Category: misc

Hijacked Islam

The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq, also known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), announced today the 8th film of its notorious series of the “Fursan al-shahada“. These, mostly professionally made, movies show and depict the testimonies and attacks of those carrying out self-inoculation attacks, also termed ‘suicide’ or ‘martyrdom’ operations in Iraq. The greater meaning of the Arabic term istishhadiya is of essence, whereas the individual sacrifices his life for a greater good in order for ‘Islam’ to benefit while the Mujahid attains the status of having confessed the utmost possible for God with the claim of being rewarded accordingly in the afterlife.

The individuals read out their testimony, according to the usual habit of the jihad video genre, portray their – naturally – piety and the fear of God while moving out on “the path of God” to fulfil the divine command, a holy covenant of individual duty “to elevate the word of God”, living the lives of early Muslims solely in regard of combat and military actions – neglecting all other forms of spiritual and scholarly knowledge. This is highly effective propaganda combining the rhetoric and the wording of individual Mujahideen with the written ideology of AQ global. Here the consumers of online jihad materials find their role-models (prominently: Abu Dujana al-Khurasani) and are put in touch with elements who are in the battlefields and hotspots of jihad, who tell their tales, who have witnessed war and who express in their speech their drivers that led them to the decision of undertaking self-inoculation operations. In a previous part of “Fursan al-shahada“, the istishhadiyin operatives directed their attacks in the name of “helping Turkistan”, a region in western China where the al-Hizb al-Islami al-Turkistani went on a (Arabic) propaganda material publishing rampage after ethnic tensions rose. Since then, the “Voice of Islam”, an Arabic e-zine, is published on occasion. This edition of “Fursan al-shahada“
is yet another statement by ISI to show their sympathizers that they are still in place, despite the ‘beheading’ of ISI leaders in April 2010. Further, these videos intend to deliver proof and role-models to the online crowds that the jihad for justice and truth (haqq) is not interrupted and that Iraq is as much as other theatres of jihad alive and striving for the jihadists’ understanding and definition of religion while – again – promoting martyrdom.

Anyway, with the Eid al-Adha on Tuesday, mabruk 1431!, it is certainly no coincidence, that AQ in general tries to further capitalize on public Islamic events and holidays. Usually within the forums ‘gifts’ are issued to the sympathizers and followers when Ramadan dawns. This year, Khalid al-Husaynan ‘blessed’ the online ummah with a series of speeches and sermons defining and interpreting Surahs, for example, or the “fear of hypocrisy” and the like. Punctually after the Islamic new year, AQI/ISI now announces “in order to celebrate Eid al-adha” a new movie part of the series depicting the testimony (al-wasiya) of self-inoculation operatives as well as their subsequent attacks. In some cases these operatives testimonies are filmed while sitting behind the wheel of the truck/car that will bomb them into heaven. This is attained as a deed of worship and falls into line of the jihadi school of thought as expressed by Abu Jihad al-Shami (“The Vision of the Jihaadi Movement & the Strategy for the Current Stage“):

“As it is well-known to any entry-level student of the Salafi Creed, worship is a general term that includes everything that Allaah, the Exalted, loves of actions and statements, whether apparent or concealed. Therefore, servitude is not limited to prayer, charity, fasting, and pilgrimage. Rather, included under the term ‘worship’ is Jihaad in the path of Allaah, love for the sake of Allaah and enmity for the sake of Allaah, calling to Allaah, removing oppression, judging by the Shari’ah, and ordering the good and forbidding the evil.” (p6)

In the past decade, AQ and co had been quite efficient and highly industrious within the online clouds to promote, expand and thus hijack specific religious, social and particularly historic settings, seeking to manifest proof of their actions as based on the alleged righteous, true and pious creed and subsequently being by their worldly actions closer to God than other individuals. The gaps have been filled and nowadays known faces such as al-Awlaqi shock the western media when all the sudden his sermons and speeches can be retrieved in English on YouTube, facebook, Twitter and other websites in various languages. This is certainly another dangerous and alerting fact but the missionary spreading of AQ’s definitions, wordings and notions have infected the internet for a very long time and new materials (videos and writings) appear almost daily, covering more and more niches and providing an in-depth appeal by letting the Mujahideen speak, who undertake such istishhadiya operations against foreign and/or domestic enemies, attaining both: fame online as well as the shahada (according the jihadist creed). An assessment of legitimizing the two severe istishhadiya operations in 2007 in Algiers can be obtained here.

By such “surprises” and “gifts”, the global torrents of jihad further attempt to hijack public parts of Islam, expressing a violent conduct as proper and rightful celebration of public holidays while adherents of this specific ideology speak out to provide personal justifications bound to an universal understanding of fighting Satan, the apostates, the disbelievers and what have you. Gifts and “glad tidings” are disseminated via the forums and instantaneously spread online.

“Soon, with the permission of God – 8”

Khalid al-Husaynan’s sermon on the 9th surah of the Quran – a gift during the holy month of Ramadan (published in August 2010).

Food for thought – article by N. Prucha

(abstract)

While the internet is the center of attention for the jihadists as well as the contemporary gaming industry, the article aims to provide the reader with a controversial comparison: both groups are heavily active on the Internet, using similar modes, such as forums, blogs, YouTube, websites and social networks (facebook) and both groups consist of a young generation, that came up with computers. The IT-fluency or the digital nativity of both groups has set a similar modus operandi on how both groups operate with and on the internet to promote their individual advertisement or propaganda. Similar to the gaming industry, the jihadists encourage and disseminate also ‘user generated contents’ that has led to an increase of jihadist propaganda and ideological challenges. Similar patterns can be found among fans and followers of the gaming industry.

The comparison of both groups has the intention to show the reader how smart, professional and technical able the internet is being exploited by contemporary terror groups such as al-Qa’ida, while its ideology has been subsequently extended and widely incorporated in various videos and pictures over the recent years.

This article does not analyze jihadist propaganda and ideology but rather intends to serve to show how jihadists have established themselves quite well on the internet in order to attract their hive of likeminded siblings. This allows, in the authors opinion, to draw a comparison to a group that dwells on the internet to promote products and attract potential users as well, the Gaming Industry. As jihadists favor the internet, favored products and possibilities set by the Gaming Industry have entered the jihadist online spheres as well.

A PDF version (with the endnotes) of the article is available for download here:

http://www.zshare.net/download/76237256037aa8b2/

Information on the (German) book of Nico Prucha “The Voice of Jihad – Sawt al-Jihad – al-Qa’ida’s first online Magazine”:

http://www.verlagdrkovac.de/3-8300-4890-4.htm

http://www.amazon.de/Die-Stimme-Dschihad-al-Qaidas-Online-Magazin/dp/3830048904/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274128980&sr=8-1

Internet Ventures: Online Jihad and the Gaming Industry as Cultural Sub-Groups in Comparison on the World Wide Web

Nico Prucha

“Do not send a spy where a schoolboy can go” – Robert David Steele

“Raids on forums and blogs – today it’s your websites and tomorrow it’s your soil and territory, o servant of the cross! Call to every brother who has a blog and who has expertise of blogs to participate with us in this blessed raid” – ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Hakim

The intention of this article is simply to provide the reader with some observations of the internet by the author. The internet in its full spectrum is being used by many groups and organizations of all kind using various social networking platforms or other elements of the contemporary internet. However, two groups are henceforth in a practical stance compared. Both who are in great parts exclusively using the internet and who are not only both highly dependent on the World Wide Web, but are also in parts results of this specific fast changing and influential development: The Gaming Industry (GI) and al-Qaeda (AQ). What once was confined to a selected few, so-called computer freaks, a technical and intellectual avant-garde in the early to late nineties, who had as much as the technical capacities as well as personal abilities to use, shape and alter the internet, is in the meantime a common thing for the majority and part of everyday life.

Both AQ and GI are groups who deploy their advertisement, their propaganda, their promotional trailers and filmed suicide bombing clips online, within a genre-based specific cluster (Marin et al 2009) and within a characteristic framework. However, and this is the main observation and the underlying fundamental principle of this article, both groups, like many others on the so called “web 2.0”, are using same and similar means of promoting their specifically notions, ideas, products, videos and writings, with a similar effect on what users are contributing in terms of technical proficiency within a “cult” or “pop-cultural” content. This observation is certainly not surprising, but the article intends to shed some light on the value of the internet for terrorist groups, who systematically use it as a tool to disseminate propaganda, to influence, radicalize and recruit on this public medium. The dissemination and this borderless virtual indefinite free public space grants the individual followers, fans or adherents to have the exact same means and potentials of replying and becoming an interactive (counter-) part of a individual genre-based cluster. For the gaming industry, this may be by being an online “gamer” participating in and playing various electronic games. The GI can be seen as an avant-garde when it comes to promoting products (games) on the internet. The avant-gardism of the GI includes successfully promoting new and upcoming video games on all levels of the internet, reaching out to a huge crowd on a global scale.

While the crowd of jihadist followers, forum-members and participants is consuming mostly Arabic based videos, writings and other forms of propaganda, the majority can best be termed as “armchair jihadists”
who live and dwell within the online spheres of AQ and have the ultimate wish to join the real-life propagated role-model Mujahidin. The process of radicalization and its long-term aspired outcome of being recruited or at least inspired to undertake individual operations
(al-Suri 2005) is crafted in a professional and ideological comprising manner by the Senior and Junior Leadership circles of AQ. Many “armchair jihadists” adhere to the specifically determined interpretation of chosen religious concepts by the ideological authoritative circles of AQ and can see a practical and mostly military output of these definitions within AQ’s extensive library of videos (Hafez 2007).

The GI’s fans, on the other hand, the so called “gamers”, are the ones using the internet with all its options and possibilities to meet and mostly play multi-player games online. The GI could be termed as the present avant-garde of the “web 2.0”, an industry that has over the recent years subsequently designed games and gaming products that are in some parts exclusively played with others over the internet. The avant-gardism set by this particularly industry is bound to the core technical developments and foundations of the worlds hard- and in wide parts software manufacturers, that are being professionally and for pure commercial reasons exploited by the GI, with the dawn of blogs and online forums, facebook, YouTube
and Twitter, besides the “classical” websites.

Similarly, various political parties have picked up this online trend and discovered its resources. In most cases political parties are just as much active on facebook and YouTube besides having various blogs to further their cause.
US President Barack Obama’s YouTube Channel
is one of the main outlets to regularly address the nation – a cheap, quick and easy to use platform. This is also the understanding of AQ, who deploy its material as well since years according to their need to facilitate the internet by all means as strategic propaganda platform. AQ’s “Islamic State Iraq” YouTube Channel
shows in some parts its videos sniper attacks, IED or suicide operations “against the Crusader forces” in a quickly accessible format and nevertheless offers the high quality videos within its various forums to download.

“BentOsamaBenLaden’s Channel” – The YouTube Channel of the “daughter of Osama bin Laden” with the logos of the “Islamic State of Iraq” in the background


What does all of this have to do with AQ? Why compare the GI to AQ?

As stated, the same means and mechanisms offered to a global and local audience by the abilities of the internet and specifically the “web 2.0” have been penetrated and exploited by AQ systematically. Since the dawn of the internet and its discovery by AQ in general, the trend to make use of the internet was subsequently and systematically exploited under the auspices of the Saudi AQ branch in 2003 (Prucha 2010), by hosting radical magazines and videos on websites. Since the internet has gained a vital importance for AQ and related. With blogs established, forums created, facebook profiles and groups set up and YouTube as a free and easy to use platform to quickly spread jihadist videos, AQ has substantially infiltrated the internet and proudly calls this the “raids on websites, blogs and forums”
and has incorporated the internet as the vital backbone for radicalization, motivation and recruitment of potential online siblings. Another important aspect for AQ and its sympathizers are the various groups, such as the Global Media Front (GIMF), or the Ansar Mailing List Newsletter, that in most parts seem to be publishing exclusively online – and exclusively via jihadist forums. Furthermore, a number of “media” and “language departments” strive to supply a growing community of online jihadists with non-Arabic material, increasingly in German next to English, Urdu, Dari, Pashto or Russian translations of videos and ideological writings. Subsequently sub-torrents adhering to the global AQ ideology deploy local messages and threats in its local language.
Just as the GI has certainly discovered the multi-lingual setting of the internet, so has AQ and seeks to speak out for and to all Muslims who show interest in their radical creed and militancy. The internet does not only enable AQ to rapidly respond to claims made by either Western media or governments, but it allows AQ to issue its “truth” as in contrast to the “lies”. The up-to-date responsive character of AQ, particularly in terms of countering statements by governments in a highly professional ideological as well as technical manner may be one of its reasons of success as a global terror group which has led to various mergers with other radical-Islamist or jihadist groups in the past. However, the lack of addressing or rapidly responding to the uproar caused by the Danish Cartoon issue has also led to open criticism of AQ. In a similar fashion controversial issues such as the legitimacy of killing fellow Muslims as a result of bombing campaigns (in Algiers, 2007) was only addressed, after members of the al-Hesbah forum openly questioned AQ’s Algerian ideologue, who had to respond (Rashid 2007). But AQ remains in great (selected) parts highly active and responsive. When the Taliban kidnapped a group of South Korean Christian missionaries in Afghanistan, it was the leadership of AQ under Abu Yahya al-Libi who defended, justified and praised the action of “our fellow Mujahidin.” Also the notion was systematically reinforced and emphasized by al-Libi that AQ and Taliban are indeed fighting together for the same cause and the identical sake (al-Libi 2007).
AQ has what the German Red Army Faction could only dream of and what was frequently emphasized in their writings and statements in the 1970s, in planning “the next steps” (ID-Verlag 1997):

Comprising propaganda for the armed struggle; explaining the masses why it is necessary and unavoidable and how it can be prepared (conspiratorial leaflets and graffiti).

AQ on a technical stance like most online active groups, including the GI, have taken up the next steps that are perhaps a logical result of the contemporary technological development. Both groups are part of what can be termed a youthful “pop-cultural movement” that draw attention on the internet by specific messages and products and both groups have a specific language, graphical symbols in a highly individual iconography limited within its culture that is confined to the individual influence zones. While the same AQ related videos from YouTube can be found within facebook, there are also specific groups that use facebook to upload, host and propagate their personally made graphics, pictures and videos. Such “user generated content”, the individually programmed “modifications” for games, is also applicable for torrents of AQ and its skillful members who “modify” in their terms and in their worldview various pictures and subsequently re-publish them in ideologically adherent but independent groups on platforms like facebook. Similarly, groups like the Lebanese Hizbullah have even published games whereas the player assumes the role of a Mujahid fighting the Israeli forces in “The People of the Border” or “Special Force 2”.

“Jihad solves everything” – on facebook


With particular “products” openly broadcast on the internet, always easy to download and install, a specific “corporate guideline” has unfolded. The used icons, names, symbols and general layouts of documents and videos provide a coherent guideline that is used and respected within both online groups. However it must be noted that the graphical violence addressed by AQ as well as the purely virtual mode of violence hosted by the GI is of great difference even if some icons and pictures may suggest a greater relationship – exploited very well by AQ for its purposes. Contrary to the fact that both groups have intersecting elements, the sympathizing online jihadists are the ones exposed to extreme forms of real violence – with a real-life ideological jihadist agenda and actual battle zones portrayed in romantic pictures – it is the jihadists who, unlike the gamers of online or multiplayer games, are propagating the various forms of shown violence within a tight radical ideology (Prucha 2010; al-Batush 2009; Bonney 2004). Gamers are consumers of a legal content. This may naturally include so-called “first person shooters” (FPS), or “killer games” and are neither exposed to real forms of violence and bloodshed and do not advise to commit such acts in real life (Williams et al 2005). Nevertheless such games have a certain reputation, despite various studies and assertions. “A longitudinal study of an online violent video game with a control group tested for changes in an aggressive cognitions and behaviors. The findings did not support the assertion that a violent game will cause substantial increases in real-world aggression” (Williams et al 2005).The majority of the consumers of the GI simply enjoy various games and genres although some controversial games have been publicly branded as having inspired or enabled real forms of crimes, such as the worldwide school shootings.

Breaking the language barriers: “official” AQ propaganda with Indonesian subtitles


It may be true to best describe the situation as AQ having the best of all worlds online, as they may freely use, modify or simply propagate specific ideas and concepts within a framework the contemporary jihadist see fit to further their cause. Again, the main promotional tool and platform for the armchair jihadists as well as for real-life battle-hardened leaders are the online forums, and perhaps will remain so over the coming years. Facebook, YouTube and blogs are free, easy to use
and practical add-on to spread what the RAF termed “leaflets and graffiti” to reach out for the hearts and minds of a younger generation. While the GI is of course – like other cultural circles – influenced by the current political conditions of the world, the followers of AQ have the freedom to choose what products may seem useful for their jihadist endeavors and what deserves to be banned. Gaining practical experience in military training is a divine command (Prucha 2009) according to AQ’s ideology and so it may be natural that some armchair jihadists in their fantasy world play online games. Besides the constant consummation of mostly Arabic handbooks on mines, sniper-rifles, grenades, guerilla and urban warfare tactics, some element freely roam the GI’s product scale, using whatever games and mindsets suits them. It may be logical to find that with the GI and its fans developing so called “modifications” (mods), add-ons or enhancements for already published games, to keep certain games attractive and thus popular. A great deal of such mods is purely multi-player based and have a dominating “Western forces versus Oriental looking Insurgents attitude”. For the jihadist the graphical and role-playing elements published by mostly Western GI branches in the ‘Arabic-Muslim-Insurgent’ formats are nevertheless highly appealing. Any form of warfare, at best against American or Western soldiers, may serve as a parallel to actual conflicts around the world within the Islamic countries that AQ vows to defend and ultimately liberate from its direct as well as indirect occupation. Ones violence intense fantasy world of being or becoming a real-life Mujahid may be fueled by products of the GI and the resonance one may receive by publishing professionally made pro-jihadist pictures within the forums. Besides the publications of AQ’s warfare (militarily and ideologically) concepts, armchair jihadists may exploit online what was taken by the Lebanese Army as lessons learned in the conflict with the Fatah al-Islam in the Palestinian refugee camp Nahir al-Barid in 2007 (Dagher 2009): how to operate and move according to theoretical handbooks and practical videos in a urban- and guerilla warfare like condition; understanding the enemies aspired movement and setting up concealed positions for sniper attacks or IED’s that gives any guerilla troop an advantage over a state organized hierarchical military.

One example that made its way to the jihadist spheres from the GI fan-influenced commercial output is the “mod” for Valve’s “Counterstrike” entitled “Insurgency – Modern Infantry Combat”. Here the individual player as well as the armchair jihadist can indeed get a feeling as a sniper or a loosely organized cell fighting against a troop of US soldiers. This game consists of several multi-player maps that have an Iraq like setting whereas two teams play against one another: The US Army, with different soldiers attributes (engineers, snipers, heavy machine gunner et al) versus an insurgent group that look like a gang of prime time Hollywood Mujahidin. Such imagery from the game subsequently surfaced in jihadist forums, modified by sympathizers to suit the jihadists’ mindset.

“Insurgency – Modern Infantry Warfare” – from an jihadists perspective


Another example is how a modification for “Call of Duty 4 – Modern Warfare” another shooter gained popularity within jihadist forums, whereas the player has the possibility to assumes the role of the “insurgent” and thus fights Western soldiers.


In support of the “Islamic State of Iraq”, with the logo and a religious slogan embedded, this picture was addressed by the “Media Council of the People of Tawhed” in a jihadist forum. Particularly appealing may be the detail, besides combating US troops in a Middle Eastern environment, the Mujahid is also wearing the shmakh, the classical Arabic (Bedouin) headdress, as a scarf.

While extremist use of the internet certainly must be considered as a risk factor for involvement in terrorism, it is yet unclear to what extend this may actually lead to a real output of violence. The online foundation of AQ, however, provides individual sympathizers with a fundamental and comprising ideological alternative that is also highly attached to the idealizing videos, sermons and passionate calls from AQ leadership circles. Material are found on all levels of the contemporary internet may not be surprising, however, the specifically chosen elements from products such as the GI incorporated into the jihadists’ mindset and the subsequent usage for propaganda is a further element, that may attract followers and potential sympathizers who adhere to the core worldview of AQ and terror as a divine command as well as a legitimate ‘defensive’ tool, as implied.

Literature

Bonner, M. (2006). Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Principles, Princeton.

Bonney, R. (2004). Jihad: From Quran to bin Laden, New York.

Al-Batush, A. (2009). Kashf al-alstar ‘amma fi tanzim al-qa’ida min afkar wa-akhtar, Amman.

Brynjar, L. (2008). Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus’ab al-Suri, New York.

Dagher, C. (2009). Nahir al-barid: Hazimat al-irhab wa-inqadh al-watan, Beirut.

Hafez, M. M. (2007). Martyrdom Mythology in Iraq: How Jihadist Frame Suicide Terrorism in Videos and Bibliographies, Terrorism and Political violence 19, 95-115.

ID-Verlag (ed.) (1997). Rote Armee Fraktion: Texte und Materialien zur Geschichte der RAF, Berlin.

Al-Libi, A.Y. (2007). Daf’ ar-rayn ‘an asiri ‘asabat al-kureen: Mabhath mukhtasar hawl al-kureen al-ladhina ukhtadifuhum al-mujahidun fi afghanistan.

Marin, A. / Wellmann, B. (2009). Social Network Analysis: An Introduction, in: Handbook of Social Network Analysis, London

Al-Suri, A. M. (2005). Da’wat al-muqawamat al-islamiyat al-‘alamiya.

Prucha, N. (2010). Die Stimme des Dschihad: Sawt al-Dschihad al-Qa’idas Erstes Online Magazin, Hamburg.

Prucha, N. (2009). Jihadists’ use of Quran’s ribat concept, in: Janes Islamic Affairs Analyst (August).

Rashid, Abu’l-Hasan (2007): al-Ijaba.

Al-‘Uyairi, Y. (2004). Kitab hukm al-Jihad wa-anwa’ihi.

Williams, D./Skoric, M. (2005). Internet Fantasy Violence: A Test of Aggression in an Online Game, in: Communication Monographs Vol.72, No.2, pp. 217-233, London.

New claims of recently fallen comrades of Gaza’s Jund Ansar Allah – or?

The title may be misleading, how can I use the term comrade for the Jund Ansar Allah (JAA) ‘martyrs’? Well, with the – as usual – picturesque propaganda machinery of individual users who disseminate their user generated content after acquiring a picture or two, some propaganda posters do seem familiar from historical documents…

On 10 January 2010 more members of the JAA had been killed, according to the propagandistic outlets, and are commemorated in mostly jpeg formats online. The attention turned once again to the JAA, who in August under the leadership of Rafah based cleric Abu Nur al-Maqdisi (Abd al-Latif Musa) declared an Islamic Caliphate following AQ principles and guidelines in Gaza. Naturally, Hamas didn’t like the idea and its al-Qassam Brigades moved in, swept the mosque and killed pretty much anyone they could find. Since then Hamas is clearly just another “idol” serving the “Jews and Crusaders” and so on. The Ibn Taymiya mosque had been seriously damaged by Hamas forces.

An audio file, the recorded testimony of Hasan al-Qartrawi – aka Abu Maslama – was disseminated together with plenty of pictures. All of this material was declared as JAA and part of the August 2009 declaration of the Islamic Emirate in Gaza. He was killed in an Israeli strike together with at least two other Mujahideen (Awd Abu Nasir and Yusuf Musa).

Other outlets, however, have declared that Qatrawi was a member of their brigade, the al-Quds Brigade – the military wing of the Palestinian Jihad, who published a statement on their website. Another pro Palestinian Jihad forum issued the following, probably taken from Arabic news sources:

“Three Palestinians were ‘martyred’ during the evening of 10 January 2010 in Gaza by Zionist strikes targeting a group of fighters in the middle of the Gaza Strip. Palestinian medical sources in Gaza said that the three ‘martyrs’ are: Awd Nasir, Hasan al-Qatrawi and Hadhifat al-Hams, members of the al-Quds Brigade, the military wing of the Palestinian Jihad. The three fighters had been killed, four have been critically wounded in the Zionist air strike in the Abu al-Ajayn region in the middle of the Gaza Strip.(…) Hasan al-Qatrawi (22) was from the al-Barij refugee camp, Hadhifa (23) had been from the al-Nasirat camp.”

 

Some of the pictures disseminated are clearly tagged as JAA, ISI and the usual AQ fashion:

Another example of user generated content, incorporated is AQ Iraq’s logo of the “Islamic State of Iraq”. JAA considers itself part of AQ’s global campaign with Palestine as a future zone of the future-caliphate. But beware, this picture surfaced in the usual AQ affiliated jihadist forums and has been tagged according to the particular JAA and AQ ideology. This must not mean that al-Qatrawi was indeed a member of JAA but his death and his rank are simply being exploited by JAA sympathizers and fueled into pro-AQ jihadist forums.

The forums also disseminated pictures like these:

Again, clearly tagging the killed as JAA members adherent to ISI / AQ global ideology. “Assassinated by the hand of the forces of the Zionists during the evening of Sunday on 20 January 2010.”

Furthermore it is claimed that he was “one of the students of Shaykh Abu Nur al-Maqdisi”.

Marked in this picture

This picture may ‘prove’ the ideological proximity of the fighters to the JAA or perhaps indicate either their sympathy or switch to the JAA? Or is Palestinian Jihad in Gaza cooperating with JAA?

And also untagged pictures like these were published, claiming that these two had been members of JAA as well. Pictures like this one have in the mean time inspired more JAA tagged pictures, reinforcing the claim that JAA is still alive and operating in Gaza despite the Hamas raids in August.

 

The disseminated testimony of al-Qatrawi, as it is claimed and as it was published in jihadist forums, contains partially the adherence to AQ’s global strategy.

The need for “the sword” is emphasized just as much as his need to fight. This contains the ‘why we fight’ section, where he states that “we don’t fight due to the state of the Arab idol [Arab regimes] or the emplacement of the Western idol, not due to the drawn borders of the Sykes-Picot pact, but we fight for that the highest may be the word of God. So the American Muslim is our beloved brother, the Palestinian apostate is our enemy.”

He sends out a message to the other jihad hotspots naming Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and Kashmir and states “that your blood is our blood; your wounded are our wounded. By God we won’t abandon you” fighting till the very end. The leadership of AQ is praised and paid allegiance to, UBL, Zawahiri and Abu Umar al-Baghdadi are named and cherished as “the command of the global Jihad”.

Neue Nachricht der “Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit“

“Die Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit” (siham al-haqq) erneuern ihr Ultimatum an die Bundesregierung ihre Truppen aus Afghanistan abzuziehen – in zehn Tagen.

“Nach den Beprechungen und den Beratungen mit unseren Brüdern, den Mujahidin, haben die Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit Brigaden, die deutsche Geisel freigelassen, nachdem sie Allah als Herr genommen hat und zum Islam konvertierte.

Was ihren Sohn betrifft, geben wir der deutschen Regierung eine Frist von 10 Tagen, um auf die Forderungen der Mujahidin einzugehen, indem die deutsche Regierung, während dieser Frist, all ihre Militärtruppen aus Afghanistan abzieht. Ansonsten wird sein Schicksal der Tod sein, um unsere Brüder in Afghanistan zu unterstützen. Alles Lob gebührt Allah”

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,504962,00.html

Prison Blues Preview

“Soon – with the permission of God – being confronted with the war of the prisons” (or let’s say prison-wars) by the as-Sahab Media productions.

Being captured or in prison is a essential element in the jihadi literature and ideology – in the famous sawt al-jihad there are numerous articles about the struggle against the enemies and the possibility of falling in the hands of the authorities. The ‘prison-element’ has numerous meanings, besides the constant threat in most arab states for most citizens to be subjected to the local authorities, the jihadis can count on the experience of the ‘scholars’ who were imprisoned in 1995 when they issued their memorandum of advice to the saudi government. These ‘scholars’ (besides other examples) have set a modern prison aspect, a modern example of a Gallileo as descriped by Brecht – recant your writings and be free or stay firm and remain in prison under torture.

Those who stand firm in prison and suffer under tortute and miserable conditions are heroes – with a very psychological effect: God has granted them firmness and has consolidated them, because of their belief and their deeds for the religion. But it is important to differentiate between writers, socalled scholars, and actual fighters, mujahidin.

Prison danger for the mujahidin: when escaping or retreating fail, there are logically only two options remaining: victory or death (in the texts one often reads to receive one of the two beautiful things, wich is either victory or dying for god and thus attaining the shahada). But what happens when the fighter falls alive in the hands of the authorities? Example from Saudi Arabia: In the numerous statements there are countless examples that those fighters who are captured continue their jihad, are being tested by God on a higher decree.

When scholars are captured and later released or freed, there are quickly new PDF documents online to download and read their experience. At the beginning of 2002 the saudi authorities slowy began reacting to the beginning terror campaign by the al-Qa’ida cells and started to work out some counter-terrorism strategies. The above mentioned scholars who were arrested in 1995 had of course some protection: they are known in public and are being respected by great parts of society – so the regime had to deal with them. Nasir al-Fahd, who later issued a fatwa legalising the use of nuclear weapons against the US, recanted his writings publicly on TV and after he was freed recanted his recantations and stated that the temptations set by God to separate the true believers from the less true belivers are part of the wordly human existence on.

Consider this short info a preview, when as-Sahab has published the video I will post substantial information on how imprisonment is actually being considered in the jihad literature, besides the prominent example of Nasir al-Fahd the story of Faris az-Zahrani (Abu Jandal al-Azdi) delievers very good insight on how the prison-factor is dealt with.

 

Jihadis discovering Parkour

Found this in one of the jihadi forums. Cool, isn’t it? If you want to know what Parkour is, just google it – but basically it’s the art to get over obstacles and other stuff that may or may not be in your way. The thing is that if you watch some of these videos, try to imagine what one could do with such abilities to evade the police (when being pursued). Maybe we can expect “Bagdad Parkour” in the near future?

Al-Parkur what the islamists have to say about it:

“the roots of this word originate from Kongo, meaning: the strong man, the strength of the soul or body. It then emerged as a sport in France. Basically it’s getting over humanbuild obstacles [in a urban sense – ‘human fabricated nature’], moving from point X to point Y and then on to point Z in any thinkable possibility, in the fastest way by using the full capabilty of the human body.

By: Jogging, fast-climbing, light movements”

And so on, I do recommend downloading the first video displayed below, as you get a good impression Parkour.

“That’s why this sport is very important especially for the mujahidin in the guerilla-war” – and that’s just another recommendation but not from me.

It’s not just about jumping from rooftop to rooftop, or using jumping tactics to get over highwalls, but it’s an urban extreme sport, developed in the french banlieus by Davi Belle. To find out more about this interesting sport check out these two videos (provided by the jihadis) which are from France:

http://dorkprofilms.com/parkour.wmv

http://www.urbanfreeflow.com:90/vol…vol3_july06.wmv    

Die Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit veröffentlichen neues Geisel Video

“Die Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit” haben ein zweites Video online gestellt, indem sie ihre Forderungen erneuern und auch Österreich als Feind erwähnen.

“Deutschland war in Sicherheit bevor es sich mit den Amerikanern zu dieser teuflischen Koalition gegen den Terrorismus zusammengeschlossen hat” wird von der Geisel verlesen. Passagen wie diese finden sich oft in der einschlägigen Literatur: Es gelten alle Bündnispartner als Feind und jene die sich in die Reihe der Kreuzfahrer stellen, werden ebenso gnadenlos angegriffen. Diese Rhetorik findet sich vor allem in der Stimme des Dschihad, des ersten al-Qa’ida Online Magazines.

Die Geisel “ruft auch Österreich an, die ebenso Kräfte in Afghanistan haben” [Übersetzung des arabischen Schriftzuges, die Geisel berichtet wie sie viele Jahre in Österreich gearbeitet habe – sie sagt dann weiter: “Österreich hat ebenfalls Truppen in Afghanistan und jetzt soll ich dafür getötet werden”].

Anmerkung: quwat: Macht, Kraft, Truppe wird von den Dschihadis oft verwendet, damit werden jedoch i.d.R. Kräfte bezeichnet: militärische, wirtschaftliche und sonstige zivile Kräfte [Angriffe auf Öl-Einrichtungen gelten ebenso als Angriffe auf die “Kräfte der Kreuzfahrer”, so auch z.B. die Entführung von westlichen Individuen].

Die eingeblendete Textebene:

“Die Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit bestimmen diesen Zeitpunkt, nachdem die Führung dieses Video gesehen hat, damit das deutsche Volk anfangen kann sich in Bewegung zu setzen und jene zurück zu holen, die sich in Afghanistan befinden.

Es wird ihnen nicht geantwortet werden, außer mit der Ermordung der Geiseln. Wir sagen zu dem deutschen Volk: so wie ihr euch nach dem Blut eurer Individuen sehnt [soll heißen: so sehr ihr euch ihre Freilassung wünscht], gibt es ebenso andere [Personen], die sich nach deren Blut sehnen.

Zieht eure Kräfte aus Afghanistan ab!”

 

Nachdem die Frau erneut um ihr und das Leben ihres Sohnes fleht, beginnt ein Entführer auf Arabisch ein Statement zu verkünden [eingeblendete Textebene: “Erklärung des Ultimatums an die deutsche Regierung von 10 weiteren Tagen]:

Nach der üblichen Einleitung erklärt der Sprecher “diese Frau ist keine normale Frau, die einem Staat zugehörig ist, der ein Feind des Islams und der Muslime sei, deren Kräfte unsere Frauen und Kinder töten (…).

und Österreich ist ein Staat, der dem Islam und den Muslimen gegenüber feindlich eingestellt ist, deren Kräfte ebenfalls unsere Söhne und Kinder in Afghanistan töten.”

Anschließend wird erneut der Abzug der Deutschen aus Afghanistan gefordert, sonst “würde diese Verbrecherin getötet werden”.

Arabische Übersetzung wird eingeblendet während die Forderungen der Geiselnehmer von der Geisel verlesen werden. Auffällig ist, das ausschließlich die Frau redet, sie ist wohl das erkorene Feindbild der Entführer.

“Die Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit/Aufrichtigkeit“

“Die Pfeile der Rechtschaffenheit” (siham al-haqq)”, eine bislang völlig unbekannte Gruppe hat bekanntlich am Freitag ein Video online gestellt, das die beiden entführten Deutschen zeigt. Auch sie fordern den Abzug der deutschen Truppen aus Afghanistan und verlangen die Unterstützung für Bush & Co einzustellen, sonst würde der Sohn, der vor zwei Monaten geheiratet habe, vor den Augen seiner Mutter ermordet.

Dieses Video-Dokument ist ein wirklich erschütterndes. Die offensichtlich gebrochene Mutter betteld vor laufender Kamera um das Leben und spricht Bundeskanzlerin Merkel mehrfach direkt an.

Das Video mit einem Vers aus dem Koran (9:13) eingeleitet: “Wollt ihr nicht gegen Leute kämpfen, die ihre Eide gebrochen haben und im Begriff gewesen sind, den Gesandten zu vertreiben, wobei sie erst gegen euch vorgegangen sind? Fürchtet ihr sie? Gott hat eher darauf Anspruch, daß ihr Ihn fürchtet, so ihr gläubig seid.” (Khoury)

Die Tatsache, dass die Frau zum Islam konvertiert ist und ihr Sohn somit ein Muslim sein muss, wird nicht erwähnt, vielmehr geht es für die so typische Dschihad Rhetorik um die Beseitigung der “Agenten, der Spione”, die sich gegen den Islam verschworen hätten. Der Pass der Frau wird am Anfang gezeigt, man sieht also all Daten – daraus geht hervor, dass ihr alter Name abgelegt wurde und sie den Namen ihres irakischen Mannes angenommen hat. Jedoch erwähnt sie in dem Video ausschließlich ihren eigen Namen – ich nehme an, dass die Entführer dahinterstecken, um eben das “Agententum” hervorzuheben.

Für weitere Infos, empfehle auch ich den SPIEGEL: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,470957,00.html

Denmark again

onlinejihad.wordpress.com will try to be less polemic and more serious once again – but what would the world be without fun?

I found this picture in an arabic speaking jihad forum “a new picture mocking the prophet by the danish and disfiguring him”:

“There is no power and no might except with God – look at the sons of the monkeys and pigs” [well it’s a classical jihadi synonym for christians and jews]

(…) we ask God that (…) that he may rise the banner of Jihad [over the authors] one by one. Written by the christians: [here follows a translation of the description of the picture – play as if you are…]

May God damn those, who play with the figure [obviously our friends don’t catch the joke…] and those who made up the picture ( I don’t believe the crazy company will sell a lot of these [again: didn’t get the joke]) .

Oh Brothers! Renew your boykott of danish products – [and so on and so forth… what follows is the “usual complaining” excuse me for keeping this rather short, as it contains no explicit threats against Denmark or the Danes.]

So that’s what happens when you have photoshop, an idea and an internet connection: you piss some jihadis off who actually believe that the evil danish company Lego has joined the “danish conspiracy” against Islam (?)