ji·had·ica

Maqdisi’s High-Wire Act

On December 4, Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi–Zarqawi’s former mentor and one of the world’s most influential Jihadi ideologues–spoke briefly to the al-Ansar Paltalk chat group.  In his brief remarks, Maqdisi appears to distance himself from the Jihadi revisionists: For you and me I prescribe the fear of God, working for the sake of this religion, and being its helpers in the time before the victory (al-fath).  God, powerful and mighty, says: “Those of you who spent and fought before the victory are not equal (to those who didn’t); you are greater in rank than those who spent and fought afterwards” (Q 57:10).  Today, brothers and friends, you see the nations assailing us and there is no doubt that we are like the Companions of the Prophet (PBUP) before the victory.  I beseech God to hasten the victory for the people of Islam and the people of monotheism.   Action for the sake of

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Ignored Puzzle Pieces Of Ain Hilweh Knowledge

Here are two more puzzle pieces to add to those I put on the table yesterday.  First, Aaron learned that Fatah al-Islam renewed the domain name for its website two days ago.  Second, the Lebanese paper al-Mustaqbal reports that the Lebenese Army has heard that there may be attacks on UNIFIL, the UN force keeping the peace in southern Lebanon.  Moreover, UNIFIL has warned its soldiers to stay away from the Ain Hilweh camp. So to recap: Fatah al-Islam announced a few days ago that its old leader, Shakir al-`Absi is either dead or in custody. The new leader of Fatah al-Islam is being “protected” by the Jihadi group, `Usbat al-Ansar, in the Ain Hilweh camp. `Usbat al-Ansar has declared that it is forbidden to attack the Lebanese Army “or any other army” and it is a duty to attack Jews in Palestine.  At the same time, it is negotiating

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More On Sayyid Imam’s Effectiveness

Monika Maslikowski has a smart take on Sayyid Imam’s communication strategy vs. that of Zawahiri (it’s part of a larger assessment of the latter’s stumbles as a communicator this year).  She seconds my argument that Imam’s personal attacks on Zawahiri are effective because “Zawahiri’s success as a leader is dependent on whether or not he can gain trust and support.” On the same subject, the Shack has an essay by an Egyptian lamenting Imam’s personal attacks.  For a different perspective by another Egyptian, I’d point you to Caliph’s remarks in the comments section of a previous post.  Without revealing too much, Caliph has closely followed Egyptian media and Islamism for years.  I’d rate his comments pretty high on their own merit, but one’s background seems to matter in these sorts of debates.

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Fatah Al-Islam, Ain Hilweh Intrigue

The Arab press is buzzing with news of the death or capture of Shakir al-`Absi, the head of Fatah al-Islam, the militant Islamist group that revolted against the Lebanese state at Nahr al-Barid last year.  News of his death or capture broke on the forums two days ago with the release of a document purporting to be a short history of what happened to the organization after Nahr al-Barid.

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New Book On Al-Qaeda And WMD

Many of you who follow al-Qaeda may not be familiar with FFI, but you’re doubtless familiar with the excellent work of its members (e.g. Lia, Hegghammer, and Nesser).  However, FFI has a secret weapon who only insiders know: Anne Stenersen.  Anne is an outstanding Arabist (and Russianist) and has an unfair amount of knowledge about terrorist training and weaponry.  She’s now published a book on al-Qaeda and WMD.  Like everything else the FFI crew produces,  I’m sure it’s going to set a new standard for study of the subject.

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Shabaab In Somalia Declare Another Governorate, Hint At Caliphate

Yesterday, the Shabaab Movement announced the establishment of the “Islamic Governorate of Shabelle” (wilayat shabila al-islamiyya) in the region of Lower Shabelle in southern Somalia.  The Shabaab says that it was “necessary for the brothers to establish civil administrations for carrying out the matters of the Islamic state (al-dawla al-islamiyya)” after they liberated Lower Shabelle from criminal tribal groups that were extorting its inhabitants.  The new governorate has a governor and supervisors for missionizing and education, security and morality policing, courts, and the treasury.   Apparently, this is the not the first governorate that the Shabaab has established.  Today, its “Islamic Governorate of Juba” announced that it has ordered the destruction of local saints’ shrines, at once burnishing the institution’s Salafi bona fides and undermining the local tribal Sufism that permeates Somalia. Two things strike me about the Shabelle announcement.  First is the terminology used to describe the new entity.

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Response To Rob At The Shack

We’re probably now at the point of diminishing returns, but the issue of Jihadi revisions is important enough to work through the particulars until it’s clear what’s fact, what’s unproven, and what’s merely a matter of taste.  It’s important not just for assessing the impact of Sayyid Imam’s work but for understanding how ideological challenges to Jihadism fail or succeed.  My response to Rob is below the fold:

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The Connection Between Sayyid Imam And The Mumbai Attacks

Khalil al-Anani wrote an article two days ago about the ideological connection between Sayyid Imam and the Mumbai attackers.  There are bits I disagree with, but he’s right to highlight the contribution of Sayyid Imam’s earlier works to the attackers and the contribution of his current revision to our understanding of those attacks.  A paraphrastic summary follows:

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Assessing The Impact Of Jihadi Revisionists

Rob at Media Shack has posted a summary of a discussion on al-`Arabiyya’s “Death Industry.”  Of interest to him (and me) is Montasir Zayat’s assessment of Sayyid Imam’s latest book (Zayat only read the first one and a half chapters).  Here’s Rob’s take: In Zayat’s view, what’s being printed now in Al-Masri Al-Youm is a disgrace and jeopardizes the reputation of the entire Revisions process.   No Jihadists or even Muslims anywhere will treat them seriously. Rob agrees with this sentiment (as does Nathan Field).  But that’s not exactly what Zayat says.  Zayat does say the book is a disgrace, but he’s also pessimistic that anything can move Jihadis, no matter how refined.  Here he is in the same interview responding to the host’s question of which man, Imam or Zawahiri, has more popularity: Dr. Sayyid Imam has an abundance of Sharia knowledge and he certainly had these beliefs before he

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The Denudation Of The Exoneration: Part 13 (Final)

Sayyid Imam wraps up his new book today.  Much of his final criticism is aimed at Bin Laden, whom he describes as incurious and incapable of holding himself accountable for his errors.  Regarding the latter, Imam compares Bin Laden negatively to Hassan Nasrallah, who apologized and offered compensation to the Lebanese civilians whose homes had been destroyed by Israeli bombing in the 2006 war (paging Andrew Exum).   Sayyid Imam ends by explaining why his attacks on Zawahiri and Bin Laden have become more personal: he felt obliged to do it after Zawahiri accused him of being an Egyptian tool before Imam’s first book had even been released.  Zawahiri’s more pointed personal attacks in the Exoneration prompted an even more personal response. Concluding… The Denudation is divided into four sections:   Exposing the lies of Zawahiri Exposing his jurisprudential errors Exposing the ways he misleads the reader Exposing his search

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