C L O S E R

MEMRI – Al-Tajdeed Versus Al-Hesbah: Islamist Websites & the Conflict Between Rival Arab & Muslim Political Forces

Posted on May 18th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Inquiry and Analysis Series – No. 275
Al-Tajdeed Versus Al-Hesbah: Islamist Websites & the Conflict Between Rival Arab & Muslim Political Forces

Introduction

Most of the media in the Arab world – newspapers, television, and radio – are affiliated with various political forces, whether governmental or opposition, operating from within the country or outside it. These media are an important tool in the power struggles among the rival political forces behind them.

With the development of the Internet in the Middle East, websites have become yet another tool in the struggle between rival Arab forces. One prominent example of Internet use as part of this struggle is the campaign by www.tajdeed.org.uk – which belongs to the Saudi Islamist opposition operating in London and is directed by Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mas’ari, who also heads the Al-Tajdeed Al-Islami organization – against www.alhesbah.org, a leading Islamist site that is a conduit for messages from Al-Qaeda and other jihad organizations. [1]

Al-Tajdeed accused Al-Hesbah of working for Arab and Western intelligence apparatuses to expose and arrest contributors to the jihad web forums. According to Al-Tajdeed, Al-Hesbah had brought about the arrest of all the founders of another Islamist website, www.al-ansar.org, including “bin Roma” and “Irhabi 007.” Al-Tajdeed also asserted that Al-Hesbah had brought about the arrest of all the members of the Global Information Media Front (GIMF) [2] directly after they posted an announcement, on behalf of Al-Qaeda, taking responsibility for the February 25, 2006 Abqiq operation (an attempt to strike at the Saudi oil fields), and that Al-Hesbah had brought about the killing of the perpetrators of the operation by Saudi security forces.

Al-Hesbah stopped operating on March 17, 2006, and restarted on April 13, 2006. It is common for Islamist websites to disappear from and return to the web, and this is part of the dynamic of Islamist Internet activity. However, Al-Tajdeed took advantage of Al-Hesbah’s temporary disappearance to step up its attacks on it. Al-Tajdeed recommended that jihad supporters visit alternative websites that, it claimed, were more reliable and on which there was no hostile intelligence activity. When Al-Hesbah returned, Al-Tajdeed warned visitors to the site to take precautions lest their identities be discovered, and gave detailed instructions for doing so.

Another jihad website, www.alburak.net, came to the aid of Al-Hesbah, posting an article accusing Arab opposition elements, including Al-Mas’ari as well as Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i and Dr. Sa’d Al-Faqih, also London residents, of attempting to destroy the jihad websites and to smear those active on them. (Two weeks previously, Al-Tajdeed had accused Al-Burak of “becoming a copy of Al-Hesbah.” [3] )

The sharp rivalry between Al-Tajdeed and Al-Hesbah reflects the struggle between the two rival political forces behind them. In the case of Al-Tajdeed, this force is Saudi Islamist opposition activists. Al-Hesbah claims to be an independent religious site, but in light of the platform it gives to slanderous postings about Saudi opposition activists such as Al-Mas’ari and Al-Faqih – even going so far as to accuse them of heresy and treason – it can be identified as a site affiliated with a religious or political rival of the Saudi opposition, such as the Saudi regime itself. (According to its own report, the Saudi regime is active on the Internet. One example of this activity is the Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowment’s Al-Sakinah campaign for on-line dialogue with extremists [4] ).

Al-Tajdeed, which as mentioned belongs to Saudi opposition elements, also features postings by oppositionists from other Arab countries. According to the Al-Burak website, “Omar bin Hanif,” a contributor to Al-Tajdeed (see below), is Egyptian Islamist opposition member Dr. Hani Al-Sib’ai, head of the Al-Maqrizi Institute in London. If Al-Sib’ai is indeed “Omar bin Hanif,” he joined Al-Tajdeed’s struggle against Al-Hesbah with a posting titled “A Series of Exposures of Spies,” which lay the groundwork for the accusations against Al-Hesbah.

In addition, Al-Burak identified several other Al-Tajdeed contributors, also posting under pseudonyms, as oppositionists from various Arab countries. For example, according to Al-Burak, “Al-Fikr Al-Rashid” is in fact Egyptian Islamist Yasser Al-Sirri, who heads the Al-Marsad Institute in London; Al-Ansar contributor “bin Roma” is Algerian sheikh Abdallah Al-Ghamdi; and “Sami 9000” is Mansour Al-Halabi, a Syrian residing in Libya.

The following report, from MEMRI’s Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project’s initiative on Monitoring Islamist and Jihad Websites, analyzes the conflicts between the Islamist and Jihad websites. These multi-faceted conflicts, which involve an array of individual postings, should not be looked at as a phenomenon of individual Islamist participants battling on the Internet (as has been done thus far by various media and research outlets). Rather they should be seen in a larger context, as a phenomenon reflecting the conflicts between rival Arab and Muslim political forces in whose service these websites operate.

0 comments.

MEMRI – Al-Tajdeed Versus Al-Hesbah: Islamist Websites & the Conflict Between Rival Arab & Muslim Political Forces

Posted on May 18th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Inquiry and Analysis Series – No. 275
Al-Tajdeed Versus Al-Hesbah: Islamist Websites & the Conflict Between Rival Arab & Muslim Political Forces

Introduction

Most of the media in the Arab world – newspapers, television, and radio – are affiliated with various political forces, whether governmental or opposition, operating from within the country or outside it. These media are an important tool in the power struggles among the rival political forces behind them.

With the development of the Internet in the Middle East, websites have become yet another tool in the struggle between rival Arab forces. One prominent example of Internet use as part of this struggle is the campaign by www.tajdeed.org.uk – which belongs to the Saudi Islamist opposition operating in London and is directed by Dr. Sheikh Muhammad Al-Mas’ari, who also heads the Al-Tajdeed Al-Islami organization – against www.alhesbah.org, a leading Islamist site that is a conduit for messages from Al-Qaeda and other jihad organizations. [1]

Al-Tajdeed accused Al-Hesbah of working for Arab and Western intelligence apparatuses to expose and arrest contributors to the jihad web forums. According to Al-Tajdeed, Al-Hesbah had brought about the arrest of all the founders of another Islamist website, www.al-ansar.org, including “bin Roma” and “Irhabi 007.” Al-Tajdeed also asserted that Al-Hesbah had brought about the arrest of all the members of the Global Information Media Front (GIMF) [2] directly after they posted an announcement, on behalf of Al-Qaeda, taking responsibility for the February 25, 2006 Abqiq operation (an attempt to strike at the Saudi oil fields), and that Al-Hesbah had brought about the killing of the perpetrators of the operation by Saudi security forces.

Al-Hesbah stopped operating on March 17, 2006, and restarted on April 13, 2006. It is common for Islamist websites to disappear from and return to the web, and this is part of the dynamic of Islamist Internet activity. However, Al-Tajdeed took advantage of Al-Hesbah’s temporary disappearance to step up its attacks on it. Al-Tajdeed recommended that jihad supporters visit alternative websites that, it claimed, were more reliable and on which there was no hostile intelligence activity. When Al-Hesbah returned, Al-Tajdeed warned visitors to the site to take precautions lest their identities be discovered, and gave detailed instructions for doing so.

Another jihad website, www.alburak.net, came to the aid of Al-Hesbah, posting an article accusing Arab opposition elements, including Al-Mas’ari as well as Dr. Hani Al-Siba’i and Dr. Sa’d Al-Faqih, also London residents, of attempting to destroy the jihad websites and to smear those active on them. (Two weeks previously, Al-Tajdeed had accused Al-Burak of “becoming a copy of Al-Hesbah.” [3] )

The sharp rivalry between Al-Tajdeed and Al-Hesbah reflects the struggle between the two rival political forces behind them. In the case of Al-Tajdeed, this force is Saudi Islamist opposition activists. Al-Hesbah claims to be an independent religious site, but in light of the platform it gives to slanderous postings about Saudi opposition activists such as Al-Mas’ari and Al-Faqih – even going so far as to accuse them of heresy and treason – it can be identified as a site affiliated with a religious or political rival of the Saudi opposition, such as the Saudi regime itself. (According to its own report, the Saudi regime is active on the Internet. One example of this activity is the Saudi Ministry of Religious Endowment’s Al-Sakinah campaign for on-line dialogue with extremists [4] ).

Al-Tajdeed, which as mentioned belongs to Saudi opposition elements, also features postings by oppositionists from other Arab countries. According to the Al-Burak website, “Omar bin Hanif,” a contributor to Al-Tajdeed (see below), is Egyptian Islamist opposition member Dr. Hani Al-Sib’ai, head of the Al-Maqrizi Institute in London. If Al-Sib’ai is indeed “Omar bin Hanif,” he joined Al-Tajdeed’s struggle against Al-Hesbah with a posting titled “A Series of Exposures of Spies,” which lay the groundwork for the accusations against Al-Hesbah.

In addition, Al-Burak identified several other Al-Tajdeed contributors, also posting under pseudonyms, as oppositionists from various Arab countries. For example, according to Al-Burak, “Al-Fikr Al-Rashid” is in fact Egyptian Islamist Yasser Al-Sirri, who heads the Al-Marsad Institute in London; Al-Ansar contributor “bin Roma” is Algerian sheikh Abdallah Al-Ghamdi; and “Sami 9000” is Mansour Al-Halabi, a Syrian residing in Libya.

The following report, from MEMRI’s Jihad & Terrorism Studies Project’s initiative on Monitoring Islamist and Jihad Websites, analyzes the conflicts between the Islamist and Jihad websites. These multi-faceted conflicts, which involve an array of individual postings, should not be looked at as a phenomenon of individual Islamist participants battling on the Internet (as has been done thus far by various media and research outlets). Rather they should be seen in a larger context, as a phenomenon reflecting the conflicts between rival Arab and Muslim political forces in whose service these websites operate.

0 comments.

Mike Davis | The Poor Man's Air Force

Posted on May 10th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism.

Mike Davis | The Poor Man’s Air Force
You have shown no pity to us! We will do likewise. We will dynamite you!
– Anarchist warning (1919)

On a warm September day in 1920, a few months after the arrest of his comrades Sacco and Vanzetti, a vengeful Italian anarchist named Mario Buda parked his horse-drawn wagon near the corner of Wall and Broad Streets, directly across from J. P. Morgan Company. He nonchalantly climbed down and disappeared, unnoticed, into the lunchtime crowd. A few blocks away, a startled postal worker found strange leaflets warning: “Free the Political Prisoners or it will be Sure Death for All of You!” They were signed: “American Anarchist Fighters.” The bells of nearby Trinity Church began to toll at noon. When they stopped, the wagon – packed with dynamite and iron slugs – exploded in a fireball of shrapnel.

read the whole article on Truthout.org

0 comments.

Mike Davis | The Poor Man’s Air Force

Posted on May 10th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

Mike Davis | The Poor Man’s Air Force
You have shown no pity to us! We will do likewise. We will dynamite you!
– Anarchist warning (1919)

On a warm September day in 1920, a few months after the arrest of his comrades Sacco and Vanzetti, a vengeful Italian anarchist named Mario Buda parked his horse-drawn wagon near the corner of Wall and Broad Streets, directly across from J. P. Morgan Company. He nonchalantly climbed down and disappeared, unnoticed, into the lunchtime crowd. A few blocks away, a startled postal worker found strange leaflets warning: “Free the Political Prisoners or it will be Sure Death for All of You!” They were signed: “American Anarchist Fighters.” The bells of nearby Trinity Church began to toll at noon. When they stopped, the wagon – packed with dynamite and iron slugs – exploded in a fireball of shrapnel.

read the whole article on Truthout.org

0 comments.

AlterNet: ForeignPolicy: The Hard Truth About Suicide Bombers

Posted on May 10th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

AlterNet: ForeignPolicy: The Hard Truth About Suicide Bombers
The Hard Truth About Suicide Bombers

By Nichole Argo, AlterNet. Posted May 8, 2006.

Though many Americans assume otherwise, most suicide bombers are not poor, violent Muslims, as explained in this special report from MIT’s Center for International Studies.
Suicide terror has become a daily news staple. Who are these human bombs, and why are they willing to die in order to kill? Many observers turn to Islam for an explanation. They cite the preponderance of Muslim bombers today, indoctrination by extremist institutions, and the language used in jihadi statements.But these arguments fall short. At present, bombers are primarily Muslim, but this was not always so. Nor does indoctrination play a strong role in growing today’s selfselected global jihad networks. Rather, militants and bombers are propelled by social ties. And even when jihadis use the Qur’an and Sunna to frame their struggle, their justifications for violence are primarily secular and grievance-based.

So what is religion’s role? Almost 100 years ago, Emile Durkheim contended that religious ideation is born of sentiment. This is worth considering in the current context. Against the repression, alienation and political helplessness of the Muslim world, jihad speaks of individual dignity and communal power. ‘Against the Goliaths,’ martrydom says, ‘even one bursting body can make a difference.’ The Muslim street is buying it, though sometimes ambivalently. To stop the bombers of today and tomorrow, we need to figure out why.

Why Religion, and Why Not

Since 9/11, the notion that terror is bound to religious extremism has almost become an implicit assumption. This is easy to understand. If bombers were once “normal” people, then religious indoctrination could explain their fanatical behavior. Moreover, the numbers are powerful: 81 percent of suicide attacks since 1968 have occurred after 2001, with 31 out of the 35 organizations responsible being jihadi. Even the London and Bali (II) bombers who acted independently of terror organizations were Muslim. It would be difficult to deny that Islamic inspiration is at work in the motivation and mobilization of rising terror. But how? Inspiration is not causation, and a growing body of data suggests that Islamic indoctrination and belief are not the answer. Below, I audit several arguments commonly offered in support of the religious terror thesis.

1. Muslims perpetrate most of today’s terror, so most terror must be motivated by Islam.

2. Indoctrination: madrassas, mosques and terror cells manufacture suicide bombers.

3. Terrorists justify their violence with the language of Islam.

Religious beliefs do not simply mold individuals. They exist as “sets of ideas that ‘are there,’ as if on the shelves of a supermarket waiting for someone to make them their own.” Individuals pull them off the shelf when their old frames no longer make sense of the world around them.

If beliefs are not born of sacred texts alone, neither are behaviors like marytrdom. Rather, would-be bombers place jihadi values — fighting for life, dignity, equality — above all else. It is not the commandment that is sacred, but the emotional reward it bestows. We need to be asking new questions: For what are normal individuals able to kill? A plausible answer is: their community, under threat. When does a person make costly sacrifices to do so?

Within a social structure — a terror cell, a military unit, a family, or group of friends — that continually regenerates conviction to a cause, a feeling of obligation to do something about it, and a sense of shame at the idea of letting each other down. Whether one lands in a social group with jihadi tendencies may be random. But the prerequisite for this path is perceived injustice.

The social networks theory has several implications for policy. First, because commitment to jihad is rarely a cost-benefit decision, or an explicit decision at all, military deterrence will likely fail. Terrorists and insurgents forge loyalties that are difficult to betray, and like our own military units, many would prefer to fight to the death rather than leave their brothers. Second, under urban conditions of asymmetrical engagement, military missions almost inevitably entail civilian casualties. Military leaders must re-conceptualize the effect civilian casualties have on the populations surrounding the terrorist or insurgent. They are frequently interpreted by the population as offensive, and thereby engender an impulse to fight back. As one Palestinian told a reporter: “If we don’t fight, we will suffer. If we do fight, we will suffer, but so will they.”

Lastly, findings about the way in which people acquire beliefs suggest that a war of ideas will mean nothing unless it resonates emotionally with our targets. Emotional resonance only comes when the values we promote reflect our role in the local realities on foreign ground.

Read the whole article on AlterNet

0 comments.

Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida | IndyStar.com

Posted on May 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida | IndyStar.com
Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida
Religious re-education program targets youths viewed as potential recruits for terror group

By David B. Ottaway
The Washington Post
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has mobilized some of its most militant clerics, including one Osama bin Laden sought to recruit as his spiritual guide, in a campaign to combat the appeal of al-Qaida.

The effort has targeted hundreds of young Saudis whom security forces here have arrested as sympathizers or potential recruits. They are then subjected to an intense program of religious re-education by clerics that sometimes lasts for months.
Saudi authorities say that about 500 youths have completed the program and been freed since it began in 2004. They remain under close surveillance.
“None has been found to get reinvolved in terrorism so far,” said Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry. “Their ideology has changed, and they are convinced they were wrong.”
Mohsen al-Awajy, an Islamic lawyer who is known here as a former radical, was skeptical of the effect. “I’m afraid about 85 to 90 percent of those who claim they are changing their minds as a result of this dialogue might not be truthful,” he said.
Al-Turki conceded that Saudi authorities were having great difficulty curbing the appeal of al-Qaida’s ideology among young people, who he said are incited by “the daily killings in Iraq” and a constant barrage of appeals to holy war on Internet sites run by Islamic extremists. Hundreds have crossed into Iraq to join the insurgency there.
Abdel Mohsen al-Obeikan, a former militant cleric now playing a prominent part in the reeducation program, compared the challenge to the war on drugs in the United States. “You cannot stop drugs, either,” he said.
As soon as one terrorist group is eliminated, he said, another pops up that is even more dangerous. “We need a long time. We should be patient.”
Still, Saudi authorities argue they have made real progress in uprooting al-Qaida inside the kingdom, and part of the reason is their efforts with the young people.
But a foiled attack on Feb. 24 against the world’s largest oil terminal at Abqaiq sobered U.S. and Saudi officials.
“Abqaiq shows the problem is not over,” U.S. Ambassador James Oberwetter said in an interview here.
The Internet has become the main battleground against al-Qaida ideology, according to three members of the counseling committee that the Interior Ministry set up to run the re-education program. The body has 22 full-time members, who get help from 100 Islamic clerics and 30 psychiatrists.
Islamic counselors selected by the committee have succeeded in infiltrating a number of extremist Web sites and chat rooms.
Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh al-Asheikh told reporters in February that the government had established dialogue with 800 al-Qaida sympathizers this way and succeeded in changing the thinking of 250.

0 comments.

Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida | IndyStar.com

Posted on May 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida | IndyStar.com
Saudi Arabia using clerics, Internet to fight al-Qaida
Religious re-education program targets youths viewed as potential recruits for terror group

By David B. Ottaway
The Washington Post
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia has mobilized some of its most militant clerics, including one Osama bin Laden sought to recruit as his spiritual guide, in a campaign to combat the appeal of al-Qaida.

The effort has targeted hundreds of young Saudis whom security forces here have arrested as sympathizers or potential recruits. They are then subjected to an intense program of religious re-education by clerics that sometimes lasts for months.
Saudi authorities say that about 500 youths have completed the program and been freed since it began in 2004. They remain under close surveillance.
“None has been found to get reinvolved in terrorism so far,” said Lt. Gen. Mansour al-Turki, spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry. “Their ideology has changed, and they are convinced they were wrong.”
Mohsen al-Awajy, an Islamic lawyer who is known here as a former radical, was skeptical of the effect. “I’m afraid about 85 to 90 percent of those who claim they are changing their minds as a result of this dialogue might not be truthful,” he said.
Al-Turki conceded that Saudi authorities were having great difficulty curbing the appeal of al-Qaida’s ideology among young people, who he said are incited by “the daily killings in Iraq” and a constant barrage of appeals to holy war on Internet sites run by Islamic extremists. Hundreds have crossed into Iraq to join the insurgency there.
Abdel Mohsen al-Obeikan, a former militant cleric now playing a prominent part in the reeducation program, compared the challenge to the war on drugs in the United States. “You cannot stop drugs, either,” he said.
As soon as one terrorist group is eliminated, he said, another pops up that is even more dangerous. “We need a long time. We should be patient.”
Still, Saudi authorities argue they have made real progress in uprooting al-Qaida inside the kingdom, and part of the reason is their efforts with the young people.
But a foiled attack on Feb. 24 against the world’s largest oil terminal at Abqaiq sobered U.S. and Saudi officials.
“Abqaiq shows the problem is not over,” U.S. Ambassador James Oberwetter said in an interview here.
The Internet has become the main battleground against al-Qaida ideology, according to three members of the counseling committee that the Interior Ministry set up to run the re-education program. The body has 22 full-time members, who get help from 100 Islamic clerics and 30 psychiatrists.
Islamic counselors selected by the committee have succeeded in infiltrating a number of extremist Web sites and chat rooms.
Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh al-Asheikh told reporters in February that the government had established dialogue with 800 al-Qaida sympathizers this way and succeeded in changing the thinking of 250.

0 comments.

Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Posted on May 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate
Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Cara Garretson, Network World (US online)

08/05/2006 08:11:17

Terrorists and extremists more and more are turning to the Internet to spread their views and incite readers to take action, according to a report issued this week by a Jewish human rights group.

Called “Digital Terrorism and Hate 2006,” the report was issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and is available as an interactive CD, according to the group’s officials. The report focuses on more than 6,000 Web sites that raise money for terrorist groups and teach related skills, such as bomb building.

In particular, the report details Middle Eastern-run Internet forums that encourage attacks on Christians and Jews with tips on, for example, how to use a cell phone as a bomb detonator. It also highlights European online news groups used by sports fanatics to incite racial activity at sporting events. There’s also a trans-national Internet network used by North American, European, and Middle Eastern extremists to share ideas, the report says.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, established in 1977 and based in Los Angeles, is in contact with government officials and community activists regarding what its report reveals, officials say.

0 comments.

Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Posted on May 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Computerworld | Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate
Report: Growing use of Internet to spread terror, hate

Cara Garretson, Network World (US online)

08/05/2006 08:11:17

Terrorists and extremists more and more are turning to the Internet to spread their views and incite readers to take action, according to a report issued this week by a Jewish human rights group.

Called “Digital Terrorism and Hate 2006,” the report was issued by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and is available as an interactive CD, according to the group’s officials. The report focuses on more than 6,000 Web sites that raise money for terrorist groups and teach related skills, such as bomb building.

In particular, the report details Middle Eastern-run Internet forums that encourage attacks on Christians and Jews with tips on, for example, how to use a cell phone as a bomb detonator. It also highlights European online news groups used by sports fanatics to incite racial activity at sporting events. There’s also a trans-national Internet network used by North American, European, and Middle Eastern extremists to share ideas, the report says.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, established in 1977 and based in Los Angeles, is in contact with government officials and community activists regarding what its report reveals, officials say.

0 comments.

SITE Institute: SITE Publications – The Echo of Jihad – A Period Magazine Featuring General Mujahideen News

Posted on May 6th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

SITE Institute: SITE Publications – The Echo of Jihad – A Period Magazine Featuring General Mujahideen News
The Echo of Jihad – A Period Magazine Featuring General Mujahideen News
By SITE Institute

May 4, 2006

Sada al-Jihad, “The Echo of Jihad,” a periodic publication electronically distributed via the Internet and featuring articles concerning general mujahideen news from several regions, was recently issued in its April 2006 release. Within the 45-page magazine, authors discuss the relative importance of Islamic scholars versus mujahideen, the danger of jihadist groups joining government, the importance of security for these groups’ survival, and recent operations and media happenings of mujahideen in Chechnya, Waziristan, Afghanistan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. In addition, an article relating prisoner stories from Guantanamo Bay and another discussing the importance of jihad are prominently featured in this issue.

The magazine opens with a short editorial written by Abu Hajer al-Lubnani, which caustically tells of those the lies spread by “simpletons” that Usama bin Laden and Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri are guilty of killing Abdullah Azzam, citing American and Jewish television channels as sources. Anyone who places faith in these channels, according to Abu Hajer, is guilty of helping the “Crusaders”.

Other articles, such as: “Though Ye Make Mock of Us, Yet We Mock at You,” by Abu Fahr, and “Our Flesh is Heard,” contain inspirational rhetoric for the mujahideen in particular and jihad in general. The latter article describes the merits of Islamic scholars and the importance of education, compared to the necessity of jihad: “Scholars usually sit [passively] and do not fulfill the duty of Jihad for the sake of Allah and of protecting the sanctum of religion as Allah has commanded them; and there are Mujahideen who wage Jihad without knowledge, and they spoil more than they correct, and do more damage than good”. However, the situation today is such that jihad is an individual duty, rather than education, and thusly, gives the mujahid greater importance.

The article, “Circumstances Enabling Survival of Jihadi Organizations,” written by al-Mu’taz Billah, emphasizes the critical importance of a security cover for a jihadi organization to prevent infiltration by spies of a “hostile country” or a different group. Al-Mu’taz states: “The downfall of the majority of jihadi organizations was due only to this issue”. He also quotes Saif al-Adl, an al-Qaeda chief, in this regard. Likewise, the piece titled: “The Security Principles and Guidelines of the Muslim Mujahid,” provides 26 qualities a mujahid should maintain, besides how he should act. These include: “pure intention,” knowledge in the field, stealth, capability of expressing thought clearly, and critical thinking.

Another article, “The Mujahideen in the Peninsula – Pain and Hope,” laments the absence of Saudi mujahideen media, be it video, audio or written word, believing that such is an important issue for every mujahid group or organization. It states that media bears “crucial importance in allowing people to know the Mujahideen, in explaining to them the path that they follow and in rejecting slander, accusations and lies”. The author urges for the resumption of Saudi jihadist publications, and advises to separate those specializing in media from participating in military operations due to security concerns.

A piece about three stories from prisoners in Guantanamo Bay alleges that American guards at the detention facility have been demonstrating respect for Usama bin Laden, converting to Islam, and being threatened with deployment to Iraq for this conversion. Also, another article, “What Benefit?,” openly questions what good can come of Hamas as a government administration, and for Islamic parties joining government, in general. It states: “Throughout the history of Islam, there were many sects, groups, men and peoples whose aim was to help religion, and they might have been devout to Allah almighty in this desire… Yet they did not achieve what they sought because the path that they followed does not help religion”.

0 comments.

Bin Laden Supports Genocide Against Muslims | TPMCafe

Posted on April 25th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism.

According to Jentleson, Bin Laden in his attempt to be the Che Guevara of the Muslim world, actually supports the genocide against Muslims such as in Darfur.

Bin Laden Supports Genocide Against Muslims | TPMCafe
Bin Laden Supports Genocide Against Muslims

By Bruce W. Jentleson
That’s what this morning’s headline should have been, instead of “Bin Laden Says West is Waging War Against Islam, and Urges Supporters to Go to Sudan” (New York Times) and “Bin Laden Warns of Long War, Accuses West of Acting as ‘Crusader’” (Washington Post). It’s a given that the Bush administration will replay its tape about Bin Laden being “on the run” and that we’re “on the advance”. And that John Kerry will again wind through the chutes and ladders of Tora Bora. But our major newspapers also sticking to the same script? It’s not surprising but it is disappointing. How about some outrage from the progressive community?

Genocide is being committed against Sudanese Muslims, and Bin Laden is calling for jihadists to go to Sudan to fight any effort the West might make to stop this mass killing of Muslims. If a UN multilateral peacekeeping force ever does get sent, while some NATO and U.S. forces also may be involved, it’s likely based on other UN peace operations that most of the troops will be from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Jordan. So Bin Laden’s defense of the Muslim world amounts to killing Muslim peacekeepers seeking to protect Muslim people who’ve already suffered over 400,000 deaths, with over 2 million left as refugees and thousands raped, largely because they are Muslims. The “logic” is breathtaking.

I’m on record on America Abroad and elsewhere about the counterproductivity of the Bush global war on terrorism strategy. But its failures, excesses, outrages and the like don’t negate the fact that Bin Laden is a totalitarian. He needs to be called as such. And action needs to be taken in Darfur. This is an issue which makes John Ikenberry’s point in his recent post about the challenges being more than just about what the Bush administration has and hasn’t done. Enough of these genocide “yet agains” — we’ll never have much claim to being any sort of genuine international community if we don’t get to “never again”.

0 comments.

Bin Laden Supports Genocide Against Muslims | TPMCafe

Posted on April 25th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

According to Jentleson, Bin Laden in his attempt to be the Che Guevara of the Muslim world, actually supports the genocide against Muslims such as in Darfur.

Bin Laden Supports Genocide Against Muslims | TPMCafe
Bin Laden Supports Genocide Against Muslims

By Bruce W. Jentleson
That’s what this morning’s headline should have been, instead of “Bin Laden Says West is Waging War Against Islam, and Urges Supporters to Go to Sudan” (New York Times) and “Bin Laden Warns of Long War, Accuses West of Acting as ‘Crusader’” (Washington Post). It’s a given that the Bush administration will replay its tape about Bin Laden being “on the run” and that we’re “on the advance”. And that John Kerry will again wind through the chutes and ladders of Tora Bora. But our major newspapers also sticking to the same script? It’s not surprising but it is disappointing. How about some outrage from the progressive community?

Genocide is being committed against Sudanese Muslims, and Bin Laden is calling for jihadists to go to Sudan to fight any effort the West might make to stop this mass killing of Muslims. If a UN multilateral peacekeeping force ever does get sent, while some NATO and U.S. forces also may be involved, it’s likely based on other UN peace operations that most of the troops will be from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Jordan. So Bin Laden’s defense of the Muslim world amounts to killing Muslim peacekeepers seeking to protect Muslim people who’ve already suffered over 400,000 deaths, with over 2 million left as refugees and thousands raped, largely because they are Muslims. The “logic” is breathtaking.

I’m on record on America Abroad and elsewhere about the counterproductivity of the Bush global war on terrorism strategy. But its failures, excesses, outrages and the like don’t negate the fact that Bin Laden is a totalitarian. He needs to be called as such. And action needs to be taken in Darfur. This is an issue which makes John Ikenberry’s point in his recent post about the challenges being more than just about what the Bush administration has and hasn’t done. Enough of these genocide “yet agains” — we’ll never have much claim to being any sort of genuine international community if we don’t get to “never again”.

0 comments.

Reuters AlertNet – Bin Laden words raise Saudi reform debate tensions

Posted on April 25th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

Reuters AlertNet – Bin Laden words raise Saudi reform debate tensions
Bin Laden words raise Saudi reform debate tensions
24 Apr 2006 16:47:42 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Andrew Hammond

RIYADH, April 24 (Reuters) – An unprecedented verbal attack by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden on Saudi liberals will raise the temperature in a tense debate over reforms in his native Saudi Arabia, analysts and activists said on Monday.

Bin Laden said some Arab intellectuals were “scorning religion” and singled out Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi by name, according to the Web site of Al Jazeera television.

The attack is seen as a new tactic for the militant whose followers have waged a violent campaign against the Saudi government since 2003.

Al Qaeda analyst Faris bin Houzam said the comments by bin Laden, who has been in hiding since the September 11 attacks on U.S. cities in 2001, could lead to attacks on liberal writers.

“This is a sign to his supporters to target these people, and thus we could enter a new wave for al Qaeda in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

Al Jazeera television, which aired parts of an audio tape by the Saudi-born militant on Sunday, published more of his remarks on its Web site www.AlJazeera.net.

“Bin Laden attacked ministers including Saudi Labour Minister Ghazi Algosaibi, writers and journalists in Saudi Arabia and some (other) Gulf countries, accusing some of them of being unbelievers and apostates…,” the site said.

It quoted the al Qaeda leader as saying: “The heretics among us are mocking our religion and our Prophet, therefore be fearful of God, satisfy Him and do not seek opinions about killing these heretics.”

TAPPING ANTI-WEST SENTIMENT

The reference to Algosaibi echoed an Internet article by a Saudi Islamist activist — Mohsen al-Awajy — in March, which accused a clique of liberal advisers, including the minister, of influencing King Abdullah.

Awajy, who was detained by police for more than a week over the article, said bin Laden wanted to tap into widespread anger at secular reformers who are seen as pro-Western at a time when anti-West sentiment is strong over the U.S. invasion of Iraq and support for Israel.

“It is a fertile period for anyone to talk about this agenda. Anyone who attacks liberals and secularists is a hero. I think bin Laden picked up on this and waved his wand to mobilise more sympathisers,” he told Reuters.

Turki al-Hamad, a liberal writer attacked on one Internet forum on Monday as a “heretic”, said bin Laden was worried about the advance of reforms since the king came to power last year.

Women are an increasing presence in public life, senior officials have expressed hope women may be allowed to drive cars, and the authorities are trying to soften Saudi’s hardline version of Islam in education, media and mosques.

“For bin Laden to throw himself into the current struggle in Saudi Arabia is serious. But it is a recognition that they (liberals) are having an influence and that there are changes in Saudi Arabia,” al-Hamad said.

He said it was too early to say whether the diatribe against reformers would put their lives in danger. “We need time to absorb what he said.”

0 comments.

Aljazeera.Net – Bin Laden: West waging a crusade

Posted on April 23rd, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

Aljazeera.Net – Bin Laden: West waging a crusade
Bin Laden: West waging a crusade

Sunday 23 April 2006, 19:36 Makka Time, 16:36 GMT

The tape is the first bin Laden message heard since January
Aljazeera has aired an audiotape attributed to Osama bin Laden in which he attacks the West for boycotting Hamas and accuses Western governments of waging a “crusader war” against Islam.In the recording, aired on Sunday, the al-Qaeda leader said the isolation and cutting off of aid to the Hamas-led Palestinian government reaffirmed that the West was at war with the Islamic nation.

“The blockade which the West is imposing on the government of Hamas proves that there is a Zionist crusaders war on Islam,” he said.

The tape has not been independently verified, although the voice sounds similar to that on previous tapes from the al-Qaeda leader.

It is also not clear when the recording was made.

During the recording bin Laden also said the Western public shared responsibility for the actions of their governments, particularly for what he called their attacks on Islam.

“The war is a responsibility shared between the people and the governments,” he said. “The war goes on and the people are renewing their allegiance to its rulers and masters.”

“They send their sons to armies to fight us and they continue their financial and moral support while our countries are burned and our houses are bombed and our people are killed.”

The comments appeared to be an effort to justify attacks on cvilians in the West.

‘Long war’

At other points in the message, Bin Laden also spoke about the conflict in Iraq and, for the first time, the crisis in Darfur, Sudan.

Bin Laden called on supporters to fight in Darfur

He urged Muslim supporters to go to Sudan to foil what he called Western, especially American, efforts to divide the country.

“I call on mujahidin [fighters] and their supporters, especially in Sudan and the Arab peninsula, to prepare for long war against the crusader plunderers in Western Sudan.

“Our goal is not defending the Khartoum government but to defend Islam, its land and its people,” he added.
He also denounced the January 2005 north-south peace accord, saying to “[Sudanese President] Omar Al-Bashir and Bush that this agreement is not worth the ink it was written with and does not bind us.”

Southern Sudan, he said, had to stay part of the Islamic lands.”

More than three years of conflict between tribal rebels and government-backed militias in Darfur has left about 300,000 people dead and forced more than two million people from their homes.

Commenting on the message, Dhia Rashwan, an expert on Islamic groups at the Al Ahram Centre for Strategic Studies in Cairo, told Al Jazeera the tape showed bin Laden returning as leader after a long absence and calling on his soldiers to go to the battlefield.

Cartoons

The al-Qaeda leader also called on Muslims to expand the boycott resulting from the publication of cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in Danish newspapers.

“They send their sons to armies to fight us and they continue their financial and moral support while our countries are burned and our houses are bombed and our people are killed”

Osama bin Laden
He said action should be taken against the United States and other European countries that have sided with Denmark on the issue.

Those that have wronged the prophet should be handed over to al-Qaeda for judgment, he said.

Earlier this year, the cartoons, including one showing the prophet with a bomb-shaped turban, sparked violent protests by Muslims worldwide. Muslims consider any image of the prophet to be blasphemous.

In other parts of the tape:

* Bin Laden criticised the United Nations as a puppet of the West and a “heretic” organisation. The Security Council, he said, excluded Islamic nations and gave the right of veto to “the crusaders of the world and the Buddhist pagans”.
* He condemned Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah for what he said was the king’s rejection of the idea of a clash of civlisations. In truth, he said, the West had launched an assault against the Islamic civilisation.

The last recorded message from bin Laden, was aired by Aljazeera on January 19.

In that message he threatened new attacks against the United States, but also offered the American people a conditional “truce”.

The last time the al-Qaeda leader was seen on camera was in a videotaped message released just prior to the US presidential elections in late 2004.

0 comments.

WUSA9.com – Bin Laden Tape: West At War With Islam

Posted on April 23rd, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

WUSA9.com – Bin Laden Tape: West At War With Islam
Bin Laden Tape: West At War With Islam

Tapes alledgedly from Bin Laden:
– April 23, 2006: In audiotape excerpts, bin Laden accuses the United States and Europe of supporting a “Zionist” war on Islam by cutting off funds to the Hamas-led Palestinian government. He also urges followers to go to Sudan, his former base, to fight a proposed U.N. peacekeeping force.

– Jan. 19, 2006: In audiotape excerpts, bin Laden says al-Qaida is making preparations for attacks in the United States and offers a truce on “fair” but undefined conditions.

– Dec. 27, 2004: In an audiotape, the al-Qaida leader calls on Iraqis to boycott Jan. 30, 2005, elections and names as his Iraq deputy Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian blamed for major terrorist attacks in Iraq.

– Dec. 16, 2004: In an audiotape posted on an Islamic Web site, bin Laden exonerates Islamic militants of responsibility for violence in Saudi Arabia and calls on militants to stop the flow of oil to the West.

– Oct. 29, 2004: In a videotape broadcast by Al-Jazeera, bin Laden says the United States can avoid another attack like those of Sept. 11, 2001, if it stops threatening the security of Muslims.

– May 6, 2004: In an online audiotape released on Islamic forums, bin Laden offers rewards of gold for the killings of U.S. and U.N. officials.

– April 15, 2004: Bin Laden offers a “truce” to European countries that do not attack Muslims. He vows revenge against the United States for the Israeli assassination of Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.

– Jan. 4, 2004: Bin Laden says on an audiotape that the U.S.-led war in Iraq is the beginning of the “occupation” of Persian Gulf states for their oil. He calls on Muslims to keep fighting a holy war in the Middle East.

– Sept. 10, 2003: In the first video image of bin Laden in nearly two years, he is shown walking through rocky terrain with his top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri. Two taped messages accompanied the video. In one, a voice purporting to be bin Laden’s praises the “great damage to the enemy” on Sept. 11 and mentions five hijackers by name. In the other, a voice said to be that of al-Zawahri threatens more attacks on Americans.

– April 7, 2003: In an audiotape, bin Laden exhorts Muslims to rise up against Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and other governments it claims are “agents of America,” and calls for suicide attacks against U.S. and British interests.

– Feb. 13, 2003: An audiotape of bin Laden reading a poetic last will and testament is aired on the British-based Islamic Al-Ansaar news agency. Bin Laden says he wants to die a martyr in a new attack against the United States.

– Feb. 11, 2003: Bin Laden calls on Iraqis to carry out suicide attacks against Americans and defend themselves against a U.S. attack in a tape broadcast on Al-Jazeera.

– November 2002: Al-Jazeera broadcasts an audiotape in which bin Laden says the “youths of God” are planning more attacks against the United States.

– Dec. 13, 2001: U.S. Defense Department releases a videotape of bin Laden in Afghanistan on Nov. 9, 2001, saying the destruction of the Sept. 11 attacks exceeded even his “optimistic” calculations.

Associated Press reporters Katherine Shrader in Washington and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

0 comments.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings
Leak reveals official story of London bombings

· Al-Qaeda not linked, says government
· Internet used to plan 7/7 attack

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday April 9, 2006
The Observer

The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no ‘fifth-bomber’ and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan.

The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a ‘simple and inexpensive’ plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom.

Far from being the work of an international terror network, as originally suspected, the attack was carried out by four men who had scoured terror sites on the internet. Their knapsack bombs cost only a few hundred pounds, according to the first completed draft of the government’s definitive report into the blasts.

The Home Office account, compiled by a senior civil servant at the behest of Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also discounts the existence of a fifth bomber. After the bombings, police found an unused rucksack of explosives in the bombers’ abandoned car at Luton station, which led to a manhunt for a missing suspect. Similarly, it found nothing to support the theory that an al-Qaeda fixer, presumed to be from Pakistan, was instrumental in planning the attacks.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.’ (more…)

0 comments.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings

Posted on April 9th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization, Young Muslims.

The Observer | UK News | Leak reveals official story of London bombings
Leak reveals official story of London bombings

· Al-Qaeda not linked, says government
· Internet used to plan 7/7 attack

Mark Townsend, crime correspondent
Sunday April 9, 2006
The Observer

The official inquiry into the 7 July London bombings will say the attack was planned on a shoestring budget from information on the internet, that there was no ‘fifth-bomber’ and no direct support from al-Qaeda, although two of the bombers had visited Pakistan.

The first forensic account of the atrocity that claimed the lives of 52 people, which will be published in the next few weeks, will say that attacks were the product of a ‘simple and inexpensive’ plot hatched by four British suicide bombers bent on martyrdom.

Far from being the work of an international terror network, as originally suspected, the attack was carried out by four men who had scoured terror sites on the internet. Their knapsack bombs cost only a few hundred pounds, according to the first completed draft of the government’s definitive report into the blasts.

The Home Office account, compiled by a senior civil servant at the behest of Home Secretary Charles Clarke, also discounts the existence of a fifth bomber. After the bombings, police found an unused rucksack of explosives in the bombers’ abandoned car at Luton station, which led to a manhunt for a missing suspect. Similarly, it found nothing to support the theory that an al-Qaeda fixer, presumed to be from Pakistan, was instrumental in planning the attacks.

A Whitehall source said: ‘The London attacks were a modest, simple affair by four seemingly normal men using the internet.’ (more…)

0 comments.

For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats – New York Times

Posted on March 11th, 2006 by .
Categories: Internal Debates, International Terrorism.

For Muslim Who Says Violence Destroys Islam, Violent Threats – New York Times
She said the world’s Muslims, whom she compares unfavorably with the Jews, have descended into a vortex of self-pity and violence.

Dr. Sultan said the world was not witnessing a clash of religions or cultures, but a battle between modernity and barbarism, a battle that the forces of violent, reactionary Islam are destined to lose.

In response, clerics throughout the Muslim world have condemned her, and her telephone answering machine has filled with dark threats. But Islamic reformers have praised her for saying out loud, in Arabic and on the most widely seen television network in the Arab world, what few Muslims dare to say even in private.

“I believe our people are hostages to our own beliefs and teachings,” she said in an interview this week in her home in a Los Angeles suburb.

0 comments.

Protected: NRC Handelsblad – ‘Verzwak radicale sekten met infiltranten’

Posted on December 20th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues.

Enter your password to view comments.

Protected: NRC Handelsblad – 'Verzwak radicale sekten met infiltranten'

Posted on December 20th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Murder on theo Van Gogh and related issues.

Enter your password to view comments.

spiked-politics | Article | Muriel Degauque: Islamo-fascist, freedom fighter or what?

Posted on December 3rd, 2005 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

spiked-politics | Article | Muriel Degauque: Islamo-fascist, freedom fighter or what?

By Brendan O’Neill

Muriel Degauque did not only blow up herself in Baghdad three weeks ago; she also blew to bits the various stereotypes of Islamic terrorists. Supporters of the war in Iraq and the war on terror tell us that these Islamists, or ‘Islamo-fascists’ as they like to call them, are evil Johnny Foreigners who were likely raised on a diet of falafels and hatred for the West in some dusty hole in Kabul or Cairo. Anti-war activists claim they are resistance fighters, the shock troops for a new ‘anti-imperialist ideology’ (as Loretta Napoleoni says in her recent book on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi); or, like the 7/7 lot, they’re Western-born Muslims so aggrieved by what is being done to their brothers and sisters in Iraq and Palestine that they feel compelled to strike against the imperialist beast (1).

So how do these two camps explain Muriel Degauque?

(more…)

0 comments.

spiked-politics | Article | Muriel Degauque: Islamo-fascist, freedom fighter or what?

Posted on December 3rd, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

spiked-politics | Article | Muriel Degauque: Islamo-fascist, freedom fighter or what?

By Brendan O’Neill

Muriel Degauque did not only blow up herself in Baghdad three weeks ago; she also blew to bits the various stereotypes of Islamic terrorists. Supporters of the war in Iraq and the war on terror tell us that these Islamists, or ‘Islamo-fascists’ as they like to call them, are evil Johnny Foreigners who were likely raised on a diet of falafels and hatred for the West in some dusty hole in Kabul or Cairo. Anti-war activists claim they are resistance fighters, the shock troops for a new ‘anti-imperialist ideology’ (as Loretta Napoleoni says in her recent book on Abu Musab al-Zarqawi); or, like the 7/7 lot, they’re Western-born Muslims so aggrieved by what is being done to their brothers and sisters in Iraq and Palestine that they feel compelled to strike against the imperialist beast (1).

So how do these two camps explain Muriel Degauque?

(more…)

0 comments.

Informed Comment – Muriel Degauque and the Al Aqaeda ‘Cult’

Posted on December 3rd, 2005 by .
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

On Juan Cole’s Informed Comment a short comment on the Belgian woman who blew her self up in Iraq:

The case of Muriel Degauque, the poor Belgian Catholic girl who became a kamikaze in Iraq, has sent a chill through Europe. As I have argued before, the jihadi mindset is a cult-like ideology that is like software and can be installed in any mind. It is a set of plausibility structures, of premises that lead inexorably to killing oneself and others for some vague Cause. It is so insidious precisely because people inside the movement find the premises so compelling. It is not really anything to do with Islam per se, and most of the kamikazes don’t know much about formal Islam. It isn’t really any different than the Solar Temple Cult or other such self-destructive religious phenomena, except that the jihadis have become politicized and so kill themselves and others on the battlefield.

(more…)

0 comments.

Informed Comment – Muriel Degauque and the Al Aqaeda 'Cult'

Posted on December 3rd, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: International Terrorism, Religious and Political Radicalization.

On Juan Cole’s Informed Comment a short comment on the Belgian woman who blew her self up in Iraq:

The case of Muriel Degauque, the poor Belgian Catholic girl who became a kamikaze in Iraq, has sent a chill through Europe. As I have argued before, the jihadi mindset is a cult-like ideology that is like software and can be installed in any mind. It is a set of plausibility structures, of premises that lead inexorably to killing oneself and others for some vague Cause. It is so insidious precisely because people inside the movement find the premises so compelling. It is not really anything to do with Islam per se, and most of the kamikazes don’t know much about formal Islam. It isn’t really any different than the Solar Temple Cult or other such self-destructive religious phenomena, except that the jihadis have become politicized and so kill themselves and others on the battlefield.

(more…)

0 comments.

SITE Institute: Message from al-Suri Calling Upon Sleeper Cells to Awaken and Attack Britain, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Australia, Japan, and Especially France

Posted on December 3rd, 2005 by .
Categories: International Terrorism.

SITE Institute: SITE Publications – A Statement about the Arrest of Sheikh Abu Musab al-Suri and a Message from al-Suri Calling Upon Sleeper Cells to Awaken and Attack Britain, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Germany, Russia, Australia, Japan, and Especially France

A recently issued statement from the spokesman for Abu Musab al-Suri, Abdul al-Tawab al-Shami, confirms the arrest of the al-Qaeda operative, and in addition, includes a speech from al-Suri, over one hour in length, as well a 17-page transcript of this oration, concerning his alleged complicity in the July 7, 2005 London bombings and the new British government regulations concerning Muslims. In the speech, al-Suri alleges innocence and having no connection with the attacks in London, or those in Madrid in 2005 and Paris in 1995; however, confirms his support to these attacks. Further, he castigates those governments who maintain a military presence in Muslim lands and urges the mujahideen residing within Europe to “move fast” to attack Britain, Italy, Holland, Denmark, Germany, France, as well as Russia, Australia, and Japan.

The statement from Abdul al-Tawab al-Shami indicates that al-Suri was arrested approximately three months ago, rather than “lately” as reported by the media, and the speech regarding London was withheld due to “security reasons.” For additional information, Al-Shami directs readers to al-Suri’s will , as well as his 1,600-page book,

“The International Islamic Resistance Call. ”

Abu Musab al-Suri’s message calls for an immediate jihad amongst the mujahideen from Syria and Lebanon against France, stating: “On this occasion I asked for the mujahideen from Syria, Lebanon, and al-Sham as well as others…to hit France and target it now in all of its land and its interests everywhere just as they hit and attacked others”.

Al-Suri elaborates upon three points in his speech: the collective argument of the “jihadists” against their enemies, his innocence in the explosions in London, Madrid, and Paris, and warning to the British and European governments, as well as other “general enemies”. He argues that al-Qaeda made it explicit to the Western governments that their continued abuse and encroachment upon resources and politics within Muslim lands would end fruitless debate and the Muslims would take up arms. Al-Suri indicates that the British received the sternest of warnings in this regard. He explains the position the jihadists in Britain during the mid-1990’s through the ascendancy of Tony Blair to Prime Minister, and of some of their exit to Afghanistan.

Though he took pleasure in the London bombings, al-Suri states he had nothing to do with its planning or execution. He reiterates this same claim about Madrid and Paris, though he “reveals” that he is the one who drew the picture of an “Eiffel Tower exploding in pieces.” Al-Suri saves his harshest vitriol for France, condemning its government and promising attacks for its aggression in Syria, Lebanon, Bosnia, Algeria, Afghanistan, and for an “active role in NATO” and forbidding Muslim women to wear hijab. Concerning Spain, he urges its government to ask the European Union to accept the truce for non-aggression as laid out by Usama bin Laden. However, for those states he condemns, al-Suri states: “Let our sleeping cells wake up, the war is at its apex. The enemy is about to collapse. This is obvious now. Those who sleep now maybe will not participate when they wake up.”

Media reports indicate that a suspect believed to be Abu Musab al-Suri was captured in Quetta, Pakistan during the beginning of November 2005. Abu Musab al-Suri, AKA Mustafa Sitmaryan Nassar, or Umar Abd al-Hakim, is an al-Qaeda operative who ran terrorist training camps in Afghanistan and instructs in poison and chemical warfare. On November 18, 2004, the U.S. State Department offered a $5 million for information leading to his arrest. Al-Suri, meaning “The Syrian,” was indicted in Spain in 2003 for allegedly training al-Qaeda sleeper cells for deployment in Spain, Italy, and France and is believed to have masterminded the Madrid train bombings in March 2004.

The Dutch Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD) is checking this statement.

0 comments.

« Previous Page — Older » « Newer — Next Page »