Strategists – Page 4

Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn Arabic Forum posts a copy of Abū Muṣ'ab al-Sūrī's booklet: "Responsibility to the People of Yemen to the Sanctities of Muslims and their Wealth"

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Muṣṭafā Setmariam Naṣar (Abū Muṣ’ab al-Sūrī) is considered “the most articulate exponent of the modern jihād and its most sophisticated strategies.” He is most famous for his 1600-page book The Global Islamic Resistance Call(Da’wat al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmīyyah al-’Alāmīyyah) which appeared on the Internet in late 2004. He was captured in the Pakistani city of Quetta in late October 2005 and it has been speculated that he was one of the prisoners held at the US ghost prisons. It is believed he was renditioned and currently in a Syrian prison.
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Click here for a safe PDF copy: Abū Muṣ’ab al-Sūrī’s — “Responsibility to the People of Yemen To the sanctities of Muslims and their wealth”

New Fatwā from Abū Walīd al-Maṣrī of Minbar at-Tawḥīd wa'l-Jihād: "What Is the Reason Why the Salafī Mujāhidīn Groups Have Not Unified in Palestine?"

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Abū Walīd al-Maṣrī — “What Is the Reason Why the Salafī Mujāhidīn Groups Have Not Unified in Palestine?”

al-Qā’idah in the Arabian Peninsula’s al-Malāḥim Media releases Inspire Magazine Issue #4

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Aaron Y. Zelin

UPDATE 2/8 11:03 AM: Here is an Arabic translation of issue four of AQAP’s English language magazine Inspire:

Click the following link: Inspire Magazine 4 (Ar)
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UPDATE 2/7 11:54 AM: Here is a Russian translation of issue four of AQAP’s English language magazine Inspire:

Click here: Inspire Magazine 4 (Russian)
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NOTE: Here is the first, second, and third issue of Inspire Magazine. Below is a brief summary of what is in this magazine. When I have more time I hope to read the content more in depth and be able to dig deeper into this.
The magazine begins with a letter from the editor, Samīr Khān, about the Shi’a in their midst, as well as a reprint of AQAP’s statement following the car bombing against the Ḥūthīs this past November titled “Statement on the Operations of Defense for the People of the Sunnah.” Then after a series of pages of quotes from friends and foes Khān pens an article reiterating the importance of farḍ al ‘ayn (individual obligation) for jihād. After this, there is a reprint of part of Adam Gadahn’s recent video message from October titled “The Arabs And Muslims: between the Conferences of Desertion .. and the individual Duty of Jihād,” which I analyzed here. Following this there is an article from Abū Zūbayr ‘Adīl bīn ‘Abdullah al-Abāb, AQAP’s chief religious authority, where he answers questions about targeting non-Muslims and Yemeni soldiers. Muḥammad al-Ṣana’ānī follows this up with an article on Roshonara Choudhry who stabbed the UK MP Stephen Timms, and Taymūr ‘Abd al-Wahāb who was responsible for the recent attack in Stockholm. After this Abū Khowla pens a piece titled “Which is Better: Martyrdom or Victory?” Then there is a roundup of the recent jihadist activities in Abyan by Abū Zakarīā al-Erītrī, which confirms that there are members of AQAP from Eritrea. After this, there is a long excerpt from Abū Muṣ’ab al-Sūrī’s magnum opus The Global Islamic Resistance Call. Then in the section titled Open Source Jihād it details how to burn down a building, training with an AK-47, and advice for those that want to help with AQAP’s media outlet al-Malāḥim Media, which includes:

Archiving
Hear the world
Your articles
News flash
Graphics
Translations

Following this they reprint sections of Shaykh Abū Muṣ’ab Moḥammed ‘Umayr al ‘Awlaqī’s essay titled “Why I chose al-Qā’idah” who was killed in late 2009. After this is the feature article in the entire magazine, which is highlighted on the cover of it from Anwar al ‘Awlaqī titled “The Ruling of Dispossessing the Disbelievers Wealth in Dār al-Ḥarb [the Abode of War].” This is a continuation of advice regarding the economic jihād, which AQAP boasted about in the third issue of Inspire magazine and written about by Daveed Gartenstein-Ross in Foreign Policy following the failed UPS parcel plot. I would be interested to hear his further thoughts about this in light of this new article from ‘Awlaqī. After ‘Awlaqī’s article, there is one from Hazīm Nūr titled “The Call of the Qur’ān” about the importance of the concept tawḥīd (oneness of God), which is one of the most fundamental concepts in Islām. Inspire magazine concludes by recapping recent releases from al-Malāḥim Media including: Issue #15 of AQAP’s Arabic language magazine Ṣadā al-Malāḥim, “Martyrs of the Arabian Peninsula #4 – Abū Hammām al-Qaḥṭānī (Nāyīf bin Muḥammad bin Sa’īd al-Kūdurī al-Qaḥṭānī),” Shaykh Ibrāhīm bin Sulaymān al-Rubaysh’s audio message: “Between Islamists and Liberals”, an audio message from Shaykh Abū Zūbayr ‘Adīl bīn ‘Abdullah al-Abāb: “We Responded to the Sharī’ah of God, not the Laws of ‘Alī Ṣāliḥ”, a tribute to Zayyid al-Daghārī al-’Awlaqī by Shaykh Ibrāhīm bin Sulaymān al-Rubaysh, and a video titled “By the Lord of the Ka’abah, I Triumphed [Part 2]” among others. After this it tells the reader how to get in contact with Inspire magazine and like the previous issue it also lists Muslim prisoners.
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Click here: Inspire Magazine 4

al-Ma’sādat Media Foundation releases new Jihadist Strategic Study "The Reality and Future of the Jihadist Current" by Shaykh Abū Sa'ad al 'Āmilī

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Aaron Y. Zelin

Shaykh Abū Sa’ad al ‘Āmilī — “The Reality and Future of the Jihadist Current”
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Jihadist Strategic Study translated into English: "The Vision of the Jihād Movement & the Strategy for the Current Stage" by Abū Jihād ash-Shāmī

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: For an excellent examination of this text see Mark Stout’s recent post about it at his blog On War and Words.
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Click the following link for a safe PDF copy: Abu Jihad al-Shami — The Vision of the Jihad Movement & the Strategy for the Current Stage

Abū Muṣ'ab al-Sūrī and the Invasion of Afghanistan

Posted on October 21, 2010 by Aaron Y. Zelin

I have been reading the abridged version of Abū Muṣ’ab al-Sūrī’s book The Global Islamic Resistance Call (Da’wat al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmīyyah al-’Alāmīyyah) edited by Jim Lacey and came across an interesting passage when discussing the history of the Tunisian jihadist movement:

They did not have much interest in the battle of the Taliban and the Muslim principality, and they were hesitant to get involved with the Taliban government or to consider it a religious legal leader in Afghanistan … They were also not convinced of the attempts bin Laden and al Qaida were making, nor of the latter’s military unidirectional penchant. Indeed, this was the case with the majority of the organizations and the Arab groups in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, despite all of these facts, when the American attacks occurred, every one of them got involved in that battle.

This reminded me of a recent tweet from Leah Farrall:

I wonder when, if ever, we’ll start talking about how we made AQ’s day, with Afghanistan, then Iraq.

I’m not sure whether Farrall is referencing al-Sūrī’s observation that the American invasion brought together a bunch of disparate nationalist-jihadist movements into al-Qā’idah’s global jihadist mold or that it led the United States into an economically bloodletting war. Either way, it raises an interesting question that has not been discussed much: what role the invasion of Afghanistan had on bringing many of the nationalist-jihadist groups — that were solely training in Afghanistan during the Ṭālibān’s rule to overthrow their own local regimes — over to al-Qā’idah’s side.
Addendum: It should be noted that I am not necessarily saying that we should not have invaded Afghanistan, rather it is just something to think about.

Ribat Media Center presents an Arabic translation: "Open Interview with Shaykh ‘Abd al-Majīd ‘Abd al-Majīd"

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Here is the original interview in English. Scribed would not let me upload the Arabic file, but below is a safe pdf link to it.
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Ribat Media Center Presents the translation of ” Open Interview with Sheikh Abdul Abdul Majid Abdul Majed “

Abū Muṣ'ab al-Sūrī's book "Muslims in Central Asia and The Coming Battle of Islam?" was translated into English

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Muṣṭafā Setmariam Naṣar (Abū Muṣ’ab al-Sūrī) is considered “the most articulate exponent of the modern jihād and its most sophisticated strategies.” He is most famous for his 1600-page book The Global Islamic Resistance Call (Da’wat al-Muqāwamah al-Islāmīyyah al-‘Alāmīyyah) which appeared on the Internet in late 2004. He was captured in the Pakistani city of Quetta in late October 2005 and it has been speculated that he was one of the prisoners held at the US ghost prisons. It is believed he was renditioned and currently in a Syrian prison. “Muslims in Central Asia and The Coming Battle of Islam?” is about the history of Central Asia, its Muslims and analysis on the Muslim nature of these countries. al-Sūrī tackles many issues, such as nuclear weapons that are stored in Central Asian countries and the indigenous Muslim jihadist movements.
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Abu Mus’ab al-Suri — Muslims in Central Asia and The Coming Battle of Islam
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Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum translates interview with Qā’idah al-Jihād Shūrā Council Member 'Abd al-Majīd 'Abd al-Majīd

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Aaron Y. Zelin

NOTE: Anṣār al-Mujāhidīn English Forum’s Language and Translation Department Presents a translation of Al-Balāgh Media Center’s release “Answers from the Open Interview with a member of the Shūrā Council of Qā’idah al-Jihād in the land of Khorāsān – ‘Abd al-Majīd ‘Abd al-Majīd”. The interview is below.
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AMEF- Answers from the Open Interview with Qaeda al-Jihad Shura Council Member – the Mujahid Sheikh- Abdul Majid Abdul Majid
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