Highlights 

• Mawlawi Hibatullah Akhundzada, the leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and the leader of the Taliban clarifies that achieving peace and security for Afghanistan will only be possible with the withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan and the establishment of Islamic rule. Akhundzada appeals to the US to return to the negotiating table in order to bring about the withdrawal of the foreign forces from Afghanistan while emphasizing that the war against the American forces is a religious one. In addition, he calls on the United Arab Emirates and Qatar to refuse requests by the US and NATO to send troops to Afghanistan, and he warns them against helping the Americans and fighting against the mujahideen.
• Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, gives four different speeches:

1. In his first speech, which is dedicated to West Africa, al-Zawahiri accuses the West of a policy of systematic oppression throughout modern history against Muslims in East Africa, and he criticizes Muslim regimes such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Mali for aiding the US and the “new Crusader campaign” against Islam. According to him, the West was able to invade Islamic lands by exploiting several weak points in the Muslim world, such as political corruption, the focus of the Sufi (mystical) stream on idle rituals rather than jihad, and more. In addition, al-Zawahiri calls on Muslims living in East Africa to join the war of jihad against the oppressive forces, join the ranks of the mujahideen in Somalia and cooperate with them against the enemy, liberate East Africa from the Crusaders – who are helped by Israel – in order to take control of the Horn of Africa and weaken Muslims, and establish an Islamic government whose constitution will be shari’a.
2. In his second speech, al-Zawahiri eulogizes Mullah Fazlullah, leader of the Taliban Pakistan who was killed in a US drone strike, and he wishes for continued jihad against the enemies.
3. In his third speech, al-Zawahiri criticizes the Hamas leadership and accuses it of abandoning its principles, namely the liberation of all of Palestine through a war of jihad. According to him, the Document of Principles of the Hamas movement (May 2017) proves the bankruptcy of the Hamas leadership, which is manifested in its abandonment of the movement’s vision of enforcing shari’a in the entire territory of Palestine. In light of this, al-Zawahiri calls on “Muslims around the world and in Palestine” not to leave the issue of Palestine in the hands of the Hamas leadership but rather to initiate and act for its liberation, as it is an individual religious duty to liberate it as an Islamic territory. In addition, al-Zawahiri threatens that his organization will continue to attack the US until Palestine and the rest of the Islamic lands are liberated.
4. In his fourth speech, al-Zawahiri addresses the importance of the Muslim Nation uniting around the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, because it is the key to the victory of Islam and the platform for renewing the Islamic Caliphate. According to him, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, the former leader of Al-Qaeda, understood this and made efforts to unite supporters of Islamic and jihadist groups throughout the Emirate. Thus, all Muslims around the world, jihad fighters, clerics, preachers, etc. must support and unite around the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Quran commanded. According to him, the enemy is very fearful of Muslim unity since it is the key to the victory of Islam and the basis for the re-establishment of the Caliphate.

• Sheikh Hussam ‘Abd al-Rauf, the head of Al-Qaeda’s media department, explains that the Arab revolutions that earned the name “Arab Spring” did not succeed because they did not seek to generate Islamic revolutions and establish religious rule. In light of this, al-Rauf calls on jihad fighters to unite and Muslims to rebel against the ruling tyrant regimes. In addition, al-Rauf accuses Egypt of being unwilling to reconcile with the Muslim Brotherhood and release its leaders from prison.
• Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader the Islamic State, gives a speech following a long, one-year absence from the media. In his speech, he emphasizes that Allah has designated a victory for the organization’s supporters because of their adherence to jihad and their willingness to die as martyrs on the battlefield. According to him, the US failed in its two decades of war against the Muslims and has fallen into the most acute crisis in its history, manifested in economic weakening, loss of morale for the war, and challenges to its power from players in the international arena, such as Russia, North Korea and Iran. In addition, he threatens to attack western forces in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and everywhere else.

Al-Baghdadi warns Sunnis in Iraq and Syria not to enlist in the ranks of rebel organizations since they are not fighting for God but for national goals, and it is reasonable to assume that they will eventually cooperate with the tyrannical regimes fighting against the Caliphate. He urges rebel soldiers to repent and defect from the ranks of their organizations, and to join the ranks of his organization in various provinces such as Iraq, Yemen, Sinai, and Afghanistan.

In his speech, al-Baghdadi calls on Sunni residents of the Arabian Peninsula to establish armed units that would focus on eliminating the members of the royal family and the Saudi religious establishment because of the secular reforms in the Kingdom, its support for the West, and the assistance it provides to enemies in Syria and Iraq in eliminating the Sunni population. In addition, he calls on the Jordanian people to revolt against the Jordanian Kingdom for not applying shari’a, and for its support for the US and Israel. He also calls on militants in Iraq to continue their attacks against the Shi’ites and to carry out acts of revenge against them, and he encourages the organization’s supporters in the West to continue to carry out attacks on Western lands, such as ramming attacks.

• Abu Muhammad al-Julani, leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, stresses that his organization is prepared for any attack by the Alawite regime in northern Syria, as well as to carry out activities against IS cells and those taking part in the negotiations with the Alawite regime, adding that it is impossible to rely on Turkey’s observation posts. Later, he claims that there will be no negotiations for the surrender of the organization’s weapons in northern Syria and that submission will be considered treason. At the end of the video, al-Julani calls for cooperation with the other factions in the Idlib area.
• Sheikh ‘Abd al-Salam, head of the Shura Council of the Turkestan Islamic Party, appeals to Muslims around the world to help the Muslim minority in East Turkestan in light of the cruel oppression that they are experiencing at the hands of the Chinese authorities. According to him, efforts should be focused on harming Chinese interests around the world by carrying out terrorist attacks against Chinese embassies, military facilities, shops, etc., by boycotting Chinese products, and more.

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