As readers might guess, the discussions on the Jihadi forums are almost entirely devoted to Gaza (there’s some on Somalia–more on that later this week). I’ve culled the most representative posts from the Faloja forum:
- The forum administrators warn that anyone who is unduly critical of Hamas will be kicked off during this time of crisis. They’ve also asked that any security-sensitive information not be posted. This hasn’t stopped members from debating whether Hamas should be excommunicated or from posting early news of Gilad Shalit‘s injury during Israeli bombing.
- One member asked for information about American and Israeli embassies abroad, prompting a torrent of responses (addresses, ambassadors, etc).
- Another member, `Abd Allah al-Qurashi, has posted a list of suggestions for what Hamas should do next. One suggestion is that Hamas release Salafi militants it arrested [presumably members of Jaysh al-Islam] and rearm them to fight against the Israelis. Another is that security officers in the Interior Ministry should remove their clothes and be armed with Qassam equipment, which should be easy since most of them are already affiliated with Qassam.
- Asad al-Jihad2, who some believe to be AQ senior leader Hukayma, has called on the mujahids of Hamas (i.e. Qassam) and members of prominent Jihadi-Salafi organizations in Gaza (Jaysh al-Islam and Jaysh al-Umma) to unite and reject the help of Iran, Hezbollah, and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas, who are selling them out.
- There is clamor for a statement from Bin Laden or Zawahiri.
- The powerful Saudi cleric, `Awad al-Qarni, has released a fatwa permitting attacks on Israeli interests anywhere in the world. The fatwa from Qarni, who has been derided by the Jihadis in the past, has been repeatedly posted on the forums and applauded.
Update: As Shlomo points out in the comments, I may have confused `Awad al-Qarni with `A’id al-Qarni. If so, then `Awad is the author of the fatwa and `A’id is the object of the past criticism.
Document (Arabic): 12-28-08-faloja-asad-al-jihad2-statement-on-gaza
Document (Arabic): 12-28-08-faloja-members-who-criticize-hamas-will-be-kicked-off
Document (Arabic): 12-28-08-faloja-qarni-fatwa-permitting-attacks-on-global-israeli-interests
Document (Arabic): 12-28-08-faloja-request-for-information-on-american-and-israeli-embassies
Document (Arabic): 12-28-08-faloja-steps-hamas-should-take
Document (Arabic): 12-29-08-faloja-demand-for-a-statement-from-aq-leadership-on-gaza-crisis
Document (Arabic): 12-29-08-faloja-news-of-wounded-shalit-sparks-debate-over-security-precautions
Document (Arabic): 12-29-08-faloja-on-whether-hamas-should-be-excommunicated
7 Responses
“…Qarni, who has been derided by the Jihadis in the past…”
Could you shed a little light on when and in what circumstances he was derided in the past?
When I first read the news, I confused him with this fellow (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aaidh_ibn_Abdullah_al-Qarni), but later discovered this Shaykh al-Qarni was one of the 26 signatories of the Iraq fatwa.
The speed at which the IslamOnline text was disseminated in the Arab press suggested a certain amount of interest. Perhaps he spoke up because of the more high profile incitements to violence by Fadlallah and Khamene’i and felt the Shi’a were hogging the headlines.
Hmmm….you may be right. I remember seeing the criticism several months ago, but it’s possible I’ve confused the two men.
According to IslamOnline article’s last paragraph (http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=ArticleA_C&cid=1230121266099&pagename=Zone-Arabic-News/NWALayout):
Shakyh al-Qarni, who is considered as one of the most prominent Islamic personalities in Saudi Arabia, was arrested and lost his tenure as a professor of the principles of Islamic jurisprudence (أصول الفقه) for his submission, along with a group of Saudi clerics, of an advisory memorandum to the late King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz in the early nineties concerning the finalisation of the country’s reform process.
I’m not sure about the background, but this could explain why you’ve seen his name come up.
There’s also the ‘transliteration’ factor. When I first followed up this news, I hunted round for the fatwa to translate. As I only had English texts of his name to go on I wasn’t sure how to spell it in Arabic. In the course of my goose chase I came across several members of the al-Qarni tribe.
I don’t know much about the inter-rivalries of Saudi ulema, but what I’ve read suggests the fellow responsible for this fatwa (which I still can’t find) is part of the same ‘naHDah’ clique. His full(ish) name is Shaykh Dr AwaaD bin Muhammad al-Qarni. There’s also a bit of comment on him, together with a picture menage of him and 3 others (he’s bottom right) in today’s IslamOnline (http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=ArticleA_C&cid=%201230490503267&pagename=Zone-Arabic-News/NWALayout) but this (http://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B9%D9%88%D8%B6_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B1%D9%86%D9%8A) Wiki sheds a bit of light but there’s no mention of his losing his tenure.
Hello,
Can you expand a bit on this bit: “Asad al-Jihad2, who some believe to be AQ senior leader Hukayma…”? What do you base this on?
Thanks,
Dave
Hi Dave, here’s what you’re after:
http://www.jamestown.org/single/?no_cache=1&tx_ttnews%5Bswords%5D=8fd5893941d69d0be3f378576261ae3e&tx_ttnews%5Bany_of_the_words%5D=asad%20al-jihad2&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=5191&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=7&cHash=304a323ea8
Will
Will,
Thanks, but I can’t get the link to open.
Dave
Go to Jamestown.org and do a search on “Asad al-Jihad2”.