Category: Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī

al-Ma’sadat Media Foundation presents a new video message from Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Ṭaḥāwī: "Why Was I Imprisoned?"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE:  Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Ṭaḥāwī [Abed Shihadeh al-Tahawi], is a global jihadist cleric from Jordan. He  is acquaintances with Abū Muḥammad al-Maqdisī. Humām al-Bilāwī [Abū Dujānah al-Khurāsānī] gave him a shout out in his interview with al-Qā’idah Central’s As-Saḥāb Media prior to his “martyrdom” and killing seven CIA officers in Khost, Afghanistan in December 2009:

Before anything else, I send my Salām to Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Maqdisī, I send my Salām to Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Ṭaḥāwī, and I send my Salām to all the Mujāhidīn in Jordan, and I tell them: be patient, for by Allah, we have seen Jordanian intelligence and its prisons, and we have seen how the intelligence officers would forbid brothers from reciting the Qur’ān in an audible voice. Even reading the Qur’ān is forbidden! So I tell them: be patient, but I also tell them: there is no solution to the situation in Jordan other than mobilizing to the land of Jihād to learn the arts of war and train in them, then return to Jordan and begin operations.

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[wpvideo E7WMVZoj]

Jihādī Primary Source Material Data Dump, December 23-January 2

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Below are all of the primary source materials that I did not post while on vacation. All materials are posted by date that they were first released to the various fora. I hope this is helpful to those who were also on vacation during this time period and did not get the opportunity to follow the fora activities.
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December 23:


‘Abdullah ‘Azzām Brigades — Statement Number 3 within the series- Identifying the Way of the Offenders
December 24:

al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula releases its Arabic language magazine Ṣadā al-Malāḥim Issue #14
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Ḥarakat al-al-Shabāb al-Mujāhīn releases an Arabic and English translation of their statement, which announced an alliance with Ḥizb al-Islām. See here for the original in Somali language.
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Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum in honor of its two year anniversary presents an English translation of  As-Saḥāb’s Ramaḍān Sermons series #1 by Abū Zayd al-Kūwaytī “Ramaḍān Intensive Course”
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The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan presents its list of martyrs for the year 1431 H. According to them, fifty-two individuals were killed.
December 25:


al-Furqān Media, which is affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq [al-Qā’idah in Iraq] has released “Risen Alive #3,” which is one of their many martyrology series’

December 26:

Kavkaz Jihād Blog translates into English a jihādī story titled “Fight in the Forest,” which was originally published by Hunafa.
December 28:
Ḥizb al-Islāmī al-Turkistānī [Turkestan Islamic Party] released its martyrology video series  “Lovers of Paradise #5,″ which you can see below. For previous videos see #3 and #4.

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Dār al-Jabhah Publications and Distribution and the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) released “The Explosives Course” by Shaykh Abū Khabbab al-Miṣrī
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Ma’sadat al-Mujāhidīn — Claiming Responsibility for the Attack on the Israeli Train
December 29:


al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula releases its Arabic language magazine Ṣadā al-Malāḥim Issue #15
December 30:

Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum publishes an English translation of the Global Islamic Media Front’s release by Abū Qandahār al-Zarqāwī “The Blazing Light- In Inciting for Jihād”
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New article from member of the Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum titled “Refute the Unbelievers- Mujāhidīn Fighters, Mercenaries Without Boundaries?”
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Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī’s Minbar at-Tawḥīd wa’l-Jihād Sharī’ah Council published a new fatwā by Abū Hamām Bakr Bin ‘Abd al- ‘Azīz al-‘Atharī: “What is the Ruling on Congratulating Christians During New Years?”
December 31:

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan releases In Fight Magazine #24. For previous issues see: #23, #22; #21; and #20.
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Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī’s Minbar at-Tawḥīd wa’l-Jihād Sharī’ah Council published two new fatāwā:

January 1:

Statement from Ḥarakat al-al-Shabāb al-Mujāhīn on Opening the Door of Communication with al-Katāi’b Media
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The January 2011 issue of Nawaī Afghān Jihād Magazine released
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Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī has released a new video sermon titled “Three Assets:”

January 2:

Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum has translated “The Last Will of the First Sister Who Attacked the Moscow Subway,” which was attack in March 2010.
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Abū Muḥammad Jibrīl of Sawt al-Jihād in Nusantara wrote a new article titled “De-Radicalization, The Effort To Extinguish The Light Of Shari’a And Jihad In Indonesia”

Jihadism and the ‘Ulamā'

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

[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).

New Fatwā from Shaykh Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī about the Fitnah in the Caucasus Emirate

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

UPDATE: Here is the English translation of the below fatwā in Arabic and Russian:
To our Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, may Allah strengthen him:
I read news from the Islamic Emirate of the Caucasus that emirs Aslambek, Muhannad and Hussein said they had withdrawn the oath of allegiance to Abu Usman, may Allah preserve him.
What do you know about this situation and what is the Sharia decision on those who broke the oath of allegiance without Sharia reasons, except for one: that Abu Usman cancelled his resignation from the Emirate, as they said. May Allah reward you.
Answer:
Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
And then:
The Jihad of the Emirate is verily a great deed, it has a great value and what is related to it has an important benefit, the ranks will unite there, and the Jihad will strengthen there, and Mujahideen will gather around the Emirate, and the conflict will be solved, and the discord will be prevented, for the sake of these great benefits, etc.
Many famous hadiths, ordering and indicating the unity of the congregation and obedience to the Emir and warnings to those who withdrew from obedience, and divide the word (consensus) of Muslims, have been cited. And these hadiths are known, and there are practically no people who would not know them, because there is a large number of these hadiths.
Among them is a hadith from Osama bin Shurayk, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: Allah’s hand is over the Jamaat, or group”.
(Narrated by Ahmad and others.)
And from Umar ibn al Khattab, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: only those who seek the pleasure of Paradise will follow the community, for the devil can pursue one person, but he stands far away from two”.
(Narrated by Imam Ahmad, At-Tirmidhi and others)
And from Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: he who separated himself from the Jamaat and died, he died in the state of ignorance”.
(Narrated by Muslim).
And Nu’man ibn Bashir said:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: the Jamaat is mercy, and the separation is punishment”.
(Narrated by Ahmad).
And Zayd ibn Thabit said:
“The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “Three qualities will not allow anger to get into the heart of a Muslim: sincerity in committing deeds before Allah, nasiha, or advice, to the ruler, and staying with the jamaat, and then their call will be even behind them”.
(Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, ibn Majah, an-Nasa’i and Abu Dawud).
Narrated by Anas bin Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Obey (your ruler) even if they put above you an Ethiopian slave whose head looks like a raisin”.
Narrated Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said:
“Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me, disobeys Allah. Whoever obeys the ruler, obeys me, and whoever disobeys the ruler, disobeys me”.
Narrated by Ibn Umar that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
“It is obligatory for a Muslim to listen (to the ruler) and obey whether he likes it or not, except for when he is ordered to do a sinful thing; in such case, there is no obligation to listen or to obey”.
Ubada bin al-Samit, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
“(At his time) the Prophet (pbuh) summoned us to him, and we gave him the oath of allegiance, and among other things he demanded from us to swear to him that we shall obey (him) when we are active and do not manifest negligence, when it is hard and when it is easy for us, as well as in such cases when we are deprived of what to which we are entitled by the right.
(And we swore that) we shall not try to deprive of authority a legitimate ruler, unless we see (that he fell into an) overt disbelief, for which we shall have evidences from Allah”.
And therefore it is obligatory that Mujahideen obey emirs, or rulers, and do not argue with them, they must help them and show patience to them and advise (direct) them secretly.
Ubaidullah bin Adi bin Al-Khiyar said:
“I came to Usama bin Zaid and said to him: don’t you advise Usman that he makes hadd (punishment) to al-Walid? Usama said: Do you think that I advise him only before you?
I swear by Allah that I advised him between ourselves, I do not open the door to evil, and I am not the first who opens it”.
(Bukhari, Muslim).
– Beware of a man who is a door of evil for the Mujahideen, through which fitna, wickedness, conflict and discord, disunity and dissociation penetrate to them, all that he will bear on him on Day of Resurrection, and they will follow a bad sunna (example) through the deeds of that person, and he will answer on Judgment Day for what he did – and for those who followed him, but man should be a key to goodness that forbids evil and protects the borders, entrusted to him, and to his oath, which pledged his hand and his heart.
And what we know about Emir Abu Usman Doku Umarov, it’s only good. And so far, all Sharia judges in the Emirate praise his return to scholars and his requests for their advice and opinion. The Caucasus Emirate was proclaimed, and all the manifestations of ignorance were abolished. And our brothers in the Caucasus chose him, and they were united by him, and the path of Jihad continued under his leadership.
And as reliably conveyed to us by our brothers who know the situation in the Caucasus, there were no violations by Emir Abu Usman, which allow a dispute about him and his overthrow.
Therefore, anyone who strongly wants that the path of the Jihad is clean and useful must listen to Emir and help him, so that the row is solid and continuous, to recognize his position and to forbid to oppose to him, or to demand his replacements without Sharia reasons that are confirmed by the people of advice.
A demand by a single or a few Mujahideen to replace the Emir and to dispute with him from time to time without Sharia reasons is a loss of honor for the Emirate. And this leads to a division amongst the ranks of the Mujahideen, and to disputes between them, and the spread of misfortunes and a weakening in their ranks.
And so, the brothers must not disseminate such news that splits the ranks, that make monotheists grieve and polytheists rejoice. And it should be appealed to emirs who have influence, to scientists and skilled people, as Allah said:
“And when a news comes to them about [public] security or fear, they spread it around. But if they had referred it back to the Messenger or to those of authority among them, then the ones who [can] draw correct conclusions from it would have known about it. And if it were not for the favor of Allah upon you and His mercy, you would have followed Satan, except for a few”.
(The Holy Quran, Surah 4. “The Women”, verse 83)
Therefore, our brothers in the Caucasus do not need such quarrels, but they really need financial, moral and Sharia support.
They are surrounded from all sides. Money and Mujahideen from abroad do not reach to them, and their enemy has much experience in deceit in many aspects. As for the aspect of the money, there were Arab and non-Arab taghuts who helped each other to reduce this support to our brothers, and it was actually the case, so every rich, God-fearing Muslim has a responsibility to make a financial Jihad that Allah makes beneficial for them before death reaches them and they say:
“My Lord, if only You would delay me for a brief term so I would give charity and be among the righteous”.
(The Holy Quran, Surah 63. “The Hypocrites”, verse 10)
– As for the aspect of knowledge and scholars, they retreated, abandoning our brothers in the Caucasus to their fate, and it is unlikely that they (the brothers in the Caucasus) may hear a word from an Alim, or scholar, except for those for whom Allah had mercy and urged him to support and help them, pledging to support them with money, (property) and men (Mujahideen).
The history of the apostate Kadyrov, whose post is designated by Russia, is as black as the history of his father in support of Russia, from the times of Dzhokhar Dudayev and those who came before them.
Earlier, this ugly Kadyrov distributed Sufi a madhhab, or religious jurisprudence, but after he found out that a jamia madhhab is more beneficial to him in order to retain his throne, to increase and fill his belly, he began to distribute this jamia madhhab more and more, approaching to this jamia madhhab closer and closer, as Sufism has not brought him benefits, as before, because nobody listened to and followed that Sufism, except for the elderly in remote villages.
But, the jamia madhhab present themselves as if they were scholars, and they found themselves in the Al-Jazeera (Arabian Peninsula) those who provide them with means and books.
Thus, the Caucasus Emirate is in need of knowledge, and in enrollment of worthy minds, and, therefore, the Mujahideen have repeatedly invited people with knowledge who seek for knowledge, (study), in order to help them by telling them: “Fear Allah! Don’t you see in what position we are? … ” And as we know, no one responded then when the request had been received, except for Sheikh Sayeed of Buryatia, may Allah

New message from Abū Muḥmmad al-Maqdisī: "Congratulating the brothers on the occasion of ‘Īd"

Posted on by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: According to the Combatting Terrorism Center’s Militant Atlas, al-Maqdisī is considered “the most influential living Jihadi Theorist.”

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تقبل الله طاعاتكم

وأعاده الله علينا وعليكم وعلى أمة الإسلام

بالعز والنصر والتمكين

لا تنسوا إخوانكم المجاهدين والأسرى من دعواتكم

فرب أخ لكم فوق الجبال وفي الغابات عيده

ورب أخ تحت ذل السياط وفي القيود والزنازن عيده

اللهم انصر عبادك الموحدين ومكن لراية التوحيد

وفك قيد أسارى المسلمين

ليس العيد لمن لبس الجديد

ولكن العيد لمن نصر راية التوحيد واستعد ليوم الوعيد

ورزق خاتمة الشهيد

أبو محمد