Seventh issue of Ḥizb al-Islāmī al-Turkistānī's [Turkestan Islamic Party] magazine “Ṣawt Al-Islām” released

NOTE: Here is the sixth issue, which was published this past July. According to the NEFA Foundation, the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP; Ḥizb al-Islāmī al-Turkistānī):

is a terrorist organization primarily based in Waziristan and elsewhere in the North West Frontier of Pakistan. The TIP is composed of Uighur Muslims from western regions of China – who have sworn to wage war against the Chinese government and have carried out scattered shooting and bombing attacks. It is a splinter faction of an organization known as East Turkestan Islamic Movement


Sawt al-Islam- The seventh issue of the Turkestan Islamic Party magazine

New statement from al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula: "Explanation to the Nation of Islam on the lies of Saudi Arabia"

NOTE: The below message from al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula is in response to the recent statements from Saudi Arabia, which have accused al-Qā’idah of planning on targeting individuals who plan to go on the annual Hajj, which takes place November 14-17 this year. AQAP emphatically denies such a claim: “We assure the Muslim nation, we are opposed to any criminal attack targeting the pilgrims.”

al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula- “Explanation to the Nation of Islam on the fabrications of Saudi Arabia”

Revolution Muslim resurfaces after their site went down: "Announcement from IslamPolicy.com – on transfer from RevolutionMuslim"

NOTE: I will have more to say about this later, but for now, below is the statement unedited.

:السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

I am saddened to announce that revolutionmuslim.com has been shut down due to an alleged, reckless post that has now been the cause of the incarceration of one of our brothers (May Allah hasten his release). We have seen a few arrests of late, with alleged ties to Revolution Muslim, and while most of what the media reports is distorted to say the least the blogs and forums have also been abuzz with imaginative and hypothetical speculation (as usual), most of which has assumed the worst and been representative of lies.
I want to express my great apology for being inactive and for remaining silent for the past few months.  I have been going through some personal alterations with regard to physical, mental and spiritual space and was eager to alter some of the approach I had been being informed of when this recent spate of bad news hit.  Perhaps prematurely, this post is to announce the initiation of IslamPolicy.com, the new home of Revolution Muslim.
Firstly, I would like to say that we pray and anticipate the best for our brothers and sisters all over the globe who are incarcerated at this time.  We know that acts in Islam are based on intention, and that one is only granted the reward of what they intended. Some of our brothers and sisters, no matter how they may be perceived by others, were acting out of what we consider to be a pure intention. It has been narrated from Ibn Umar (ra) that Abu Bakr (ra) dispatched Yazeed ibn Abu Sufyan (ra) to Syria and that Abu Bakr (ra) walked along with him for about two miles when they said to him (ra), “O, Khalifah of the Messenger of Allah would you not go back?” and that he said, “No, for I have heard the Messenger of Allah (saws) saying that, “he whose feet are covered with dust in the path of Allah, Allah will save him from the fire.”  Indeed our brothers and sisters may have taken the words, “O you who believe why do say that which you do not do?” to heart and so we ask that they are rewarded for their intentions and that they are rewarded the same as if they had attained their lofty goals.
Still recent events should serve as reminders.  We live in an age where intention is not enough.  We live in an age where we need increased knowledge and understanding as well, and so we set forth continuing on a path hoping to please Allah.  It is imperative at this juncture that we redefine our mission, advance our platform, and improve our position.  Inshallah, this Eid al Adha marks the end of our two year plan of action entitled By All Means Necessary (link). This plan outlined the objectives that Revolution Muslim held and was a guide for my decisions.  However, few of our affiliates read it and so perhaps misunderstood the purpose of our organization. In retrospect the document should be read by those that seek a greater understanding of our call, but for brevity I will highlight the closing paragraphs here.  By All Means Necessary concluded two years ago by stating that,

We have learned a great deal over the last few years. Osama Bin Laden is still alive and Al-Qaeda is plotting attacks that “outdo by far” September 11. According to a former senior Yemeni Al-Qaeda operative, Al-Qaeda has reinforced training camps across the globe. Victory is recognizable in Afghanistan, more may occur in Iraq with recent developments and the prospect of an attack by Israel on Iran. The Shabaab in Somalia are getting closer to regaining Mogadishu as the Ethiopian forces look poised to withdrawal at the end of the year. The incoming American Administration looks destined to be a mule of the international financiers and may be reverting towards a protectionism that will create discord between China and the U.S. and destroy the value of the dollar. Chaos abounds in international markets. The mujahedeen are still waging a successful jihad, but the majority of Muslims cannot foresee the justice of an Islamic State. They are largely unaware of the effect the corporatacracy has on their lives, largely afraid of the rulers the corporatocracy defends. We must pose and become the solution to this paradigmatic problem. It is the best we can do. Revolution Muslim issues a challenge to Muslims across the globe to accept a role in working toward the establishment of the state. Say Somalia would be taken tomorrow. We have problems with piracy, drinking water, health care and political divisions. The world would pose an economic barricade with no foreign investment. The State has oil, resources, agricultural capabilities and a strategic location and the right crew with the right connections could come in with some serious policy recommendations, community organizing and etcetera and protect the State. However, there may not be an internet connection for quite some time and there is little use chatting when the whole world gathers around to destroy you. This is a bold challenge but one that can be met. These are our objectives for the following two years; call it a strategic plan for advancing the objectives outlined in the Mission Statement of Revolution Muslim. Inshallah by the completion of two years heijra will be possible. May Allah make it soon!!!

Having passed two years, much of it remains true, our predictions about the Obama Administration and friction between West and East were accurate, the lands of jihad are spreading, and the ummah still has little clear understanding about what the Islamic State would look like were it established.  Thus, the next two years will, inshallah, concentrate on the solution that is the establishment of the state, defining its specifics, enhancing the sophistication of calls for it, and helping prepare and advance progress, while maintaining support for brothers and sisters working for it across the globe.
In order to attain that objective, modification is necessary.  Inshallah, on the Eid, IslamPolicy.com will release its methodology which will clarify the next stage of our struggle and at that time we will be setting forth a very idealistic set of lofty goals.  The only way they will ever be attained is if we get the help of fellow Muslims. And so please watch IslamPolicy.com for the platform, pass this message and the accompanying videos around the web via email, posting on forums, blogs, websites, facebook, twitter and etcetera so that people know of the change in sites.
Of course we will include all the brothers and sisters that are willing to aid and abide in the effort but would like to make some alterations having observed that they are due.  The video above highlights the principles that will drive these changes.  Please feel free to comment or criticize.
Inshallah, we will be back soon, founding an online radio show, magazine, extensive blog and other activities, while keeping the ummah connected to the sincere callers to Islam.  Because his words are so much more beneficial than mine I depart for now with a selection from Ibn Qayyim’s book The Path to Guidance:

There are matters to which he (the sincere servant) has been guided but he is in need of further guidance with respect to them since guidance to the path is one thing, but guidance upon the path is something else. Do we not see that a man knows the path to a certain city, that the path is such and such? However, he is not capable of traversing this path because traversing it requires specific guidance in the journey itself, such as travelling at a certain time as opposed to another, taking a certain amount of water in such and such a desert, resting at this place as opposed to that one. All of this is guidance upon the journey. The one who (merely) knows that this is the path neglects all of this, perishes and is cut off from the desired goal

We ask Allah, having guided us to the path to place us upon it and I close with this from the Quran praying that it is the sincere reality of my intention:

أُرِيدُ إِلاَّ الإِصْلاَحَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ وَمَا تَوْفِيقِي إِلاَّ بِاللّهِ عَلَيْهِ تَوَكَّلْتُ وَإِلَيْهِ أُنِيبُ I only desire (your) betterment to the best of my power; and my success (in my task) can only come from Allah. In Him I trust, and unto Him I look.

It is truly a pleasure to be back in contact with you all.  I look forward to hearing the ideas of all: old friends and new.  Welcome to IslamPolicy.com, where the revolution in Islam continues inshallah!
~Younus Abdullah Muhammad

The Caucasus Emirate is deciding whether Ottoman Turkish or Arabic should be their official language

NOTE: The below statement is from the Caucasus Emirate’s official media mouthpiece, the Kavkaz Center, and is unedited from its original form.

As Kavkaz Center news agency got to known, some time ago, the Caucasus Emirate Emir Dokku Abu Usman received a proposal to consider a question of the official language of the Caucasus Emirate.
This proposal was received in connection with intensive discussions among the Mujahideen and Muslims of the Caucasus Emirate on the matter of public institutions of the CE, a system of administrative management, national language, political and administrative, and legal terminology databases and other important aspects of building of a nation.
It is assumed that the choice will be made between two languages – Ottoman and Arabic. Both options have their arguments, advantages and disadvantages.
Thus, supporters of the Ottoman language indicates that an introduction of this language would be more effective and faster for the peoples of the Caucasus Emirate who historically absorbed in their own languages many words and terms from the Ottoman language. In addition, a part of North Caucasus peoples are Turk-speaking.
The Ottoman language, as is known, is an Arabized (80%) language of Ottoman Turks who established the Islamic Caliphate which existed for almost 500 years and had an enormous impact on the peoples belonged to the Caliphate, or had relations and contacts with them.
Despite the fact that after the destruction of the Caliphate and coming to power of atheists/nationalists, the Ottoman language has undergone a total re-turkazation (the Arabic script was replaced by Latin alphabet, a huge number of new Turkish words were invented which replaced Arabisms and Islamic terms, also the words and terms of European languages were introduced), new authorities were never unable to completely replace the Ottoman language from everyday use. Turkish nationalists were forced to retain it in legal science and law. Without the Ottoman language, the state machine of the new Turkish Republic could simply not function.
Supporters of the Arabic language as the official language of the Caucasus Emirate defend their position by the fact that it is the language of Islam and Muslims who are obliged to learn the language of the Koran.
KC sources do not exclude that the issue of the official language of the Caucasus Emirate will be submitted by the Emir Dokku Abu Usman for special deliberations.
Kavkaz Center
 

New jihadist group surfaces in Kazakhstan: "Appeal from Jamā'at Anṣār ad-Dīn of Kazakhstan"

UPDATE 2/6 9:09 AM: The Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum translated the below message into English:

Appeal from Jamā’at Anṣār ad-Dīn of Kazakhstan
[scribd id=48272015 key=key-2jwyzm6eh7ugcmmwku5o mode=list]

NOTE: The below statement, which is unedited from its original form, was posted online on November 10th through an Ingush Jamā’at that is connected with Dokku Umarov’s Caucasus Emirate. For more on the message, see Liz Fuller’s excellent description of it at the Caucasus Report. Though not necessarily connected, it is worthwhile to mention that Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī’s Minbar Tawḥīd wal-Jihād’s fatwā council published a fatwā this past January endorsing jihadist activities within Kazakhstan against the police. I am trying to get an English translation of the below statement, if and when I do I will update this post.

Ассаляму алейкум уа рохматуллахи уа барокятуху, уважаемая администрация сайта.
К вам обращается представитель джамаата «Ансару-д-дин» из Казахстана. Просим вас помочь нам с распространением нашего обращения к мусульманам Казахстана и папки с информацией, посвящённой теме джихада и названной нами«Хукм джихада и положения, связанные с этим», которую мы собирали, изучали и распределяли по темам в течение достаточно продолжительного времени. К сожалению, тому, кто хочет иметь правильное представление об истине в свете доказательств из Корана и Сунны, приходится сталкиваться со многими трудностями. И это, конечно же, во первых, опасность посещения исламских сайтов в интернете и также другие проблемы, разъяснение которых займёт много вашего и нашего времени.
Нашей основной целью здесь является разъяснение положения мусульман в мире и, в частности, в Казахстане, наставить того, кого наставил Аллах Всевышний, на путь джихада на пути Аллаха, объяснить нашим братьям обязанности того, кто уверовал в истину, ниспосланную Мухаммаду, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, от его Господа, и устрашить врагов Аллаха и наших врагов, которые воюют с религией и её верными приверженцами во всём мире. Мы просим вас наставить нас в том, что, на ваш взгляд, является ошибкой с нашей стороны и вообще, надеемся на плодотворное сотрудничество в деле возвышения слова Аллаха. Со своей стороны заявляем о беспрекословном подчинении в том, что касается истины. Да вознаградит вас Аллах за ваши усилия и простит вас, нас и всех верующих в Судный день! Ассаляму алейкум!
Обращение казахстанского джамаата «Ансару-д-дин»
Хвала Аллаху, Господу миров, мир и благословение пророку Мухаммаду, его семье, его сподвижникам и всем тем, кто последовал за ним путём джихада вплоть до Судного дня.
И затем:
Ассаляму алейкум уа рохматуллахи уа барокятуху. Пишу это обращение для разъяснения того, для чего тебе, брат мой или сестра, необходимо ознакомиться со сборником информациии, названной нами «Хукм джихада и положения, связанные с этим». С позволения Аллаха начну с того, что истина, ради которой было сотворено всё сущее, отправлены пророки и ниспосланы книги, игнорируется многими из тех, кого принято считать людьми знания и остаётся сокрытой от большинства из мусульман, вследствие чего умму постигло такое унижение и разорение, какого, говорят некоторые из учёных, не было за всё время её существования. Унижение достигло таких пределов, что на всей земле нет территории, где можно свободно исповедовать религию ислам, а разорение достигло таких масштабов, что богатствами этой уммы владеют, за небольшим исключением, или кяфиры всех мастей или же их слуги муртадды. И для осуществления этой цели, т.е., дабы безнаказанно пользоваться удовлетворением своих желаний и потребностей, кои у них безмерны, эти кяфиры используют все доступные им средства. Иблис и его слуги знают, что сам дин ислам в его полном проявлении им никогда не победить, поэтому они решили его, т.е. ислам, изменить, подстроив под свои ценности.
Не удивляйся, брат мой, его дерзости, т.к. ему многое удалось. Сейчас практически все правители мусульманских стран — муртадды, которые сражаются против Аллаха и Его посланника, в учебных заведениях этих стран преподаётся видоизменённый, угодный их интересам «ислам», имамы, за которыми следуют люди, в большинстве своём заблудшие или вводящие в заблуждение, а то и лицемеры, продающие свою религию за кусок из дунья. Ложь преподносится ими как истина, а истина – как ложь.
Но не умолкли некоторые из людей знания, и стали просыпаться жаждущие по этой причине, и подняли они знамя джихада против предателей, а Аллах опозорил тех, кто вышел против Его религии их руками и языками, и хвала Ему, Всевышнему, во всём. Здесь собрана лишь небольшая толика этого знания, но и этого достаточно, чтобы понять, в чём заключается сегодня первостепенная обязанность мусульман и некоторые методы исполнения её. Добавлю от себя, что за распространение информации гораздо меньшей по объёму, вкупе с подготовкой, тагут преследует и сажает на срок 10-15, а то и более лет. Поэтому настоятельно рекомендую проявлять осторожность в пользовании компьютером -пользуйся тогда, когда никого нет рядом и не оставляй открытым документ, когда отлучаешься. И ты должен понять, что знание необходимо для того, чтобы действовать, а не для того, чтобы спорить с глупцами посредством него, а кто сделает подобное, т.е., будет приобретать знание для споров с глупцами — тот в огне, как передано нам от посланника Аллаха, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, и этого устрашения должно быть достаточно для того, чтобы ты не побежал сразу же в мечеть спорить с теми, кого до сих пор не мог

Articles of the Week – 11/6-11/12

Saturday November 6:
Identifying the enemy in the Sahel – Andrew Lebovich, al-Wasat: https://bit.ly/bSY1QD
Al-Qaeda´s Greetings to Dead Crusaders – Florian Flade, Jih@d Blog: https://bit.ly/9wLzST
Monday November 8:
As long as Yemen is destitute, al Qa’eda will thrive – Brian O’Neill, The National: https://bit.ly/bX3734
Tuesday November 9:
The Awlaki-Gadahn Nexus and Al Qaeda’s War On Scholarship – J.M. Berger, IntelWire: https://bit.ly/bdHasi
Throught a Glass Darkly – Gregory D. Johnsen, Waq al-Waq: https://bit.ly/bvjOGy
The Battle for Afghanistan: Militancy and Conflict in Kandahar – Anand Gopal, New American Foundation: https://bit.ly/aafen8
Al Qaeda Bombings, Drive-By Shootings, and Penalty Kicks? – Laura Kasinof, Foreign Policy: https://bit.ly/9OyIOp
Wednesday November 10:
Thoughts on the transcript of the interrogation of AQAP figure Ibrahim al-Banna – Leah Farrall, All Things Counter Terrorism: https://bit.ly/90BbjG
Corrupting Counterterrorism – Paul R. Pillar, The National Interest: https://bit.ly/bAboFQ
Thursday November 11:
More Ruminations about Al Qaeda’s War on Scholarship – J.M. Berger, IntelWire: https://bit.ly/aNFZuA
Friday November 12:
Kazakhstan’s Jihadists Solicit Assistance From Ingush Insurgency Website – Liz Fuller, The Caucasus Report: https://bit.ly/cEE9di
Drones and Yemen – Brian O’Neill, Always Judged Guilty: https://bit.ly/a2Arv4
Insurgents in Ingushetia Regroup as Local Jammats Become More Nationalist – Mairbek Vatchagaev, North Caucasus Analysis: https://bit.ly/dBQheC

New interview from the Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan: "An In-depth Interview With Hajjī Aḥmad Sa'īd, Head Of Operations In Kandahar City"

NOTE: This interview was conducted by the Afghan Ṭālibān’s media outlet al-Emara and unedited below.


Zilhajj 04, 1431 A.H, Thursday, November 11, 2010
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.
The recent operations in the province of Kandahar, by the enemy I.S.A.F forces are viewed by the western-orientated media, as the last military push against the Mujahideen. The majority of them are of the opinion that should these operations fail as well; the Americans would have no other option but to leave Afghanistan.
The enemy admits, that the essential objective of this operation is to prevent the collapse of Kandahar city (which is Afghanistan’s second largest city) to the Mujahideen forces. To achieve this, the enemy, besides conducting operations in the districts surrounding Kandahar city, has now also started military operations in the city centre as well. To find out exactly what impact these operations have had on the Mujahideen forces, we talked to Haji Ahmad Saeed, who is in charge of Mujahideen military operations in Kandahar city. This detailed interview is presented below.
Alemarah: First of all, please give us some general information of the recent operations of the invading forces: what are some of the activities the invaders have undertaken?
Haji Ahmad Saeed: All Praise is to Allah, Kandahar city, which has in the past many years, bore witness to some of the Mujahideen’s greatest operations and bravery, has seen sustained attacks by Mujahideen warriors. These attacks have caused our internal and external enemies’ to panic, to the point of admitting that could very well fall to the banner of Islamic Emirate’s soldiers. Since then, the enemy has completely revised its strategy, focusing almost exclusively on Kandahar city and its surrounding regions. In line with this strategy, the enemy has increased its presence in the region considerably.
This increase has been witnessed in the city centre as well, where the enemy has increased its infantry and motorized battalions. They have also carried out large scale raids against civilian population by surrounding entire districts, then carrying out house to house searches for weapons and Mujahideen. They have also started operations in regions that are under Mujahideen control. They have infested the city centre with numerous foreign and army outposts, besides the normal police stations. They have set up more and more check points on the roads and increased their intelligence gathering spy-rings. All this has given Kandahar city the appearance of a city under siege.
The enemy has caused all this commotion and carried out these measures to stop our activities in the region but Alhamdulillah and again Alhamdulillah, as our recent operations in the heart of the city have shown, the enemy has utterly failed in this objective. Even the westerners’ own governmental and non-governmental agencies confirm our success by stating that Mujahideen activities in Kandahar, instead of decreasing, have increased by over twenty-four percent.
Alemarah: The enemy invaders claim that they have set up a belt our Kandahar city to choke the movements of Mujahideen into and out of the city. What information do you have regarding this?
Haji Ahmad Saeed: It is true that the enemy has set up various check points on the roads leading into the city and on the main highways and constructed some ten large army stations. One of these army posts is on the Panjwaee road near Kobai; another is one the way from Khanjakak towards Soop; another is on the Heart road near Seelo; another is on the Arghandab road near Mir Ahmad Khan’s Kalachi; one near Kotal, one on Shah Wali Kote road, on Kabul road near Ainoominy; on the Boldak road from Shurandam towards the city. They have also set up two new army posts on the roads leading from Mahlajat. All these outposts have some of the most high-tech detection and identification tools available to the west.
Yet despite this they have never captured any of our Mujahideen, nor detected any explosive-laden vehicle. Everyday our explosive filled vehicles pass over these army checkpoints and army posts without being detected or captured. This is all by the Grace of Allah who has favoured us in all opportunities. The enemy’s so called ‘belt’ has achieved no other purpose besides harassing the local populace. As you can see, our attacks on the city have increased rather than decrease. Therefore this belt is no impediment to the Mujahideen operations and its purpose has been inflated far beyond its capabilities.
Alemarah: How are Mujahideen’s operations inside Kandahar city?
Haji Ahmad Saeed: In the city, as of old, as soon as darkness spreads the stooge governments rule comes to an end, our battalions start their patrols and our operations begin. At night, we set up our ambushes on all the major roads, sealing the enemy inside their outposts. Due to our ambushes, now the enemy has accepted that they cannot provide support to their other outposts if and when they get attacked. Similarly, the Mujahideen always watch their activities during day time. Everyday enemy spies and soldiers are shot dead by our snipers. Several days ago, on the Kandahar bypass road, Mujahideen conducted searches of cargo trucks finding and subsequently burning those trucks carrying supplies to enemy soldiers. All this proves that the Mujahideen have the capabilities and willingness, to conduct operations in the city according to their own initiative, while the enemy has lost all morale and determination to fight.
Alemarah: It is said that since this new operation was launched, many innocent residents have gone missing, some of whom have subsequently been found and have reported to have been kidnapped by American and puppet government officers. What information do you have regarding this?
Haji Ahmad Saeed: It is true that the enemy has arrested many innocent people, the majority of whom are still suffering in prisons. These people have been arrested by government intelligence services as well as by various local militias. Many of them have been arrested due to personal or tribal rivalries. These incidents require a thorough investigation because many of these innocent arrestee’s have often been tortured to death without any legal process. These are all innocent Afghan civilians whose death should be investigated by all Afghan and global societies.
Alemarah: Enemy has been announcing recently that they have captured a large cache of weapons, explosives and mines from the Mujahideen. What is your information regarding this?
Haji Ahmad Saeed: This is yet another of the enemy’s baseless claims. We have not yet faced a situation where the Mujahideen’s weapons or mines have been captured due to the enemy’s intelligence gathering. However, it has sometimes happened that some of our mines have failed to explode due to some technical or electronic failure. These have subsequently fallen into enemy hands further inflating their egos.
Alemarah: The issue of civilian casualties is hotly debated in Kandahar. The enemy propaganda claims that civilians are often killed in Mujahideen operations. What do you have to say about this?
Haji Ahmad Saeed: I, as the head of Kandahar operations, feel very sensitive to this issue, first in front of Allah and then in front of our Afghan people. If we did not fear for causing harm to our own people then our operations in Kandahar would be ten times more than they are today. We have always tried our best to completely end any civilians casualties on our part. We often have had to cancel our operations when we fear the possibility of civilian casualties. On the other hand, the enemy always seeks to stay and move in our population centres so that if Mujahideen attack them, any resulting civilian damage would be blamed on the Mujahideen. As much as we want to attack the enemy, we know that they want to use our people as human shields for their protection and therefore we abstain from confronting them in these areas.
Alemarah: Partly as a result of the recent operations and partly due to the targeted killings of government workers, some people in Kandahar are beginning to think that these shootings and bombings are random and indiscriminate. For this reason these people are very fearful of the present situation. What is your message to these people
Haji Ahmad Saeed: I want to tell these people that if they are not government workers then they should be completely calm and relaxed. The operation in Kandahar are not random and spirit of the moment operations, instead each step is thoroughly planed and meticulously executed. The Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate first conduct thorough background research into their targets and when their relationship with the puppet government and their foreign paymasters is fully confirmed, do they proceed to punish these collaborators. Only once during my term has one of our Mujahids mistaken an innocent person (who fully resembled

New statement from the Islamic Emirate Of Afghanistan: "What Do The Americans Hope To Achieve In Afghanistan?"

NOTE: This message is from the Afghan Ṭālibān and unedited below.


Zilhajj 04, 1431 A.H, Thursday, November 11, 2010
In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent
In October 2001, when the invading American aerial attacks on Afghanistan began, they had predicted an easy victory by dent of their technological ascendancy and thought that the subsequent armed clashes at the battle fields would be as easy as the initial aerial onslaughts. Being under the delusion of their own propaganda, the Americans believed that they had advantage over the Russians, English, Mongols, Macedonians and Persians who had already faced route in this ancient land.
The Afghan nation’s habitual prudence in testing the strengths and capabilities of their new enemies before embarking on a full scale struggle was mistaken for being signs of weakness of the Afghans. This emboldened the enemy to take on the Afghans on their own land and focused on building grand military bases in the country. Not since the days of Akbar of the Moghul’s India, had anyone been so foolish to bring their armies to the precipitous heights of our heartlands.
However, the inevitable defeat and tremendous losses quickly taught the American generals how futile their venture was. So they abandoned the rural area operations strategy and embarked on another strategy–concentrating on the main population areas. They gave priority to taking control of the southern provinces of Afghanistan. But all praises be to the Almighty Allah, the Mujahideen have foiled their plan.
The brutal I.S.A.F’s failure to hold Marjah and their inability to gain any significant ground in Kandahar or Helmand illustrates utter defeat of the invaders’ strategy. Seeing that they can’t succeed militarily, the enemy has resorted to a new stratagem instead: sowing dissension in the ranks of the Mujahideen by spreading rumors of talks and negotiations between the Afghan puppet government and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
By such deception, they hope to create a split within the Mujahideen or alternatively draw away some of the Mujahid combatants from the armed struggle, or at least to demoralize Mujahideen. A thousand thanks to Allah, this ploy of the enemy also went awry. Rather than benefiting the enemy, it exposed how weak the enemy was. In light of the U.S. military’s failures to achieve any tangible results in Afghanistan, naturally, the U.S. public is asking why they went into Afghanistan in the first place and what do they want to achieve?
After the 9/11 attacks in the U.S., Washington reacted like a mad dog, threatening every government on earth on the basis of the evidence that only existed in the figments of their imagination. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, which wanted to put an end to the chaotic situation created by warlords, was attacked in the most barbaric manner and forced to defend its country and people. The U.S. government never bothered to identify the underlying causes of the 9/11 attacks on its territory nor sought to formulate a rational response to it. Instead it emptied its resources, and now seeks to somehow extricate itself from the quagmire it got itself into.
To date, America has never clarified its goals that are hidden behind attacking Afghanistan except the so-called apparent slogan of war on terror which is a well-known prefabricated pretext. According to a survey conducted among US soldiers in Afghanistan, majority of them do not know what they fight for in Afghanistan and why they are stationed there. It is also not clear, that the American military presence in Afghanistan will ever serve the cause of peace and stability in the region and the world.
It is worth mentioning that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has never carried out any attack against the U.S. nor any other county. For the Afghans, Afghanistan is their land where they live. The people of Afghanistan simply wish to live peacefully according to our Islamic principles and have no higher aspiration than to live and die in defense of our land and our religion. We will continue to defend our honor and land, until any and all foreign forces leave Afghanistan.
As for America, it clearly needs to re-evaluate its objectives in Afghanistan because its presence in Afghanistan serves no valuable purpose for its security and every extra day it stays in Afghanistan, paves the way for its financial melt-down and decline in political stature. America would be far better off if it withdraws its forces from Afghanistan, and instead, engage with people of countries like Afghanistan, on a mutually beneficial and constructive way.

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan

Jihadism and the ‘Ulamā'

[Originally posted at al-Wasat. Unedited from the original.]

Two days ago, J.M. Berger of IntelWire wrote an article describing a recent trend in the statements and video releases published by Adam Gadahn and Anwar al ‘Awlaki that have tried to discredit the ‘ulama (religious scholars). These ideas, though, are not new, but provide further example of a trend, which has pervaded some of the key Jihadist intellectual thinkers in the post-Caliphate era (the Caliphate was abolished in 1924). Today, Hasan al-Banna, founder of the Muslim Brothers in 1928, would not be considered a global jihadist, but his ideas became a foundation for later thinkers to build off of and further radicalize his thought. al-Banna did not understand how the ‘ulama could do nothing in the face of what he percieved was happening to the Muslim world. He viewed the Muslim Brothers’ values as a refutation of the values of al-Azhar University (the most respected Sunni place of high education) and how the university dealt with contemporary issues. The late Richard P. Mitchell, a scholar at the University of Michigan and author of The Society of the Muslim Brothers, summed up al-Banna’s thought on the ‘ulama, stating:

Azhar had persisted in a time-worn, anachronistic approach to Islam and its teachings—dry, dead, ritualistic, and irrelevant to the needs of living Muslims.[1]

Sayyid Qutb, who is viewed as the godfather of the modern jihadist movement, was critical of the ‘ulama as well. He believed they were opportunists that were using religious texts to their own advantage, which is pretty rich coming from Qutb, a man that has a degree in literature and created his own innovative way of understanding Islam.[2] Even more zealous over the problems with the ‘ulama was Muhammad ‘Abd al-Salam Farrag, who coined the term the near enemy as well as led the group Tanzim al-Jihad (later Egyptian Islamic Jihad) in the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat. These are his thoughts from his book Jihad: The Neglected Duty:

There are some who say that what we should do now is busy ourselves with seeking knowledge, for how can we struggle in the cause of Allah while we are lacking the knowledge, which is fard (obligatory) to seek? But we have not heard anyone who says that it is permitted to abandon an Islamic order or an obligation of the obligations of Islam because of knowledge, especially if this obligation is Jihad. So how can we abandon a fard ‘ayn (individual obligation) because of fard kifayah (collective obligation)? … So he who says that knowledge is Jihad must realize that what is fard is fighting … If a person wants to increase his knowledge … he could do so, because there are no restrictions on knowledge, which is available for everybody. But to delay Jihad because of seeking knowledge is an evidence of the one who has no evidence … However, we do not underestimate knowledge and scholars, rather we call for that. But we do not use it as evidence to abandon the obligations that Allah ordained.[3]

More recently, Osama bin Laden argued:

Despite of this hard siege imposed on you O my Islamic Ummah, you still have a great opportunity to regain your freedom to go out of the submission to and the dependence of this Crusader/Zionist alliance. To reach that, you should free yourself from the fetters of humiliation and subservience shackling us by the agents of this alliance who are our countries’ governors and their helpers especially the fetters of the Ulamaa of the Sultan, as well the fetters of the Islamic groups which transform their method to recognize the governor who betrayed the religion and the Ummah, and they join the political process of the state of this governor, and no difference for them if they are in the rule or opposition.[4]

Further, last month, Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri stated:

This orientation has the purer methodology and the more correct doctrine, because it relies on the explicit and definite proofs of the Qur’an and Sunnah [Prophetic Way], and cites the historical and political reality of the Muslim Ummah, and believes neither in the fatwas of the “Fuqahaa” of the Marines nor in the hired ‘Ulama in Riyadh, Cairo and Qatar.[5]

Finally, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, the Jordanian cleric who mentored Abu Mus’ab al-Zarqawi and is considered the most influential living global jihadist theorist, has written about what he describes as the murji’ah (non-righteous scholars) on several occasions. Here are a couple examples:

I advise them not be deceived by the ambiguities of the phony scholars, who confuse the truth with falsehood and confuse the path to Paradise with the path to Hellfire.[6]
The Mujahideen do not need you, half men and with no resolve. They do not need any advice on Jihad from scholars who are paid for and defeated. They do not need to ask you if it is okay with you or if their Jihad is compatible with you thinking. No, they do not need that. They have all the wisdom and the vision that they need. Die in your anger, and continue your criticism of the Mujahideen. You cannot destroy their resolve; your poisoned pins would not affect their Jihad. Nothing will affect them.[7]

Added up, one can see that individuals involved with the jihadist movement have tried to discredit the ‘ulama for quite some time now. One of the goals is to weaken state institutions linked to corrupt governments, as well as weakening potential enemies. Another is due to the lack of true religious legitimacy by many in the movement. As such, they are compensating and trying to discredit individuals who are trained in the religion and understand that their understanding of Islam is not based on the classical tradition. — [1] Richard P. Mitchell, The Society of the Muslim Brothers (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1993), 212-213. [2] Roxanne Leslie Euben and Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Princeton Readings in Islamist Thought: Texts and Contexts from al-Banna to Bin Laden, (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009), 133. [3] Muhammad ‘Abd al-Salam Farrag, Jihad: The Neglected Duty (Birmingham, UK: Maktabah Al Ansaar Publications, 2000), 46-48. [4] Osama bin Laden, The Way To Rescue Palestine (As-Sahab Media Productions, 2008). [5] Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, A Victorious Ummah, A Broken Crusade: Nine Years After the Start of the Crusader Campaign (As-Sahab Media Productions, 2010). [6] Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, A message in support of the Mujahideen in Somalia and exposing the doubts created the Ullamah of Dajjaal(Minbar Tawhid W’al Jihad, 2009). [7] Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, The Caravan is Moving and the Dogs are Barking (Minbar Tawhid W’al Jihad).