Articles of the Week – 1/14-1/20

Saturday January 14:
Islamism and secularism in Tunisia – Rory McCarthy, openDemocracy: https://bit.ly/x1Ypit
Sunday January 15:
A Look Inside AQIM – Andrew Lebovich, al-Wasat: https://bit.ly/xxDNKu
Tuesday January 17:
Placing Islam in Conversation with A Secular Age – Elizabeth A. Barre, Journal of Religious Ethics: https://bit.ly/yi7SCH
Wednesday January 18:
Book Review of “Milk and Peace, Drought and War” – Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa: https://bit.ly/zeUekB
Thursday January 19: 
Salafi-Jihadi Cleric Abu Basir Al-Tartusi Position on Democracy: Some Mechanisms Can Be Adopted – D. Hazan, The Middle East Media Research Institute: https://bit.ly/xBC912

New article from Abū Fāṭimah, a member of the Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum: "Marking the Three Year Anniversary of the Foundation of al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula"

Glad Tidings from the Land of Faith and Wisdom:
What have AQAP achieved in the past three years in Yemen?

All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and may peace and blessings be upon the Imam of the Mujahideen, the Seal of the Prophets, our beloved Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and upon all of his family and all of his Companions, and all those who follow him rightly until the Day of Judgement.
To proceed:
“Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested? We did test those before them, and Allah will certainly know those who are true from those who are false” [Surah al-‘Ankabut: 2-3]
It has been exactly three years since the Believers heard the Glad Tidings announcing the formation of the Al-Qaida Organization in the Arabian Peninsula.
From the four brothers who appeared in the video that accompanied this announcement (From Here We Begin, And at Aqsa We Meet) three of the brothers continue to lead the Jihad to this day. Amir Abu Basir (Nassir al-Wuhayshi), Sheikh Abu Sufyan (Said al-Shehri) and Commander Abu Hurairah (Qassim al-Rimi), may Allah protect them all, are still terrorizing the enemies of Allah night and day and healing the breasts of the Believers. Of course brother Abu Hareth (Muhammad al-Oufi) was forced to surrender to the Apostate Saudi authorities soon after the video was released, but such noble brothers as Fahd al-Quso and Uthman al-Ghamdi have rushed to fill his place.
Sheikh Ibrahim al-Rubaish (may Allah protect him) the Mujahid Sheikh for whom not even being thrown in the Crusader dungeon at Guantanamo Bay could sway from his commitment to calling the people to Jihad, continues to incite the Believers to fight.
Of course the road has not been an easy one, and the brothers have all had to make huge sacrifices along the way.
Allah the Exalted says:
“Be sure we shall test you with something of fear and hunger, some loss in goods or lives or the fruits (of your toil), but give glad tidings to those who patiently persevere” [Surah al-Baqarah: 155]
The Mujahideen and ordinary Muslims alike have been forced to flee their homes as entire villages came under indiscriminate attack from the tanks, artillery and aircraft of the Apostate forces, as well as from Crusader drones. Thousands have been injured, and have lost their homes and their livelihoods at the hands of the criminals.
Let us not forget the thousands of martyrs, foremost amongst them the likes of Commander Muhammad ibn Abdul-Rahman al-Rashed, Nayef al-Qahtani and Yusuf al-Shehri (may Allah have mercy on them all)
Imam Anwar al-Awlaki and Brother Samir Khan (may Allah have Mercy on them both) also sacrificed their lives so that the word of Allah would reign supreme in the Land of Faith and Wisdom.
There have been thousands more martyrs whose names we never learned, we do not know them, but Allah knows them!
And many brothers have also been imprisoned, either by the Apostates (such as brothers Jaber al-Faifi and Hussein al-Tais) or by the Crusaders (such as brothers Nidal Hassan and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab)
May Allah free them all, and give their families the patience to persevere through these trying times.
But along with all the difficulties that one has to expect in the path of Allah there have been numerous achievements for the Mujahideen along the way – and these have been far greater than could have been expected.
Some of the most obvious successes of the Mujahideen are briefly summarized below.
1.) Successfully fighting three wars simultaneously:
The Mujahideen of AQAP have not only been engaged in a fierce battle with the Apostate forces, but have also been directly attacking the Crusading Americans AND the Rejectionist polytheists in the north. Their fourth front will be – with the permission of Allah – against the spiteful, usurping Jews.
2.) Exposing the Houthis as being nothing more than agents of the Iranian Rejectionists:
One of their greatest achievements has no doubt been exposing the so-called Zaidi Houthis as being the lowly agents of the Iranians. The Rejectionist polytheists have begun a project which has as its ultimate goal the annihilation of Ahlus Sunnah wal Jamaah from the Arabian Peninsula! Hence the Houthi dogs have been dishonoring the chaste Sunni women and torturing and executing the sons of Sunnah – as their brothers in Iraq have been doing to the Iraqi Sunnis.
The brothers in AQAP have launched many devastating attacks against the criminal Rejectionists, and even managed to eliminate the chief criminal Badr ud-Deen al-Houthi in a martyrdom-seeking operation.
3.) Dislodging Ali Abdullah Saleh from power:
Make no mistake – Saleh being forced from office has nothing to do with popular protests, or Western concern about the regime killed civilians. The West has allowed Saleh and his like to spill innocent Muslim blood for decades without batting an eyelid. The Americans only insisted that Saleh be forced from office when it became clear that he could not control the country, as village after village fell to the Mujahideen of AQAP.
4.) Inflicting massive damage to the Crusader economies:
The operation of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was said to have cost the American economy $30 billion; it is likely that the operation involving the cargo planes cost as much, if not even more.
And while America was the first to act to ramp up their security measures in response to these operations, let us not forget that the other Crusading nations have also followed suit – for they know that as they are also at war with Islam they could just as easily be the next target of the Mujahideen.
The brothers have shown that with only a small investment, catastrophic damage can be done to the Crusader economies, when the targets are carefully selected.
5.) Capturing vast swathes of land and implementing the Shariah in the lands they have captured:
The Mujahideen of AQAP have captured vast swathes of land in southern Yemen, and have set about establishing the Shariah in the lands they have captured, enjoining what is good and forbidding what is evil.
The brothers have been careful not to over-extend themselves, and have focused on consolidating their control of one area before moving onto the next area. May Allah reward them and continue to bless them with patience.
It was hard to imagine that these wonderful bounties would have been possible when the formation of AQAP was announced just three short years ago. It remains to be seen what other Glad Tidings will reach our ears in the next three years.
And so, we ask Allah to keep the righteous Mujahideen of AQAP / Ansar al-Shariah firmly united on the Straight Path they have followed thus far.
We ask Allah to strengthen their ranks, and straighten their aim.
We ask Allah to enable the Mujahideen to defeat the Apostate forces, the Crusading Christians and the Rejectionist polytheists in Yemen.
We ask Allah that Yemen be one of the launching pads from which the patient Palestinian people are finally freed from the oppression of the spiteful Jews.
We ask Allah that the blood of the martyrs such as Imam Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan (may Allah have mercy on them) not be spilled in vain, and that He (SWT) eases the suffering of the patient families of the martyrs and the prisoners.
“Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Blot out our sins, and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. Thou art our Protector; Help us against those who stand against faith” [Surah al-Baqarah: 286]
And our final prayer is that all praise be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists, and may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon the and upon his family and his Companions in their entirety.

Your brother Abu Fatima Friday January 20th, 2012

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Minbar at-Tawḥīd wa-l-Jihād presents two new Fatāwā from Shaykh Abū al-Mundhir al-Shinqīṭī

New statement from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: "Regarding the Despicable Actions Carried Out by British Soldiers Against Afghan Children"


This is the second time in the past two weeks that people have learnt of western invading forces in Afghanistan trampling on Afghan values and have unquestionably affirmed the claims of Islamic Emirate that the foreign invaders have occupied our country to
violate our honor and dignity. We are once again witnesses to the anti-human crime, the target of which is regrettably once again our defenseless, oppressed and subdued countrymen. This time it is the British forces that have compelled two ten year old children (a boy and a girl) to touch the private parts of a few savage animals (soldiers) of the so called civilized world which they have also notoriously videotaped.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan vehemently condemns this immoral and shameful act and points to this as an example of the ethical standards of the occupying soldiers. We call on our respected, honorable and distinguished nation to fortify their ranks before everything else and to deny our enemy the chance of ever again playing with our chastity and honor.
Esteemed and oppressed nation! Today the hands of the invaders have reached our honor. Instead of living subdued lives, the various classes, in the hope of martyrdom and dignity, should join hands and take revenge from the enemy for all these criminal actions. In addition, an exemplary lesson should also be given to those notorious faces that have accompanied these savage invaders and believe their filthy presence on our Islamic soil is necessary.
Valiant martyrdom desiring Mujahideen of the trenches!
You also have particular obligations towards protecting the honor, dignity and freedom of the nation in your respected areas. You know that the defeated enemy is taking its last breath and have now extended its hands towards such vile acts and have started digging their own graves in advance so you should also strive to give them such exemplary last blows which they shall never forget in accordance with your Islamic and Afghan customs for carrying out such acts with our children, urinating on our dead and thousands of other such cowardly criminal acts in order to restore our honor and dignity and assure our independence.
Alongside this we also call on all the nations of the world especially the Muslim nations to help us in preventing such acts taking place by showing their sympathy to the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan as the true representatives of the people of Afghanistan and cooperating in anyway possible in defeating this barbaric enemy.
As before, we once again call on the United Nations, all Human Right organizations and especially OIC and all the Islamic countries to not consider such acts by the British and other invading countries as isolated personal incidents but they should treat is as only a sample of the savageries of these armies and officially condemn them with one voice while at the same time, lend every assistance possible in helping us achieve freedom in accordance with the real aspiration of every human being.
We one again tell our cowardly, defeated and despicable enemy that such crimes of yours will definitely (if Allah wills it) bring about your end. We recognized your evil, despicable lack of ethics and weakness in the initial stages of this war. These crimes are not the personal crimes of a few of your soldiers but this is the real face of your governments and military organs which is being exposed to the whole world. The people witnessed and still remember your treatment of the prisoners in Guantanamo while your handling of prisoners in Iraq’s Abu Ghuraib and the thousands of secret and disclosed crimes against our people in the past decade are the representation of your actual faces. These actions of yours will definitely (if Allah wills it) be judged heavily; our determinations are strong and we will not waver; we have a long history of battle and war! about which you are either ignorant or have perceived us as weak. Our soil has a history of crushing empires. Your crimes only reveal your identity. Our nation shall also come out from this trial with their heads held high. Your surrogates will also face prosecution here. We understand very well that you are in the last moments of your occupation and you will reach for every crime and savagery in these tender moments but you should not forget that you will have to answer for all of it. You and your invading soldiers will not go unquestioned. We shall take revenge against each one of your soldiers with our blood. Hundreds of our martyrdom seeking Mujahideen are eagerly awaiting their turn while thousands of our enraged Mujahideen are marching to confront you. You shall certainly have to face retribution for your crimes and your necks shall certainly be broken.
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
25/02/1433
19/01/2012
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al-Katāi’b Media presents a three new statements from Ḥarakat al-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn


Ambush Targeting Kenyan Forces and Militias of Apostasy Between “El Wak” and “El Ad”:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد وحده، أعز جنده، ونصر عبده، وهزم الأحزاب وحده، والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده أما بعد: وقعت القوات الكينية المدعومة من مليشيات المرتدين في كمين نصبه لها المجاهدون بين مدينتي “عيل واق” و “عيل عدي”، وقد بدأ الكمين بعدما وصلت القافلة العسكرية إلى مسافة تبعد حوالي 5 كيلومترات من عيل عدي باتجاه عيل واق، وأسفرت العملية عن مقتل عدد من الصليبيين والمرتدين وعادت القافلة إلى “عيل عدي” ونقلوا معهم جرحاهم وقتلاهم، كما غنم المجاهدون في الكمين سلاح هاون وكمية من الرصاص والذخيرة وعدد من أسلحة الكلاشنكوف. اللهم منزل الكتاب مجري السحاب هازم الأحزاب، اهزم الصليبيين ومن حالفهم من المرتدين.
اللهم اجعلهم وعتادهم غنيمة للمسلمين.
اللهم دمّرهم و زلزلهم.
اللهم أنت عضدنا وأنت نصيرنا،اللهم بك نصول وبك نجول وبك نقاتل.
والله أكبر
{وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ}
مُؤسَّسةُ الكَتائِب للإنتَاج الإعلامِي
حَركةُ الشَّبابِ المُجَاهدِين
الخميس 25 
صفر 1433 هـ
19/01/2012

المصدر : (مركز صدى الجهاد للإعلام)
الجبهة الإعلامية الإسلامية العالمية
رَصدٌ لأخبَار المُجَاهدِين وَ تَحرِيضٌ للمُؤمِنين

A Kenyan Aircraft Bombed the Village “Buluxaji” in the State of the Juba:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد وحده، أعز جنده، ونصر عبده، وهزم الأحزاب وحده، والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده أما بعد: لا تزال الطائرات الكينية تواصل اعتداءاتها على المواطنين الأبرياء بالولاية الإسلامية، فقد قصفت الطائرات اليوم قرية “بولوحاجي” بولاية جوبا الإسلامية والواقعة على بعد حوالي 90 كيلومترا من مدينة كسمايو عاصمة الولاية الإسلامية، وكانت نتيجة هذا الاعتداء مقتل امرأة من سكان القرية وجرح عدد آخر. اللهم منزل الكتاب مجري السحاب هازم الأحزاب، اهزم الصليبيين ومن حالفهم من المرتدين.
اللهم اجعلهم وعتادهم غنيمة للمسلمين.
اللهم دمّرهم و زلزلهم.
اللهم أنت عضدنا وأنت نصيرنا،اللهم بك نصول وبك نجول وبك نقاتل.
والله أكبر
{وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ}
مُؤسَّسةُ الكَتائِب للإنتَاج الإعلامِي
حَركةُ الشَّبابِ المُجَاهدِين
الخميس 25 
صفر 1433 هـ
19/01/2012

المصدر : (مركز صدى الجهاد للإعلام)
الجبهة الإعلامية الإسلامية العالمية
رَصدٌ لأخبَار المُجَاهدِين وَ تَحرِيضٌ للمُؤمِنين

Targeting the Car of the Spokesman of Apostasy in Banader With An IED:

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الحمد وحده، أعز جنده، ونصر عبده، وهزم الأحزاب وحده، والصلاة والسلام على من لا نبي بعده أما بعد: استهدفت كتيبة المتفجرات بولاية بنادر الإسلامية صباح اليوم سيارة المتحدث باسم حكومة الردة في بنادر المدعو (محمد عبد الله عريف) بعبو ناسفة تم زرعها على الطريق الذي يستخدمه، إلا أن المتحدث لم يكن في داخل السيارة لحظة استهدافها بالعبوة، وقد نتج عن الانفجار إصابة 5 من حراسه توفي أحدهم بعد نقله إلى المستشفى متأثرا بجراحه، وتم تدمير السيارة بالكامل. اللهم منزل الكتاب مجري السحاب هازم الأحزاب، اهزم الصليبيين ومن حالفهم من المرتدين.
اللهم اجعلهم وعتادهم غنيمة للمسلمين.
اللهم دمّرهم و زلزلهم.
اللهم أنت عضدنا وأنت نصيرنا،اللهم بك نصول وبك نجول وبك نقاتل.
والله أكبر
{وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّةُ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلَكِنَّ الْمُنَافِقِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ}
مُؤسَّسةُ الكَتائِب للإنتَاج الإعلامِي
حَركةُ الشَّبابِ المُجَاهدِين
الخميس 25 
صفر 1433 هـ
19/01/2012

المصدر : (مركز صدى الجهاد للإعلام)
الجبهة الإعلامية الإسلامية العالمية
رَصدٌ لأخبَار المُجَاهدِين وَ تَحرِيضٌ للمُؤمِنين

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al-Katāi'b Media presents a new video message from Ḥarakat al-Shabāb al-Mujāhidīn: "They Are the Enemy, So Beware of Them"

NOTE: The title of this video is verse 63:4 of the Qur’ān (Sūrat al-Munāfiqūn; The Hypocrites). Here is the verse in full:

And when you see them, their forms please you, and if they speak, you listen to their speech. [They are] as if they were pieces of wood propped up – they think that every shout is against them. They are the enemy, so beware of them. May Allah destroy them; how are they deluded?

For those interested, here is some Qur’ān tafāsīr (exegesis) from classical mufassirūn (exegetes) on this particular verse:
Tafsīr al-Jalālayn:
And when you see them, their figures please you, on account of their fairness; and if they speak, you listen to their speech, because of its eloquence. [Yet] they are, by virtue of the enormous size of their figures, [yet] in their lack of comprehension, like blocks of timber (read khushbun or khushubun) [that have been] propped-up, set reclining against a wall. They assume that every cry, made, like a battle-cry or one made to [retrieve] a lost camel, is [directed] against them, because of the [extent of] terror in their hearts, lest something should be revealed deeming their blood licit. They are the enemy, so beware of them, for they communicate your secrets to the disbelievers. May God assail them!, destroy them! How can they deviate?, how can they be turned away from faith after the proofs [for it] have been established?
Tanwīr al-Miqbās min Tafsīr Ibn ‘Abbās:
(And when thou) O Muhammad (seest them) i.e. ‘Abdullah Ibn Ubayy and his two friends (their figures please thee) their bodies and appearance please you; (and if they speak) saying: we know you are Allah’s Messenger (thou givest ear unto their speech) you believe what they say and think they are truthful while they are not. ((They are)) i.e. their bodies are (as though they were blocks of wood in striped cloaks) aligned against the wall; He says: there is no goodness or light in their hearts just as dry wood has no life or moistness in it. (They deem every shout) every noise in Medina (to be against them) because of their cowardice. (They are the enemy, so beware of them) and never feel safe from them. (Allah confound them) Allah cursed them! (How they are perverted!) How they lie; it is also said this means: how they turn people away through lies!
Tafsīr Ibn Kathīr:
(They are the enemies, so beware of them. May Allah curse them! How are they denying the right path) means, how they are being led astray to the misguidance, away from the guidance. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Prophet said, (Hypocrites have certain signs that they are known by. Their greeting is really a curse, their food is from stealing and the war booty they collect is from theft. They shun the Masjid and they do not come to the prayer but at its end. They are arrogant; it is neither easy for them to blend in, nor it is easy for people to blend with them. They are like pieces of wood by night and are noisy by day.)



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Madad News Agency presents a new newsletter from Anṣār al-Sharī’ah in Yemen: “News Report, Issue #4″

UPDATE 2/27/12 8:58 PM: Here is an English translation of the below Arabic newsletter:

Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Anṣār al-Sharī’ah in Yemen — “News Report, Issue #4″ (En)
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NOTE: For the previous newsletters, see: #3#2, and #1.


Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Anṣār al-Sharī’ah in Yemen — “News Report, Issue #4″
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