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in Egypt and together they formed what became one of the world most infamous terrorist network, more commonly known as Al Qaeda.8
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conceded his leadership position at the Egyptian Islamic Jihad and joined Al Qaeda.
Moreover, he adroitly developed an argument to convince the reluctant leadership of Al Qaeda and Jamaat Ismalia to amalgamate under one international organisation. This event not only marked the beginning of the transformation of jihad from a local to an international sphere but also ‘synthesised the Al Qaeda ideology’ (Turner, 2010: 553). Zawahiri exerted such a great deal of influence over Bin Laden that the latter appointed him as the head of Al Qaeda’s religious committee (a branch that issued fatwas or religious rulings) and the Shura Majlis also known as the consultative council (Gunaratna, 2002: 27).
In one of his publications entitled Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner, Zawahiri presents the Al Qaeda manifesto including the organization’s strategies, objectives and ideology. In relation to the type of ideology that Al Qaeda embraces, it can be best defined as Salafi- Jihadism which, in the words of Kepel (2002: 220), has a ‘supercilious respect for the sacred texts in their most literal form…and an absolute commitment to jihad’ and whose target was the West. One of the contributions of Zawahiri to the Al Qaeda ideology is that he managed to provide an international dimension to the localised Islamist struggles and thus established a space where ‘local groups with local interests obtain links with Al Qaeda headquarters and act in its name’ (Turner, 2010: 554). In this way, through their links with Al Qaeda, these dispersed groups would operate under its ideology and propagate Al Qaeda’s message. In the context of this study, the GSPC prior to its merge with Al Qaeda Central exemplified one of these groups that acted in the name of Al Qaeda.
To further understand the workings of Al Qaeda, it is important to examine the strategies that flow from the group’s ideology that consists of both a political and a religious nature. Firstly, it seeks to overthrow the present world order and liberate Muslim territories from foreign occupation before unifying all Muslim countries into one Caliphate. To this end, the group advocates for the use of the holy war (jihad) in order to purge Muslim lands from the influence of non-Muslim culture. Thus, after the caliphate is established, it will have one caliph (ruler) who will govern according to the shari’a and ‘a puritanical interpretation of Sunni Islam’ (Piazza, 2009: 66). These strategies are prominent within the discourses of Bin Laden, especially within the two fatwas he released: ‘Jihad on the Americans occupying the Country of the Two Sacred Places’ in 1996 and ‘Declaration of Jihad against Jews and Crusaders’ in 1998. These two fatwas reveal three issues that sustains the group’s momentum and these include: 1) the despoiling of Saudi Arabia (holy land) by the on-going ‘occupation’
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of the American troops, 2) the devastation and infliction of suffering of the Iraqi population by the United States and its alliances9 and 3) the persistent occupation of Jerusalem and the murdering of innocent Muslims by Israel (Perry & Negrin, 2003: 44). In reaction to these accusations, Bin Laden perceives America as the far enemy who has proclaimed war against Allah, the prophet and all Muslims. Therefore, according to him, it becomes only logical for every Muslim to declare jihad against the enemy and he reiterates this in his 1998 fatwa when he instructed all Muslims
To kill the American and their allies—civilians and military—…in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque [in Jerusalem] and the Holy Mosque [in Mecca]
from their grip, so that their armies leave all the territory of Islam, defeated, broken, and unable to threaten any Muslim (Bin Laden, 2003:46).
He further supports his pronouncements with quotes from the Quran. Although Bin Laden is not a religious scholar per se, he does have a strong establishment within religious traditions.
This plays a crucial role as his recurrent quotes from the Quran and other religious texts (including Ibn Taymiyya’s writings) as an attempt to legitimize his jihadi objectives appear to resound with his audience in the Muslim world (Perry & Negrin, 2003: 43). For instance, within a few months of issuing his 1998 fatwa, his call for jihad was duly answered when two bomb blasts within minutes of each other annihilated the US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salam respectively.
A few years later on 11 September 2001, the plane attacks of the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon would symbolise the devastation that Al Qaeda and its ideology can cause to a nation regardless of whether the latter is a leading global superpower. The ferocity of the group would continue as it would claim the 2002 Bali bombings, the Madrid train bombings in 2004 and the London bombings in 2005. In Africa, it would manifest itself by forging ties with several groups such as Al Shabaab, Boko Haram and most importantly in the context of this study, the GSPC who would later become AQIM. It would also capitalise on the fertile ground for recruits in the aftermath of the Iraqi invasion of 2003 and even parent ISIS within the Iraqi war context. Ironically, ISIL would overtake Al Qaeda as the most dangerous terrorist group while utilising some of Al Qaeda’s tactics.
9 For clarification purposes, it should be noted that the war referred to is the first Gulf war following the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1991. As Perry & Negrin (2003: 44) note, the ‘inflictions’ that Bin Laden makes reference to is the subsequent sanctions imposed by the UN upon Iraq in the aftermath of the war.
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More importantly, one aspect that all these groups share in common is the notion of jihad. To the extent that most groups use this concept to perpetrate mass killings, it becomes imperative to understand this concept. Thus, it merits a brief explanation so as to present the reader with a fuller understanding of what jihad is and in so doing preventing it from become a mere nomenclature devoid of any true meaning.
4.7.1 Jihad: A Misinterpreted Pretext
There is no other term within Islam that consists of a rich and complex nature yet at the same time full of contestations than that of jihad (Cooper, 2004: 110). For non-Muslims, the term evokes disturbing images of extremism and the indiscriminate belligerence of jihadists towards innocent victims. Noorani (2002: 45) parallels the term jihad with the word ‘crusade’
that has a positive connotation for Christians in that it describes ‘peaceful religious gatherings’ whereas for a Muslim the same terms denotes a message of religious violence and suffering reminiscent of the middle ages. Similarly, while jihad conveys a negative meaning for the non-Muslims, it has a positive undertone for the Muslim as it symbolises an important truth of their religion. In the Quran, the word jihad appears 41 times while 28 ayas (verses) make reference to it.10 The contestations surrounding the doctrine of jihad evolve around the fact that its meaning, definitions, justification and appropriate application is not based on a single authoritative interpretation (Turner, 2010: 544). It may thus be the reason why many jihadists abuse this interpretative liberty in advocating the doctrine of jihad as a means to legitimise their spate of violence against innocent victims. Thus, to comprehend the doctrine of jihad, a brief historical analysis of the term follows.
In its original Arabic syntax, the word jihad means haalat al Jihd (a state of jihd) which can further be transliterated as ‘a state of permanent efforts’ (Phares, 2005: 21). In other words, the term alludes to something more than just a ‘holy war’ in that it advocates for a physical, moral, spiritual and intellectual effort. To further drive this point across, Noorani (2002: 49) saliently notes that if war was the primary way of engaging in this effort, then the Quran would have used other terms that represent armed combat, such as harb (war), sira’s (combat) or even qutal (killing), instead of the term jihad. Yet, while the doctrine of jihad advocates for a ‘personal endeavour to follow the will of Allah, resist temptation and strive to be a better Muslim’ (Turner, 2010: 544), it also purports a collective effort to defend or
10 The Quran consists of 114 suras (chapters) and 6, 234 ayas (verses).
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expand one’s community through means of war. Hence, the two descriptions of jihad are, the lesser jihad which symbolises fighting for the community in as a form of self-defence and the greater jihad which refers to the inner struggle of the person towards realising one’s capacity.
Simply put, ‘the lesser jihad is the visible struggle against the enemy on the battlefield while the greater or supreme jihad is the ceaseless war humans are called to wage against their lower selves’ (Khomeini, 1981: 429).
However, Salafi-Jihadists such as Al Qaeda and its affiliates tend to focus primarily on the lesser jihad as a means to promote their cause. This is redolent of the 8th century when Muslim rulers, who for the sole purpose of expansion inspired by greed, wealth and ambition, needed a reason to engage in unprovoked wars. In a similar way, as Turner (2010: 545) notices, ‘Osama bin Laden and other militants seek to characterise terrorist acts as a response to a perceived injustice rather than an act of outright aggression’. The prophet Muhammad, whom these Islamist militants claim inspiration from for their violent jihad, lived in a dangerous context where his umma (community) and he had to flee or otherwise face the danger of extermination. In contrast to the depiction of the prophet as a warlord who forced reluctant people to convert to Islam through the wielding of the sword, he and the first community of Muslim were battling for their lives and violence was thus inevitable (Armstrong, 1995: 10-11). Consequently, due to the different context that Muslims find themselves presently, the relevance of the lesser jihad is not the same as in the times of the prophet. On the other hand, the importance of the greater jihad within the contemporary context is pivotal and necessary. According to Miller (cited in Noorani, 2002: 46), it should be directed towards two facets: individual virtue and the society’s struggle for justice.
Meanwhile, for the Salafi-Jihadists, the only way to achieve justice for the community is to restore the lost glory of the Islamic civilisation through the establishment of an Islamic caliphate based on shari’a law. In turn, the only means of attaining this renewal is by using the greater jihad. For the Salafi-Jihadists, the notion of jihad can be summed up in the words of Abdullah Azzam (cited in Turner, 2010: 545) as ‘jihad and the rifle alone, no negotiations, no conferences, no dialogues’. The targets of the jihad include apostate Muslim rulers (Near enemy) and Western powers (Far enemy). By extension, any Muslim, whether a ruler, an individual, or a group, who does not adhere to the ideology of the Salafi-Jihadism is considered a kufr (infidel) and declared an enemy.
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Arguably, it is only ‘the right ruler (the caliph or his appointee) or the legitimate scholars (clerics) [who] can designate someone or a group as kufr and put this label on the enemies of the state or the opponents to jihad’ (Phares, 2005: 54). Subsequently, once a group or an individual is designated as kufr, the conception of takfir (excommunication) can be extended to that group or person. In this instance, the group or person is excommunicated and the person is no longer under the protection of the Islamic law and as such they are vulnerable to the proclamation of the violent jihad against them (Vertigans, 2009: 105). In the context of this study, as will be noted in subsequent chapters, these notions such as takfir, jihad and kufr play a pivotal role within the ideology of the GIA and its rise to prominence on the Algerian scenery.