Summary of Information on Jihadist Websites The First Half of August 2016
This report summarizes notable events discussed on jihadist Web forums during the first half of August 2016. Following are the main points covered in the report:
Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, refers to the efforts made by the Muslim Brotherhood to integrate into the political system in Egypt since the days of its founder, Hassan al-Banna, and calls them a mistake and an obstacle to Egypt’s transformation into an Islamic state. According to him, the Salafists in Egypt are also sinning and erring in their attempts to please the regime. In his opinion, violence is the way to guarantee a change in the reality rather than integration in the political system.
Abu Hamza, a member of Al-Qaeda, and the son of the organization’s former leader, Sheikh Osama bin Laden, calls on Muslims to wage an intifada against the Saudi regime. According to him, the Saudi regime and army serve as the “agents of the Americans” due to their extensive economic and military cooperation expressed in the persecution of Muslims. Moreover, the Saudi regime is in a state of weakness in light of Houthi defeats in Yemen and their failure to block the Shi’ite advancement into Mecca and Medina. Therefore, the downfall of the Saudi regime will enable the liberation of Arabian Peninsula lands from the Crusaders, the protection of Mecca and Medina from the Shi’ites, and the establishment of a new regime whose constitution will be shari’a. In order to achieve this goal, Hamza calls on Muslims to aid in the PR process against the Saudi regime and to help topple it.
Abu Muhammad al-Julani, the leader of Ayman al-Zawahiri, addresses battles in Aleppo and explained that recent victories have opened the road leading to the besieged Aleppo. He adds that the results of the battle in Aleppo will change the scales of the conflict in the Syrian arena and draw new lines in the Syrian battle.
The Islamic State in Sinai Peninsula accuses Egypt of cooperating with the enemies of Islam, especially the US and Israel. According to the organization, al-Sisi’s regime protects its borders with Israel, carries out crimes against the Muslim residents of Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula, and denies the Islamic religion. In the framework of the organization’s psychological warfare, it credits itself with a series of military victories against Egyptian security forces in the Sinai Peninsula.
The Islamic State reveals that Abu Musab al-Barnawi was appointed as the new leader of the Islamic State in West Africa. In an interview that al-Barnawi gives to the organization’s Al-Naba magazine, he emphasizes that his organization is a significant force in the region and a magnet for new recruits. In addition, he vows to continue the tenacious battle against the regimes in West Africa and to avoid harming ordinary Muslims whether they are in mosques or markets. In response to the interview, Sheikh Abu Bakr al-Shekau, the former leader of the Islamic State in West Africa, emphasizes that he is continuing to serve as leader of Ahlis Sunna Lidda’awati wal-Jihad (the original name of Boko Haram) and reveals that he complained about al-Barnawi and his followers’ poor level of devotion to Islam in several letters that he sent to the Caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but did not receive a reply from the latter.
The Global Islamic Media Front, which serves Al-Qaeda, declares the establishment of a new media institution called, “The Global Islamic Media Front in the Indian Subcontinent”, which will include Al-Qadisiyyah media institution and GIMF Bangla Team, and will be entrusted with the official publications of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent as well as other jihadist organizations in Arabic, Bengali, English, Hindi, Urdu, Tamil and more.
