http://www.dayan.org/pdfim/TA_Notes_WEBMAN_ArabReactions_071011.pdf
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http://www.ict.org.il/Articles/tabid/66/Articlsid/955/currentpage/1/Default.aspx
17/07/2011 Back to List
“Arab Reactions to Bin Ladin’s Demise”
Esther Webman
Arab Reactions to Bin Ladin’s Demise
By Esther Webman, Senior Research Fellow, Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University.
SNIPPET: “First published in Tel-Aviv Notes, Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies, Tel Aviv University.
On June 16, 2011, Ayman al-Zawahiri was named Usama Bin Ladin’s successor as al-Qa‘ida’s leader. The announcement concluded a six-week readjustment period for the organization, following Bin Ladin’s death at the hands of US Special Operations forces in a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Zawahiri, leader of the Egyptian Jihad group, had been his second in command since the establishment of the “World Islamic Front for Jihad against the Jews and the Crusaders,” in February 1998. Yet his appointment was not taken for granted and had to be approved by al-Qa‘ida’s central command. His ascension compels one to raise a number of questions: What is the state of the organization he is supposed to lead after more than a decade of war against it? Will he be able to rally the various factions around his leadership and gain their trust and support? What will be the impact of Bin Ladin’s death on the organization? Will it continue on the same jihadist ideological path? In the aftermath of the tumultuous events in the region known as the “Arab Spring,” what are its prospects and those of other jihadist movements?
Reactions in the Arab world to Bin Ladin’s death ranged from angry to joyous, from promising revenge to expressing hope for the end of terrorism, from opining that Bin Ladenism is still alive to believing that the culture of death that he championed is gone forever. These two poles reflect conflicting agendas, seeking change in opposite directions and by opposing means. One view was propagated by Islamists, and the other by their opponents, who reject their worldview and methods and draw comfort from the recent developments in Arab countries.”
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http://www.investigativeproject.org/3049/latest-al-qaida-magazine-touts-gains-and-losses
“Latest al-Qaida Magazine Touts Gains and Losses”
IPT News
July 19, 2011
SNIPPET: “Victories on the battlefield and fresh martyrs underline al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula’s [AQAP] territorial gains, according to the latest issue of its English-language Inspire magazine. Its cover story is called “Sadness, Contentment, and Aspiration.””
SNIPPET: “The magazine addresses Osama bin Laden’s death with both lamentations on the “loss of a great leader” and congratulations for his achieving the goal of martyrdom. But it pledges that his death will have little effect on the future of the organization.
“The news brought us a mixed sentiment of sadness, contentment and aspiration,” wrote American jihadist Samir Khan, in the magazine’s cover article.
“Sadness because we lost one of the greatest Islamic revolutionaries - if not, the greatest revolutionary - in modern times. Contentment because we knew that he achieved what Prophet Muhammad always yearned for: shahada’[martyrdom]. Aspiration because we remembered our Prophet’s guarantee that jihad will resume till Judgment Day.”
His death is also just one in a chain of leaders al-Qaida has lost, Khan wrote.
“Living in the States never made me think twice about the path I was undertaking, although many of the mujahidin leaders were killed such as Abu Layth al-Libi, Abu Khabbab al-Masri, Mullah Dadullah, Abu Mus’ab az-Zarqawi and others. For me and all of those who follow the path correctly, jihad is not for the sake of these commanders and leaders; rather it’s for the sake of Allah.””
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Previously...
“’I am proud to be a traitor to America’: U.S. citizen mocks his homeland in ‘Al Qaeda magazine’”
By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 4:13 PM on 12th October 2010
SNIPPET: “An American citizen has written about his pride at leaving the U.S. and joining Al Qaeda in Yemen.
In Inspire - an English-language magazine produced by Al Qaeda supporters on the Arabian Peninsula - Samir Khan mocks the U.S. intelligence agencies and pledges his support to the terrorist group.
U.S. officials believe the 24-year-old from from North Carolina is the driving force behind the magazine, which includes articles on conducting attacks and features messages from terrorist leaders”