Violence won't work - Revisionist message from prison cell shakes al-Qaida
Violence won't work: how author of 'jihadists' bible' stirred up a storm
Quote:
In a prison cell south of Cairo a repentant Egyptian terrorist leader is putting the finishing touches to a remarkable recantation that undermines the Muslim theological basis for violent jihad and is set to generate furious controversy among former comrades still fighting with al-Qaida.
Sayid Imam al-Sharif, 57, was the founder and first emir (commander) of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organisation, whose supporters assassinated President Anwar Sadat in 1981 and later teamed up with Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan in the war against the Soviet occupation.
Sharif, a surgeon who is still known by his underground name of "Dr Fadl", is famous as the author of the Salafi jihadists' "bible" - Foundations of Preparation for Holy War. He worked with Ayman al-Zawahiri, another Egyptian doctor and now Bin Laden's deputy, before being kidnapped in Yemen after 9/11, interrogated by the CIA and extradited to Egypt where has been serving a life sentence since 2004.
Sharif recently gave an electrifying foretaste of his conversion by condemning killings on the basis of nationality and colour of skin and the targeting of women and children, citing the Qur'anic injunction: "Fight in the cause of God those who fight you, but do not transgress the limits; for God loveth not transgressors." Armed operations were wrong, counterproductive and must cease, he declared sternly.
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much more on the link:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/egypt/stor...rc=rss&feed=12
Odd place answers are found
Leaving aside the rported conversion in a cell. Most comments on de-radicalisation in custody point out it is "one on one" and so very intensive. How many clerics can be found, who agree with the cause and are willing to argue?
In February 2007, in a discussion group on prisons in Western Europe no-one could cite an example of such work anywhere in the region.
So we look to the Yemen and other places for an answer.
If he has converted and the book is published - well done.
davidbfpo
Prisoner deradicalisation
There is an interesting 'de-rad' program in Singapore, the Religious Rehabilitation Committee, focusing on the JI members arrested there in 2001/02.
A useful academic paper outlining its structure and practices is here:
http://www.pvtr.org/pdf/Ideology%20R...insurgency.pdf
It has apparently had limited success, with only a handful of people being assessed as suitable for release. As I understand it the Yemeni program has been largely discredited.
The Egyptians and Malaysians reportedly also have such programs, but I am yet to find any open source material on these. It appears the US military is trying the concept also in Iraq:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20200546...wsweek/page/0/
I think the role of prisons in the development of jihadist ideology and their experiences has not been sufficiently examined (imprisonment of Ibn Tamyiya, Qutb, al-Zawahiri, al-Maqdisi). It has played a key role in other contexts (NI, South Africa, Spain, and the Suffragette movement, to name a few).
non-violent != non-radical
Maybe he read Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God is Within You".
At any rate simply renouncing violence does not make one less radical or less of a threat to those in power. An example? Ask Winston Churchill who's governments solidly defeated Hitler but, effectively, lost to Gahandi. I could tell you about ML King but we've all been there, so how about Keith McHenry. He's an anarchist radical whose Food Not Bombs is the fastest growing revolutionary movement in the US. Maybe you never herd of him and don't thing he's a threat; the FBI disagrees with you.
Wait! Wait! and my favorite radical of all, Jesus the messiah himself.
I think this should be considered more a change of tactic than a capitulation.
Evan
The Other Face of Al-Qaeda
From a Quilliam Foundation email:
Quote:
In October 2010, the prominent Arabic language newspaper Al-Hayat published ‘The Other Face of Al-Qaeda’, an important 6-part series on al-Qaeda, written by the renowned Arab journalist Camille Tawil with key input from Noman Benotman, a Libyan former jihadi leader who is now a senior analyst at Quilliam.
This document is a translation of the Al-Hayat series from Arabic into English, which was undertaken by Quilliam and published in November 2010. The translation was kept as close as possible to the original text with only minor changes and some additional footnotes. The document begins with a short introduction from the translators outlining the significance of the work.
Link:http://www.quilliamfoundation.org/im...,2Q5RQ7,UGW9,1
More to read one day.
Debates and Divisions within al-Qa’ida and its Periphery
Self-Inflicted Wounds: Debates and Divisions within al-Qaida and its Periphery, Edited by Assaf Moghadam and Brian Fishman. Harmony Project - Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, December 16, 2010. (PDF)
Quote:
Chapter 1: Debates and Divisions within and around Al‐Qaida
Assaf Moghadam and Brian Fishman
.1
Chapter 2: Tactics, Takfir, and anti‐Muslim Violence
Mohammed M. Hafez
19
Chapter 3: Strategic Fissures: The Near and Far Enemy Debate
Steven Brooke
.45
Chapter 4: Al‐Qaida Central and Local Affiliates
Vahid Brown
..69
Chapter 5: Jihadi Strategists and Doctrinarians
Brynjar Lia
...100
Chapter 6: Arab and non‐Arab Jihadis
Anne Stenersen
132
Chapter 7: Jihadis and the Ikhwan
Marc Lynch
..155
Chapter 8: Jihadis and Hamas
Reuven Paz
..183
Chapter 9: Jihadis and the Shia
Bernard Haykel
202
Chapter 10: Do Jihadi and Islamist Divisions Matter? Implications for Policy and Strategy
Brian Fishman and Assaf Moghadam
.224
KSM 9/11 planner changes his mind (a bit)
A simple story, which may come as a surprise; the opening passage:
Quote:
The mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks now says that the use of violence to spread Islam is forbidden by the Quran, a major shift away from the more militaristic view he had put forward previously.
A direct citation:
Quote:
The Holy Quran forbids us to use force as a means of converting" and that reaching "truth and reality never comes by muscles and force but by using the mind and wisdom.
Link to report:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/0...?utm_hp_ref=tw
Hardly a manifesto, a 36 page tract, but judge for yourself - the manifesto:http://data.huffingtonpost.com/docum...mads-statement
Now whether you can accept his request is a moot point:
Quote:
Before you start reading, forget and neglect the writer or author's name..