from MEMRI:
Inquiry and Analysis
689
May 18, 2011
Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor
Saif Al-'Adl's Views on Jihad and the War Against the West
By: R. Green*
MEMRI
MEMRI TV
THE MEMRI BLOG
MEMRI ECONOMIC BLOG
JIHAD AND TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR
TURKISH MEDIA PROJECT
IRAN BLOG
THE MIDDLE EAST CULTURE BLOG
THE URDU-PASHTU MEDIA BLOG
This report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM.)
Subscription information is available at http://subscriptions.memri.org/content/en/member_registr_jttm.htm.
Introduction
On May 17, 2011, reports were circulated according to which Al-Qaeda had appointed one of its military masterminds, Saif Al-'Adl, as its new chief or interim leader.[1] Fairly little is known of Saif Al-'Adl's personal history. Moreover, little has been heard from him during the past decade.[2] In general, he is not considered an important intellectual figure in the jihadi movement, although he did pen several essays on military strategy and tactics.
Following a lengthy period of silence, two series of articles believed to be written by Saif Al-'Adl were published on Mafa Al-Siasi,[3]a website belonging to Mustafa Hamid, also known as Abu Al-Walid Al-Masri, who is a veteran jihadi figure and Saif Al-'Adl's father in-law.
In the articles, Saif Al-'Adl acknowledges that the jihadists have made mistakes which they must now mend, but stresses that these do not rule out the jihad movement as a whole. He lays out his vision of Al-Qaeda's strategy of all-out war with the U.S., claiming that through its attacks on the U.S., Al-Qaeda, as the vanguard of Islam, has succeeded in bringing about the collapse of the entire Western political and cultural system. He also credits Al-Qaeda with exposing the true face of the Arab and Muslim rulers to the Arab masses and empowering the latter to rise up against their oppressive regimes.
The following, which is a preliminary dispatch to be followed by a more extensive MEMRI report on the dialogue between Saif Al-'Adl and Mustafa Hamid, will present some of Saif Al-'Adl's positions on the concept of jihad, on Al-Qaeda's strategy and tactics, and the on war against the U.S. and the West.
Saif Al-'Adl Responds to Criticism of Al-Qaeda
Mustafa Hamid is a longtime critic of Al-Qaeda's strategy and tactics, and has voiced personal criticism of Osama bin Laden. In an article he published on his website Mafa Al-Siasi in December 2010, Hamid reiterated his position that confronting the U.S. directly was a mistake, and that bin Laden should dismantle Al-Qaeda.
Several weeks after the article was published, a number of letters by an individual calling himself 'Abir Sabil ("Wayfarer") appeared on the website. Hamid's description of the author as a member of Al-Qaeda's upper echelon suggests that it was none other than Saif Al-'Adl, Hamid's son in law. Two of the articles were actually letters addressed to Hamid responding to his criticism of Al-Qaeda and bin Laden and defending the path the latter had chosen.
Following are excerpts from the two letters:
"Instead of working to rectify our mistakes, we shackle ourselves to our sins and continue flogging ourselves... What for? Praise Allah, for He has not closed the doors of repentance. So why all this self-flagellation when it is possible to rectify one's mistakes... [and] when we recognize our own mistakes. Nobody claims that the jihadi movement did not commit errors or stumble here and there. Nobody denies this. Yes, we make mistakes, like all human beings. There are big mistakes and there are small ones. So, should we work to rectify them, or should we sit and cry over them? Should we sit and flog ourselves, or should we work to repair and mend our ways..."[4]
The Ongoing Jihad Against the West
In another article, titled "We Are Not On the Chessboard Nor Are We Pawns," Saif Al-'Adl defends bin Laden's leadership and Al-Qaeda's strategy of waging all-out war against the U.S. and the West by highlighting what Al-Qaeda has achieved thanks to this strategy, as follows:
•Causing the failure of the U.S.'s imperialistic aspirations by waging war against it in Iraq.
•Stopping the West's scheme for carving up the Arab states into a "Greater Middle East" in order to facilitate the plundering of its resources, to be funneled to the U.S. and the West.
•Exposing "the dark face of the new imperialism," as represented by the rulers of the Arab states, to the Arab peoples and Western public opinion.
•Successfully carrying out the 9/11 attacks, which melted the fear of the U.S. among the groups and countries that oppose it by proving that the U.S. was vulnerable even on its own soil, emboldened the Arab peoples enough to stand up to their rulers in the name of freedom of speech, and led to a huge wave of conversion to Islam in the West.
•By waging all-out war against the U.S. and its Western allies without any foreign assistance, the mujahideen rendered their fight an independent Islamic one and repented for the assistance they had accepted from the intelligence services of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in the 1980s.
•Kindling the spirit of jihad among the Muslims and raising their morale.
•Bolstering Al-Jazeera TV's viewership and reputation, presumably by providing it with video and audio clips of bin Laden.
•Weakening the old world order and, as a result, the political orders under its patronage, i.e. the Arab regimes, thus enabling the Arab peoples to rise up, and thereby justifying Al-Qaeda's strategic decision to fight the "far enemy."
•Bringing about the economic crisis engulfing the West.
•Crushing both the communist ideology through jihad against the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan and the Western capitalist ideology through its current war against the U.S. and the West.
The letter reads: "The attacks on the Pentagon and the American homeland, or Al-Qaeda's theory of attacking the U.S... will be studied in military academies alongside Sun Tsu's book and the idea of the Trojan Horse...
"Wasn't Western culture altogether prepared for collapse with the collapse of the World Trade Center towers? Wasn't the attack on this economic symbol an indication for anyone with eyes to see of the importance of economic attrition? Isn't the threat on the new Silk Route, the oil lines, an indication of what the Western world is destined to suffer should it lose them, and of the right of those who control [the oil] to decide its appropriate price?
"It is important for me to clarify that Al-Qaeda and its leader never said that they were going to defeat the Americans on their own. Rather, they are working to inspire the ummah, incite it [to wage war], and act as a vanguard for it in this blessed jihad, to weaken the greatest idol. From there on, the ummah will rise up and liberate itself from the idols that weigh heavily on its soul [i.e., the Arab rulers].
"In this sense, we are talking about a long war and not a quick battle. War is a series of battles... Al-Qaeda's war and the war its ummah [is waging] against the West is a long one which will last 20 years, according to [the West's] own estimates... A war in which one of the sides is a coalition that controls the world, and the opposite side is an ambitious organization that inspires the ummah and seeks to revive it cannot be a war of one or two years…"[5]
*R. Green is a research fellow at MEMRI.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] See MEMRI report "Urdu Daily Reports On Major Al-Qaeda Appointments, Successor To Osama Bin Laden," May 17, 2011, http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=4968¶m=UPP. On May 18, 2011, the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted Islamists who doubted these reports and said that they were awaiting an official announcement from the Al-Qaeda leadership. The reports of Saif Al-'Adl's appointment as bin Laden's successor were posted on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, whose administrators immediately deleted the post and locked the thread, saying that only Al-Qaeda's own media organs could be trusted in this matter.
[2] Saif Al-'Adl has been in Iran since 2001, after fleeing Afghanistan. In recent months, there have been reports that he left Iran for Waziristan to reassume an active leading role in Al-Qaeda's military operations.
[3] http://mafa.asia.
[4] http://mafa.asia, December 31, 2010.
[5] http://mafa.asia, March 23, 2010.
Inquiry and Analysis
689
May 18, 2011
Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor
Saif Al-'Adl's Views on Jihad and the War Against the West
By: R. Green*
MEMRI
MEMRI TV
THE MEMRI BLOG
MEMRI ECONOMIC BLOG
JIHAD AND TERRORISM THREAT MONITOR
TURKISH MEDIA PROJECT
IRAN BLOG
THE MIDDLE EAST CULTURE BLOG
THE URDU-PASHTU MEDIA BLOG
This report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM.)
Subscription information is available at http://subscriptions.memri.org/content/en/member_registr_jttm.htm.
Introduction
On May 17, 2011, reports were circulated according to which Al-Qaeda had appointed one of its military masterminds, Saif Al-'Adl, as its new chief or interim leader.[1] Fairly little is known of Saif Al-'Adl's personal history. Moreover, little has been heard from him during the past decade.[2] In general, he is not considered an important intellectual figure in the jihadi movement, although he did pen several essays on military strategy and tactics.
Following a lengthy period of silence, two series of articles believed to be written by Saif Al-'Adl were published on Mafa Al-Siasi,[3]a website belonging to Mustafa Hamid, also known as Abu Al-Walid Al-Masri, who is a veteran jihadi figure and Saif Al-'Adl's father in-law.
In the articles, Saif Al-'Adl acknowledges that the jihadists have made mistakes which they must now mend, but stresses that these do not rule out the jihad movement as a whole. He lays out his vision of Al-Qaeda's strategy of all-out war with the U.S., claiming that through its attacks on the U.S., Al-Qaeda, as the vanguard of Islam, has succeeded in bringing about the collapse of the entire Western political and cultural system. He also credits Al-Qaeda with exposing the true face of the Arab and Muslim rulers to the Arab masses and empowering the latter to rise up against their oppressive regimes.
The following, which is a preliminary dispatch to be followed by a more extensive MEMRI report on the dialogue between Saif Al-'Adl and Mustafa Hamid, will present some of Saif Al-'Adl's positions on the concept of jihad, on Al-Qaeda's strategy and tactics, and the on war against the U.S. and the West.
Saif Al-'Adl Responds to Criticism of Al-Qaeda
Mustafa Hamid is a longtime critic of Al-Qaeda's strategy and tactics, and has voiced personal criticism of Osama bin Laden. In an article he published on his website Mafa Al-Siasi in December 2010, Hamid reiterated his position that confronting the U.S. directly was a mistake, and that bin Laden should dismantle Al-Qaeda.
Several weeks after the article was published, a number of letters by an individual calling himself 'Abir Sabil ("Wayfarer") appeared on the website. Hamid's description of the author as a member of Al-Qaeda's upper echelon suggests that it was none other than Saif Al-'Adl, Hamid's son in law. Two of the articles were actually letters addressed to Hamid responding to his criticism of Al-Qaeda and bin Laden and defending the path the latter had chosen.
Following are excerpts from the two letters:
"Instead of working to rectify our mistakes, we shackle ourselves to our sins and continue flogging ourselves... What for? Praise Allah, for He has not closed the doors of repentance. So why all this self-flagellation when it is possible to rectify one's mistakes... [and] when we recognize our own mistakes. Nobody claims that the jihadi movement did not commit errors or stumble here and there. Nobody denies this. Yes, we make mistakes, like all human beings. There are big mistakes and there are small ones. So, should we work to rectify them, or should we sit and cry over them? Should we sit and flog ourselves, or should we work to repair and mend our ways..."[4]
The Ongoing Jihad Against the West
In another article, titled "We Are Not On the Chessboard Nor Are We Pawns," Saif Al-'Adl defends bin Laden's leadership and Al-Qaeda's strategy of waging all-out war against the U.S. and the West by highlighting what Al-Qaeda has achieved thanks to this strategy, as follows:
•Causing the failure of the U.S.'s imperialistic aspirations by waging war against it in Iraq.
•Stopping the West's scheme for carving up the Arab states into a "Greater Middle East" in order to facilitate the plundering of its resources, to be funneled to the U.S. and the West.
•Exposing "the dark face of the new imperialism," as represented by the rulers of the Arab states, to the Arab peoples and Western public opinion.
•Successfully carrying out the 9/11 attacks, which melted the fear of the U.S. among the groups and countries that oppose it by proving that the U.S. was vulnerable even on its own soil, emboldened the Arab peoples enough to stand up to their rulers in the name of freedom of speech, and led to a huge wave of conversion to Islam in the West.
•By waging all-out war against the U.S. and its Western allies without any foreign assistance, the mujahideen rendered their fight an independent Islamic one and repented for the assistance they had accepted from the intelligence services of the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan in the 1980s.
•Kindling the spirit of jihad among the Muslims and raising their morale.
•Bolstering Al-Jazeera TV's viewership and reputation, presumably by providing it with video and audio clips of bin Laden.
•Weakening the old world order and, as a result, the political orders under its patronage, i.e. the Arab regimes, thus enabling the Arab peoples to rise up, and thereby justifying Al-Qaeda's strategic decision to fight the "far enemy."
•Bringing about the economic crisis engulfing the West.
•Crushing both the communist ideology through jihad against the former Soviet Union in Afghanistan and the Western capitalist ideology through its current war against the U.S. and the West.
The letter reads: "The attacks on the Pentagon and the American homeland, or Al-Qaeda's theory of attacking the U.S... will be studied in military academies alongside Sun Tsu's book and the idea of the Trojan Horse...
"Wasn't Western culture altogether prepared for collapse with the collapse of the World Trade Center towers? Wasn't the attack on this economic symbol an indication for anyone with eyes to see of the importance of economic attrition? Isn't the threat on the new Silk Route, the oil lines, an indication of what the Western world is destined to suffer should it lose them, and of the right of those who control [the oil] to decide its appropriate price?
"It is important for me to clarify that Al-Qaeda and its leader never said that they were going to defeat the Americans on their own. Rather, they are working to inspire the ummah, incite it [to wage war], and act as a vanguard for it in this blessed jihad, to weaken the greatest idol. From there on, the ummah will rise up and liberate itself from the idols that weigh heavily on its soul [i.e., the Arab rulers].
"In this sense, we are talking about a long war and not a quick battle. War is a series of battles... Al-Qaeda's war and the war its ummah [is waging] against the West is a long one which will last 20 years, according to [the West's] own estimates... A war in which one of the sides is a coalition that controls the world, and the opposite side is an ambitious organization that inspires the ummah and seeks to revive it cannot be a war of one or two years…"[5]
*R. Green is a research fellow at MEMRI.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[1] See MEMRI report "Urdu Daily Reports On Major Al-Qaeda Appointments, Successor To Osama Bin Laden," May 17, 2011, http://www.memrijttm.org/content/en/blog_personal.htm?id=4968¶m=UPP. On May 18, 2011, the London-based daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat quoted Islamists who doubted these reports and said that they were awaiting an official announcement from the Al-Qaeda leadership. The reports of Saif Al-'Adl's appointment as bin Laden's successor were posted on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam, whose administrators immediately deleted the post and locked the thread, saying that only Al-Qaeda's own media organs could be trusted in this matter.
[2] Saif Al-'Adl has been in Iran since 2001, after fleeing Afghanistan. In recent months, there have been reports that he left Iran for Waziristan to reassume an active leading role in Al-Qaeda's military operations.
[3] http://mafa.asia.
[4] http://mafa.asia, December 31, 2010.
[5] http://mafa.asia, March 23, 2010.
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