rejected by our societal customs. Then many voices which are raised in response are disregarded, and with the passage of time, society becomes numbed to this issue.
The closest example of this is the women’s ID card. The newspapers wrote much about this issue, and much has been said about it. When the people were prepared to receive the blow, it was instituted. When its institution was accepted, the time came to gradually enforce it. The turn is coming for women’s athletic clubs and women driving cars.
Their increased audacity is derived from the weakness of those in the forefront of the Islamist movement. You see that a vast majority of the newspapers will not publish an article by them. As for those who do write in the newspapers, they do not even think of discussing these topics, because they know they will not be published. Nothing remains for them but the internet, and one or two satellite channels. As for the other networks, they seldom host them unless they feel that their words will serve their (the network’s) own benefit. When they do appear, their weakness becomes apparent. They expose themselves to shame and melt away with these changes to a shocking degree. Their words they use and the concepts they hold are almost identical to those newspaper writers from other ideologies. They now speak of nationalism, dedication to it, and identification with it, rather than jealousy for Islam. They have begun to utter that such and such is “against the regime and the law”, when previously governance was for Allah alone. You will but seldom hear from their tongues (any talk) of enforcing Allah’s law.
This calamity is not limited to the fact that they will not reject forbidden acts unless the regime also forbids them. Indeed the situation has become worse with many of them, in that they have come to advise people not to condemn forbidden acts unless the regime itself has stipulated that they be banned. And whoever openly rejects forbidden acts, they proceed to admonish him more than the ones who actually committed the forbidden acts. As for he who rejects the forbidden act by deed, this to some of them is a kind of open sin that requires public rejection of the sinner.
Sometimes you see them having discussions with the liberalists in meetings or on TV. Then you will see the weakness of their rhetoric and their lack of audacity. You will see each of the two parties claiming to be the chosen one. Each claims that the rulers back them and what they say, that the regime favors them, and they want to serve the homeland and the interest of the people. Frequently their argument in responding to an opponent is “I do not know more than those in authority” or “the people in authority know where the benefit lies”!
Before, during and after this, they try to strikes the right note to please their rulers. This is done by condemning Jihad under the name of terror. With some of them, it is like salt on food, or purification for prayer. They are afraid that if they are silent their mouths will be muzzled or their Dawah efforts impeded. The situation has reached the point where some of them slander lies against the Mujahideen. And if they talk about the liberalists, they say “My brother liberals”. You see their rulers smile upon them, but give them nothing but more restrictions and spread of sinfulness and corruption.
You see them rejoice because Nayef Ibn Abdul Aziz criticized this newspaper