May 5, 2007

Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, the number two figure in al-Qaeda, is featured in a video interview produced by as-Sahab, marking the third such sit-down interview to be conducted with the multimedia wing of al-Qaeda. The first was issued in September 2005, and was followed a year later by the second, which is titled, “Hot Issues”. The video, one-hour and seven minutes in length, is subtitled in English, and features Zawahiri sitting in front of a shelves of books and his gun. The video and transcript were obtained by the SITE Institute. In this interview, dated in the current month, Zawahiri remarks on the row he created in his last speech, charging the leaders of Hamas with abandoning jihad and shirking the Shari’a, or Islamic law, on which their group was founded, using his usual fiery rhetoric and strict adherence to the belief that a Palestinian entity is greater than the lives of Palestinians. However, most interesting to note is Zawahiri’s frequent references to Malcolm X AKA Al-Hajj Malik al-Shabazz, a past spokesman for the Nation of Islam, Sahab’s inclusion of excerpts from his speeches, and Zawahiri courting of all minorities in arguing that the jihad by the Mujahideen and al-Qaeda is not merely for the benefit of Muslims. He states:


“That’s why I want blacks in America, people of color, American Indians, Hispanics, and all the weak and oppressed in North and South America, in Africa and Asia, and all over the world, to know that when we wage Jihad in Allah’s path, we aren’t waging Jihad to lift oppression from the Muslims only, we are waging Jihad to lift oppression from all of mankind, because Allah has ordered us never to accept oppression, whatever it may be.”


Aside from Zawahiri’s opportunistic approach to minority rights, he comments on the current issue over the War in Iraq vis-à-vis the U.S. Congress and U.S. President George W. Bush. Speaking to the bill tying funding for the war to a timetable to withdrawal, Zawahiri comments that this is evidence of American “failure and frustration”, and sarcastically voices his disappointment that the bill deprives the Mujahideen of crushing the U.S. forces. Concerning Bush claiming success in the Baghdad security plan, Zawahiri continues to mock U.S. policy, referring to the suicide bombing at the Iraqi Parliament building in the Green Zone, stating: “And lest Bush worry, I congratulate him on the success of his security plan, and I invite him on the occasion for a glass of juice, but in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament in the middle of the Green Zone!”


To the issue of Hamas, which was embellished upon by Abu Yahya al-Libi in his speech issue one week prior by as-Sahab, Zawahiri further derides the government for its refusal to maintain a militaristic approach and believing it harmful to Palestinian lives. Zawahiri questions the relationship between Palestinian blood and “selling” Palestine to Israel and the West, arguing that their blood must be “sacrificed cheaply” for Islam and the land of Palestine. As for Hamas’ moderate position, he states: “fie on moderation, politics, the presidency and the cabinet, and I thank Allah for the bounty of extremism, militancy and terrorism and everything else we are labeled with.”


To the question of sectarian fighting in Iraq, Zawahiri believes this was stirred up not by the Mujahideen or the Islamic State of Iraq, but by those individuals and groups in Iraq who do not want the coalition forces to leave. The Mujahideen in Iraq, he claims, are nearing closer to victory over their enemy, despite this sectarian fighting, as are the Mujahideen in other fields of battle, including Afghanistan, Chechnya, Algeria, and Somalia. Other portions of the interview concern Saudi Arabia, Egyptian constitutional reform to consolidate power in the executive branch and allow Gamal Mubarak to ascend to power, and Zawahiri’s opinion of the U.S. Pentagon releasing the confessions of 9/11 mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Muhammad.

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Interview with
Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri

As-Sahab Media
Rabi’ al-Aakhir 1428

Muslim brethren everywhere: peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.
As-Sahab Media is pleased to host today Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri for its third conversation with him. We ask Allah to benefit us and all Muslims with this work, and to make it sincerely for His Noble Face.
To begin, Shaykh Ayman: peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings, and we welcome you as a guest of As-Sahab Media.

And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

Honorable Shaykh: these days are witnessing the fourth anniversary of the entrance of the Americans and their helpers, whom they carried on the backs of their tanks, to Baghdad of the Caliphate and Jihad. What are your impressions of this event after the passing of four years since it?

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and may peace and prayers be on the Messenger of Allah and on his family, companions and allies.
I praise Allah for what has been suffered by the Americans, their Crusader allies and their helpers, the worshippers of thrones, in terms of disasters and defeats over the last four years in Afghanistan and Iraq, and I give the good news to the Muslim Ummah – and not just it, but all the world’s oppressed, the victims of Western Crusader repression – that the Empire of Evil is about to come to an end, and that a new dawn is about to rise, Allah permitting, over a mankind liberated from the Caesars of the White House, Europe and the Zionists.
We are going through a historic period of utmost importance in the history of the Muslim Ummah and, indeed, all of humanity: a period in which many truths have been revealed and a number of masks have fallen away. It seems that the Muslim Ummah was in need of this period, for it to be shown the way; for the deception to become clear to it; for it to know who its enemy is, who is betraying it, who is loyal to it, and who is defending it; for it to be cleansed of its diseases and illnesses which sapped its strengths; and for it to make a new start enlightened by the light of the Quran and guided by the guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) as it advances towards its honor, dignity and freedom.

The American Congress recently passed a bill which ties the funding of American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan to a timetable for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraq which ends next March. What is your comment on this resolution?

This bill reflects American failure and frustration. However, this bill will deprive us of the opportunity to destroy the American forces which we have caught in a historic trap. We ask Allah that they only get out of it after losing two hundred to three hundred thousand killed, in order that we give the spillers of blood in Washington and Europe an unforgettable lesson which will motivate them to review their entire doctrinal and moral system which produced their historic criminal Crusader/Zionist entity.

In your opinion, what stage has the Jihad in Iraq reached today?

The Jihad in Iraq today, by the Grace of Allah, is moving from the stage of defeat of the Crusader invaders and their traitorous underlings to the stage of consolidating a Mujahid Islamic Emirate which will liberate the homelands of Islam, protect the sacred things of the Muslims, implement the rules of the Shari’ah, give the weak and oppressed their rights back, and raise the banner of Jihad as it makes its way through a rugged path of sacrifice and giving towards the environs of Jerusalem, with Allah’s permission.

Some level the accusation at you that al-Qaida and the groups in agreement with it and then the Islamic State of Iraq after them have all become embroiled in the futile mire of sectarian warfare. What is your opinion?

This is something which no intelligent person believes, because the one who is applying himself to Jihad against the strongest Crusader/Zionist coalition in history cannot possibly preoccupy himself with any side conflict. No, he of all people is most in need of someone to help and strengthen him. And he is the last one who would want to disperse his few efforts, especially at the outset of the Jihad. However, as our brothers in Iraq have emphasized repeatedly, the helpers of the Americans just won’t leave them alone: on the contrary, they are the spearhead of the Americans and their claw with which they combat the Mujahideen and torture the Muslims. And they are the ones who joined their ranks and formed the security forces, special forces and army units which the Americans have sicced on the Mujahideen and the rest of the Muslims to kill, torture and trespass.
The ones who have stirred up strife in Iraq are those who today are begging the Americans not to leave, and those who are asking the Crusaders to prolong their occupation, and not the Mujahideen who are defending the faith, honor and sanctities of their Ummah.

What is the way out of this sectarian fighting?

I imagine that the first step towards emerging from this affair is that those who colluded with the Americans and Crusaders in the London conference, the Salahuddin conference and the other secret meetings stop serving the Americans and empowering the Crusaders in Iraq of the Caliphate and Islam, and that the religion-traders stop forbidding the Iraqis from resisting the Americans and stop inciting the Iraqis to fight the Mujahideen and attack the Muslims’ sacred things.

But do you imagine that, among those who have become embroiled in these crimes, there is anyone who might be sympathetic to what you have proposed?

I imagine that there are beneficiary leaderships, and that some of their followers may have consciences in which there is some life, but those leaderships are intent on establishing certain concepts which nullify the intellects of their followers and prevent them from understanding the Quran and Sunnah except through their interpretations and explanations, and are intent to gather around themselves the biggest possible number of followers through claims of noble lineages and connections with the unseen, in order to use them in political conflicts which often clash with the slogans they used to raise.

Such as?

Such as the slogan “America, the Great Satan,” which became the slogan, “America, the Closest Partner.” Such as the slogan, “Death to America, Death to Israel,” which became “Government from America and Peace with Israel,” and such as the movements which used to claim that they were carrying the message of Islam to liberate the Muslims in Iraq from Saddam the Ba’athist, but are now sending messages of surrender to keep the forces of Bush the Crusader in the Muslims’ lands. But let me finish what I started.

Go ahead.

I say: there are beneficiary leaderships intent on consolidating concepts of their holiness and immunity from accounting for well-known reasons, and there are followers running behind those leaderships, and I imagine that there must be among them people possessing intellects and consciences in which there is a remainder of life and love for the Prophet (peace be upon him), his purified family and righteous Companions (with all of whom Allah was pleased), and which can’t possibly accept this humiliating surrender to the Crusaders, whose tank treads and airborne bombs shall have no mercy on those who aided and helped them and recognized their hireling governments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Thus, I call on those who still have intellects and consciences to refuse what these beneficiary leaderships impose on them and the loss of religion and life which they are driving them towards.
I call on everyone who declares that he loves the Prophet (peace be upon him), his purified family and righteous Companions (with all of whom Allah was pleased), to bear arms in the face of the Crusader invasion of the lands of Islam, and to help and support the Mujahideen, who have broken America’s back in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I call on him to ask himself: if our masters Ali bin Abi Talib, al-Hasan and al-Husayn (with whom Allah was pleased) were alive today, would they have been sympathetic to the Crusader invaders, become part of their organs, police and army, and begged for the continuation of their occupation? Or would they have declared Jihad against them?
I call on him to ask himself these questions, and if he doesn’t, then let him await Allah’s punishment for him, which He mentioned in His Noble Book, “O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors: they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them [for friendship] is of them. Verily Allah guides not a people unjust. You see how those in whose hearts is a disease run about among them, saying, ‘We fear lest a change of fortune bring us disaster.’ But it may be that Allah will give you victory, or a decision from Him, then they will regret the thoughts which they secretly harbored in their hearts. And those who believe will say, 'Are these the men who swore their strongest oaths by Allah that they were with you?' All that they do will be in vain, and they will become losers. O you who believe! If any from among you turn back from his faith, Allah will soon produce a people whom He will love as they will love Him; humble with the believers, mighty against the rejecters, fighting in the way of Allah, and never fearing the blame of a blamer. That is the grace of Allah, which He bestows on whom He pleases.” (5:51-54)
Thus, I warn everyone who has helped the Crusade against Iraq and Afghanistan that the Crusaders are departing – by their own admission – and soon, with Allah’s permission, so let him ponder his fate and future.

Some media have claimed that you were calling for negotiations with the West when you mentioned that America isn’t negotiating with the real powers in the Islamic world. Is this true?

Regrettably, this is what some media alleged about me, and perhaps some of them were trying to polish the image of Bush and Blair, by claiming that al-Qaida has been weakened, and thus it’s seeking negotiations. I never said this, but was merely describing the condition of the Americans and their bumbling in their search for a way out of the dark tunnel in which they’re squeezed.

But what do you mean by the real powers in the Islamic world?

I mean the Mujahid powers in the Islamic world, which is witnessing, by the Grace of Allah, a Jihadi awakening which is shaking its very being and breathing life into its veins; those powers which the Crusader West knows well, but whose true size, strength and influence it refuses to recognize. And despite the fact that its historians, thinkers and research centers are aware of many facts and realities, they are all participants in the conspiracy of silence, in an attempt to rescue what remains of their prestige after the strength of their fire and iron failed to save them or protect them after their defeat – by the Grace of Allah – in Iraq and Afghanistan, and in an attempt to deceive their peoples, whose youth they are driving like blind sheep to the mires of death in Afghanistan and Iraq, and whose taxpayers they blackmail in order for them to continue to fund the projects of their leaders – the emperors of evil – in their greedy plans to enslave mankind.
America and the Crusader West pretend not to see these powers, despite the daily losses they are inflicting on them, and despite these powers’ rapid development and intensifying growth due to the fact that they are the hope of the Muslim Ummah, and indeed, the hope of weak and oppressed all over the world in confronting aggression, oppression and repression; and they prefer to deal with the lowly ones among the rulers of the Muslim Ummah or with the traitorous religion-sellers and the fanatical secular nationalists in Iraq and Afghanistan. But none of these can rescue America from its predicament, because they depend for their survival on America, and the one who is missing something can’t give it.

You talk of an American failure and an American predicament, but Bush says that his security plan has begun to bear fruit. What is your opinion?

It bears its fruits in his pockets and the pockets of Halliburton. And lest Bush worry, I congratulate him on the success of his security plan, and I invite him on the occasion for a glass of juice, but in the cafeteria of the Iraqi parliament in the middle of the Green Zone!

You criticized in your most recent speech the leadership of HAMAS for its signing the Makkah accord, and some have accused you of dividing Palestinian ranks. What is your reply?

It’s not necessary that uniting Palestinian ranks be made into an excuse for abandoning the rule of Shari’ah and giving up most of Palestine. The Truth (Exalted is He) says, "And hold fast, all together, to the rope of Allah, and be not divided among yourselves.” (3:103) So we must hold fast to the rope of Allah, not the rope of the secularist, Palestine-selling hirelings of America. We must hold fast to the rope of Allah, not the rope of the spy Muhammad Dahlan, who HAMAS continues to this very day to refuse to appoint to the National Security Council, because – as they announced – he is working for Israel against Palestinian national security. So has HAMAS, by its rejection of Muhammad Dahlan, become a divider of Palestinian ranks?
We don’t want a single rank full of holes through which the Crusaders and Jews can come in; rather, we want unity around the word of Tawheed.

But they say that they are part of the Arab consensus which manifested itself at the recent Riyadh summit.

Yes, they have been transformed from a Mujahid movement to part of the Arab consensus which surrenders to America, the Arab consensus which sells the lands of the Muslims, the Arab consensus which represses the Muslim Ummah, the Arab consensus which hands power from one corrupt ruler to another in defense of the Crusaders’ interests. They have truly become part of this hated consensus which sits on the chest of our Ummah.
And the American game began with entering them into the elections, and tempting them into accepting the Arab resolutions and international accords and surrendering to the Americans’ man, Mahmoud Abbas, the right to negotiate with Israel. Then Condoleeza Rice gathered her boys in Riyadh, and gave them a course prior to the summit, to dictate to them the latest instructions. And so they met and produced a resolution in favor of the Arab initiative which sidesteps the right of return for the refugees with an ambiguous phrase which each party understands the way it wants to, saying, “We demand a just solution to the problem of the refugees!”
All of this so America can reach a farcical solution to the issue of Palestine, with which it is trying to remove one of the biggest causes of Muslims’ hatred of it, to tell them after that, “Why do you support the terrorists who attack America because it backs Israel? Look here! Those whom you used to consider to be Mujahideen have agreed with us. So what do the others in the Maghreb, Afghanistan, Egypt, the Levant and the Peninsula have to do with Palestine?”

But they say that it is a government of national unity.

Where is this homeland around which they have united? Where is the Palestine of 1948, the Palestine buried in the cemetery of oblivion? Have they abandoned its people? Have they surrendered them to the Jews?
I won’t ask them where is Chechnya, or where is Kashmir, or where is Iraq, or where is Somalia. Rather, I will ask them: where is Ashqelon? Where is Galilee? Where is Akko? Where is Jaffa? Where is Haifa? To whom have they surrendered them? To Mahmoud Abbas, America and Israel? And for how much have they sold them? For a third of the cabinet with a fourth of sovereignty on a tenth of a homeland?

But they say that they are a moderate Islamic movement practicing politics, so what objection do you have to that?

My brother: fie on moderation, politics, the presidency and the cabinet, and I thank Allah for the bounty of extremism, militancy and terrorism and everything else we are labeled with, if politics causes a branch of the mother movement to abandon the rule of Shari’ah and Palestine, while – to our severe and painful regret – the rest of the branches of the movement are false witnesses to the deal and silent like graves in front of this fall.
Actually, I heard on the BBC Arabic service on the 7th of April a statement by Dr. Sa’ad al-Katatni, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc in the Egyptian People’s Council, in which he said that he met with a delegation from the American Congress, and that he emphasized to them that the solution to the Palestinian problem will be achieved with the establishment of two states in Palestine on the basis of the Makkah accord. He also criticized America’s lack of concern for the Brotherhood’s detainees even as it concerns itself with the case of Ayman Noor.
This is why the Ummah must be aware of the duties its religion imposes on it, and of what goes on around it, and of what its leaders are doing. The Truth, Exalted is He, says, “O you who believe! If a sinner comes to you with news, ascertain the truth…” (49:6)
And the Truth, Exalted is He, says, “Thus do We explain the signs in detail, that the way of the sinners may be shown.” (6:55)
And the Most Noble of Speakers says, “When you look at them, their bodies please you; and when they speak, you listen to their words. It is as if they are pieces of timber propped up. They think that every cry is against them. They are the enemies, so beware of them. Allah curse them, how they lie!” (63:4)
Awareness is a must, because the governments have betrayed, the organizations have abandoned, and the leaderships have tired, and the Ummah must wage its Jihad and depend on its Lord and shoulder its responsibility without waiting for any straggler, haggler or maneuverer. This is its responsibility to Allah first and to history second. There is no excuse for anyone to leave the lands of Islam in the grip of the enemy while he is able to strive for their deliverance.

But they contend that this accord is the way out of spilling Palestinian blood.

What does the preservation of Palestinian blood have to do with the abandonment and selling of Palestine and its interment in the tomb of oblivion? Palestinian blood must be sacrificed cheaply for the elevation of Allah’s word and the liberation of Palestine. Otherwise, why did the martyrs pour out their blood in the path of Allah for the liberation of Palestine, if we were just going to abandon their goals in order to preserve blood? Was the blood of those martyrs lost in vain? And why is the preservation of Palestinian blood made a cover for the abandonment of Palestine? Preserve Palestinian blood – if you wish – but far away from the selling of Palestine.

What is it you’re asking of the leadership of HAMAS, which has had all these pressures placed on it and been prevented from practicing government?

I ask the leadership of HAMAS, first, not to turn away from the rule of Shari’ah, and to only agree to participate in elections on the basis of an Islamic constitution. And I ask it, second, that if it is given the choice between abandoning government and abandoning Palestine, it should abstain from government, hold on to Palestine and choose Jihad and resistance instead of a third of the seats in the municipal council of Gaza and Ramallah.
However, the culture of concession and methodology of backtracking bore their evil fruits, and HAMAS’s leadership agreed to participate in the aggression against the rights of the Muslim Ummah in Palestine. I request every Muslim to look at this map to appreciate the ugliness of the crime in which the leadership of HAMAS took part.
I know that many of the people of Jihad and Islam in Palestine and even in HAMAS reject what has happened, and that’s why I call on the people of Jihad and garrisoning in HAMAS to confront this aggression against the rights of the Muslim Ummah, and to strive to correct HAMAS’s course. And if they are unable, then let them remember that they are Muslim Mujahideen first. And this is an address which I direct to all members of the Islamic organizations, that they keep in mind that they only joined these organizations to help them in obeying Allah, so if these organizations come between them and obeying Allah, then they must give precedence to Islam over the organizations, and never hesitate to strive to obey Allah.
I also call on the Muslim Palestinian people, which for so long has offered up thousands of martyrs in defense of Palestine and Jerusalem, and which for 80 years has neither been shaken by the earthquakes nor carried away by the storms; the people about whom the martyr (as we see him) Abd al-Raheem Mahmoud, Allah have mercy on him, said:

A people used to difficulties
But the difficulties didn’t harm it
A rebel which never once agreed
To remain in torment
It knew the way by its truth
And walked to it on the right paths
Rights are not returned
To their owners except with spears

The people which continues to defend to this very day the holy garrison of Islam in the environs of Jerusalem with its blood, wealth, farms and all it owns: I call on this garrisoned, patient, resolute, heroic, Mujahid Muslim people to never concede one sand-grain of Palestine, however great the pressure applied to it, however intense the embargo becomes and however numerous the conspiracies might be.

What do you mean by the culture of concession and methodology of backtracking?

I mean the culture and methodology which led to allegiance being pledged to the corrupt, secularist king Farooq, and to the reelection of Hosni Mubarak and recognition of his legitimacy, the legitimacy of his laws and constitution and the legitimacy of Ali Abdullah Salih, Abdullah son of al-Hussein, the rulers of the petrol shops on the coast of the Gulf, and Mahmoud Abbas and the secularist, Palestine-selling Liberation Organization; the culture and methodology which led to entering Kabul and Baghdad on top of American tanks and participating in the governments which the Crusader occupier set up there, and which most recently led to abandonment of the rule of Shari’ah, recognition of the surrender accords and handover initiatives and concession of most of Palestine; the culture which says that we on the inside have divorced violence thrice, and shall only work through the laws which the corrupt secularist rulers invented to defend their reign and hand it down to their sons, while on the outside, we shall only perform Jihad if our governments allow us: i.e., if America and Israel allow us; the culture which apologizes for a sports exhibition even as the blood of the Muslims runs in rivers in Chechnya, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, and Somalia; the culture which claims that the Jihad of the Palestinians is confined to Palestine only, and they have nothing to do with other lands of Islam, and that its people are eager to have good relations with the Crusader West which slaughters their brothers and sisters in Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia; the culture of lambs in confrontation with the wolves of the Zionist Crusade; the culture which turned the lion cubs, grandsons of lions, into screamers in the demonstrations in confrontation with the police dogs who violate the sanctity of the female protesters who find no one to defend them; the culture which turned the lion cubs, grandsons of lions, into participants in the corrupt game of elections in Egypt in which they waste their time and effort, while their brothers in Chechnya, Afghanistan and Iraq blow up the Russians and Americans and force the Crusaders in Iraq and Afghanistan to admit the necessity of withdrawing; the culture which the struggler and martyr (as we see him) al-Hajj Malik al-Shabaaz, or Malcolm X (may Allah have mercy upon him), fought against when he told his repressed black brothers in America, “If you're not ready to die for it, take the word ‘freedom’ out of your vocabulary.”
And he said also about his religion, al-Islam, “I believe in a religion that believes in freedom. Any time I have to accept a religion that won't let me fight a battle for my people, I say to hell with that religion.”
And he also said, “Concerning non-violence, it is criminal to teach a man not to defend himself when he is the constant victim of brutal attacks.”
And he also said, “We are nonviolent with people who are nonviolent with us, but we are not nonviolent with anyone who is violent with us.”
And he also said, “Any time you demonstrate against segregation and a man has the audacity to put a police dog on you, kill that dog, kill that dog. I say it if they put me in jail tomorrow, kill that dog.”
And he also said (may Allah have mercy on him): “I don’t think, when a man is being criminally treated, that some criminal has the right to tell that man what tactics to use to get that criminal off his back. When a criminal starts misusing me, I am going to use whatever necessary to get that criminal off my back.”
These powerful concepts were realized and understood from Islam by the struggler and martyr (as we see him) al-Hajj Malik al-Shabaaz, or Malcolm X (may Allah have mercy on him), while seasoned Islamic movements have missed them. ِAnd that is the Grace of Allah which He bestows on whom He wills.

But these movements which carry what you call the culture of concession and methodology of backtracking have Muftis who provide them with fatwas which approve the path they have taken, and they have produced studies and writings in this regard. Don’t you admit that?

Yes, I admit that. And you also have to admit that among these Muftis are the scholars of the Marines, who were asked for a fatwa by Muhammad Abd al-Rasheed, the head Imam in the American armed forces, and who replied to him with the scandalous fatwa which permitted the Muslim to join the American Crusader forces to fight his brothers, the Muslim Mujahideen, whom the scholars of the Marines called “terrorists in Afghanistan.”
And among these scholars of the Marines is the great scholar who also gave a fatwa which called for respecting the old agreements which were made between the Americans and the rulers of the region and as a result of which American bases exist in the Gulf region, because they came – according to his fatwa – in accordance with the resolutions of legitimate governments.

And what do you ask of the Mujahid who belongs to one of the organizations who leadership has become involved in endorsing the accords of surrender?

I ask him to work with his Mujahid brothers to reform their organization and direct it to endorse the rule of Shari’ah, take the path of Jihad and resistance, and hold on to the lands of Islam. And if they don’t succeed, they must know that they are slaves of Allah and not slaves of any organization, movement or group.
The martyr of Islam, Shaykh Abdullah Azzam, may Allah have mercy on him, says, “The pledge is always to observe righteousness and piety, because it is a covenant to cooperate in righteousness and piety, and pledging to commit sin and aggression is not permitted, like those who make a private covenant, then after a while it is asked of the pledger that he carry out some deeds which Allah isn’t pleased with and the Shari’ah doesn’t endorse, like boycotting so-and-so, and spying on so-and-so, and searching for the faults of others.”
Until he says, may Allah have mercy on him,
“And it is not permissible for anyone to use a pledge as an excuse for preventing the pledger from performing a righteous deed laid down by the Book and Sunnah, like Jihad in Allah’s path for example, as the pledge would then turn into a pledge to commit sin ‘and obedience is in goodness’ ‘and there is no obedience to a created being in disobedience to the Creator.’”

The Egyptian government passed constitutional amendments which pave the way for handing power to the son of Hosni Mubarak and enable the corrupt clique to continue to repress Egypt. What do you read in this endeavor?

I read in it American hypocrisy, which calls for democracy even as it considers Hosni Mubarak to be one of its closest friends, and which sends detainees to be tortured in Egypt, exports tools of torture to Egypt and spends millions to support the security organs and their executioners in Egypt, even as the American State Department, in its annual report on human rights, criticizes the Egyptian government because it tortures detainees!
These amendments are a blow to everyone who took the path of elections to enact change in Egypt. And I had warned over one year ago that the path taken by some of the Islamic movements by entering the American-produced elections in Egypt will not lead to any change; on the contrary, it will lead to an impotent parliament with a governmental majority.
Some Islamic movements had imagined that they could enter into a deal with America: they would condemn terrorism and violence, and describe the raids on New York and Washington as “crimes,” and present a new Islam daubed with secularism, and oppose America with words alone, and forbid the youth from participating in the Jihad against America because Hosni Mubarak didn’t give them his permission! And in return, America would permit them to engage in the Egyptian elections whose details America controls. And here I’d like to read two paragraphs of a study prepared last year by two researchers from the Combating Terrorism Center at the American army’s United States Military Academy:
“The U.S. could discretely fund mainstream Salafi figures like Madkhali who are effective in siphoning off support from jihadis and who do not advocate violence (e.g. by paying for publications, lectures, new schools).”
They go on,
“The U.S. could also fund non‐Salafis, but it currently lacks the expertise necessary to determine who is truly influential. Perhaps a better strategy in the near term would be to pressure Middle Eastern governments to allow greater political participation and visibility for groups that jihadis are threatened by. This approach should vary from country to country. For example, in Egypt, it would be the Muslim Brotherhood; in Saudi Arabia, the Shi’a. Again, it is essential that the U.S. hand not be seen.”
These are not my words, but are the words of two anti-terrorism researchers with the American army.
And in fact, they entered the elections with numbers which couldn’t possibly have achieved a majority, even if everyone of them had won, and then found out that America and the regime were more devious than them, as their experiment ended with constitutional amendments which deprived them even of the use of any slogan which includes a word about religion or Islam. And so went another failure. And tomorrow they will invite the youth to second and third elections and never-ending rounds of loss and forfeiture. That’s why I consider my Muslim brothers – especially the youth among them, who are the ammunition of this Ummah and the source of its power – to be far above wasting their lives in this anti-Shari’ah futility and absurdity, and I call on them to invest their energies, efforts and thoughts in serious striving for change and the making of sacrifices for that.

Are we to understand from this that you are against certain elections or against all elections?

I and all Mujahideen in all Islamic lands are striving, fighting, sacrificing, emigrating and losing our dearest brethren and family as martyrs and captives for the sake of the Muslim Ummah, which includes Muslims from all races, ethnicities and colors with no difference between this race and that, this ethnicity and that, or this color and that, and without them being divided by borders and lines drawn up by arrogant tyrants…I say, we are sacrificing all of this – and asking Allah to accept it of us – for our Ummah to win its freedom, dignity and honor and restore its Caliphate, which will implement justice, spread the Shura, protect the sacred things, and preserve rights. Therefore, if the elections are under the umbrella of an Islamic constitution in a land free of foreign occupation and run by trustworthy hands, then welcome to them. If, on the other hand, the elections are under a secularist constitution imposed by or called for or welcomed by the Zionist Crusader enemy, with our lands occupied, and the running of the elections in the hands of the thieving, falsifying rulers, then no, and a thousand nos. And the only way to achieve for us the rule of Shari’ah, expulsion of the invading enemies of Islam, and impartial supervision of balloting is Jihad in Allah’s path.

But on the other hand, those who take part in elections in the circumstances you mentioned say that using what they call violence has led to nothing but failure. What is your comment?

My comment is twofold: first, the fundamental difference with them is in their skid towards secularism, by their adoption of the rule of the majority of voters and abandonment of the rule of Shari’ah with no logical or legal proof; by their recognition of citizenship as a basis of coexistence and their abandonment of the fraternity of Islam; by their satisfaction with the nationalistic territorial state and abandonment of efforts to restore the Caliphate; and by their recognition of the legitimacy of the corrupt rulers and their regimes and their claim that Jihad is only possible with their permission. As for the dispute about the fruitfulness or otherwise of violence, it is a secondary dispute about which means to use, even if events – particularly in Egypt and Algeria – have proven the complete failure of their method of begging rights from the corrupt rulers, and that it is a fruitless method from its roots to its branches.
The second point is that the one who has thwarted the American plot in the region and forced the Americans to accept a pullout – about which they only differ in regard to its timing – is what they call the movement of violence. As for those who entered Kabul and Baghdad on top of American tanks, and participated in the governments of the occupation, and ruled it permissible for the Muslim to fight in the American army against the Muslims, and declared that they shall only wage Jihad against the Americans if the agents of America permit them, they belong to the movement of the culture of concession and methodology of backtracking.

But some see this method as stirring up differences between the Islamic movements, and see it as fragmenting the power of the Muslim Ummah as it faces the most violent Crusade in its history, and see that priority should be given today to uniting all movements of Islamic action in an attempt to get out of this crisis. What is your opinion about that?

My opinion about that is that the Muslim Ummah with all its factions must unite to expel the Crusader and Jewish invaders and their hirelings from its lands in order to restore the Caliphate state which implements the Shari’ah, judges by it and protects the sacred things of the Muslims. So how is unity possible with the one who only wages Jihad against the Crusaders with the permission of their hirelings? And how is unity possible with the one who neither recognizes the rule of Shari’ah nor the fraternity of Islam which doesn’t know the lines of Sykes-Picot?
And in general terms, and to reach a beneficial result: I call on the Muslim Ummah with all its factions to combine its efforts to make the purified Shari’ah the highest authority which is unrivaled by any other authority, and to take away legitimacy from the corrupt and corruptive rulers and end recognition of them, their constitutions and their laws. And I call on it to rush to sacrifice lives, riches and efforts to fight the Crusader and Jewish invaders and their hirelings loyal to them.

Fine. Regardless of who has failed and who hasn’t, what is it you’re asking of the Muslim Ummah in Egypt?

I ask the Muslim Ummah in Egypt, and not just in Egypt but in all lands of Islam, to bear arms in defense of Islam, to spend in defense of Islam, to sacrifice in defense of Islam, and to die in defense of Islam. And if it is unable to bear arms, it must back those who bear them, because the Muslim Ummah is now under attack, and if we relax and stay behind, we will lose both the Deen and Dunya, we will lose both lives and wealth, and we will lose both dignity and sacred things. In fact, we will lose everything if we are stingy with anything. We are in a state of war, and if we haven’t yet realized that we are in a state of war, when will we realize that? And we won’t get anything by begging, beseeching and hoarsening our throats. What is called confronting by peaceful means the Egyptian regime and its like is in fact lambs surrendering to wolves.
Would that those who insist on peaceful resistance had heard what was said by the struggler and martyr (as we see him) al-Hajj Malik al-Shabaaz, or Malcom X (may Allah have mercy on him):
“Anytime you beg another man to set you free, you will never be free. Freedom is something that you have to do for yourself…The price of freedom is death.”
A number of demonstrations in Egypt have been held which carried a coffin representing the constitution, and I call on them and the entire Muslim Ummah in Egypt to bury in that coffin impotence, to bury in it fear, to bury in it hesitation, lack of confidence in Allah’s promise and craving for the scraps of this world, and to take themselves out of the graves of the methods of the impotent, the paralysis of refraining from sacrifice and the bias for organizations and into the lofty open space of Jihad in Allah’s path. The Truth, Exalted is He, says, “O you who believe! Respond to Allah and His Messenger when he calls you to that which gives you life, and know that Allah comes between a man and his heart, and that it is He to whom ye shall be gathered.” (8:24)
And let us keep in mind that our fundamental battle is with ourselves: with our fear, with our hesitation, with our backtracking, weakness and inability and with our craving for this lowly life in which we die every day instead of the honorable life in which we die with dignity one time.
If we continue to aspire to nothing more than diplomas, positions, salaries, pensions and the raising of our children, there will be nothing but humiliation in store for us, our children and our grandchildren. If, on the other hand, we are happy with killing, captivity, emigration, losing one’s spouse, orphanage, and losing one’s wealth, homeland and beloved in the path of Allah, then with Allah’s help, no power on the face of the earth can defeat us. If we are victorious over ourselves, we shall be victorious in every battle, with Allah’s help, and if we are defeated by ourselves, then let us forget about anything called dignity, liberty and honor.
The Truth, Exalted is He, says, “O you who believe! What is the matter with you, that, when you are asked to go forth in the cause of Allah, you cling heavily to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the hereafter? But little is the comfort of this life as compared with the hereafter.” (9:38)

But against whom should the Ummah bear arms?

At this stage, it is the duty of the Muslim Ummah to bear arms against the trespassing invaders and their interests. Everyone who trespasses on the Muslim Ummah must have his hand cut off, whether this aggression is in Chechnya, or in Afghanistan, or Kashmir, or Iraq, or Palestine or Somalia. And along with this confrontation of the invaders, the Muslim Ummah must also beware of those defenders of the invaders who stab it from behind, and must strive from today to work for their removal.

But some call for stopping internal fighting in the Islamic countries. What is your comment?

Any decision in this regard rests with the Mujahideen. And most of those who say that neither fight on the inside nor on the outside. I saw something said by one of them where he forbade the youth from going forth to Iraq, telling them that the Mujahideen don’t need men and it is our duty to support them with books and cassettes! This, despite the fact that the Mujahideen are appealing to the Ummah day and night to deploy to Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, and Somalia with its sons, wealth and expertise.
And then we ask those who call for preventing internal fighting: what’s the alternative? Is the alternative keeping silent about the oppression, treason and treachery? Or is it our duty to support the Mujahideen and enjoin good and forbid evil? The Prophet, peace be upon him, was asked, “What’s the best Jihad?” He replied, “A word of truth in front of an unjust ruler.” (Nisa’i #4138).

But you invite the Ummah to bear arms and support those who bear arms, while others invite it to something else. What do you say to that?

I say what I said before: the Ummah must reach a level of awareness, sensitivity and realization of what its duty is and what goes on around it; an awareness, sensitivity and realization which enables it to discern the treasonous religion-traders in Iraq and Afghanistan, the scientists of beggary in the Peninsula, Yemen, Amman and Cairo, those who issue fatwas according to the school of the head of the Church of England in London, and the scholars of the Marines spread here and there; and enables it to search for the pious Mujahid men of knowledge who persevere despite harassment and declare the truth and invite to it and act according to it in the face of the enemies of the Ummah, the Crusaders and their tyrannical, criminal helpers; and enables it search for the active, fighting Mujahideen who race to the death raising the banner of Jihad, Tawheed and resistance; to search for them, and support, aid, defend and follow them, and in this way it can confront its enemies and save itself from the bandits who lie in wait for it on the road to Allah.

A ruckus has been made recently about the killing of Egyptian prisoners at the hands of a unit of Israeli special forces in the 1967 war. What’s your comment on that?

This incident reminds of one of the most painful periods in my life and the life of Egyptians and all Arabs and Muslims, when the Egyptian army fell apart, lost its discipline and suffered a terrible defeat in just six hours.
But this terrible defeat didn’t come out of nowhere. No, it came as a bitter harvest of the corruption and repression which spread through Egypt at the hands of the Nasserite regime, repression from which the Islamic movement suffered the most.
And among the results of this defeat was Abdul Nasser’s official recognition of the state of Israel by agreeing to Security Council Resolution 242, which at the time the Palestinian organizations rebelled against, before most of them agreed to even worse than it, among them the leadership of HAMAS.
Abdul Nasser officially recognized Israel because he used to secretly and in an undeclared manner recognize it by his agreeing to the armistice agreement of 1949, which included recognition of the partition of Palestine resolution passed in 1947, and by his acceptance of the charter of the United Nations, which Israel joined after the armistice accord. So it wasn’t expected of the Egyptian regime that it pay attention to the tragedy of the Egyptian prisoners, when it was the one who forfeited all the lands.
Then Sadat came along, and he paid no attention to the tragedy of the killed Egyptian prisoners, because he was busy signing three accords with Israel and normalizing relations with it; those accords which the Arab states rebelled against, then joined one and all, including the municipality of Gaza and Ramallah led by HAMAS.
Then came Hosni Mubarak, during whose reign aircraft took off from Egypt and ships passed through its canal to strike Iraq, and who didn’t move a finger during the invasion of Lebanon, so how could he be concerned with the killing of some poor prisoners, when he humiliates the Egyptian people daily in his jails, prisons and police stations? Hosni Mubarak and his sons and partners, the leaders of the regime which protects the owner of the ferry which drowned thousands and lets him get away and protects him from being held to account, while the driver ‘Imad has his honor violated in the police station.
Those who revealed this massacre were the Israelis and not the Egyptians, and Mubarak’s reaction was to direct the Foreign Ministry to follow up on the matter, and the Foreign Ministry requested the Israeli government to investigate.
Hosni Mubarak, who concerns himself with the Israeli prisoner held by the Palestinians while ignoring the tragedy of hundred of Egyptian prisoners.
This shows us that this regime is a part of the system of anti-Muslim Ummah Crusader repression and aggression, and that to deal with this regime with peaceful, constitutional means is to surrender to a pack of wolves which is only repelled by the power of Jihad in the path of Allah.

Recently, a number of attempts towards reform have appeared in the Arabian Peninsula. What is your evaluation of conditions in the Peninsula in general?

There will be no reform in the Peninsula so long as Crusader forces continue to desecrate the Arabian Peninsula, and so long as Al Saud and their brothers, the proprietors of the kerosene and benzene shops on the coast of the Gulf, remain where they are. The Arabian Peninsula is suffering from deviation from the methodology of Islam, which has led to the political corruption which has thrown the country into a mire of submission to the West to ensure the survival of sons and grandsons in power; which has deprived the Ummah of any political participation and led to the financial corruption which has made everyone and everything above the ground and under it property of the ruling family which controls resources and markets; and which has led to moral decline and administrative corruption.

And what is the road to reform, as you see it?

The road to reform, and Allah knows best, requires, in the Arabian Peninsula and the other Islamic lands, work on two plans. The first is in the near term, and seeks to strike Crusader and Zionist interests so that the ground erupts in flames under the feet of the Zionists and Crusaders in our countries and theirs and everywhere we are able to strike their interests until they leave our countries and stop their continuous and increasing interference in our affairs.
And the second plan is for the longer term, and depends on two pillars: the first is preparation for the confrontation, by going forth to arenas of battle like Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia, and the second pillar is diligent work to change the corrupt and corruptive regimes through invitation, incitement, mobilization and planning, and to persevere in that however much time it takes or sacrifice it requires. And every time we achieve victory in one arena, that will ease – with Allah’s help – victory in the next one.
And from this, the critical importance of the Jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan becomes clear, because the defeat of the Crusaders there – soon, Allah permitting, will lead to the setting up of two Mujahid Emirates which will be launch pads for the liberation of the Islamic lands and the establishment of the Caliphate, with Allah’s permission.
That’s why I call on the Muslim Ummah not to lag behind or tarry in supporting the Jihad in general and the Jihad in Iraq and Afghanistan in particular, in view of the pivotal importance of these two arenas.
The Truth, Exalted is He, says, “Go forth, [whether equipped] lightly or heavily, and strive and struggle with your goods and your persons in the cause of Allah. That is best for you, if you but knew.” (9:41)

The Pentagon has recently issued a number of press releases about the confessions of Khalid Shaykh Muhammad. What is their objective in that, in your opinion?

The American regime is attempting to show its people that it’s achieved some results in its war against Islam, which it calls the war on terror. And with that it is deceiving its people twice: the first time is when it portrays the war as being against an organization or a few people and flees from the biggest fact, which is that it is neither facing individuals nor organizations, but rather, is facing an angry Jihadi awakening which is shaking the lands of Islam.
As for the second deception, it is its portraying to the American people that with its arrest and killing of a few people, it has destroyed al-Qaida. They pretend to forget that Ramzi Yousef tried to demolish the two Trade towers, and success was not decreed for him, but Khalid Shaykh came along after him and destroyed them with the squadron of martyrdom-seekers, with much more than Ramzi Yousef had expected. And now Khalid Shaykh has become a role model for hundreds who are following in his footsteps, and they shall achieve more than he achieved, with Allah’s permission and help.
When Khalid Shaykh (Allah free him) was arrested, he advised the Pakistani interrogators to return to their Islam and stop serving the Americans, but Musharraf’s hunting dogs were lowlier than that. He also warned the American interrogators of the horrors they would see should they invade Iraq, and Allah made his expectation come to pass, and this is what Bush is hiding from his people.

And what is your message to the American people?

The Americans deserve what they’re getting. They chose this liar two times, so let them pay the price for their choice.

Earlier in our conversation, you referred to statements of Malik al-Shabaaz, or Malcolm X, may Allah have mercy on him. But there are black American soldiers fighting the Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I am hurt when I find a black American fighting the Muslims under the American flag. Why is he fighting us when the racist Crusader regime in America is persecuting him like it persecutes us, and oppressing him like it oppresses us? And perhaps his slave ancestors whom America kidnapped from Africa were Muslims like us. The racist American Crusader regime is using him and the other weak and oppressed to die so that the criminals in the White House can amass their fortunes and add to their millions, whereas he receives scraps after his blood is spilled or he comes out of the war a cripple.
Al-Hajj Malik al-Shabaaz (Allah have mercy on him) says,
“This is our investment, this is our contribution: our blood. Not only did we give of our free labor, we gave of our blood. Every time we had a call to arms, we were the first ones in uniform. We’ve died on every battlefield the white man has. We have made a greater sacrifice than anyone who’s standing up in America today. We have made a greater contribution, and have collected less.”
And I hope no one replies to me by saying that blacks in America have been delivered from its tyranny because there are the likes of Colin Powell – the liar of the Security Council – and Condoleeza Rice in power. They are the ones who Malik al-Shabaaz (may Allah have mercy on him) described as house slaves, when he talked about the house slaves and the field slaves and said:
“You have to read the history of slavery to understand this. There were two kinds of Negroes: there was that old house Negro and [there was] the field Negro. And the house Negro always looked after his master. When the field Negroes got too much out of line, he held them in check. He put them back on the plantation. The house Negro could afford to do that because he lived better than the field Negro. He ate better, he dressed better, and he lived in a better house: he lived right up next to his master, in the attic – or the basement. He ate the same food that master ate, and wore the same clothes. And he could talk just like his master: good diction. And he loved his master more than his master loved himself: that’s why he didn’t want his master hurt. If the master got sick, he’d say, ‘What’s the matter, boss? We sick?’ When the master’s house caught afire, he’d try to put the fire out: he didn’t want his master’s house burned. He never wanted his master’s property threatened, and he was more defensive of it than the master was. That was the house Negro. But then you had some field Negroes, who lived in huts, [and] had nothing to lose. They wore the worst kind of clothes, they ate the worst food, and they caught hell: they felt the sting of the lash. They hated their master. Oh yes they did. If the master got sick, they prayed that the master die. If the master’s house caught afire, they prayed for a strong wind to come along. This was the difference between the two. And today, you still have house Negroes and field Negroes. I’m a field Negro.”
And I’m amazed at the impudence of this person called Colin Powell: how is it that he didn’t apologize? And how is it that no one took him to account? And how is it that he was not put on trial, after this outrageous global lie? But then again, why should he apologize, when he is a part of the regime of lies which leads the world from Washington and which the Mujahideen are seeking to get rid of, with Allah’s help and power.
That’s why I want blacks in America, people of color, American Indians, Hispanics, and all the weak and oppressed in North and South America, in Africa and Asia, and all over the world, to know that when we wage Jihad in Allah’s path, we aren’t waging Jihad to lift oppression from the Muslims only, we are waging Jihad to lift oppression from all of mankind, because Allah has ordered us never to accept oppression, whatever it may be.
The Master, Glorious and Exalted is He, says in a Hadeeth Qudsi, “O my servants, I have forbidden oppression for myself and forbidden it for you, so do not oppress each other.” (Muslim #4674) And the Prophet, peace be upon him, took part in the alliance of favors in Mecca before his noble mission, and praised it after he, peace be upon him, was sent, saying, “I took part in the alliance of the perfumed ones with my uncles when I was a boy, and I wouldn’t renege on it for any price.” (Ahmad #1567) It was the alliance in which Quraysh made a covenant to help any oppressed one in Makkah.
And the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Oppression is darkness on the Day of Resurrection.” (Tirmidhi #1953) And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “Whoever helps the oppressor in a dispute or helps in any oppression will continue to be under Allah’s anger until he abandons it.” (Ibn Majah #2311)
And the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said, “How can Allah preserve a nation which doesn’t help its weak ones against its strong ones?” (Ibn Majah #400)
And al-Baraa’ bin ‘Aazib, with whom Allah was pleased, said, “The Prophet, peace be upon him, ordered us to do seven, and forbade us from seven. He ordered us to follow the funerals, visit the sick, answer the invitation, help the wronged, fulfill the oath, return the greeting of peace, and pray for the sneezer. And he forbade us from using dishes of silver, rings of gold, al-hareer (silk fabric), al-dibaaj (silk garments), al-qassi (garments of flax and silk), and al-istabraq (heavy silk brocade).” (Bukhari #1163)
And from al-Baraa’ (with whom Allah was pleased) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed by some people from the Helpers as they were sitting by the roadside, and he told them, “If you must do so, then return the greeting of peace, aid the wronged and guide the passersby.” (Tirmidhi #2650)
I also invite all the world’s weak and oppressed ones to Islam, the religion of freedom and rejection of tyranny, the religion which destroyed the emperors and Khosraus and produced the 19 martyrs who demolished the symbol of America’s arrogance.
And I tell the soldier of color in the American army that the racist Crusader regime kidnapped your ancestors to exploit them in developing its resources, and today it is using you for the same purpose, after they altered the look of the shackles and changed the type of chains and try to make you believe that you are fighting for democracy and the American dream. But al-Hajj Malik al-Shabaaz (may Allah have mercy on him) exposed them when he said,
“No, I’m not an American. I‘m one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of Americanism, one of the 22 million black people who are the victims of democracy…I see America through the eyes of a victim. I don’t see any American dream, I see an American nightmare.”
And after you achieve for them what they want, they will throw you into the street without mercy like an old shoe. I heard on BBC radio in English this past March 17th a program about thousands of discharged wounded soldiers who are now homeless, among them a soldier who served in the American army for 14 years, including two years in Iraq, and who, after being wounded, was discharged from the army and given a monthly pension of $400 dollars before being evicted from his house. He now sleeps in his grandmother’s car on the street. This is how the capitalist Crusade treats its population. And this is why I want every oppressed one on the face of the earth to know that our victory over America and the Crusader West – with Allah’s permission – is a victory for them, because they shall be freed from the most powerful tyrannical force in the history of mankind. Isn’t it the power which didn’t suffice with what it stole and killed from the weak and oppressed, but went out and ruined for the entire world the atmosphere and climate with the gases emitted by its factories without caring about the disasters and catastrophes which will befall the poor states?

As we close this interview, is there anything you’d like to add?

Yes. I want to place on my brothers, the lions of Islam in Palestine defending the garrison of Islam in the environs of Jerusalem, a trust not to forfeit the lands of Islam, and I advise them to be patient and resolute, however many the conspiracies against them become.
I also pray to Allah, the Most High, the Omnipotent, to grant victory to our patient, resolute brothers in Chechnya, land of Jihad and garrisoning, and to my brothers the lions of Islam in Somalia, who turned America’s plans head over heels, by the Grace of Allah, and held their own against the military Crusade as well as the propaganda Crusade led by the elderly, ancient radio stations of the Crusader intelligence services which began repeating the phrase “defeat of the Islamic courts” from the very first day of the Ethiopian Crusader invasion, even though the war was (and still is) in its opening stages, and even though the Ethiopian forces announced that they would be withdrawing after two weeks, but Allah frustrated their plotting at the hands of the lions of Islam in Somalia of Jihad, by His Grace.
And I ask Him to grant victory to our brothers in the Maghreb of Islam, who, with the strength of their faith and reliance on their Lord, are shaking the pillars of the regime of France’s sons, and who, with their confidence in their Lord, are striking the interests of the Crusade in the Maghreb of Islam, and who, with their firmness and garrisoning, have thwarted the conspiracies of the reconciliation and ruses of the defeatist backtrackers.
So O Ummah of Islam in the Maghreb of garrisoning and Jihad, the Maghreb of Arabness and Islam, the Maghreb of defiance and resistance: here are your devoted sons, carrying your concern and the concern of defending your religion, honor and resources. In fact, they are carrying the concern of the entire Muslim Ummah from Kashgar to Granada, and the concern of its plundered al-Aqsa, which has been enveloped in conspiracies and deals. So stand with them, so stand with them and help and support them in confronting the fiercest Crusade ever faced by the Ummah of Islam.
And I ask Allah, the Most High, the Omnipotent, to protect our Mujahid brothers in Iraq of the Caliphate and Islam, and I ask Him to combine their forces, unite them and complete His bounty on them with the noble victory and manifest conquest – soon, by the Grace of Allah.

Honorable Shaykh, excuse me for interrupting, but speaking of the Mujahideen in Iraq, there are some who say that a number of the Jihadi organizations in Iraq are closely connected to some states which claim to be defending the rights of the People of the Sunnah in the region, and that these states are attempting to challenge the expansion of other states. What is your opinion of this statement?

I call on the Muslims in Iraq to beware of the conspiracies of America’s servants, who claim to be the protectors of the People of the Sunnah. If they were honest, they would have said, “We’re the protectors of the Sunnah of Bush and enemies of the Sunnah of Muhammad (peace be upon him). We’re the ones who empowered America over the Muslims’ petrol and provided it with bases and air and sea ports to kill a million children with the embargo and to bomb the Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan. We’re the ones who recognized Israel and conceded most of Palestine. We’re the ones who hunt the Mujahideen. We’re the ones who set up for America the secret prisons in which we torture the Mujahideen. We’re the ones who are today attempting to buy hearts and minds to sully the image of the Mujahideen. We’re the ones who promote the American Islam which daubs itself with some rituals, renounces Jihad and enjoining of good and forbidding of evil, blesses oppression and corruption and condemns Shura and taking the rulers to account.”
I ask Allah to protect the Muslims and Mujahideen in Iraq from their deviousness, and I ask Him to guide the Islamic State of Iraq and protect it from the conspiracies of the states which surround it, and to consolidate this fledgling state and strengthen it so it can raise the pure Mujahid banner of Islam according to the Book and Sunnah, which America fears and whose danger it comprehends.
I also ask Him to protect its patient, garrisoned Amir, Amir-ul-Mumineen Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, may Allah preserve him and keep him on the path of Jihad and garrisoning and the path of the Muslim Ummah’s honor, for which his ancestor al-Husayn bin ‘Ali (with both of whom Allah was pleased) fought under the standard of his grandfather, peace be upon him. “And honor belongs to Allah, His messenger, and the believers, but the hypocrites know not.” (63:8)
And I pray to Allah to grant victory to the Mujahideen everywhere, and to quickly relieve the suffering of the Muslim captives in America, Egypt, Afghanistan, the Peninsula, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and in America’s secret prisons and everywhere else, foremost among them the star of Da’wah and Jihad, our patient garrisoned Shaykh Umar Abd al-Rahman (may Allah free him soon), for whose torture the Americans shall pay dearly, with Allah’s permission and help.

At the close of this interview, we thank Shaykh Ayman al-Zawahiri for participating with us in this conversation, and we ask Allah to make it sincerely for His Noble Face, and to make it beneficial and reward everyone who helps in its dissemination. And may peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings. And I’d just like to add a few words, which is that I call on all my brothers in Islamic Jihadi media to hone their resolve and sacrifice everything in their power, for they are a fundamental part of the Jihadi resistance in the face of the fiercest Crusade ever faced by the Ummah of Islam. I ask Allah to bless their efforts, unite them and aid them against the enemy of Allah and their enemy, who has admitted his defeat in front of them despite the huge difference between his capabilities and theirs. And I ask them, if they have found in this conversation and other Jihadi informational materials benefit and goodness, to cooperate with their brothers in al-Sahab Media and other Islamic information centers in spreading and distributing it, and may Allah help and guide them and reward them in the best way. And I can’t forget in closing to express my thanks to my honorable brothers in al-Sahab Media, who are digging rock with their fingernails to spread the invitation to Islam, Jihad, garrisoning and resistance, so may Allah reward them for what they have done for Islam and Muslims.
And our final prayer is that all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may peace and prayers be on our master Muhammad and upon his family and companions. And may peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah and His blessings.

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