Ayman Zawahiri, Al Qaeda #2, released this tape yesterday. Responding to the video message released by Zawahiri four days after the ninth anniversary of 9/11 attacks, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley said that Washington's relations with "countries in the (militancy-infected) regions around the world are in ascendance and it is al-Qaeda - and particularly the core al-Qaeda - that is in retreat."
The tape fails to mention the attacks of September 11, 2001, and is the first 9/11 anniversary tape to do so nine years later. It concentrates heavily on Pakistan and critizes heavily the Zardari regime, appealing to Islamic identity in the nation and then onto other Islamic nations under heavy Western influence. It seems to mark the beginning of Al-Qaeda's new approach to confronting the rhetoric and changing nature of the battle for Hearts and Minds in the Muslim world. Zawahiri clearly differentiates between the jihadi vanguard and the rest of the Muslim nation and is thereby essentially advising all Muslims to select Islam as their primary identity but not to be deceived by moderate movements and sufi platforms. His critique is especially critical of certain aspects of the Ikwan al-Muslimeen, including their support for Muhammad Al-Baradei, secular reformist in Egypt, Sharif Ahmed in Somalia, and Yusef Qaradawi's moderation movement from Qatar. While, not altogether a different approach, the message was geared less towards a jihadi population all too familiar with the analysis he provides and more towards enlightening the general populations in Pakistan and the Arab world especially with regard to the reality of politicla machinations at work in a war that is apparently altering its facets and components. Al Qaeda has struggled to get masses of Muslims to understand the intentions it has espoused since day one, namely to create a void that would allow citizens of the Muslim world to wrest themselves from tyrannical leaders propped up by western support. Only time will tell how effective the message is with regard to the mass majority. It is likely that with the recent polarizations and political change coming at the end of the year, that more will pay attention to the argument of Al-Qaedists, but still highly unlikely that their message will resonate with the mass. Zawahiri claimed that "The forces of jihad have emerged victorious and the forces of the Crusader invasion have weakened by their wounds and exhausted by the hemorrhage of human and financial losses." The whole video is available (embedded and for download) below:
media is included for educational purposes only
0 comments:
Post a Comment