Al’ Qaeda and the Islamic Caliphate [Reader Post]

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We keep hearing about these “freedom fighters” in Tunisia, Egypt. Libya, and Yemen. We are told by the press that the people of these countries have spontaneously rose up to overthrow the oppressive dictatorships that have long held them imprisoned in poverty and despair. But who are these “freedom fighters” really, and how are they being trained and equipped? This paper questions whether what at first glance appears to be random events, might actually be a highly coordinated strategic war against the West by a surreptitious yet highly successful foe whose intent is upon global domination.

While we have been chasing Al’ Qaeda across the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, Osama Ben Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri have been busily fomenting revolutions throughout the Middle East. From Egypt to Yemen, from Bahrain to Libya, Al Qaeda is on the rise, and we are helping them remove the stumbling blocks (current regimes) from their path. Should they succeed in their quest, they will establish an Islamic Caliphate over the entire Middle East and control a good portion of the World’s oil. I do not make this claim lightly. This is their strategy and they are following it to the letter. It is their intention to destabilize the entire region in order for the Caliphate to emerge as the only credible option. As of the time of this article, revolutions are currently under way in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Yemen, Bahrain with demonstrations also in Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Algeria. As we shall see, It is not unreasonable to assume the Al Qaeda has a hand in all of them. But for the purpose of this essay we will focus primarily on just one, Egypt.

Egypt

Although Egypt was not the first to fall, it is thus far the largest and perhaps most significant. Although the press constantly refer to Hosni Mubarak’s ouster as a “democratic revolution”, it remains to be seen whether a democracy actually takes shape. There are strong forces pushing for an Islamic state similar to Iran’s theocracy. This has been the goal of the Muslim Brotherhood first and later the Egyptian Islamic Jihad from their beginning. These are the also the groups that have been engaged in the “jihad” or “struggle” for Islamic supremacy since the assassinations of Nasser and Sadat. Members of both groups have been jailed and/or executed for various and sundry crimes against the state, including conspiracy, assassination and murder. There is little doubt that both these groups are involved up to their eyebrows in the current revolution. But there may also be another group equally committed to the collapse of the Mubarak regime and the end of Western influence in Egypt, possibly a group which also seeks the formation of an Islamic Caliphate…Al’ Qaeda.

To prove that Al’ Qaeda is tied to the Egyptian revolution is not difficult. To begin with Al’ Qaeda has a long history with both the Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Indeed, Al’ Qaeda’s number 2 man, Ayman Al Zawahiri was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood from the age of 14 before becoming a founding member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, whose stated goal was to overthrow the government of Egypt in order to establish an Islamic Caliphate. To achieve this end, Zawahiri has engaged in numerous acts of terror including, the November 19, 1995 bombing of the Egyptian Embassy in Islamabad and possibly the tourist massacre at Luxor, Egypt on November 17,1997 for which Zawahiri was tried and found guilty in abstentia by an Egyptian court in 1999. The attack was brutally successful and tourism to Egypt dropped precipitously under concerns that the Egyptian government could not guarantee the safety of foreign tourists to their ancient sites.

According to sources, after meeting Osama ben Laden in Peshawar, Pakistan, merged his Egyptian Islamic Jihad cell into Al’ Qaeda. Since their union, Osama ben Laden and Ayman Al Zawahiri have embarked on a relentless crusade to destabilize the West in order to institute the long awaited Islamic Caliphate throughout the Middle East. They have spawned Al’ Qaeda cells throughout the world spreading their doctrine of Islamic purity and supremacy. They have also been directly linked to terrorist acts of murder and mayhem around the globe, and they are dead set on establishing a world wide Islamic Caliphate, no matter how many people they have to sacrifice in order to make that happen, or how long it might take. Just prior to the fall of the Mubarak regime, on February 28, 2011, Zawahiri released a tape on behalf of Al’ Qaeda praising the Egyptian revolution and calling for the installation of the Caliphate. (see: Al Qaeda looks to co-opt Egypt, Tunisia unrest)

Since the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, many of the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Jihad prisoners have been released, including Ayman Al Zawahiri’s own brother, who has been imprisoned for the past ten years, supposedly in order to gain intelligence about Al Qaeda’s number two. Should any sort of elections occur, the Muslim Brotherhood, with its attendant military wing, the Islamic Jihad, is well positioned to influence, if not control, a new government, especially if support from the military is forthcoming. Should that happen, the Caliphate will have begun and in all likelihood will expand with other Islamacist regimes having to cast aside their differences in order to merge with the Caliphate, especially if the Caliphate becomes headquartered in Saudi Arabia wherein lies Mecca and Medina, or better yet Jerusalem, where Mohammed purportedly flew to heaven on his magical horse, Buraq. Obviously Israel would have to cease to exist for this to occur, so the Israelis have been taking a hard, nervous look at these revolts popping up around the Middle East.

Like a neutron star pulling other systems into its gravitational field, so would the nascent Caliphate draw all Muslim regimes unto itself, beginning with the ones closest, spreading ever outward until the entire muslim world falls under its power. These are the plans of Al’ Qaeda. And if you think they are not well on their way in accomplishing their goal, think again!

Below are some links to Al Qaeda’s push to take over the region. In addition to where we know Al’ Qaeda already maintains a presence, ie Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Indonesia…

Interpol Says Al-Queda is a Growing Threat in Africa

Al Qaida commander backs Libyan rebels in message

Al Qaeda in Yemen Worries the West

Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM)

Is al-Qaeda working in Nigeria?

Six Al-Qaeda suspects detained in Bahrain

Morocco breaks up al Qaeda terror cell

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And one would be surprised by this? Every Action taken by this administration has been Pro-Muslim /Anti-Israeli!

joetote

Let me add: Anti-American/Anti-UK/Anti- free world…
I think we are in a war and just now beginning to notice.

Coming SOON to an AMERICA near you!!

As I said, I think Obama is doing Al Qaida’s work for them, unwittingly or not.

America has been so successful at policing the world and keeping Americans safe that two generations have gone to sleep because they were so protected they had no conception of the dangerous conditions in the world. They are about to be bit in the proverbial ass. Today’s “kids” have no clue. We old guys are just that, old. The kids will not listen, and the things we did will be wasted. I pray to God I am wrong. But even members of my own family have no clue. I try to tell them but they act like I am just an old veteran suffering from “shell shock”.

Just another thought here. The Libyans have told the French thanks for the help, now take a hike.
Nice to see the French get a taste of their own medicine. After all, they have always held us in disdain after we’ve bailed their sorry asses out of a blight!

I pray not…

Political Islam, Islamic Caliphate is naturally expansionist.
It requires new territory and new subjects added all the time.
This is because political Islam requires all of its most ardent adherents to be visibly religious.
And Islam, when practiced for showy display can eat up a great deal of one’s day!
One researcher showed how, pre-revolution Egypt had so many super-showy religious governmental workers on the job that the average time doing real work per day was less than 1/2 hour!
All the rest of the time was spent bathing for prayer, changing into prayer clothes, going through prayers, changing back to work clothes and then back on the job….then repeat!
There are 5 prayers per day and two of them are during work hours!

So, who are left to do the actual work?
In caliphates in the past it was slaves.
The Byzantines designed and built all the great mosques.
Years later a Spanish architect tried to get authentic Muslim designers to aid him in desining and engineering a new domed mosque.
None of them had any idea how to engineer a dome.
They had slaves for that.
Islam loses slaves to conversion to Islam at a quick pace.
Slaves realize it improves their situation to convert and have lost all touch with their past, so, why not?
Therefore Islam needs new non-Muslim workers all of the time.
People they can abuse.
That’s why a worldwide caliphate is doomed.
They will have no one to do all the work for them.

Their is going to be a war in these next years that will make WW2 look like a catfight.

Does it strike anyone as odd that China and Russia are telling us to stop, yet the MSM has not said why and Mumar gadaffi was telling the truth when he said Osama bin Ladin caused all that uprising in Libya? Just my thoughts…

I am half way through reading the Quran. Its a step above my normal reading level but not near as technically advanced as Mata’s financial terrorism article, the sentences are just put together weird. I will have to post some of the verses when I get the chance. It is interesting for those of you interested in fire and brimstone.

Zac, your posts are informative and unique; however,… you make the same grammatical errors over and over. For instance, the word ‘their’. The way you have used the word requires the form ‘there’ as in position.

Their refers to ownership or possession. Their basketball, their bracket choices (Good Grief)

They’re is short for – They are – They are completely nuts.

There is used to indicate position. There between the ears, is the lad’s biggest problem.

‘There’s’ occasions to use this word, it is an abbreviated form for there is, as in there is no excuse for such incompetence.

I don’t think any of us are English profs, so please don’t confuse constructive criticism for a superior attitude. I try to encourage all our people and I think you may become an excellent writer in the future, but you must try to master
the fundamentals. If you want to run with the big dogs, you don’t want to pee like a poodle.

Now you can humiliate me about my mistakes and I will eat my humble pie with all the dignity that I can muster.
Weather or not, I deserve to wither or whether the storm will be entirely up to you. ( Yesterday’s error)

This could really backfire on them. I don’t like how the violent Muslims are called Jihadists. It literally means struggle. They should be called heritics. They are not Muslims. Think of being Muslim like being a U.S. Marine. There are certain thing each group must do and not do to call themselves a Muslim or a U.S. Marine. This general group has all the markings of what a Muslim is not or should believe in. I believe the rise of this group has been because their has been a serious problem with a part of the religion which updates itself every 100 years through a messenger from God called a Mujaddid. The problem is the last offical ones were in the 14th century. Various tribes have announced their own Mujaddid which haven’t been accepted by other tribes. This tribalism has brought on the wave of violence as one tribe tries to top another. What you can do, I can do better.

One senerio would work like this. Tribalism flourishes as the tribes prevent other tribes from running the country. As one example, Libya may become three different countries. Tribes would work against each other using mercenaries. I believe what NATO is really doing in Libya is destroying the weapons of war. Libya is going to be a territory with small arms and little else. Nobody is going to sell modern weapons to those countries that are being overthrown because they might be used against the West and the Far East. Tribes that do end up with the aircraft and tanks will find themselves unable to keep the equipment in good working order. Instead of trying to take over the world as a group, they may end up becoming rag tag tribes fighting each other for resources and territory.

On March 15, Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi met the ambassadors of Russia, China and India and called for their companies to invest in the Libyan oil industry. In the same week, Beijing announced that Chinese firms would soon return to Libya as pro-Gaddafi forces were on the verge of crushing their opponents. However, the US-European bombing campaign dashed China’s prospects of expanding its already substantial interests in Libya.

In 2009, China displaced the US as Africa’s top trading partner, and became a significant investor in mineral resources, infrastructure and manufacturing. Libya is a case in point. Since 2009, China has become Libya’s largest trading partner and has invested heavily in the infrastructure and telecom sectors. The bombing campaign has threatened, according to a Chinese commerce ministry spokesman on Tuesday, 50 major Chinese projects worth $18.8 billion in the country.

Although Chinese firms have not yet made major inroads into the Libyan oil sector, China imported 150,000 barrels of oil a day from Libya last year, about 11 percent of the country’s output. Moreover, China is seeking to explore oil and other mineral resources in nearby Chad and its oil companies have transformed Sudan into a major oil supplier for China.

http://wsws.org/articles/2011/mar2011/chru-m25.shtml

@Gregory_Dittman: Jihad does mean struggle. Mein Kampf also means “my struggle”. The koran does not really leave much to the imagination, especially not in the parts where it says to cut the enemys opposing hands and feet, or their fingers off, how about the parts where it gives the ok to rape your enemy’s women? Muhamad invaded Meca and almost everyone converted, was that due to his pleasant nature? Many muslims are good people by are standards, but the koran calls them hypocrites and says they will have the worst fire and brimstone of them all. Not to be little your point but Muhammad was into forced conversons and believed he was going to live in the magical garden for doing so. I’m not against islam but I think its just common sense to define our enema’s.

@Skookum: Thanks.

from the original post: This paper questions whether what at first glance appears to be random events, might actually be a highly coordinated strategic war against the West by a surreptitious yet highly successful foe whose intent is upon global domination.

I must have missed the link, Ariel. What “paper” would that be?

But if you think the global Islamic jihad movement’s quest for a caliphate is new, or has never been an orchestrated goal, you need only look back thru history. The French journalists that were kidnapped in late 2004 were even shown the map of the desired land from Andulusia (Spain) to the China border. i.e. pretty much all of southern Europe from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Not new news. But I would suggest that you do the movement and quest injustice when you only label it as al Qaeda. An error that Bush did when defining the enemy post 911. Of course, it’s worse now. They don’t label it anything or anyone… just “overseas contingency”… sigh.

AQ means “the base”,and that includes it’s threads, tenacles and associates. They all operate and interact when necessary, and use different names are all over the globe, including here in the US. The Islamic jihad movement is global, and they don’t wear badges, collect dues, or register their business names. It’s a mentality, and is certainly not confined to what the average reader knows as “al Qaeda”. They may not be orchestrating any or all of these uprisings as a collective group, but the mentality is alive, well, and organized… waiting for the vacuum to seize power with their far more organized skills and financial backing. That’s why many of us have been bucking this “democratic uprising” crap the media and admin parrot to the masses.

You mention that Muslim Brotherhood and AQ have been released from prisons post Mubarak. I know that there were prison breaks and release of MB and jihadists DURING the riots while Mubarak was in power. Egypt is now under control of the Egyptian military… martial law, so to speak. Are you telling us the Egptian military is releasing MB and AQ prisoners? You have links to this data?

To begin with Al’ Qaeda has a long history with both the Muslim Brotherhood and Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Indeed, Al’ Qaeda’s number 2 man, Ayman Al Zawahiri was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood from the age of 14 before becoming a founding member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad, whose stated goal was to overthrow the government of Egypt in order to establish an Islamic Caliphate.

Reminder that part of this history includes a falling out between Zawahiri and the Brotherhood in regards to violent transnational jihadism and whether or not that is the correct approach to the spread of Islam. A number of Islamic leaders have become horrified by the violence of the jihad movement which has killed as many Muslims as non-Muslims and have publicly rejected and condemned al Qaeda and affiliated jihadi groups.

At best, you might say they are aligned by strategy/end goal (a more Islamic fundamentalist world) but divided by tactics (violence vs. non-violent takeover).

@Zac: Just out of curiosity, who is the publisher of the Koran which you are reading?

It’s going to be interesting, for sure.
When accused of sorcery by the Pharisees: They charged that He had conjured up the power of devils to cast out demons.
In response to these charges, Recall: How can the devil, cast out himself? “A kingdom divided against itself can not stand.”

Good news.

Their seems to be a giant rift widening in Islam. I think they all agree with 3rd Imam, the namesake of most awesome Exalted Leader: Hussein. But, there are big rips in that Mohammad family right now. Face it, you got Arabia, and Media-Persia. The rapidly ascent of Al-Quaeda and the “brotherhood” is Sunni. Egypt, Libya, Syria. Hello kings of Saudi Arabia, are you getting nervous yet? Recall, the country of origin of the majority of the 911 hijackers. They weren’t Shia. Isn’t Iran, a major player here: A pure Shia production? Old Mahmoud, did I hear that perhaps he believes himself to be the hidden 12th Imam, the Mahdi, over in Media Persia, is working, day and night, to get operational nuclear weaponry. Yes, Israel is a target: But don’t think that this MB Caliph isn’t also a target. When this caliph is established, and starts governing the ummah, from each according to his ability, and to each according to his need: is it going to be Sunni, or Shia? I doubt if while they’re figuring out their Mahdi, that they’re going to be conducting themselves just like Baptists, Catholics, Lutherans, and Presbyterians and Hebrews. I doubt if Hezbolah and Al-Qaeada will be playing golf in the same country-clubs. Isn’t some rather considerable pu(t)rification bound to be happening here?

I have 2, the one I have at home is translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, the publisher is Idara. I’m not entirely sure about the other one, its at the office. I don’t speak or read Arabic fluently enough yet to read the Arabic koran. I understand there are issues with translation from classical Arabic to modern Arabic, let alone to english and a lot of the true meaning is lost.

Truthfully; I’m having a horrible time understanding the damn thing.

@Wordsmith: Do you know of a good koran?

Zac, was that a pun, “Do you know of a good koran?”

As if you are saying, “Do you know of a good farrier?”

Speaking of the irony of releasing violent prisoners as a way to become more democratic, did you all know that Hamas and Fatah are both demanding a pre-condition to even talking with the Israeli’s about peace.
The pre-condition?
Israel must release every Palestinian behind bars no matter what violent deeds he/she was convicted of /admitted to doing.
How does that help move the peace process?
And why add pre-conditions all the time, anyway?

Have you payed any good taxes recently?

Zac, I haven’t paid any good taxes, but it is reassuring to know that our tax money is going to Brazil so they can drill offshore and create employment and sell us oil at inflated prices; while our offshore oil field workers are prevented from working and our dependence on foreign oil is increased. Thank goodness we get to pay significantly more for gas and energy in the future so that our total cost of living will increase and our economy will begin to suffocate and our people can slowly sink into poverty and despair. Without Obama and his vision of Redistribution of our wealth to the poor of the world through incredibly stupid policies, we would truly be in bad shape, but I just can’t figure out how or why.

MEMRI TV has the video and transcript so any Arabic expert can correct the wording if they dispute it.
In Egypt Cleric Muhammad Hussein Yaaqub says this:

This was an [Islamic] raid – the raid of the ballot boxes. […] They have begun saying: “From now on, Islam will enter every aspect of our lives.” What is our response to them?

Crowds: Yes, it will.

Muhaamad Hussein Yaaqub: They were the ones who said that it would be decided by the ballot, weren’t they? Isn’t that what their democracy is all about? The people said “yes” to Islam, right?

Crowds: Right.

Muhaamad Hussein Yaaqub: The people have said that they want religion, and whoever says he cannot live in such a country anymore is free to go. Go in peace. After all, they have visas for Canada and America. They are free to go.

So, I’m guessing we and Canada are in for an influx of Egyptians who don’t want to live under an all-encomapassing Sharai.

This paper questions whether what at first glance appears to be random events, might actually be a highly coordinated strategic war against the West by a surreptitious yet highly successful foe whose intent is upon global domination.

I must have missed the link, Ariel. What “paper” would that be? – MataHarley

Greetings MataHarley,

That would be the paper you would have been reading had what I had written actually been on paper and not on a computer. Please forgive my archaic terminology. I’m just an old codger who still prefers paper over pixels.

It’s a mentality, and is certainly not confined to what the average reader knows as “al Qaeda”. They may not be orchestrating any or all of these uprisings as a collective group, but the mentality is alive, well, and organized… waiting for the vacuum to seize power with their far more organized skills and financial backing. That’s why many of us have been bucking this “democratic uprising” crap the media and admin parrot to the masses.

I did not ever mean to imply that the Islamic unrest that is sweeping through the Middle East is being solely directed by Al’ Qaeda. However, I have come to believe that they are at the very forefront of this fight. I think we greatly underestimate the appeal and influence Osama Bin Laden has in the Muslim world. Although moderate Muslims may decry his violent methods, secretly they may admire Bin Laden’s ability to carry the battle to the enemy and inflict substantial damage. This is why they danced in the streets on hearing of 911. Those were not all “jihadis” dancing. They were young and old, rich and poor, Shiite and Sunni, all celebrating the carnage visited upon the “Great Satan”.

Not only is Osama (funny how his name looks so much like Obama’s) able to claim credit for 911, the most highly successful foreign attack ever on American soil, at the very heart of America’s financial district, but he is also seen as being instrumental in defeating the Soviets in Afghanistan. Nor were either of the super powers able to capture or kill Bin Laden, or Ayman Al Zawahiri for that matter. Add these colossal triumphs to his growing resume of terrorist bombings and attacks, and you have a formidable hero to the Muslim world, a veritable “Mahdi”.

So there may be many groups competing for political control, but I believe only one truly captures the hearts and minds of the Arab street, for they are seen to be the ones at the forefront of the battle since their very beginning…Al’ Qaeda.

You mention that Muslim Brotherhood and AQ have been released from prisons post Mubarak. I know that there were prison breaks and release of MB and jihadists DURING the riots while Mubarak was in power. Egypt is now under control of the Egyptian military… martial law, so to speak. Are you telling us the Egptian military is releasing MB and AQ prisoners? You have links to this data?

Try this one :

Egypt releases 60 political prisoners
Sat Mar 12, 2011 11:24PM
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/169611.html

or this:

Egypt releases brother of al Qaeda’s Zawahiri-lawyer
http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/03/17/idINIndia-55657620110317

Thanks you for that clarification of “this paper”, Ariel. Thought I was missing some major white paper release, while busy with the daily tasks in my own, small world backyard. I certainly understand clinging to older terminology. After my brief forays into the new “social media”, I found myself retreating further in the either handwritten letters and cards, or “old fashioned” (in this day and age) emails.

Thank you for the links to post Mubarak, Egyptian martial rule actions. I’ve been quite busy with my own back yard and making a living, so it’s been difficult to focus news searches on things other that the narrow headlines the media follows. In today’s news, everyone covers the same three stories… in overabundance and speculation. So if you want to follow up on events, you have to search special publications about specific events. What you link with the PressTV is enough to confirm what I was railing about during the Egyptian riots… that the uprising was anything but “pro democratic”. When the Egyptian military takes it upon themselves to release those suspected of Sadat’s assassination, they are direct links to Zawahiri… and by proxy to OBL. For them to forgive these elements during temporary power hold, and turn them loose… for no reason other than to pronounce the terms are fully served…. is not a good sign of the way Egypt is headed. However, it’s also not a surprise to me. I doubt it will be to Israel either.

You said:

I did not ever mean to imply that the Islamic unrest that is sweeping through the Middle East is being solely directed by Al’ Qaeda. However, I have come to believe that they are at the very forefront of this fight. I think we greatly underestimate the appeal and influence Osama Bin Laden has in the Muslim world. Although moderate Muslims may decry his violent methods, secretly they may admire Bin Laden’s ability to carry the battle to the enemy and inflict substantial damage. This is why they danced in the streets on hearing of 911. Those were not all “jihadis” dancing. They were young and old, rich and poor, Shiite and Sunni, all celebrating the carnage visited upon the “Great Satan”.

I don’t think that anyone underestimates the inspiration, or financial aid and organization, that AQ has provided since their rise after their merger with EIJ, and their successful assaults. However there is a danger in identifying the enemy as just “al Qaeda” (as I point out later…) in a very literal world who is happy to give other jihadis a pass because they are small fish. You are correct in your focus on jihad. I think you would do well to modify your writings that address the enemy to the larger one we really face… the global Islamic jihad movement. Part of our problem in the past is that many could not accept Saddam’s dealings with splinter groups of the same ideology simply because they didn’t have an AQ “get out of jail free” card. The same happens on the domestic front when anyone defines a union force as simply the SEIU, with they are only one part of those with a larger ideology. Are they and the AFL-CIO two of the largest and most inspirational? Yes. Are they the only problem? Hang no…

Thus why no one cared to pursue global Islamic jihad movements anywhere, unless they had “al Qaeda” somewhere in their name…. AQ in Iraq, Somalia, Yemen, etc. I don’t care if they call themselves Group of Bobs. They are all bad guys with the same goal. Thus I will respectfully disagree with your comment that you “…believe only one truly captures the hearts and minds of the Arab street, for they are seen to be the ones at the forefront of the battle since their very beginning…Al’ Qaeda.” I might say that is true only of Americans, with limited knowledge of the history of the quest for the Caliphate and jihad in general. OBL is only the more modern leader. Even Zawahiri has the right to look at OBL as a punk in the world of jihad. But it’s only since he’s been around,and pulled off one huge assault with very little assets, that the sleeping westerners have awakened. Big difference.

The biggest error that westerners do is to view Shariah, the Qur’an and jihad through their own western prism. In fact, to understand the different facets of Muslims, their views of jihad, the Caliphate and Islamic states in general requires total disassociation of western perspective. But then, all 911 has done is foster a group of self-proclaimed Islamic infidel experts – most who think themselves on the level of clerics – who constantly lecture us on a religion and perspective they are adept at misportraying.

The variety of Muslims and beliefs, however, are no more a one size fits all that the various demonimations of Christianity. Plus the modern world, advancements and even capitalism has modified their views. For example, the Muslim world did celebrate post 911 at the “gotcha” moment by a new jihad leader. But that same tactic and drive for a strict fundamentalist Caliphate proved their undoing when they became the largest murderer of their own kind, as exampled in Iraq. Muslim opinions of jihad freedom fighters started turning. Most modern Muslims do have a respect and desire for some things western… the opportunities, the individual freedoms, etc. Once the jihadists gained momentum, they literally started destroying their own myth. The Caliphate, as envisioned by them, is not the Caliphate envisioned by modern Muslims.

It was almost three years to the day that I wrote of Zawahiri’s interview earlier that year, as translated by Laura Mansfield. Ms. Mansfield has since published a book of those two interviews/translations, and no longer provides thems for no charge. Too bad… I still possess Pt I of that in a PDF form… all 46 pages… and it’s quite the read.

Returning to Egypt – as well with other current events – Zawahiri’s history with EIJ is well known. As I said, OBL is the new, young guy on the block with the Caliphate and jihad in general. But he had money, charisma, and with a high profile under his belt that attracted the interest of the US and western world. Thus he grabbed the spotlight. But not with a newly defined quest or goal. No problem for the older leaders. Their goal always supercedes and individual’s fame in jihad. In Islam, there are the fighters, and there are the clerics. To be adept at one, does not make you accepted as a high cleric without their seminary instruction. Sadr had that problem with legitimacy in Iraq with his leadership.. which is why he bolted Iraq to return to studies in Iran.

Zawahiri and OBL’s merge in the mid 90s is also well known, as well as their goals. That became obvious with the World Islamic Front statement, declaring war on the US and the west in 1998. Even Saddam’s relationship with Zawahiri from 1993 (prior to his official merger with AQ) is well known. thanks to the Harmony/ISG documents we found post the fall of Saddam in 2003. The threads of these influential leaders, both current and past generations, is thick.

The French journalists that were captured in Iraq late 2004 were also privvy to the caliphate plans, and even shown a “wish list” map. They passed that on to the world via the media then.

The world didn’t care. The media, clues to jihad history and threads, didn’t find it of interest. To them it was just some madmen and a scribbled map. Still, it was no surprise to global intelligence organizations who know their desires well.

It is within this frame work that these uprisings, and most especially Libya, bother me tremendously. The media, and tonight our POTUS, is quick to label these rebels as pro democracy forces. Any suggestion that “al Qaeda” (there’s that narrow definition again) is involved in Libya is quickly dismissed. Yet Libya held the record for the nation that sent the most fighters to Iraq.

Too bad they weren’t wearing their “I’m a bud of OBL” tees so we could see the obvious, yes?

Yet the resigned former Justice Minister and head of the rebel forces says “there are no al Qaeda in Libya”. Technically, using that name and not the ideology, that could be true But it is far from true when you consider there are no jihad elements that align with AQ’s philosphy in Libya.

Yet we are there, considering arming the enemy of the US.. the global Islamic jihad movement.

Where has our sanity gone?

Zac, the Bible mentions God commanded the Jews to commit genocide when Moses was founding Israel. God also made many exceptions to “thou shall not kill.” The various Christian churchs expanded the exceptions (Among them was Pope Innocent III’s order of “fire and sword” to kill the heretics in Europe which led to 100,000 deaths). The Christian went around the world installing their beliefs using swords and guns for centuries. The Spanish Inquisition promoted rape and torture and the Catholic church allowed pedophilia to flurish among its ranks.

The phrase “Kill’em all and let God sort them out” sounds like an American military call to genocide to me.

As far as death counts go, the Marlboro man is more dangerous than the Muslim man. Four million people die each year in the world, with 600,000 of them being from second hand smoke. The Jihad movement wishes it could produce that many deaths. Their number of expansionist kills is about 10,000 a year. The vast majority of violence by Muslims is against other Muslims because their ties to their tribes are stronger than their ties to religion.

from: Zawahiri… in his own words
Visions for the Middle Eat

http://sea2sea.blogspot.com/2008/04/zawahiri-in-his-own-words.html

1) The clash with the corrupt regimes must occur sooner or later if we want to set up the Muslim state and liberate the lands of Islam.

2) The overall position is open to adjustment from one territory to another. So for
example, in Algeria the brothers pair targeting of Jewish and Western interests with waging a guerilla war against the hireling government, because their circumstances make it possible for them to do that.

3) Severing the heads isn’t the objective: rather, the objective is to remove the corrupt, apostate regime and set up the Islamic government. And the means of change differ from one territory to another.

I repeat… “the objective is to remove the corrupt, apostate regime and set up the Islamic government.” So in the first stated goal above, it was to see receding influence of Jews and Crusaders. But there is a second stated goal. Once the jihad movement can bring American resolve to her knees, their next target are the Arab governments themselves – those who do not implement and rule by Islamic law.

These governments are also marked for demise by mere cooperation with the west on intelligence.Even perhaps, by trade. And it is this phrasing that makes me believe the “move towards Jerusalem” is actually the quest to surround Israel with the Islamic Caliphate.

Greetings MataHari,

I see you have been well ahead of the curve on this. The Zawahiri interview is quite revealing, as it gives us a glimpse into Al’ Qaeda’s overall objectives and how they intend to achieve those objectives. And with the replacement of the Bush regime with the Obama regime, Al’ Qaeda now has a free hand, (and quite possibly military help from the US and Europe) in accomplishing their goal in removing the regimes which are obstacles to the establishment of the Islamic Caliphate covering all territories once held under Muslim control.

In order to achieve their objective, all the despotic regimes in the Middle East would have to be deposed in order to be replaced by governments sympathetic to the creation of a Caliphate. That would necessitate a popular uprising, even a “democratic” uprising which would camouflage the real objectives of the revolt. And now we see exactly such uprisings springing up simultaneously throughout the region, with extremist Islamic elements at the forefront.. whether they be Al Qaeda or others. Your point is quite well taken that the Islamacist movement is far greater than the individual groups that comprise it, but they all seem to be working toward the same goal.

It is within this frame work that these uprisings, and most especially Libya, bother me tremendously. The media, and tonight our POTUS, is quick to label these rebels as pro democracy forces. Any suggestion that “al Qaeda” (there’s that narrow definition again) is involved in Libya is quickly dismissed. Yet Libya held the record for the nation that sent the most fighters to Iraq.

Indeed they did, and now many of those same fighters, the ones still able to do so, are fighting to overthrow the Khaddafi regime. With the ascendancy of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (and the attendant Egyptian Islamic Jihad) immediately to the East of Libya, and the rise of Islam in the Magreb in Algeria immediately to the west, the entirety of North Africa may be poised to be subsumed within a single Caliphate. Though the individual nations may continue to use their names and sport their national identities, like the states within the US, the overarching governmental structure and religious ethos will be Islamic and will most likely incorporate Sharia law throughout as the glue that binds them together.

Yet the resigned former Justice Minister and head of the rebel forces says “there are no al Qaeda in Libya”. Technically, using that name and not the ideology, that could be true But it is far from true when you consider there are no jihad elements that align with AQ’s philosphy in Libya.

Yet we are there, considering arming the enemy of the US.. the global Islamic jihad movement.

Where has our sanity gone?

They may proclaim that there is “no Al’ Qaeda” in Libya until the cows come home, but that does not negate their involvement there, especially considering that less than one year ago Khaddafi released hundreds of Al’ Qaeda members from prison. (see: Libya Released Hundreds of Al-Qaeda Terrorists http://amerpundit.com/2010/04/06/libya-released-hundreds-of-al-qaeda-terrorists/

Check out:

Libyan rebel commander admits his fighters have al-Qaeda links

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8407047/Libyan-rebel-commander-admits-his-fighters-have-al-Qaeda-links.html

also:

U.S. supports Al Qaeda ‘freedom fighters’ against Gaddafi in Libyan civil war

http://www.examiner.com/geopolitics-in-national/u-s-supports-al-qaeda-freedom-fighters-against-gaddafi-libyan-civil-war

and again:

‘Al-Qaeda snatched missiles’ in Libya

http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/al-qaeda-snatched-missiles-in-libya/story-e6frfku0-1226028543204

And we are helping to level the playing field for the insurgents, many of whom fought against us in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Hence, I echo your concern.

Where has our sanity gone?

I was wondering if the bible scholar in #28 can please enlighten us on all of the contradictions in that (pffft!) bible regarding the 6th commandment. I guess I missed all of those parts. Yeah, that nasty old bible is nothing like the Quran, which is completely contradiction-free! And, that nasty terrible, Spanish Inquisition. Murdered millions on that Iberian peninsula. Those peace-loving moors were just there, visiting, minding their own business; And, Wham. Up come these nasty Christums. Those bad-old Christums need to be more like those peace-loving muslims: Those who would never think of stoning to death the victims of rape for violating the 7th commandment, or anything, right?

And, every U.S. service man and womans knows American military’s call to genocide: “Kill’em all and let God sort them out.” Yessireee. Yep..

And, that nasty Marlboro man, with his 2nd hand smoke: Has killed, oh, so many more people than that religion of peace: Islam. Oh Yeah! OK.. Thanks!

Well, the way I see it, the Christians of 800 to 1000 years ago were a bit crude, and hard core to say the least. Now, for someone, to equate the less than Civilized world of 1000, to 1200 ad.. to TODAY…. and use THAT as an “excuse” for people 1000 years ADVANCED, to act like the SAVAGE RABBLE that people were then.. is beyond belief, and the intellect of modern man! The SAVAGE acts that go on, in MODERN Middle east Countries… is also beyond belief!! In many respects, a lot of these folks, STOPPED EVOLVING 1000 years ago… and act like it. Put it this way, is someone thawed out a “suspended” T-Rex”… and turned him loose in your town, would you try to TAME him?? Or Blow him away??
Unfortunately, for some over there, the choices we face, are no different! Golda Meir once said… “We will have peace, when the Arabs love their Children MORE than they HATE us”! Over 35 years later.. the Arabs STILL don’t place their kids and families futures above hate! Why?? Allah! The end.

I am a simple person, aiming to have peace in this world..let Islam be the one religion…Let there be peace not war.

Hassanulbana Mackno, hi,
there will be peace in this world if ISLAM STAY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
AND FIGHT THEIR ENEMY WHO ARE WITHIN THE MUSLIM POPULATION,
INSTEAD OF FORCING THE FREE WORLD TO FIGHT THEM,
remember who attacked the free WORLD
remember who attack ISRAEL, remember who use their son to be suicide bomber, you must fight you’re ennemies so we can live in peace and bring back our sons and daughters to their beloved AMERICA SAFE AND WELL,
YOU MUST LIVE IN PEACE WITH OTHER RELIGIONS IF YOU IMMIGRATE IN AMERICA, YOU CANNOT LET YOUR RELIGION LEAD AND CONQUER THE CHRISTIANS WHICH ARE THE ROOTS OF AMERICA,
YOU MUST BE AMERICAN TOTALY FIRST AND LOVE NOT HATE THE OTHER RELIGION ,
AND EXPOSE THOSE OF YOU WHICH ARE SEEKING TO TERRORISE THIS NATION, WHICH DON’T WANT TO BE IN YOUR RELIGION, AND WILL NEVER BECOME ISLAMIC,
THEN THERE WILL BE PEACE ALL OVER THE WORLD IF THE WOMANS ARE FREE, IF THE ATTACK CEASE TO BE, IF THE MUSLIMS KEEP THEIR RELIGION IN THEIR OWN SELF, NOT TRYING TO SELL IT TO OUR YOUNG IN CAMPUS AND SCHOOLS.
THE MUSLIMS ARE NOT A DOMINANT PEOPLE HERE THEY WILL NEVER BE,
LET THEM BE HUMBLE AND REALISE THIS FACT, AND STOP WISHING TO DOMINATE THIS BEAUTIFUL AMERICA, WHERE THE ROOTS ARE STRONG AND WHERE THE BRAVEST HAVE SPEND THEIR BLOOD TO KEEP AMERICA A FREE WORLD, SINCE THE BEGINNING.

@Hassanulbana Mackno:

Greetings Hassanulbana Mackno,

At this time I will have to decline your generous offer of universal Islam, because it goes against my Christian as well as my American sensibilities. Since Islam rejects my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I have no alternative but to reject Islam. Since Islam requires a totalitarian theocracy to enforce its moral laws, it overturns the US Constitution, which I honor and have sworn to uphold. Hence I cannot now, nor ever support or endorse Islam in any way, shape or form.

As for your fervent desire for peace. We all wish for peace. Perhaps if members of your religion would stop slaughtering innocent men, women and children in the name of Allah, there would be a great deal more peace.

Lead by example, not by smooth sounding words. We already get enough of that with Obama!

In Christ,

Ariel

AMEN!