The ninth issue of the al-Qaeda biweekly “Sawt al-Jihad†[Voice of Jihad] online magazine was released yesterday, reflecting new and interesting developments within al-Qaeda circles in Saudi Arabia. This issue features an insightful commentary on bin Laden’s latest speech and takes a clear stance supporting Jihad in the mounting inner-debate regarding armed Jihad on the holy soil of Saudi Arabia. This issue also provides a special report about the forthcoming documentary by al-Qaeda’s production company. Also, a new section dedicated to women brings the story of Um Hamza [Mother of Hamza], a role model for all women dedicated to Jihad.
Osama bin Laden’s latest speech is quoted, “there should be no dialogue with the occupiers but the dialogue with weapons, this is our obligation today, and this is for what we should strive.â€
Louis Attyiat-Allah, an al-Qaeda ideologist, provides a written analysis of bin Laden’s latest speech. Attyiat-Allah criticizes al-Jazeera television for broadcasting only a small portion of bin Laden’s speech, saying that this is one of the most important speeches for the coming times. Attyiat-Allah wrote:
“I felt angry at al-Jazeera channel for cutting the speech from over 40 minutes to 14 minutes only, because it is very clear that this is one of the most important speeches of the Sheikh. It is clear that this is a detailed, political speech, and that the Sheikh read it from a paper which was prepared beforehand… in my personal opinion, this speech, in its essence, is a speech [about the] future. It includes very important clues and allusions that perhaps al-Jazeera commentators or news editors would never understand. Only those who have the same ideas and mind-set that Sheikh Osama has will be able to understand.
Attyiat-Allah also writes about a possible future attack on the same scale as 9-11, stating, “[T]he truth is that for a long time now, I was raising a simple yet specific and clear question to some people who have connections in al-Qaeda, asking them if there is going to be a second, bigger attack. From the answers, some of the next attack’s features were gathered, and the following are the most prominent:
•“It will be an innovative attack, in the sense that it will be completely unexpected, and impossible for them [the West] to even think about or picture its way of action, for it is unimaginable in the normal way. •“It will be bigger, in the sense that the loss from which America and the Western World will suffer [will be bigger], because it will be very big and immeasurable. •“Due to its greatness, it will change the global power balance.â€
Large portions of the magazine attempt to provide substantial religious justification last year’s al-Qaeda bombings in Saudi Arabia and continue to support armed Jihad in the region, in reaction to the continuing debate among al-Qaeda sympathizers concerning the religious legitimacy of armed Jihad in Saudi Arabia. Religious justification is also provided by the Center for Islamic Studies and Research, also known as “Al-Neda.â€
The anonymous author of the answers in these new series attempts to justify the Jihad in Saudi Arabia as follows:
“My Muslim mujahid brother, can you not see Muslims killed in Afghanistan, and then in Iraq?... Can you not see the corpse of the children completely torn, their skulls and brains scattered all over the [television] screens? Can you not see the Muslims in this worst condition of shame, humiliation, pain, harm, and injury? Can you not see that the headquarters of the war was from the [Arabian] Peninsula and that the center of all kinds of logistical support was this land, which the Prophet, may peace be upon him, commanded be purified from the polytheist?
“You have seen the war on Iraq, and you have seen how all the military powers in the land of the two holy mosques were in the hands of the Christians, including military bases, and even more - the civilian Arar airport has been changed to a military base because of its strategic location, which was indispensable in attacking Iraq.â€
Under the section “News Reports,†this issue publishes an al-Qaeda communiqué entitled, “The Failure of the Terrorist Attempt,†which is signed by “Al-Qaeda Organization in the Arabian Peninsula.†The communiqué consists of the mujahideen stance towards a recent clash between them and the Saudi authorities.
This issues contains a special section dedicated to recruiting women to terrorist attacks, in which women are encouraged to assist the warriors by all means. This issue’s article, entitled “Um Hamza, an Example for the Woman Holy Warrior,†tells the story of the late Um Hamza by her husband, in which her virtues are detailed. “Um Hamza and Martyrdom: Um Hamza was very happy whenever she heard about a martyrdom operation carried out by a woman, whether it was in Palestine or Chechnya. She used to cry because she wanted a martyrdom operation against the Christians in the Arabian Peninsula.†A copy of a letter handwritten by Um Hamza shortly before her death is displayed in the magazine.
In an article entitled “Be Patient for the Strike of Jihad,†under the section “Instructions to the Mujahideen,†the writer encourages the mujahideen to continue their struggle, promising them that the “the infidels will suffer like we do, and will suffer from strain, fear, and loss of money and lives like we do, but on a much bigger scale.â€
sorry about the weird things in the text.