The al-Qaida media offensive against Germany earlier this fall turned out to be just a scare. But at a recent conference, German authorities said there was more to the threat than the September statements. Peter Neumann has interesting details over at FREEradicals.
Islam Online, an Islamic website founded by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, recently published an article called “Jihadist Revisions or Changing Their Minds” by Jordanian writer Yasir al-Za’aterah. It argued that revisionists (see here, here, and here) may have shifted their positions on violence, but they have not changed their fundamental political views. Al-Za’aterah stated that the revisionists are basing their new approach on “religious legitimacy,” which is what they used to justify their violence in the past. He maintained that the issue of forcibly expelling an unjust leader who claims to be a Muslim is contentious in Islamic jurisprudence because it often involves many “mistakes”, making it closer to what scholars consider fitna or civil unrest, which is why many refuse to condone force against a Muslim ruler. Al-Za’aterah concluded that modern Islamic movements have not rejected armed insurrection because they consider violence non-permissible; rather, they have rejected it because such action
[Editor’s note: I am extremely happy to present a new ad-hoc contributor. He should be known to most Jihadica readers: Brian Fishman is a former director of research at West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center and the author of several landmark studies on al-Qaida in Iraq, several of which are available here. He brings us quite a story today.] Since the awful shootings at Fort Hood, media attention has focused on MAJ Nidal Hasan’s relationship with Anwar al-Awlaki, an American-born salafi preacher now in Yemen. Less well known, however, is that al-Awlaki was once declared kafir (infidel) by then London-based jihadi Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal. The Jamaica-born al-Faisal, himself a convert, was a key figure in late 1990s and early 2000s “Londonistan”; he was imprisoned in 2003 for soliciting murder and eventually deported from the UK in May 2007 for his links to 7/7 bomber Germaine Lindsey. Indeed it is al-Faisal, not al-Awlaki, who is the most prominent English-speaking jihadi preacher. The lesson here is certainly
The latest issue of Nawai Afghan Jihad includes an interview with Jalaluddin Haqqani. The interview is centered on American policy in Afghanistan and the danger America poses to the world. Little mention is made of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or the role of Pakistani extremists in Afghanistan. To a question regarding the “propaganda unleashed by the Karzai government” that jihadi activity along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan is planned and plotted in Pakistan, Haqqani gives a rather diplomatic response: “there are passionate young men from the tribal areas who have inherited the jihadi gusto of the past (fighting the British and Soviets) and who were martyred on Afghan soil. We acknowledge and appreciate their jihadi engagement.” Asked to comment on the signs of a changing US policy towards Afghanistan – especially, for the Karzai government to initiate “dialogue” with the Taliban – Haqqani denounces this as sheer propaganda and maintains that the
I feel bad posting so many secondary sources and even worse plugging my own stuff, but I hope you will agree that this article is quite relevant to the issues Jihadica was set up to cover.
Haganah – Content vs Context – Anwar al-Awlaki’s blog Marisa Urgo – American Salafist-Jihadism Emerges Charles Cameron – the Hasan Slide Presentation Jarret Brachman – Jihobbyists: Come One, Come All Jawa Report – Predictable: Hasan Chatting it Up With American Jihadis – Facebook Jihad: Praising & Praying for Malik Hasan Evan Kohlmann – A web of lone wolves – Ft. Hood Cleric Awlaki Urged Muslims to “Fight Against Government Armies” in July ’09 Adam Rawnsley – Bin Laden’s Spiritual Mentor Condemns Ft. Hood Attacks Jihadica – Forums on Fort Hood As for the media coverage, Haganah has a good bibliography. Personally I found yesterday’s interview with Anwar al-Awlaki to be the most interesting newspaper report so far. Apologies to everyone whose articles I missed. Please post links to other pieces in the comments.
The journal Current Trends in Islamist Ideology has devoted its forthcoming issue to the Muslim Brotherhood, and some articles have already been released. They are available here. Of particular interest is this piece by Jihadica alumnus Jean Pierre Filiu.
Here is a very brief roundup of what people on the forums are saying about the Ft Hood massacre. Compared to the English-language jihadi forums, there is little discussion of the Ft. Hood attacks on the top-tier Arabic jihadi forums. When there is comment, it is driven by U.S. press reports. On Faloja, no one believes there are direct ties between the attacker and al-Qaida. It was either an individual act of conscience brought on by Muslim suffering or someone who had been ideologically influenced by AQ. Posters on Shumukh agree. If AQ were behind the attack, it would have been more spectacular. Other posters posit more individual attacks as American troops tire of the war. Anwar al-Awlaki, the cleric with whom Hasan had some contact, is not well known on the Arabic forums. For example, this reference to him relies on U.S. reporting and his English-language sermons. However, he is a very
If you are even remotely interested in this question, you simply have to read this post by Aaron at Haganah.
