Month: June 2010

Ḥizb ut-Taḥrīr releases a trailer video for its upcoming conference in Australia titled "The Struggle for Islam in the West"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Ḥizb ut-Taḥrīr (The Party of Liberation) is a Sunni pan-Islamist movement whose goal is to unite the Muslim ummah (community) and reinstate the Caliphate (al-khilāfah). Once the Caliphate is reinstated, the government would be ruled by Islamic law (sharī’ah) with the Caliph (khalīfah) being the head of state elected by a shūrā (consultation) council. Ḥizb ut-Taḥrīr was founded in 1953 in Jerusalem by Taqī ad-Dīn al-Nabhānī who was an Islamic scholar (‘ālim). Currently, Ḥizb ut-Taḥrīr is located in more than forty countries and is especially active in the United Kingdom and maintains a branch in the United States.
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Al-Fajr Media Center presents a new book by Abū Yaḥyā al-Lībī: "Jihād & the Battle of Uncertainty"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Abū Yaḥyā al-Lībī is considered one of the top leaders within the al-Qā’idah organization (AQSL). He has also been touted as a possible replacement to ‘Usāmah Bin Lāden. Al-Lībī started to gain notoriety and respect within the jihādī community after he broke out of the Bagram Airbase prison facility in 2005. It was also reported this past December that a drone killed al-Lībī, but it ended up being Ṣāleḥ al-Ṣūmālī instead.  Ibn Siqilli of Views from the Occident does a great job of explaining al-Fajr Media:

The 45-page book was published by the Al-Fajr (Dawn) Media Center, a shadowy transnational jihadi-takfiri media outlet that distributes all the visual, audio, and written media productions of AQC and its two main affiliates, Al-Qa’ida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) in North and Northwest Africa and Al-Qa’ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) based in Yemen.

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Al-Fajr Media Center presents a new book by Abu Yahya al-Libi- “Jihad & the Battle of Uncertainty”
[scribd id=32836533 key=key-76h9msfo36wiwpsglqb mode=list]

Al-Katāi’b Media releases new video statement: "Message to the French People From the Imprisoned Security Adviser Denis Allex"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Yesterday, Al-Katāi’b Media released a video message where a French security advisor Denis Allex pleads to French citizens and his government to release him. He is currently held by al-Qā’idah ally Ḥarakat al-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn. Also, Allex appears to be wearing a prison jumpsuit. Could one argue that this is a veiled message about Guantanamo Bay? The entire video is embedded below. For more on the statement see the full AFP story:

The Frenchman cited the demands of his captors, Somalia’s Al-Qaeda-inspired Shebab rebels, which include the immediate end to any political and military support from France for the Somali government and the withdrawal of all foreign advisors and private security firms in Somalia.

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New statement from Jāma'at Shari'at: "All for the Jihād, everything for Victory!"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Jāma’at Shari’at, is the largest jihādī groupin the Russian republic of Dagestan, North Caucasus. Jāma’at Shari’at was established during the Second Chechen War. They were in favor of Dagestan’s independence as an Islamic state and are under the umbrella of the Caucasus Emirate, which is led by Dokka Umarov. The below statement is unedited in its original Russian version.
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Джамаат “Шариат”: Все для джихада, все для победы!
09.06.10 15:56
2005 год стал годом дагестанского Бадра. Прошло 5 лет. 2010 год.
Моджахеды стали сильнее, организованнее, их стало больше. За этот срок джихад распространился почти по всей территории Дагестана. Появилось много новых секторов, много новых джамаатов. Молодежь активно пополняет ряды моджахедов, несмотря на все пропагандистские усилия кафиров. Мало того, много моджахедов присоединяется из стран СНГ и Ближнего Востока. Азербайджанский джамаат очень активно помогает нашим братьям. Много желающих братьев присоединиться из Казахстана.
Зоной активных боевых действия стали Кизляр, Дербент, Кизилюрт. Моджахеды активно действуют в Карабудахкентском и Сергокалинском и Унцукульском районах. Боевые действия начались в Цумадинском районе. Скоро начнутся в Цунтинском и других горных районах. Это не считая тех, кто помогает моджахедам.
Хасавюрт, Губден и Унцукульский район фактически стали базами моджахедов. Это территория, где воины Аллаха хорошо укрепились и население их активно поддерживает и помогает им на пути Аллаха.
Сейчас идет очень хорошее пополнение братьям, налаживаются поставки и финансовая помощь. Активно идет сбор средств на джихад и закупку оружия и боеприпасов. Количество моджахедов ограничивается лишь нехваткой средств и оружия.
Очень хорошие перспективы у братьев из Южного Дагестана. Сплоченный джамаат и большое число желающих стать моджахедами. Много братьев готовы приехать из Куба-Кусарской зоны, из Закатал.
Густые леса и горная местность могут хорошо помочь в плане ведения боевых действий.
Как только будет возможность в плане вооружения всех желающих, начнутся широкомасштабные операции, диверсионные рейды в тыл врага.
Моджахеды стали дерзче, джихад укрепился и набирает обороты. Очень много желающих помочь в джихаде против фасикъов (нечестивцев). Молодежь активно участвует в поджогах и уничтожении магазинов с водкой. Активно ведется призыв к джихаду и призыв оставить продажу харамом. Следующим этапом, иншааЛлах, будет уничтожение виноводочных заводов и складов.
В горных районах мусульмане поддерживают полный запрет продажи спиртного и сигарет. Оказывается давление сельскими джамаатами на тех фасикъов, которые еще не оставили свой харамный бизнес.
В рамках подготовки к месяцу Рамадан объявляется профилактическая операция «Белые ночи».
Мы просим всех мусульман, которые могут участвовать в поджогах и уничтожении винных точек, сделать так, чтобы до уразы осталось как можно меньше этих харамных мест. Молодым братьям советуем научиться делать «коктейль Молотова» и по ночам сжигать магазины и бары.
Сжигайте дома стукачей и тех, кто противодействует исламскому призыву. Сжигайте их машины, уничтожайте их имущество, сжигайте их поля. Наносите им вред, так, как они вредят религии Аллаха. Пусть они нигде не чувствуют себя в безопасности.
Мусульманам следует больше призывать к религии Аллаха. Кто можеть словом, кто может книгами и листовками, кто может – с оружием в руках. Молодым братьям выражаем благодарность за граффити-атаки, больше пишите исламских лозунгов на стенах домов, пугайте кафиров и фасикъов, сделайте так, чтобы они прекратили сражаться с исламом и пали духом.
Тем, кто может, помогайте финансово. Джихад нуждается в средствах. Моджахедам нужны быстрые машины, нужно оружие, нужны патроны. Организуйте сбор средств для братьев. Собирайте деньги со всех, кто должен платить закат. Кто отказывается – забирайте силой. Кто отрицает закат и необходимость его уплаты, после того, как до него доведено, тот – кафир. Берите с него джизью или сражайтесь с ним.
Сестрам, которые могут помочь на пути Аллаха, старайтесь помочь чем можете. Жертвуйте на пути Аллаха свое золото, помогайте одеждой и лекарствами, продуктами, вяжите теплые вещи для муджахидов и постоянно делайте дуа за ваших братьев.
Воспитывайте ваших детей в духе джихада, готовьте их к джихаду, говорите им о достоинствах джихада и моджахедов. Учите их Корану и Сире пророка (да благословит его Аллах и приветствует), читайте им аяты и хадисы о джихаде и награде за джихад.
Помогайте сестрам, чьи мужья на джихаде. Помогайте детям, чьи отцы стали шахидами на пути Аллаха. Оказывайте им всяческую помощь и внимание. Делайте дуа за них. Воспитывайте их в Исламе и на примере их отцов
Детям и молодежи, которые сейчас не могут выйти на джихад, нужно готовить себя к войне. Занимайтесь спортом, боевыми единоборствами, учитесь плавать, стрелять и водить машину. Изучайте все, что может понадобиться в джихаде: как лечить раны, как выжить в лесу, как маскироваться, как вести разведку, как собирать взрывные устройства и т.д.
Население Дагестана, всех мусульман, всех кто верит в Аллаха и Судный День, просим помогать и присоединяться к джихаду. Делайте все, что в ваших силах, а если вы не можете ничем помочь, то прикрывайте моджахедов, давайте информацию о стукачах и фасикъах.
Не платите за свет, газ и воду.
Не платите налоги, всячески уклоняйтесь от любых платежей для кафиров. Это харам для мусульманина. За счет этих налогов они содержат свою кафирскую армию, муртадов-милиционеров и гаишников, которые пьют нашу кровь, грабят и угнетают.
Весь

GUEST POST: Juhaymān al 'Utaybī and the Siege of the Grand Mosque in Mecca

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin


NOTE: This is the second guest post at the al-Maktabah – المكتبة Blog. As with all guest posts, the opinions expressed below are those of the guest author and they do not necessarily represent the views of this blogs administrator. That said, I hope you enjoy the post and as always comments are welcomed! In addition, if you are interested in posting an article or research paper feel free to contact me through email.
This guest post is a summary of Marissa Allison’s senior thesis, which focuses on three aspects of the Siege of the Grand Mosque in Mecca. First, Allison describes the intellectual origins of the movement led by Juhaymān al ‘Utaybī. Second, Allison covers the events of the siege, and third, the influence al ‘Utaybī’s thought and movement had on later “jihadist” thinkers and groups. If you would like a full copy of Allison’s senior thesis, which I highly recommend, you can contact her: marissa [dot] allison [at] gmail [dot] com. This post will provide a flavor of Allison’s summary by pasting the introduction below and the rest will be in an embedded Scribd file after the introduction. Also, I would like to acknowledge J.M. Berger of IntelWire who first put us in contact.
Allison is a recent graduate from the University of Mary Washington where she received her B.A. in History and was awarded a certificate in Middle East Studies. This summer, she is studying Arabic in Oman with a Critical Language Scholarship from the State Department and in December, she will also travel to Pakistan as a Research Assistant to Dr. David Cook of Rice University to conduct research on mysticism in radical Islamic groups. While attending Mary Washington, she participated in study abroad programs in Costa Rica, Jordan and Egypt and also traveled to Lebanon, Syria, and Israel. She also served as an Arabic media research intern with the global intelligence network Stirling-Assynt, a research intern at the Palestine-Israel Journal in Jerusalem, and in a Baghdad Embassy virtual internship.
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Copyright Notice: The summary paper is copyrighted by Marissa Allison and may not be reproduced or cited without prior permission from the author.
Introduction






Thirty years after Juhayman al-Utaybi stormed the Grand Mosque at Mecca, it remains both one of the most poignant and least understood events in modern Middle Eastern history. Both because of the anniversary of the event and because of a general interest in Islamic militancy rising from the attacks of September 11, a new body of literature on this topic became prominent. This new literature considered this storming of the Grand Mosque as one of the first stepping stones on the road to transnational jihadism, culminating in al-Qaeda’s prominence and September 11. This literature is represented by the most recent book and the only book focusing solely on the topic: The Siege of Mecca by Yaroslav Trofimov.
However, my research portrays the Siege of Mecca in a different light. This research shows that Juhayman al-Utaybi’s movement was Saudi-specific, rather than transnational, and highlights the array of lingering influence of this event both within and outside of Saudi Arabia.
My research covers some of the details of the event, then explains why and how it occurred, and the final and most prominent part will show the great impact that this event has had in the past, and continues to have.

Summary of Senior Thesis- Militants Seize Mecca
[scribd id=32751515 key=key-yta0jctwxmklf4cihah mode=list]

New statement from al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM): "Surrender of the two brothers is a lie (Abū al-'Abbās and Abū Nu'mān)"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), based in Algeria, but conducts activities in other countries such as Mali, Mauritania and Morocco, has released a new statement in reply to the news that two members of AQIM (Abū al-‘Abbās and Abū Nu’mān) have surrendered to Algerian authorities. The below statement is unedited in its original Arabic version.
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بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم تنظم القاعدة ببلاد المغرب الإسلامي ———————————-
تكذيب استسلام الأخوين:أبي العباس و أبي النعمان
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 الحمد لله ربِّ العالمين و العاقبة للمتقين،و لا عدوان إلاّ على الظالمين،و الصلاة و السلام على سيدنا محمد و على آله و صحبه الأخيار الطّاهرين،أمّا بعد: يقول الله عزّ و جلّ: ﴿إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَهْدِي مَنْ هُوَ مُسْرِفٌ كَذَّابٌ﴾(غافر: من الآية28). و قال سبحانه: ﴿إِنَّمَا يَفْتَرِي الْكَذِبَ الَّذِينَ لا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِآياتِ اللَّهِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَاذِبُونَ﴾(النحل:105). لقد عوّدنا المرتدون في الجزائر على الترويج للكذب الصراح و التشويه المتكرر للمجاهدين عبر وسائل إعلامهم و من خلال أحذيتهم و عملائهم المأجورين في بعض الصحف و من آخر ذلك الخبر المكذوب عن استسلام الأخوين أبي العباس عثمان قاضي منطقة الوسط و الأخ أبي النعمان عضو الهيئة الطبية لمنطقة الوسط. و قد تناقلت الصحف هذا الخبر الكاذب يوم الثلاثاء 18 جمادى الثانية 1431هـ دون تثبت و لا تحقق كالعادة…و لا عجب في ذلك والله!… فقد أصبح اهتمام الصحافة الجزائرية منحصراً فقط في التضليل و التلبيس اليومي و الترقيع لأبناء فرنسا قدر المستطاع و التفنن في تخدير الجماهير و إلهائها بمباريات كرة القدم عن قضايا الأمة و همومها …أما تسليط الضوء مثلاً على خيانة المرتدين لقضية فلسطين بل وشنهم مؤخراً حملة اعتقالات كبيرة مسّت كل من تظاهر فقط ضد اليهود فتلك قضايا لا تجرؤ جواري القصر و لا أذناب المخابرات على التطرق لها و التعاطي معها بمهنية و موضوعية…و لا نستثني من ذلك إلا بعض الأقلام المنصفة و قليل ما هم. و نحن سعيا منا لتوضيح الحقائق و قطع الطريق على هذه الأقلام المأجورة فقد ارتأينا أن نرد على بعض الأكاذيب بين الفينة و الأخرى رغم أنه من العبث التصدي و الانشغال بالكذب و التضليل اليومي ،و عليه: فإننا نكذب خبر استسلام الأخوين أبي العباس عثمان و أبي النعمان و نؤكد أنهما أُسرا في عمليتين استخباريتين متباعدتين زمانا و مكانا…فنسأل الله أن يخفف عنهما وطأة التعذيب و يفرج عنهما كربتهما. و نقول للمرتدين و أسيادهم الصليبيين: إنّ تكراركم لهذه المسرحيات الركيكة الإخراج و تعلقكم بالأماني الكاذبة و اضطراركم في كل مرّة لتلفيق حكايات غبيّة الحبك لهو دليل على فشل مشاريعكم و علامة واضحة على هزيمتكم بحمد الله. و والله لن تجدوا منّا إلاّ السيف و الاستماتة في مقارعتكم بإذن الله حتى يظهرنا الله أو نهلك دون ذلك،﴿رَبَّنَا افْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ الْفَاتِحِينَ﴾.

تنظيمُ القَاعِدَةِ ببلادِ المَغْرِبِ الإسْلامِي
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‏السبت‏، 22جمادى الثانية‏، 1431هـ الموافق ل:‏05‏/06‏/2010‏م
مؤسّسة الأندلس للإنتاج الإعلامي
المصدر : ( مركز الفجر للإعلام )

GUEST POST: Response to post on Counter Narrative and AQ

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: I recently received an email from an individual who would like to remain anonymous since he works in the government. In it he provides his own take on my recent blog post about counter narrative strategy and al-Qā’idah. He agreed to allow me to re-post his comments here since I thought it would be fruitful to continue the conversation. The opinions expressed below are those of the guest author and they do not necessarily represent the views of this blogs administrator. That said, I hope you enjoy the post and as always comments are welcomed!
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I’m not deep into the theological arguments for or against the Al Qaeda worldview, but I’m a pragmatist and will point out a few things.
1. I really liked Jarret Brachman’s position that Al Qaeda and their associated groups should be labeled “Qutbians” to bluntly insert a human into their idealogy and see how many religious scholars can be found to argue against Qutb.
2. Brachman’s research into the mindset of the jihadist forum readers shows that:

A) Qutb is still the most widely read “theologian” by jihadists (hence calling them Qutbians) by a wide margin.

B) Al Qaeda and their supporters react immediately to threats to their worldview as seen in their responses to the rejection of their ideology by Dr. Fadl and the LIFG.

3. There is already a small counter-narrative as noted above. I don’t believe a U.S. counter-narrative will have a great effect on the current crop of committed jihadists. It may help reduce the number of available recruits but it would more likely affect their support base and erode some supporters.
4. The same philosophy professor who cited the need to agree on definitions in order to engage in constructive debate also stated that you can’t debate belief (faith) because faith has no basis in empirical fact. No matter how you couch your arguments, true believers (i.e. committed jihadists who believe that the non-Muslim world is at war with Islam and who see the world as a binary — dar ul harb or dar ul Islam) cannot be reasoned with because they cling to blind faith. So who is the counter-narrative trying counter?
5. What the U.S. and the Western world says about Al Qaeda and others not being Islamic may have a positive effect and reduce the so-called “home grown” extremists because of the volume of the message locally. What the U.S. and the Western world says about AQ will likely have no effect in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc. because of the number and volume of voices who denounce the western world.
6. These loud voices are heard from childhood in the madrassas of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and are a trusted voice compared to the voice of the Western world. Part of the challenge is getting the Muslim world to denounce violent organizations and what seems to occur more often is the Muslim world embracing the violent organizations.
7. The “rehabilitation” programs, as exemplified by the Saudi program, attempts to establish a counter-narrative and to rehabilitate those who see violence against those who do not share their beliefs as a valid program. The Saudi counter-narrative carries more weight than a U.S. counter-narrative would have and the Saudi program boasts an 80-90% success rate… of those that agreed to attend. Even if those percentages are correct, they’re likely misleading. Of the number of people who engaged in “jihad” over the past twenty years (meaning those Muslims who traveled to another country and received combat training), how many actually continued to support violent jihad cause over the long-term? That was a rhetorical question, the number is small. Of the thousands who filtered through training camps in Afghanistan over the decades, only a very small number continued to actively engage in supporting violence. So are the Saudis convincing a bunch of people who aren’t committed to violence to not be committed to violence? Good success rate to publicize with little effect of the overall levels of violence. The hard-core guys never even showed up.
As always, making simplistic blanket statements in a complex world is dangerous, but my gist is that we do need to strike up a counter-narrative, but we must understand that our narrative will have little effect globally without other, more trusted Islamic voices stating the same. Even then, a committed core will continue to decry those Islamic voices as apostates who have joined with the infidels to steal the resources of the true Muslims and to enslave the righteous.

Abū Walīd Responds to Charles Cameron

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

I am a few days late to this, nonetheless it is still very important to highlight. Last year, friend of the blog Leah Farrall, who blogs at All Things Counter Terrorism, had been in a dialogue with Abū Walīd al-Maṣrī, a Ṭālibān strategist who is known for not holding back his critiques of al-Qā’idah. During the dialogue, Farrall asked some individuals to respond to al-Maṣrī. Although the dialogue appeared to be over a few months ago, al-Maṣrī recently responded to Charles Cameron. See Cameron’s original post here. For background on the dialogue see: “Hotline to Jihad.” Below is an unedited copy of al-Maṣrī’s post in Arabic and Farrall hopes to get an English translation of this up as soon as she can:

تعليق على ردود تشارلز كاميرون

New statement from the Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan: "The Brutal Zionist Attack On The Liberation"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin
NOTE: This message is by the Afghan Ṭālibān and unedited below. – Statement Of The Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan Regarding The Brutal Zionist Attack On The Liberation Jamadi-us-Sani 21, 1431 A.H, Saturday, June 05, 2010 In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Some philanthropist with wake conscious had organized the launching of flotilla of liberation with the support of the Muslim nation of Turkey. The aim was to show a humanitarian and moral sympathy with the oppressed Muslims of the Gaza Strip and thus end the four-year long sea blockade by the invading Zionist forces. But the Zionist invaders brutally attacked the flotilla which was showing sympathy (with Gaza Muslims) before its arrival at the destination, ironically at a time when many passengers aboard were performing early morning prayers. The Israeli brutal forces first laid siege to six boats of the flotilla of liberation with the help of hundreds of military boats and helicopters. Then (Israeli) commandos and marines launched brutal attack, killing armless civilians on the deck of the flotilla and injuring 52 others. This barbaric, inhuman and immoral attack of the Zionists on the envoys of peace and sympathy violate all Divine and human laws. There is no instance of such events in any other culture except in the (distinctive) culture of Zionism based on bestiality. The pathetic martyrdom of the envoys of peace at the hands of the brutal Israeli commandos was condemned by all Muslim countries and wake conscious-bearing men and human rights entities. They called it a crime. But Binyamin Netanyahu, the Head of the invading Zionist regime defended the attack in his latest statement, pointing to it as a proud act of his troops. While taking pride in and appreciating the Islamic and moral step of the Muslim and sympatric people of Turkey with the Muslim and miserable residents of Gaza, The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan strongly condemns the Zionist attack on the flotilla of liberation and pray to Almighty Allah to bestow the Gardens of Ferdous on the martyrs and grant full recovery to all those who have been injured. The Islamic Emirate calls on Muslim rulers and people of the world to come forward in support and defense of the Muslim people of Palestine and follow the Turkey’s footsteps and fulfill their moral and Islamic obligation in liberating the first Qibla, Aqsa Mosque, and put an end to the blockade now in effect against the oppressed Muslims of Gaza. All the Muslim rulers and people of the world should join hands to confront the contemporary arrogant colonialists and win liberations from their colonialism via jihad and sacrifices.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan