Tunisia – Page 14

al-Andalus Media presents a new statement from al-Qā’idah in the Islamic Maghrib's Abū Yaḥyā al-Shinqīṭī: "Oh People of Tunisia of al-Qayrawān Be Supporters of Sharī'ah al-Raḥman"

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

UPDATE 5/21/13 1:55 PM: Here is an English translation of the below Arabic statement:

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Alhamdulillah who created for worshiping, and imposed on us to do jihad for the sake of Allah as we ought to strive, I praise and thank Him, and I ask Him grace and more, and I bear witness that Lā ʾIlāha ʾIllā l-Lāh IS Alone with no partner, which is the greatest witness, and I bear witness that Mohammed is his slave and messenger who was aided by His Lord and achieved his desires, may the peace and blessings be upon him, his family and Sahabah, and who followed them in work, intention and will.
Then:
(Arabic poetry)
My greetings to you, how are you, are you eager for the Sharia like me?
Our honorable people in Tunisia of knowledge and Jihad, Tunis of support and shelter, Tunisia of manhood and chivalry. O’ tribes of Al-Hamamah, Al-Maraziq, Al-Farafish, Al-Kadadma, Al-Sabiriya, Awalad Sidi Obaid, Al-Za’aba Talil and others from the people of magnanimity, O’ spending Ulema of Tunisia and its sincere preachers, and its youth who hold hot coals in the time of eeriness.
These are words of advice and support, which we offer to you when Tunisia is passing through a critical juncture and great cunning, either from our enemies the crusader Americans and their treacherous agents from Rafidah and apostates. Despite of that the Muslim is obliged to give advice to his Ummah and religion, since religion is advice as have been stated by our beloved peace and blessings of llah be upon him.
So I say and success is from Allah: In the beginning you have to thank Allah Almighty that he relieved you from the rule of that oppressing arrogant tyrant Ben Ali, who made you suffer from oppression what is only known by Allah. And today you have been liberated from that liberal ruler Alhamdulillah, remember that great blessing, and repeat in the streets, neighborhoods and cities of Tunisia, the Saying of the Almighty: (And We desired to bestow a favor upon those who were deemed weak in the land, and to make them the Imams, and to make them the heirs) 5 Surah Al-Qasas.
Then know may Allah have mercy over you:
Your Ummah is living in a hard stage, holding in its folds glad tidings and grief.
Wherever the Muslim turns his eyes, he sees what makes the heart dissolve, and erupts the tears. All that is because of the absence of the Sharia of Allah Almighty, and the collaboration of the traitors from our people who betrayed Allah and His messenger, whom their situation with their oppressed people is similar to the saying of the poet:
(Arabic poetry)
Brothers whom we took as shields, indeed they were so but for the enemies
I thought they were poignant arrows, indeed they were so but in our hearts
They said we did our best, I said yes but in corrupting me
The struggle between the people of good and the people of evil, between the preachers of the Sharia of Allah and His party, and the preachers of the methodology of Satan and his followers, is a constant tradition that cannot be replaced or changed, that is why Allah said in Surah Al-Anaam:
(Thus have We appointed unto every prophet an adversary – devils of humankind and jinn who inspire in one another plausible discourse through guile. If thy Lord willed, they would not do so; so leave them alone with their devising) 112
The Al-Allamah Ben Achour rahimahullah said in Al-Tahrir wa Al-Tanwir: “That is to alleviate the messenger peace and blessings of Allah be upon him from what grieved him from the conditions of his disbelieving people and their insistence to reject his Dawah, so Allah informed him: that those are his enemies, and the enmity of those similar to them to those similar to him is from the traditions of Allah Almighty in testing all the prophets, so every one of them had enemies, so the enmity of those people to the prophet peace be upon him isn’t a new thing. In other words: aren’t you a prophet and we have made for every prophet an enemy”. End of the quotation. Thus the people of falsehood Allah have made them for the enmity of the messengers and their followers, and filled their hearts with that even reviewed their thoughts they couldn’t change their stances because their hearts are full with the enmity of Allah and his message. And Allah made their ears deaf from hearing the truth, and made their eyesight go blind from seeing it? That is why they were the worst creatures to Allah, as Allah Almighty have said: (Surely the vilest of animals, in Allah’s sight, are the deaf, the dumb, who do not understand) 22 Surah Al-Anfal.
Allah turned them away from the right path, and in this life He only showed them the way of error, and that is why Allah Almighty said: (I will turn away from My communications those who are unjustly proud in the earth) 146 Surah Al-Araf, and it is a tradition in this universe, and that this variance between the Awliya of Rahman and the Awliya of Satan continues, so there has to be a trace for those elite who were selected by Allah Almighty, to believe Mohammed may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, and support him, and follow his trail and footsteps, and follow them in the methodology that they pursued.
Also there should on the face of this earth another people who choose to take the path of the enemies of Allah and His messenger and follow their trail and footsteps, and in every generation there has to be a generation of those who are similar to Abu Jahal Amr ibn Hisham and Utba ibn Rabiya and Shayba ibn Rabiya and Zuma ibn Al-Aswad, and their like will remain in every time and place. And Allah have made this religion a lamp on this earth, and it will reach where day and night have reached, and it will not leave a house of Madar (mud or clay) or a house of Wabar (fur of camels and goats, i.e. tents) without entering it.
And so there will remain enemies who will seek to repel it, and distort its people, and calling and accusing them with improper words and heinous titles, since every battle of this world is similar to the well-known battles of the messenger of Allah peace and blessings of Allah be upon him like the battle of Badr, Uhud, Khaybar, Hunayn and the battle of Al-Ahzab (the coalition) and other battles, even if the battles vary by the inequality of men. So brothers do not be fed up by the presence of the enmities and obstacles that you will find on your way, since it is a constant universal tradition.
And we won’t retrieve our dignity and status among the nations except with two important matters, I keep them before you:
The first matter:
Holding to the Sharia of Allah and demanding its implementation in the real world, as a methodology of life and a system of state, and this is not just a desirable matter, but rather it is a required obligation, which the Muslim should seek for it with all his strength, and that he reject the other abominable calls of Jahiliya which we tasted and are still tasting because of it humiliation and degradation, and the young and old grew on it.
Happiness, security, success and economic prosperity is under the shadow of the Sharia of Allah Almighty, and that the political, social and economic corruption and the other disasters will be ratified in the absence of the Sharia of Allah, and replacing it with the garbage of the manmade laws.
The Truth Almighty says:
(And if they had kept up the Taurat and the Injeel and that which was revealed to them from their Lord…) 66 Surah Al-Maeda, and the Almighty says: (Say: O followers of the Book! you follow no good…) 68 Surah Al-Maeda, and the moral here is in the common phrase and not the specific reason (for occasion of revelation).
It has been authentically narrated from our prophet peace and blessing of Allah be upon him that he said: “I have left two things with you. As long as you hold fast to them, you will not go astray. They are the Book of Allah and my Sunnah”. And it has been mentioned in the Al-Musnad and Jamee Abu Essa Al-Tirmidhi from the Hadith of Abu Najeeh Al-Erbaz ibn Sariyah that our prophet peace and blessing of Allah be upon him: “Those who will live after me will see much dissension among the Muslims; so adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah way of the rightly guided successors after me”.
And I cannot forget before leaving this point to notify our people and loved ones in Tunis and Kairouan that they shouldn’t be deceived by the people who call to democracy by decorating it under the name of the truth and gave it a religious garment, who have misguided tendencies and the calls that deviate from the straight path that permeated in our societies until it reached a climax, and they aren’t hiding (And if We please We would have made you know them so that you would certainly have recognized them by their marks and most certainly you can recognize them by the intent of (their) speech) 30 Surah Muhammad, and it is true who said:
(Arabic poetry)
The people of evil are known by their semblance and the fingers point at their immorality
So beware from entering to their nets and being deceived by their falsehood…
Secondly:
My Muslim brothers in Tunis and Kairouan: we should be aware that uniting the word and rank is an order from Allah and His messenger peace and blessings of Allah be upon him in many authentic Hadiths and it is also a power for the Muslims, and it isn’t a secret that the enemies of our Ummah are waiting the befalling of calamities to it, they won’t agree that we raise a banner, or achieve a goal, and that is why if we remain in rivalry and dispute when will we liberate Bayt Al-Maqdis?… when will have time to support the Muslims and defend the honor of the religion?… if we use all our means to slander each other and everyone of us uses

New statement from Dr. Iyād Qunaybī: "On the Anṣār al-Sharī'ah in Tunisia Forum"

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله.

هذه الكلمة لإخواني في أنصار الشريعة في تونس، أكتبها على وجل لأني قصرت في متابعة أحداث تونس ومناصرة إخواني فيها، منشغلا عن ذلك بشأن الشام.
وإني لأعلم أن لي بتونس إخوة لا تنقصهم البصيرة والحكمة والدراية بالواقع ما يغني عن إسهام مثلي، لكنه سهم نسهم به ومناصرة نسأل الله أن يبارك فيها.
أحبتي، يا من تهمون بالمشاركة في الملتقى رغم تهديد وتوعد الجهات الرسمية…إنا لنعلم أن خصومكم بلغوا الدرك الأسفل في خيانة الله والأمانة، والمتاجرة بدمائكم إرضاء لأسيادهم في النظام الدولي، والرفض الوقح للشريعة والنفور والتنفير عنها ومحاولة إخضاع البلاد والعباد لدين الديمقراطية التي تتسع للجميع إلا لدعاة الخير والصلاح من أبناء البلد…بما لا يدع مجالا لتأول لهم ولا لرجاء الخير منهم.
ونعلم أنكم صبرتم على ذلك صبرا حميدا باعثه الإخلاص والتجرد وتقديم مصلحة الدين نحسبكم والله حسيبكم.
ولا يستطيع مثلي أن ينصح بعقد الملتقى أو تعليقه وتحمل تبعات هذه النصيحة، لكني إن قررتم عقد الملتقى فإني أرى لزاما علي أن أذكر إخواني وأحبتي بأمور من واقع خبرة، ((فإن الذكرى تنفع المؤمنين)) وإني أحسبكم إن شاء الله منهم:

1) تجنب لغة التوعد والتهديد على صفحات الإنترنت وفي المقابلات والشعارات المرفوعة قبل المؤتمر وأثناءه، فإن خصمكم قليلَ الأمانة –إن لم يكن عديمها- سيستغل هذه العبارات ويبني عليها أكاذيبه.
حتى عبارات الانتصار، أدعوكم إلى أن تجعلوها “الانتصار للدعوة” حتى لا تبدو عبارات من تأهب للقتال بالسلاح. هذا مع تقديرنا لكون تخويف الخصم الذي لا يردعه دين ولا خلق مطلبا ليكفه عن الفجور في عدوانه، لكن هذه المصلحة قد لا تعدل المفسدة المترتبة على هذه العبارات عندما يلبس بها خصومكم على الناس.

2) الإعلان بوضوح عن متحدثين رسميين باسمكم لا تتحمل الجماعة مسؤولية تصريحات غيرهم. فلا يخفاكم يا حفظكم الله أنه يكثر الاندساس في مثل هذا الوقت.

3) تشكيل لجنة تمنع الناس من رفع شعارات أو النداء بهتافات لا تمثلكم ولا تمثل منهجكم.

4) الحذر من فتنة الميكروفونات ومحبةِ سماع الهتافات المؤيدة، فهذه تجعل المرء يقول أحيانا ما يجر عليه وعلى إخوانه ودعوته ما يحدث الندم بعد فوات الأوان.

5) ضرورة التغطية الإعلامية المكثفة لكل خطوة ونشرها حتى لا ينفرد الآخرون بروايتهم الملفقة.

6) تجنب عبارات الوصف بالكفر والردة. فهذه يفرح بها أهل الأهواء ليحْدثوا بها لدى عامة الناس حالة استغلاق، فتضيع القضية وتُحرمون من بيان الحق للناس ومخاطبة الخير الكامن في فطرهم.
ثم أيها الأحبة إن نجحتم في أن تعرضوا للناس دعوة هادئة نقية ثم رأوا من خصومكم محاربة وقمعا لهذه الدعوة فلسان حال خصومكم سيكون أنطق وأبلغ من ألسنة مقالكم. ولهذا أيضا ننصحكم بالنصيحة السادسة:

7) التركيز في فعالياتكم على عرض ما لديكم من حق دون الكلام عن باطل خصومكم.

ثم نصيحتان أخيرتان مهمتان:

8 ) أن تضعوا –يا بارك الله فيكم- في أذهانكم أننا في مرحلة الدعوة والصبر على تبعاتها. ليس هذا أوان المواجهة بالقوة إخواني. وتذكروا أن سيد الشرفاء الشجعان رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم والصحابة معه، أعز الناس نفسا وأكثرهم إباء للضيم، كانوا في مرحلة الدعوة يضربون ويعذبون ويُسخر منهم فيصبرون، لا عن دنية وحاشاهم، لكن لأن المواجهة في غير وقتها مهلكة للدعوة وتغبيش لصورتها في نفوس الناس.

9) كثرة التضرع والدعاء واللجوء إلى الله تعالى في الثلث الأخير من الليل وبعده أن يجعا عاقبة هذا الأمر خيرا وألا يجعل للظالمين عليكم سبيلا.
اللهم احفظ إخواننا في تونس. ربنا أعنهم ولا تعن عليهم وانصرهم ولا تنصر عليهم وامكر لهم ولا تمكر عليهم واهدهم ويسر الهدى لهم، وانصرهم على من بغى عليهم.

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To inquire about a translation for this statement for a fee email: [email protected]

Minbar at-Tawḥīd wa-l-Jihād presents a new Fatwā from Shaykh Abū al-Mundhir al-Shinqīṭī: "What Is Your Advice With Regard To the Annual Conference To Be Held By the Brothers in Anṣār al-Sharī'ah in Tunisia?"

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Shaykh Abū al-Mundhir al-Shinqīṭī — “What Is Your Advice With Regard To the Annual Conference To Be Held By the Brothers in Anṣār al-Sharī’ah in Tunisia?”
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To inquire about a translation for this fatwā for a fee email: [email protected]

Check out my new 'Policy Watch' for the Washington Institute: "Standoff Between the Tunisian Government and Ansar al-Sharia"

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

On May 10-11, Tunisian security services and police launched an unprecedented offensive against local Salafist group Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST), cracking down on members who were delivering public lectures or passing out their literature on the street. In response, AST leader Sheikh Abu Ayyad al-Tunisi made a veiled threat that youths would defend Islam in Tunisia just as they have in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Iraq, Somalia, and Syria — an indirect warning of potential full-blown jihad. Such a development would be a major break from Abu Ayyad’s public strategy over the past two years, in which he has argued that Tunisia is a land of dawa (i.e., proselytizing and associated Islamic outreach activities), not armed jihad. AST’s third annual conference in al-Qayrawan this weekend could help determine if the latest incident becomes a tipping point toward open conflict or an opportunity for both sides to back down.
Click here to read the rest.

Check out my new piece for Jamestown Foundation’s Militant Leadership Monitor: "Who’s Who in Tunisia’s Salafi-Jihadi Community: A Look at Key Leaders of Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia"

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Unfortunately, this article, which can be found here, is behind a pay wall. If one is interested in reading it, send me an email ([email protected]) and I’ll see what I can do.

al-Bayyāriq Foundation for Media presents a new statement from Anṣār al-Sharī’ah in Tunisia: "A Truthful Word and a Shout in the Valley: About the Attacks That Affected the People in the City of Rawḥīyyah in Silīyyānah Governorate"

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

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Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Anṣār al-Sharī’ah in Tunisia — “A Truthful Word and a Shout in the Valley- About the Attacks That Affected the People in the City of Rawḥīyyah in Silīyyānah Governorate”
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To inquire about a translation for this statement for a fee email: [email protected]

New article from Shamūkh al-Islām Forum: “Biographies of the Martyrs #3: Yusrī Fākhir al-Ṭarīqī (Abū Qadāmah al-Tūnisī)”

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Click the following links for previous parts in this series: #2 and #1
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Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Shamūkh al-Islām Forum — “Biographies of the Martyrs #3- Yusrī Fākhir al-Ṭarīqī (Abū Qadāmah al-Tūnisī)”
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To inquire about a translation for this article for a fee email: [email protected]

Check out my new al-Wasat post co-authored with Daveed Gartenstein-Ross: "Did Tunisia’s Salafi Jihadists Just Announce Their Allegiance to al-Qaeda?"

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Aaron Y. Zelin

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On Friday, Magharebia came out with a report that has already garnered attention among those who follow jihadist militancy. The publication claims that Tunisia’s salafi jihadists have just announced their allegiance (bayat) to al-Qaeda:

Tunisian salafist jihadists announced their allegiance to al-Qaeda this week, accepting the group’s invitation to wage a holy war.
Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb’s call Sunday (March 17th) to fight Westerners, secularists, reformers and other so-called “enemies” was welcomed by Tunisian salafist jihadists, the movement’s leader Mohamed Anis Chaieb told Assabah.
This was the first time Tunisia’s salafist jihadist groups officially declared their allegiance to al-Qaeda. And the terror group’s call to arms could not have come at a more critical juncture for the still-fragile state.

This is an extraordinarily sloppily reported and misleading article that shouldn’t be taken at face value, although there is a relevant data point beneath the sensationalized presentation. The first, and most obvious, error is that Mohamed Anis Chaieb simply cannot be regarded as “the movement’s leader” in any way, shape, or form. The biggest salafi jihadist organization in Tunisia is Ansar al-Sharia Tunisia (AST), and Abu Iyad al-Tunisi is widelyrecognized as AST’s emir. Chaieb is an obscure enough figure that most analysts who follow Tunisia and the Maghreb closely have probably never heard of him. He is, in fact, affiliated with AST, as we will detail below. But it is not clear that the statement he made can be construed as speaking for AST as a whole.
Click here to read the rest.