CNN has released clips of an audio message from Anwar al-Awlaki directed towards American Muslims. I am not claiming that Awlaki would never say such things, nor am I usually one for conspiracy theories, but as someone who listened to a good amount of Awlaki audio in the past, it is undeniable that there is something off about the recording. Perhaps its just the audio source or quality, but it sounds off.
Latest Updates: al-qaida RSS
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abunoor
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arif
Who publishes these books?
Dr. Fadl: Bin Laden and Al-Zawahiri should face an Islamic trialIn his book, titled “The Future of the Conflict between the Taliban and America in Afghanistan”, Dr. Fadl pursued his attack against the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden and his second-in-command, Ayman Al-Zawahiri. He accused both of them of being fully responsible for the “catastrophes” that have befallen the Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq.
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midwinterspring
Assalaamu Aleikum everyone. Aziz has generously given me the ability to post to Talk Islam’s front page. So, to test it out, I will shamelessly plug my latest side blog piece on al-Qaeda’s new-found fondness for leftist causes:
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abunoor
WASHINGTON – A former senior intelligence official is confirming that the suicide bomber who killed eight people inside a CIA base in Afghanistan was a Jordanian doctor recruited by Jordanian intelligence to support U.S. efforts against al-Qaida.
The bombing killed seven CIA employees — four officers and three contracted security guards — and a Jordanian intelligence officer, Ali bin Zaid, according to a second former U.S. intelligence official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
The former senior intelligence official confirmed an NBC News report Monday that the bomber was Humam Khalil Abu-Mulal al-Balawi, a 36-year old doctor from Zarqa, Jordan. He was arrested over a year ago by Jordanian intelligence, and was thought to have been flipped to support U.S. and Jordanian efforts against al-Qaida. -
abunoor
The Taliban-Al Qaida Schism by Gareth Porter
“The Taliban is a nationalist organization, which wants to govern Afghanistan under Sharia law, not attack the United States,” said Nelson, who was on the inaugural staff of the National Counter-Terrorism Center’s Directorate of Strategic Operational Planning in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from 2005 to 2007.
Nelson directed a Joint Task Force in Afghanistan until early 2009 and is now in the International Security Program of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“The Red Mosque was a big deal,” Nelson recalled. The al Qaeda-directed assault on the mosque and subsequent Taliban reaction to its jihadist campaign in Pakistan were what convinced officials that “their goals have become more divergent”, he said.
More recently, counterterrorism analysts have noted that the gap has widened even further, as the Taliban leadership has gone public with a “nationalist” line that openly departs from al Qaeda’s global jihadist stance.
Taliban leader Mullah Omar’s Sep. 19 message for Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday marking the end of Ramadan, called the Taliban a “robust Islamic and nationalist movement” which “wants to maintain good and positive relations with all neighbors based on mutual respect”.
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Shams al-Nahar
“People in Muslim countries object to the self-interested, hypocritical, and threatening policies of the US, while at the same time they reject the extremism and violence of al Qaeda. They dislike both the US government and al Qaeda. We are both destructive in their eyes. We have both killed many innocents. We are both sources of hardship, danger, and instability in Muslim societies. If a way forward is to be found, it must begin with a genuine appreciation on the part of US officials of how Muslim citizens view the United States and its actions,” – Brian Tamanaha.
yah think?
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thabet
Given the old joke about Muslim engineers and terrorism, I’d prefer it if this man was referred to as a ‘physicist’ rather than ‘engineer’. Let the scientists carry some of the blame for once (they seem to take all the credit for the transformation and emergence of all the good things in the modern world):
The 32-year-old man, who was detained with his brother, 25, is suspected of providing a list of terrorist targets to North African Islamic radicals. He worked for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, according to French police sources.
On this story, headline of the week goes to Guy Aitchison:
AL QUIDA TERRORISTS PLAN DEADLIEST ATTACK YET WITH BLACKHOLES
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thabet
Osama’s epic fail:
Support for bin Laden is said to be in decline in Muslim countries* (but it’s still quite high**), at the same time as ‘al-Qaida’*** is said to be ‘weakening’, having difficulty in finding new recruits, and finding former ideologues and sympathisers speaking out against their methods and views. As reported by The Guardian, 60-70% of information about al-Qaida suspects now comes from friends and family, not security agencies or surveillance.
The right method should be to treat such groups and individuals as violent criminals, and fugitives on the run from the law. They don’t represent an existential threat to societies, other than, perhaps, the very ones they claim to be ‘liberating’. While people may question the invasion of Afghanistan (and certainly the follies of continued occupation must be questioned), it shouldn’t be forgotten that dozens of Kenyans and Tanzanians paid the price for the bin Laden’s fascination with resurrecting an ‘Islamic empire’ and being rid of Americans, foreigners, and non-Muslims. Then again the lives of black-skinned disbelievers and pseudo-Muslims probably rank low on the priority list for certain Muslim ‘activists’.
*Good spin for Barack Obama fans: support for violent Muslims was on the rise or otherwise high in the Bush years; it declined when Obama came to power.
**How much of this is the two-fingered response?
***This became a catch-all term for any violent Muslim fanatic. At one point al-Qaida franchises were opening faster than Subway ones. At least the use of this label has been scaled back. -
thabet
Funny how people like Ayman al-Zawahri see global plots against Muslims (by connecting lots of different conflicts around the world), just as anti-Muslim racists see a global plot by Muslims (by connecting lots of different conflicts around the world):
[...]
‘The war in the tribal areas and Swat is an integral part of the crusade on Muslims across the world,’ [Ayman al-]Zawahri said in the tape posted on an al-Qaeda-linked website.
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thabet
Some useful links and background from The Moor Next Door on the recent terrorist attack on the French embassy in Mauritania.
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thabet
Aziz has been pondering what countries that become home to al-Qaeda. However, according to Soner Cagaptay, Aziz has overlooked one major country on the brink of actively singing up to this terrorist organisation’s “vision”:
What a load of rubbish.
And why are there scare quotes around “Muslim world” and none around “the West”?
(Via Haroon.)
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johnpi
Arguing against the occupation of Afghanistan:
The only way to defeat terrorist groups is to isolate them within their own societies. This requires wooing the population away from radicals. It is a political, economic and cultural war. The terrible algebra of military occupation and violence is always counterproductive to this kind of battle. It always creates more insurgents than it kills. It always legitimizes terrorism. And while we squander resources and lives, the real enemy, al-Qaida, has moved on to build networks in Indonesia, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Morocco and depressed Muslim communities such as those in France’s Lyon and London’s Brixton area. There is no shortage of backwaters and broken patches of the Earth where al-Qaida can hide and operate. It does not need Afghanistan, and neither do we.
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thabet
Just what Muslim women in France need: a different set of fanatics purporting to defend their honour and dignity:
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thabet
Al Qaeda’s North African wing said on Wednesday it had carried out its threat to kill a British hostage it was holding in the Sahara.
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thabet
Hilary Clinton told a congressional panel that the Taliban and other extremists pose a “mortal threat” to world security.
I thought that was al-Qa’ida?
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thabet
The real reason for this pronouncement is that he’s a black man in a position of leadership and authority.
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thabet
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muse
U.S. Muslim Leaders Denounce Al-Qaida’s Slur towards Obama. Front page of CNN right now. Its good to see the community come out against this quickly and forcefully.
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thabet
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thabet
Rizwaan Sabir writes about his experience of being arrested as a suspected terrorist, after he downloaded and printed an “al-Qaeda training manual”. Sabir is a PhD candidate at Nottingham University and was arrested earlier this year alongside Hicham Yezza.
Unsurprisingly, the usual set of bigots that populate Comment is free are happy to suggest Sabir deserved to be arrested simply because of his name.
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thabet
“Intelligence sources” claim Adam Gadahn is dead.
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thabet
A fifth man has been arrested over threats to kill Gordon Brown and Tony Blair which were posted on an internet forum.
Three of the men have been charged.
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thabet
Hardly surprising news: A Whitehall counter-terrorism unit is targeting media organisations as part of a global propaganda push designed to “taint the al-Qaida brand”. (Although they seem to do a good enough job on their own.)
This has prompted concern about interference in the BBC’s editorial independence, which the organisation strongly denies.
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thabet
It looks like Ayman al-Zawahiri has decided to use the language of the infidel (and former colonial masters) to get his message across.
Loo-zah.
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Tariq Nelson
The absurdity of the terrorist maniacs knows no limits. This story speaks for itself.
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thabet
The Economist thinks in the long run ‘al-Qa’ida’ will only be defeated by Muslims.
Jason Burke questions whether this war is winnable given “al-Qaida’s unorthodox structure”.
Meanwhile, over at Jihadica, William McCants takes a look at Michael Scheuer’s article on Saudi Arabia and terrorism.
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koonj
Extremist women want options other than staying at home. My latest post at Religion Dispatches.
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thabet
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thabet
Abu Qatada, “Osama bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, was released form prison last week.
The Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) granted Abu Qatada bail on Tuesday with strict conditions, which includes a ban on attending mosques, leading prayers or giving religious instruction.
