Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2017 Part 19-138-Caliphate-The State of al-Qaida-57-Zawahiri-10b

CdW Intelligence to Rent; Strategic Intelligence Adviser [email protected]

Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2017 Part 19-138-Caliphate-The State of al-Qaida-57-Zawahiri-10b

Differentiate between the vision and the strategyThe vision of the Jihaadi Movement is to establish the Rightly-Guided Islaamic Khilaafah.

Khilaafah means to establish all of the Shari’ah in all of the land.The strategy is to the vision as tactics are to the strategy, because the strategy can be

changed once it is no longer suitable to the vision that is sought after.

Al-Qaeda is aiming to capitalise on heavy Isis losses to gain fighters and support. The leader of al-Qaeda has attacked Isis for “madness” and “exceeding the limits of extremism” as the two terror groups continue to compete for territory and supporters around the world. Eventually, according to al Qaeda’s plan, the “corrupt oppressors” and “tyrants” will be replaced by “virtuous Islamic rule,” as was the case during the era of the “righteous Caliphs.”

Al-Qaeda leader denounces Isis 'madness and lies' as two terrorist groups compete for dominanceAl-Qaeda is aiming to capitalise on heavy Isis losses to gain fighters and support

Friday 13 January 2017 The leader of al-Qaeda has attacked Isis for “madness” and “exceeding the limits of extremism” as the two terror groups continue to compete for territory and supporters around the world.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, who succeeded Osama bin Laden when he was killed in 2011, criticised Isis for killing and “slandering” his own jihadis. In an audio message, he branded the rival group’s members “cowards” and liars with a “thirsty desire for authority”.“Isis was struck with madness in takfir [declaring other Muslims to be apostates] and exceeded the limits of extremism,” al-Zawahiri said. “They make takfir on the basis of lies, fabrications and even good deeds of obedience...[it is] is political, convenient and opportunistic.”

The extremist, who has had a $25m (£20m) bounty on his head since 9/11 and is under global sanctions due to his links to global terror attacks dating back to the 1990s, claimed Isis was “misusing the enthusiasm of the youth”.

Ayman al Zawahiri honors 2 slain jihadis in new videoBY THOMAS JOSCELYN | January 17, 2017 | [email protected] | @thomasjoscelynAl Qaeda’s propaganda arm, As Sahab, released a new video from Ayman al Zawahiri yesterday. The al Qaeda leader eulogizes two jihadi veterans who were killed in 2015 and 2016. The first is Abu al Hasan Rashid al Bulaydi, an Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) official killed by Algerian forces in Dec. 2015. The second is Abu Firas al Suri, an al Qaeda veteran who was a top official in Al Nusrah Front until his demise in a US drone strike in Apr. 2016.Both Bulaydi and Suri opposed the Islamic State, and Zawahiri makes several references to their opposition to Baghdadi’s project.The video opens with images of deceased al Qaeda and Taliban jihadis scrolling across the

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win”― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

CdW Intelligence to Rent Page 1 of 7 03/05/2023

mailto:[email protected]


screen. One of them, Abu Khalid al Suri, is pictured below. Abu Khalid was Zawahiri’s top representative in Syria at the time of his death in early 2014. He was a senior figure in Ahrar al Sham, an al Qaeda-linked group that models itself after the Taliban.

An AQIM official and jihadi ideologueZawahiri mentions a short book Bulaydi authored on the implementation of sharia law. The al Qaeda master describes the book as “valuable” and summarizes it, saying that Bulaydi set forth clear “guidelines” for behavior and cautioned people against “excesses.” According to Zawahiri’s summary, Bulaydi (pictured below) offered his advice regarding how the jihadists could build support for their Islamic laws. He argued that no one “group” can “establish sharia and rule over the people alone.” Instead, the jihadists need to have “good” relations with the “ummah” (worldwide community of Muslims) in order to make their governance a success.

Zawahiri praises Bulaydi’s work, saying the AQIM official left jihadists with sound advice regarding the development of qualified sharia officials and how they should attend to the political, social, and economic aspects of society. Moreover, according to Zawahiri, Bulaydi worked to improve the jihadis’ “methods of dawa,” or proselytization.Referencing Bulaydi’s writings, Zawahiri argues that jihadists must cultivate their own

cadres of sharia officials, as too many Islamic scholars are compromised by other concerns. Zawahiri says that these same scholars “preoccupy” the ummah with a “religion” that is devoid of jihad. These same scholars are allegedly too accommodating when it comes to secularism and nationalism, while justifying agreements that lead to submission to the Jews.Bulaydi’s teachings demonstrated the importance of using “modern sciences” to make the jihadists’ work more efficient, according to Zawahiri. The jihadists’ goal is to become “closer” to the ummah such that the people are drawn “closer” to them. Eventually, according to al Qaeda’s plan, the “corrupt oppressors” and “tyrants” will be replaced by “virtuous Islamic rule,” as was the case during the era of the “righteous Caliphs.”Zawahiri warns the “mujahideen” to avoid abandoning their principles, lest they be pulled down the path of the “devil.” This is the road to “defeat” and those who choose it are following in the footsteps of the Muslim Brotherhood and former Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi. From Zawahiri’s perspective, Morsi and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood tried to acquire political power through corrupt elections and were quickly unseated from power.Bulaydi was the rare mujahideen sheikh who fought with both his pen and guns, Zawahiri says. And the al Qaeda leader tells viewers that Bulaydi will be difficult to replace.A member of the “first generation of mujahideen”Osama bin Laden’s successor then moves on to Abu Firas al Suri, a veteran jihadist who





was profiled several times by FDD’s Long War Journal. Abu Firas was from the “first generation of mujahideen” and took part in the “jihadist uprising” against Syrian president Hafez al Assad in the late 1970s and early 1980s.Zawahiri says he first met Abu Firas in Peshawar, Pakistan, during the Afghan jihad against the Soviet Union. They met again in Kandahar, Afghanistan, where Abu Firas visited Osama bin Laden and did “media” work.In June 2015, Al Nusrah Front (al Qaeda’s branch in Syria) released a video titled, “The Heirs of Glory.” The production glorified the 9/11 hijackings and portrayed Al Nusrah as the rightful inheritors of a long jihadist legacy. [See FDD’s Long War Journal report: Al Nusrah Front celebrates 9/11 attacks in new video.] Abu Firas was featured in the video and As Sahab includes a clip of him reminiscing about the jihad against the Soviets.“Actually the victory of the mujahideen against the Russians had many effects,” Abu Firas said. “Russia was considered at the time the second most powerful country in the world, with some considering it as the most powerful. The Russians would proudly say that they possessed nuclear weapons with the potential, in theory, to destroy America 280 times, while we wish to destroy her just once.”“Brothers, pure mujahideen, destroyed this giant beast,” Suri claimed. “This cast hope and life into the souls of the Muslims throughout the world. The Muslim is capable, if he wages jihad and clings to his creed, to achieve great things.”Zawahiri speaks fondly of Abu Firas, emphasizing their ideological brotherhood. But the al Qaeda leader leaves many known details out of his eulogy, such as Abu Firas’ relocation to Yemen, where he stayed for approximately a decade before he returned to his native Syria and became embroiled in the jihadists’ disputes. Zawahiri says he was informed that Abu Firas had reached Syria by another al Qaeda veteran, Abu Khalid al Suri. Zawahiri refers to Abu Khalid, who was killed by Abu Bakr al Baghdadi’s men in Feb. 2014, as his “revered brother.” Abu Khalid told Zawahiri “in one of his letters” that Abu Firas had reached Syria.Abu Khalid also offered his “solution” to the conflict with Baghdadi’s group, which became a major problem for al Qaeda in 2013. According to Zawahiri, Abu Khalid advised that he should issue a statement filled with advice, but if Baghdadi’s organization did not accept it, then Zawahiri should declare the “dissolution of the group.” Zawahiri followed this course, but Baghdadi and his men refused his orders.The al Qaeda emir summarizes his reply to Abu Khalid, saying that he asked Abu Khalid to present his “greetings” to Abu Firas. Zawahiri also let Abu Khalid know that, in his view, the main priority of “senior jihadists” such as Abu Khalid and Abu Firas was “to gather the mujahideen under the banner of one single jihadist” entity, which would work to implement sharia.“I also requested him [Abu Khalid] to be, alongside Abu Firas, in charge of the task of guiding and advising our brothers in the Al Nusrah Front,” Zawahiri says, according to a translation obtained by FDD’s Long War Journal.As Sahab’s video then cuts to a clip of a video of Abu Firas that was released by Al Nusrah Front in Mar. 2014. It was Abu Firas’s first video appearance. He discussed at length his attempts to broker an end to the dispute between the Islamic State and Al Nusrah Front. Abu Firas al Suri mentioned his meeting with Abu Khalid al Suri, saying that he had warned Abu Khalid that Baghdadi’s men wanted to kill him. The warning did not work, as Abu Khalid was killed the following day.Abu Firas said that he and others, including Sheikh Abdullah al Muhaysini, met with one of Baghdadi’s most senior lieutenants, Abu Ali al Anbari, in an attempt to broker a





ceasefire. But according to Abu Firas, Anbari was obstinate and rejected a proposal for an independent sharia court to arbitrate the dispute. Anbari also justified the killing of an Al Nusrah official in Raqqa on the grounds that he accepted pledges of allegiance from members of the Free Syrian Army.In July 2014, Al Nusrah Front was embarrassed when a speech by the group’s emir, Abu Muhammad al Julani, was leaked online. Julani could be heard saying that it was time to establish an emirate, or jihadi state, in northern Syria. Julani also said that his organization would fully govern according to sharia law in the parts of Syria they controlled. [See FDD’s Long War Journal report: Leaked audio features Al Nusrah Front emir discussing creation of an Islamic emirate.]The audio was controversial for several reasons, especially because Al Nusrah’s closest allies had not yet agreed to establish a so-called emirate. Al Nusrah quickly disavowed the contents of Julani’s leaked speech.Weeks later, in Aug. 2014, Abu Firas was called upon to repair any residual damage that had been done to Al Nusrah’s relations with other groups in Syria. In another video released by Al Nusrah, he explained that the group had not declared an emirate and would not do so without first consulting its allies, as well as respected, jihadi-approved scholars.Zawahiri revisits this episode in his eulogy, praising Abu Firas for “reassuring” Muslims that “an emirate in the Levant” would “not be established without deliberation” and consultation with people and “scholars around the world.”As Sahab’s production then cuts to a clip from Abu Firas’ Aug. 2014 video, in which he said that Al Nusrah would not establish an “independent emirate…without consulting all of the Islamic factions that are working to establish Allah’s sharia” inside Syria, or without first consulting with “people of knowledge” and prominent Syrians. According to a translation obtained by FDD’s Long War Journal, Abu Firas specified that “secularists” and “liberals” would have no say in establishing the jihadists’ emirate, as the consultation would be limited to only those with an “Islamic orientation.”Zawahiri also praises Abu Firas for his belief that “jihad is not to be waged for the victory” of any specific organization, but instead so that the word of Allah is established. This is a not-so-subtle dig at the Islamic State’s leaders, who put devotion to the so-called caliphate above all else.

As Sahab’s video includes footage from an interview Abu Firas gave to Bilal Abdul Kareem, who operates a small media outfit in Syria named “On The Ground News.” A screen shot from the video can be seen above. During the interview, Abu Firas stressed that jihadists do not fight for groups such as Al Nusrah Front, or Jund al Aqsa, but instead for the word of Allah.

Zawahiri concludes by saying that in the next episode of his video series he will eulogize Rifai Ahmed Taha Musa, an Egyptian al Qaeda veteran who was killed in an American drone strike in Apr. 2016.

Thomas Joscelyn is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Senior Editor for FDD's





Long War Journal.

Taliban eulogizes Pakistani cleric with al Qaeda tiesBY BILL ROGGIO | January 17, 2017 | [email protected] | @billroggioSalimullah Khan. Image from the Taliban’s Voice of Jihad website.

The Afghan Taliban mourned the death of the leader and founder of a Pakistani Islamic university known to have supported al Qaeda and other jihadist groups in the region. Mawlana Salimullah Khan, the Pakistani cleric, was also the president of Pakistan’s largest confederation of Deobani seminaries and schools. His son and grandson were deported from the United States for immigration violations after the FBI linked them to an al Qaeda plot in California.“It is with great sadness to have learnt that a famous scholar of the Islamic world, the head of Wifaqul Madaris al-Arabiya Pakistan and a renowned scholar of Hadith and Tafsir, Hazrat Mawlana Salimullah Khan Sahib (may Allah have mercy on him) passed away due to an ongoing illness,” the Taliban announced yesterday in a statement released on Voice of Jihad, its official propaganda website.Salimullah has “rendered unforgettable services in social and intellectual fields” and “shall

forever be remembered for his extensive services in the promotion and growth of religious Madaris (seminaries) and centers of learning.”His death is “an irreparable loss for the entire Muslim world and specifically for the followers of knowledge, Dawah [preaching] and Jihad.” The Taliban thanked him for providing “Jihadi services.”Salimullah was one of the founders

of Jamia Farooqia, an Islamic university in Karachi, Pakistan known to have “strong connections to the Taliban movement in Afghanistan,” according to The Los Angeles Times. Syed Saleem Shahzad, the Pakistani journalist who was murdered by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate for exposing ties between jihadist groups and the state, described Jamia Farooqia as one of several “pro-Taliban seminaries” in the country.Al Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden “counted the scholars of the Farooqia school among his supporters” during his infamous 1998 press conference where he declared war on the United States and the West, The Sacramento Bee reported in 2005.Salimullah son, Muhammad Adil Khan, and grandson, Muhammad Hassan Adil, were arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement in 2005 and ultimately deported for immigration violations. The two were arrested and linked to an al Qaeda plot tied to the Farooqia Islamic Center in Lodi, California. According to The East Bay Times, government officials said that Jamia Farooqia was “a ‘haven’ for mujahideen fighters” and Salimullah’s son “hoped to create a similar school in Lodi to train future jihadis.”In addition to his ties to al Qaeda and the Taliban, Salimullah also had “at least a historical connection to Harakat-ul-Mujahideen,” one of many Pakistani jihadist groups aligned with al Qaeda, according to The Los Angeles Times. Harakat-ul-Mujahideen was listed by the US government as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in Oct. 1997. Harakat-ul-Mujahideen was founded by Fazlur Rehman Khalil, who signed Osama bin





Laden’s 1998 fatwa. Pakistani intelligence had used Khalil as an emissary to communicate with al Qaeda. Asim Umar, the current emir of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, was also a leader in Harakat-ul-Mujahideen [See FDD’s Long War Journal reports, Osama bin Laden’s Files: The Pakistani government wanted to negotiate and US adds Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, leader to terrorism list.]Salimullah also served as the president of Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia Pakistan, a confederation of more than 18,000 Deobandi seminaries and schools throughout the country. Many Pakistani madrassas are fertile recruiting grounds for jihadist groups and some are known to actively recruit, indoctrinate, and train students to wage jihad throughout south and central Asia and beyond. In 2013, Salimullah and Wafaq ul Madaris Al-Arabia proposed a cease-fire between the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan and the Pakistani government. The Pakistani Taliban has taken advantage of peace deals to regroup and rearm for the next wave of fighting.The Pakistani government has done little to stop schools like Jamia Farooqia and Salimullah from supporting jihadists.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Regards Cees***

Al Qaeda in Syria has faced – and survived – two upheavals since 2011. Today, the organisation might be facing its third major test, and the new development brings with it a fresh challenge for Syria.

"The first challenge was the dispute with ISIL, the Iraqi organisation that founded it. The historic dispute, after the unilateral announcement by Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi in April 2013 of a merger between the two branches, saw the near crumbling of Jabhat Al Nusra. Abu Muhammad Al Jolani, its leader, rejected the merger and instead declared an oath of allegiance to Ayman Al Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s international leader. The revelation of links to Al Qaeda also ran the risk of a backlash against it within the Syrian opposition.

Throughout 2013, however, Jabhat Al Nusra managed to recover from the shock even though it lost the majority of its foreign members to the original Iraqi patron. It utilised the rise of jihadist factions to establish itself as a vital part of the insurgency, especially in contrast to ISIL, which began to act as a third force in the conflict focusing mostly on building a government in opposition-held areas and fighting the rebels. Jabhat Al Nusra, in contrast, was closely working with the Islamic Front, a coalition of seven Islamist and jihadist groups. Jabhat Al Nusra was the Islamic Front’s plus-one, a key factor for its entrenchment in the Syrian rebellion.•By the summer of 2014, Jabhat Al Nusra had fully recovered – only to face another test. ISIL, its ideological nemesis, had risen to international notoriety after the militants captured one-third of Iraq and half of Syria. ISIL’s relentless war against the rebel forces had, in large part, led to the fracture of the Islamic Front as a coalition and weakened most of the factions that constituted the well-funded alliance. Jabhat Al Nusra lost an important ally, which enabled it to spread its options across Syria. It also lost its most important stronghold, in eastern Syria, where oil fields offered the group a major source of income.•Yet, the group weathered the storm once again. By last August, the group looked more





powerful than ever. It had newly rebranded itself as Jabhat Fateh Al Sham (JFS) and claimed it no longer had links to Al Qaeda. It led a large rebel coalition into victory when the group and its allies broke a briefly-imposed siege around Aleppo. The fate of Aleppo and other parts seemed dependent on its heavy-lifting and leadership role, and many came to accept the group as indispensable. And the group wanted to use the momentum to form a merger with other factions. A series of events since then have accumulated to present a new challenge for JFS. This challenge is two-fold.•The inception of merger talks with ideologically different factions after the nominal disaffiliation from Al Qaeda led to internal dissent. Several leading members defected or suspended their membership for fear that the move represented the beginning of a slippery slope. Jund Al Aqsa, widely accused by the rebels as an ISIL front, merged into JFS in October after the former clashed with Ahrar Al Sham, which happened to be JFS’s closest ally.

So, JFS today faces a challenge from extremists who left it and others who joined its ranks. Two reports last week highlight the scope of this challenge. In an interview, Ahrar Al Sham’s leader, Ali Al Omar, candidly attacked JFS for harbouring an ISIL cell within its organisation in the form of Jund Al Aqsa. He blamed the cell for a recent string of assassinations in Idlib as the disbanded Jund Al Aqsa began to reorganise itself under the canopy of JFS. The statement is remarkable given the two group’s special relationship on the ground. Jihadist sources told an Arabic news outlet of an intention by defectors to re-establish an Al Qaeda branch in Syria in lieu of the rebranded JFS. Hussam Al Shaafi, JFS’s official spokesman, confirmed the reported comments were made by members of the group but said they did not represent the organisation’s view. When those mostly Jordanian members left JFS, they were advised by Abu Muhammad Al Maqdisi, a Jordanian jihadist ideologue, to organise themselves and form a Syrian Taliban.

Such voices appear to be growing as the events in Syria take a new turn. The failure of the merger with other rebel groups and the weakening of the rebellion over the past few weeks may discredit the JFS leadership’s attempts to appease the rebels, which would in turn empower dissenters who opposed those attempts.These challenges may not be fatal for JFS, but the trends are clear. Hardliners of the ISIL type are presenting a two-way challenge for JFS. Former Jund Al Aqsa members may seek a comeback especially as Idlib is emerging as a major rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria. The refusal of JFS to properly disband Jund Al Aqsa and persecute notorious members is also a source of tension with Ahrar Al Sham.•Similarly, another set of dissenters seem bent on establishing a rival organisation to JFS. According to a senior jihadist in Syria, such individuals would need one spectacular operation to make a name for themselves and attract logistical support.Both trends point to the emergence of ISIL-type elements separate from JFS and ISIL. Such individuals will no doubt seek to exploit any emerging vacuum to build influence. Curiously, some of those elements were once part of the network of Abu Musab Al Zarqawi, the founder of ISIL. Their ambitious should therefore not be taken lightly.• Hassan Hassan is a senior fellow at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East

Policy




Documents

Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2017 Part 19-138-Caliphate-The State of al-Qaida-57-Zawahiri-10b