By: Tashbih Sayyed, Ph.D
What everyone feared but was reluctant to acknowledge has happened; the civil war in Iraq has formally been inaugurated. In the first stage of this civil war, Al-Qaeda has declared Shiites to be apostates and their leader Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's edicts that participation in the coming elections is a sacred duty, a blasphemy. Zarqawi has already criticized Iraq's majority Shiites as a "Trojan Horse" used by "the enemies of the nation" to take over the country. "The Shiites are the allies of the Jews and Americans. They are helping kill Muslims," Al Qaeda's basic credo puts the matter bluntly: "We believe that the Shiites are . . . the most evil creatures under the heavens."
To formalize this unjust war against civilization, Osama bin Laden has anointed Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi as the Emir (prince) of Al-Qaeda, removing any doubts, if there were any, that the insurgency in Iraq is basically the beginning of a civil war. Referring to al-Zarqawi's declaration of allegiance to him, Osama bin Laden declared it to be "a great step on the path of unifying all the mujahedeen (holy worriers) in establishing the state of righteousness and ending the state of injustice."
The alliance between Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab Zarqawi is significant in the sense that it has successfully brought together the forces of anti-Americanism, anti-Semitism and anti-Shiite, expanding the scope and depth of their struggle to establish Islamist Khilafah. The rising radicalism in the Muslim world is a testimony to Osama bin Laden's ability to skillfully harness universal Muslim sense of failure and helplessness to achieve its agenda by exploiting Arab-Israeli territorial conflict and the presence of US forces on the Arabian Peninsula. "Al-Qaeda and the affiliated Islamist trends of the Salafi-Jihadi or Tawhidi-Jihadi groups, do their best to use the Palestinian issue, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and Hamas struggle, for their propaganda, recruitment, fund-raising, and the justification of most of their terrorist attacks."
Ayman al-Zawahri, Osama Bin Laden's deputy and the architect of the al-Qaeda ideology, in a tape, aired on Arabic television channel al-Jazeera, called for organized resistance against invading "crusaders" in the Muslim world. In addition to the US and the UK, al-Zawahri singled out Australia, France, Poland, Norway, South Korea and Japan. He said these countries took part in the invasion of Afghanistan, Iraq or Chechnya and gave Israel "means of survival."
Zawahri emphasized in the tape that it is the duty of every Muslim to liberate "Palestine". He said the West is complicit in the deaths of Palestinian militant leaders. "In Palestine, we do not only face the Jews, but we also face the global coalition against Islam, led by the crusader and Zionist United States and the crusader West and the agent leaders behind them."
Abu Musab Zarqawi as an exponent of Wahhabism which represents a Fascist religious ideology that has transformed a message of peace into an evil faith which espouses a way of life of gender apartheid, homophobia, religious persecution, racial hatred, fundamentalism, polygamy, and primordial barbarism by misinterpreting the holy scriptures and manipulating the Muslim history. Wahhabism is the symbol of everything that has gone wrong with Muslim sociology. The alliance of these two forces has underlined the threat that the freedoms face today.
What has made this alliance more dangerous for Iraq is the Jihadi tactic of exploiting the sentiments of nationalism and tribal sense of pride. By successfully arousing the nationalistic aspirations and Arab's sense of honor, Wahhabis have been able to hide their real objectives of re-imposing the minority Sunni Arab regime on Iraq. To make sure that Sunni Kurds should also join in this un-holly alliance, Wahhabis are now trying to convince them that their grievances and bitterness against the Sunni Baathist government is misplaced. Saddam Hussein's statement that it was Shiite Iran and not Sunni Baathists who perpetrated the chemical attack in Halabja murdering thousands of Kurds, is a step in the same direction.
This alliance has all the possibilities for providing a basis for a network that will include all anti-American, nationalist, anti-Semitic and homophobic organizations like HAMAS and Hezbollah. Although Salafi organizations do not accept Shiites as Muslims (Sunni Salafi groups of Global Jihad, have developed in recent years extensive tendencies of Takfir—excommunication—towards the Shi`ah, beyond the Wahhabi traditional animosity towards it), but they can justify cooperation with a lesser evil to fight the bigger evil.
An Iraq under this alliance will also serve as a center for Islamist terrorism to spread out from and control such neighboring countries like Morocco, Tunis, Libya and Chad where Islamism is still struggling to establish itself. In my view, the most critical, advantage Islamist will have by winning control of post-Saddam Iraq is to use it as a launching pad to attack European countries like Spain, France, and Germany etc.
Experts studying Al-Qaeda, are unanimous in their view that Osama bin laden, after losing his training camps in Afghanistan as a result of Taliban's defeat where, according to German police, 70,000 people received weapons training and religious instructions, has changed his tactics. He is now concentrating on keeping the civilized world intimidated and under pressure by resorting to smaller but numerous terrorist attacks like the one in Spain, Indonesia, Morocco and Turkey. Such attacks do not need years of planning or lots of funds but do require a territory to operate from like Iraq.
According to a report in Al-Hayat by Salameh Nematt, "During the past four months, and according to estimations, Al Qaeda murdered 533 persons and injured 3,000 others in six countries at least, extending from Morocco, to Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq, Pakistan, and finally Spain. Terrorism experts say Al Qaeda's next target might be Rome, the Vatican, the Pope's residence, and the Catholic Church; then would follow Vienna, in order to get revenge for the defeat of Muslims in 1683. Later, they would move to Britain and the United States. These experts consider that Rome and Vienna will be targeted, because this follows the rationale of Al Qaeda, which targeted Turkey first, since it was the center of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, before being invaded by the Christian forces in 1917. Then it aimed at Spain in order to "regain Andalusia!"
Attacks on softer targets like in Madrid, Casablanca and Istanbul and the subsequent media coverage helps radical Islam to control the direction of policy and politics of target countries. It benefits in the propagation of radical Islam's message to a wider audience. Smaller terrorist attacks, when carried out frequently and regularly, gives a sense of power and confidence to the Islamists and helps in converting many more border line cases to the cause.
Osam's message re-enforced the Wahhabi belief that any government in Iraq that is dominated by Shiites will not be righteous and therefore unjust. Osama declared, "We have been pleased that they (Iraqi Sunnis) responded to God's and his prophet's order for unity, and we in Al Qaeda welcome their unity with us." Al-Qaeda chief said al-Zarqawi and those with him are fighting "for God's sake."
Declaring Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's government as an "apostate government", Osama bin Laden said he was "pleased" with al-Zarqawi's "gallant operations" against the Americans and interim Iraqi Prime Minister. Commenting on the message, U.S. State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said "it's a message from terrorists" and an attempt "by murderers to propagate their evil trade."
Claiming responsibility for killing Baghdad's Shiite Governor Ali-al-Haidari, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi posted a statement on Al-Qaeda's website, "We tell every traitor and supporter of the Jews and Christians that this is your fate."
Since Sunnis believe that Shiites are infidels, it was not surprising that Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's edicts declaring the participation in the election a "religious duty," was found to be an act of apostasy by Al-Qaeda chief. "In the balance of Islam, this constitution is infidel and therefore everyone who participates in this election will be considered infidels," he said. He warned, "Beware of henchmen who speak in the name of Islamic parties and groups who urge people to participate in this blatant apostasy."
Aiman al Zawahiri, the brain behind Osama bin Laden, in his taped message, aired October 1, exhorted Sunnis, "You, youth of Islam, this is our message… don't betray God and his Prophet, and don't knowingly betray the trust."
Earlier on September 1, in a tape broadcast by Al-Jazeera Gulbadeen Hekmatyier, a Salafi and the former guerrilla leader in the Afghan-Soviet war of the 1980s, still fighting today, said, "Do not accept anything but expelling the occupier and establishing God's law in your country". In an expression of solidarity with Al-Qaeda, Sunni Arab clerics have also called for a boycott of elections and Iraq's largest Sunni political party announced it was pulling out of the race.
There are reasons for the neighboring Sunni Arab governments to support Al-Qaeda in its "jihad" against Shiites – A Shiite government in Iraq can encourage the Shiites in their countries to seek more representation in the government or at least demand the basic human rights for themselves. According to Michael S. Doran, "Sectarian tension is woven into day-to-day life in a number of Gulf societies. It's a well-known fact that in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, the Shiites, though a numerical majority, were second-class citizens.
But few Americans know that a similar imbalance exists in Bahrain, where the Sunni-dominated state rules a society that is 75 percent Shiite. Next door in Saudi Arabia, the Shiites make up a much smaller percentage of the total population (10 to 15 percent), but they are concentrated in the oil-rich Eastern Province. This sectarian geography has prompted at least one prominent Saudi cleric to call for the "ethnic cleansing" of the Shiites."
Osama's actions show his deep understanding of the Muslim Psyche. By painting himself in the image of the early Caliphs – as a pious Muslim leader - he can win many more Muslim hearts and minds. To achieve this goal, he has to re-orchestrate the Al-Qaeda movement as an ideology. This ideology needs a center - a base – from where, instructions and guidance can be issued to the cells already in place in the USA, Europe, Australia and other parts of the world.
His recent moves indicate that having established himself as the present day mujahid (holy worrier) Salahuddin Ayyubi, he now wants to assume the role of the Caliphs (the rightly guided ones) to "guide" the Muslim Ummah in this vital struggle to re-establish Khilafah and subjugate the unbelievers. Experts believe that in calling for a boycott of elections, bin Laden appears to also be speaking as a political leader, not just a terrorist going into battle. According to Roger Cressey, a former deputy to counter-terrorism chief Richard Clarke, "He is trying to position himself as speaking to a global Islamic community in a way that further defines the fight against the West in his terms."
To the radical Islamists, struggle in Iraq and Afghanistan is only two of the many fronts in their religious war against the non-Wahhabis to establish Shriah in the world. "This above all is a religious war," said Osama bin Laden in 1998. "We will win because we have God," Hekmatyier told a journalist in 1981. Radical Islamists know that an election as scheduled will go a long way in stopping their Fascist ideology from overwhelming the freedoms.
That's why they will do everything in their power to force the authorities to postpone the elections. But the question is, will the authorities let them succeed?
(The writer is editor-in-chief of Muslim World Today and Pakistan Today, California-based weekly newspapers, president of Council for Democracy and Tolerance and adjunct fellow of Hudson Institute.)
