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Posted: 05 Feb 2015 09:23 AM PST
"Allah Will Be Sufficient For You Against Them" (Source: Al Malahem Media Foundation)
The media wing of al Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), al Malahem Media Foundation, released an audio
message on Twitter in late January featuring AQAP ideologue Ibrahim
al-Rubaysh titled "Allah Will Be Sufficient For You Against Them."
In this most recent eight and a half minute message, Rubaysh addresses the
surge in solidarity for the victims of January's attack on the satirical French
Charlie Hebdo magazine,
an operation which AQAP has since claimed.
Rubaysh begins his audio message
by claiming an infidel's inherent hostility towards Islam and the Muslim
community, an argument buttressed by Qur'anic verses cited by the AQAP
ideologue. He claims that, "Allah has made clear to us that they [the
infidels] will not spare a thing in hurting the Muslims." Rubaysh then
goes farther, declaring that "[the infidels] war against us will not
cease until they force us to leave Islam."
The jihadist ideologue suggests
that Western offenses against the Prophet are part of the broader infidel war
against Islam. He says that Western nations have intervened in Muslim
countries and killed Muslims, and then completed this aggression through
mockery of the Prophet. "Do we not have a right to respond to the
aggression of the aggressors?" asks Rubaysh.
Rubaysh then turns to the
widespread demonstrations in support of freedom of speech and the victims of
the Paris attacks last month, which AQAP claimed
shortly after. "What is amazing," says Rubaysh, "is that you
see infidels standing with each other and supporting each other in their
aggression against the Muslims and their offending of the Prophet (PBUH).
They go out raising the slogan of 'We are Charlie' in solidarity with their
fools."
Even more shocking to Rubaysh is
the fact that some Muslims appear to have supported such demonstrations of
solidarity. "Solidarity with anyone who has offended the Messenger
(PBUH) and supporting them ... is an offense that ejects its perpetrator from
the circle of Islam," he flatly announces. "What is left for a
Muslim of his Islam," questions Rubaysh, "if he were to support the
infidels in their offense of the Messenger of Islam (PBUH)?"
He goes on to say that defending
the Prophet's honor as well as "disciplining anyone who blasphemes
against him" is a duty incumbent on every capable Muslim. "And as
much as the servant is more capable," stipulates Rubaysh, "his duty
is even greater."
Rubaysh declares that those who
have shown solidarity with offenses against the Prophet must "pay a high
price, the greater share of which should be borne by France." France's
culpability in this matter lies in the fact that it has galvanized the world
in support of the Charlie
Hebdo magazine staff who had offended Muslim sensibilities,
according to Rubyash.
The AQAP ideologue claims that
"recent years have witnessed a retreat in the American leadership role
in the war against Islam," so that France is attempting to posit itself
as the new leader of this religious war. Rubaysh concludes that, "the
infidels must pay the price of their aggression upon our countries and for
offending our Messenger (PBUH) - a costly price from their security and
economy." According to Rubaysh, any Muslim who has expressed solidarity
with the offense of the Prophet "will bear what he receives as the
result of the actions of the courageous who seek martyrdom in support of the
Messenger (PBUH)."
Rubaysh calls for even more
attacks against France and any Western journalist who disrepects the Prophet.
"The work must continue," he says, "and every raid must be
followed by another, till every journalist knows that if he aggressors
against the religion of Islam, no newspaper will accept him, and no hotel
will shelter him, and he will not find any patch of land upon which to sleep
soundly."
He advocates increased attacks as
a way to push Westerners to abandon their faith in freedom of speech "if
that means offense of the Muslims." He suggests that if Western
countries truly understood that such offenses against Islam would cost them a
heavy price, they "would legislate laws" to prevent and deter
people from offending Muslims.
Rubaysh concludes his audio
message with a general call for attacks against anyone disrespectful of
Islam. "Oh Muslim, oh you who loves the Messenger of Allah (PBUH): set
forth to Allah's blessing," he says, a clear invitation to jihad. He
adds that Muslims should "not consult anyone about killing one who mocks
the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)" and not heed the words of Muslim clerics
who do the bidding of earthly rulers.
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Posted: 05 Feb 2015 05:50 AM PST
Harith bin Ghazi al
Nadhari, a senior AQAP sharia official, was killed in a US drone strike on
Jan. 31.
A US drone strike in southern
Yemen on Jan. 31 killed Harith bin Ghazi al Nadhari, a senior al Qaeda in the
Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) sharia official. Nadhari's death was confirmed in a
"martyrdom" statement issued by the group via Twitter and other web
sites earlier today.
Nadhari praised the
attack on Charlie Hebdo's offices just days after the massacre
on Jan. 9. He did not claim responsibility for the operation, but another senior
AQAP official subsequently did.
The AQAP statement announcing
Nadhari's death was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. AQAP confirms
that Nadhari worked for its sharia committee, and says that three other
fighters were killed in the drone strike.
AQAP portrays the bombing that
killed Nadhari as being part of a working agreement between the US and the
Shia Houthis rebels who overran Yemeni government positions in recent weeks.
The drone strike "came a few hours after the completion of the deal for
the Houthis to take control of the administration of the country with an
American and regional collusion," the statement reads, according to SITE's
translation. "The Houthis have become a loyal partner to America in
preserving its interests and executing its plans in the southern part of the
Arabian Peninsula."
The Houthis receive at least some
support from Iran. And AQAP frequently claims that they are part of an
alleged US-Iranian axis that is opposing Sunni Muslims throughout the region.
An influential al Qaeda
ideologue
AQAP's "martyrdom"
statement identifies Nadhari as being a senior sharia official in the group,
but says little else about his al Qaeda role.
The Long War Journal previously assessed that it is possible Nadhari also served as
one of Nasir al Wuhayshi's deputy general managers in al Qaeda's global
network. Documents recovered in
Osama bin Laden's compound show that al Qaeda's general
manager has deputies who are appointed to help him carry out his work. Nasir
al Wuhayshi serves as both AQAP's
emir and as al Qaeda's general manager, but his deputies have
not been publicly identified.
Al Qaeda had consistently elevated
Harith al Nadhari's media profile, meaning he was considered a key ideologue
for the global organization.
In addition to having his work
promoted by AQAP, Nadhari's writings have been featured in Nawa-e-Afghan
Jihad ("Voice of the Afghan Jihad"), a magazine that publishes the
works of top al Qaeda leaders and their closest allies. For example, an
edition of the magazine published last year included a piece from Nadhari on
"ideology and teachings."
In addition to the Charlie Hebdo
attack, Nadhari regularly commented on events far from Yemen. In August 2013,
he discussed the
turmoil in Egypt.
In July 2014, Nadhari joined other
senior AQAP leaders in defending Ayman al Zawahiri and veteran
jihadist ideologues against their critics. Nadhari's message was clearly
aimed at supporters of the Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot that claims to
rule as a "caliphate" over large parts of Iraq and Syria. Nadhari
was a staunch critic of the Islamic State and he released a series of
statements attempting to undermine its legitimacy.
In October 2014, he was among the
al Qaeda ideologues who attempted to portray the
US-led bombing campaign in Iraq and Syria as part of a
"Crusade" against the Islamic world. While preaching jihadist
unity, Nadhari also issued a thinly-veiled critique of the Islamic State's
"caliphate" in the statement.
In January, Nadhari released
guidelines for how jihadists should wage suicide operations.
Al Qaeda has been attempting to rein in the violence carried out be its
fighters, and his guidelines demonstrated the organization's sensitivity to
attacks that alienate the populace.
Shortly before his death, Nadhari joined
nine other jihadist ideologues in releasing a statement that
addressed defections to the Islamic State in the Caucasus. The statement was
co-signed by two AQAP sharia officials, including Nadhari, as well as two
sharia officials from the Al Nusrah Front, al Qaeda's official branch in
Syria.
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