Differences Within The World of Islamic Believers

Competing Ideas of Islam Today

The Liberal group: those who have been westernized, either in their way of thinking and living or in their way of dressing, though most of them still perform the basic duties of Islam, such as praying five times and fasting. The Moderate group: those who maintain that in terms of social life Islamic teaching needs to be reformed, and to do so certain passages of the Quran need to be reinterpreted according to the context of the day.
This group are secularists who believe in the segregation between the Religion and Politics or state. To them Islamic Law or the Islamic State is an ideal thing, but not a priority, yet they still uphold the Islamic social values.

Competing Ideas of Islam Today

The Islamic Renewal group: those whose aspiration is to implement Islam as their way of life in its totality. This group of Muslims strive to establish an Islamic state, without separation between religious and political leadership, and with Islamic Law enforced fully. They believe:
Islam is locked in a struggle with the forces of Western modernism and secularism. Terrorists are righteous warriors engaged in a holy war against the Great Satan.

The Fundamentalist Credo

Islam must have power in this world. It is the true religionthe religion of Godand its truth is manifest in its power. When Muslims followed this path, they were powerful. Their power has been lost in modern times because true Islam has been abandoned by many Muslims, who have reverted to the condition that preceded Gods revelation to the Prophet Muhammad. But if Muslims now return to the original Islam, they can preserve and even restore their power. To be effective, the return to Islam must be comprehensive; Islam provides the one and only solution to all questions in this world, from public policy to private conduct.

The Fundamentalist Credo

Islam is not merely a religion, in the Western sense of a system of belief in God. It possesses an immutable law, revealed by God, that deals with every aspect of life, and it is an ideology, a complete system of belief about the organization of the state and the world. This law and ideology can only be implemented through the establishment of a truly Islamic state, under the sovereignty of God. The empowerment of Islam, which is Gods plan for mankind, is a sacred end. It may be pursued by any means that can be rationalized in terms of Islams own code.

Radical Islamist Beliefs

Sense of crisis from Muslim states backwardness/weakness, challenges from modernization History of blaming problems on others, victimization World is a perpetual battlefield between faith and unbelief; no coexistence or compromise Islam is a revolutionary liberation movement: required to alter the unjust political, economic and social status quo Current regimes are apostate, must be deposed Struggle (jihad) is required until all lands are under Muslim control: reestablish the caliphate Goal of Gods utopia: phased process to build ideal society, governed only by the sharia

Characteristics of Islamic Militant Leaders

Eighty percent are University students or University graduates. Over half come from elite colleges or from the intellectually most demanding fields of technical specialization, such as medicine and engineering. Over 70 percent are from lower middle-class 'modest, but not poor backgrounds,'' and are the first generation in their family to get higher education. They spent their childhoods in small towns or rural areas but became residents of large cities.

Characteristics of the Followers of Islamic Militants

Urban middle class people make up the bulk of the active membership in Islamic militant groups. In some degree these come from what are often termed "traditional" middle-class groups: merchants, traders, small business proprietors, bazaaris. To an even greater extent fundamentalists belong to the more "modern" sectors of the middle class. Islamist activists include a disproportionately large number of the best-educated and most intelligent young people in their respective populations," including doctors, lawyers, engineers. Scientists, teachers, civil servants.

Why The Popularity of Fundamentalism?

Internal conditions in the Arab/Muslim world: - Corrupt, authoritarian, unrepresentative regimes - Repression, economic failure and disenfranchisement - Promotion of impure forms of Islamic belief and practice - Continuing lack of opportunities and hope Threats from outside of the Islamic nation: - New Crusade by Jews and Western neocolonialists - Political and economic domination, maintain dependence at regions expense - Invasion of alien ideas: secularism, nationalism, democracy and human rights - Continued Western support to Israel and to unpopular Middle Eastern governments

The Society of Islamic Brothers

Formed in 1928 in Egypt, The Muslim Brotherhood opposes secular tendencies of Islamic nations, advocates return to the precepts of the Quran as taught in the time of the Prophet, and rejects Western influences. The organization's motto is:

Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our

leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope

The Muslim Brotherhood

The Brotherhood is one of the most influential movements in the Islamic World. It exists in more than 80 countries. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in 1928, and Egypt is still considered the center of the movement; it is generally weaker in the Maghreb, or North Africa, than in the Arab Levant. The Brotherhood has posted electoral victories in Turkey, Jordan, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and forms the main opposition to the governments in several countries in the Muslim world, such as Syria. They are politically active to some extent in nearly every Muslim country. There are also diaspora branches in several Western Nations, composed by immigrants previously active in the Brotherhood in their home countries.

The Source: Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab

Lived in what is now Saudi Arabia 1703 -1792. Founded a movement to cleanse Islam of innovations, deviances, heresies. Formed an alliance with the Saud family. Wahhabis advocate strict return to fundamentals of the faith, reject any behavior not conducted or supported by the Prophet Muhammad. Reintroduced Kharijite concept of takfir to label sinful Muslims as hypocrites, thus allowing for jihad against them Interpret the Quran literally. At most extreme, the Salafis sect of Wahhadis, rejects nation states and all manmade laws; many Sunni radicals are products of this sects teachings

Hasan al-Banna Egyptian

Jihad is not against polytheists alone, but against all who

do not embrace IslamToday the Muslimsare compelled to humble themselves before non-Muslims, and are ruled by unbelieversTheir adversaries are in charge of their affairs, and the rites of their religion have fallen into abeyance within their own domains, to say nothing of their impotence to broadcast the summons [to embrace Islam]. Hence it has become an individual obligation, which there is no evading, on every Muslim to prepare his equipment, to make up his mind to engage in jihad, and to get ready for itKnow then that death is inevitable, and that it can only happen once. If you suffer it in the way of God, it will be your profit in this world, and your reward in the next. Islam is concerned with the question of jihad and the mobilization of the entire Umma into one body to defend the right cause with all its strengthThe verses of the Quran and the Sunnahare overflowing with all these noble ideals and they summon the people in generalto jihad, to warfare, to the armed forces, and all means of land and sea fighting. On Jihad

Sayyid Qutb Provides the Philosophical Base for the Brotherhood

Sayyid Qutb was the Brotherhoods leading theorist of 1950-60s. On a 1949 student trip to U.S., he developed negative impressions of American culture. Egyptian Pres. Nasser hanged Qutb in 1966 for plotting his assassination. Qutb laid the philosophical foundation for the Brotherhood. In Shade of the Quran and Milestones of the Roads, Qutb interpreted the Quran as demanding extension of Sharia (religious law) to all aspects of life. He also called for:
Muslims to return to pure Islam as practiced in the Prophets time, Rejection of secular and western values, Armed struggle (jihad) as the means to eliminate un-Islamic governments and establish a global system of Islamic State rule.

Sayyid Qutb on Relations with the West

If we look at the sources and foundations of modern ways of living, it becomes clear that the whole world is steeped in Jahiliyya (pagan ignorance of divine guidance), [which] takes the form of claiming that the right to create values, to legislate rules of collective behavior, and to choose any way of life rests with men, without regard to what God has prescribed. The result of this rebellion against the authority of God is the oppression of His creatures Western civilization is unable to present any healthy values for the guidance of mankindIslam is the only system which possesses these values and this way of life. Milestones, 1964

Building The Brotherhoods Islamic State

Muslim Brotherhood founded as a vehicle to counter threats from Western colonialism, Arab nationalism and secularism; movement endures today throughout the Muslim world Primary means to restore Islamic character to society is vigorous preaching and teaching (dawa) campaign; Gradualist approach to build a strong Muslim state governed by sharia: re-Islamization through four stages starting with individuals, then families, then communities, which will band together to form a true Islamic state (unique bottom-up approach to reform) Influenced radicals by redefining jihad: greater jihad is armed physical struggle against injustice and unbelief, not the internal spiritual struggle. It is a God-ordained defensive requirement for all Muslims, as long as unbelievers rule any Islamic lands. This concept of jihad combined the Quranic definition of fighting with a struggle not only against infidels but also People of the Book.

Global Jihad: A New Twist

Osama bin Laden: - August 1996 Declaration of War (Ladinese Epistle): Muslims must expel infidels from land of the two holy places - February 1998 Fatwa: Americans stormed the Arabian Peninsula and are using it to launch attacks against Muslims; are hurting Iraq; and are supporting Israeli occupation of Jerusalem and aggression so all must be killed anywhere - Defensive struggle that is morally required for all true Muslims - May 1998 ABC Interview: Bring the battle to American soil; focus on political, economic and military targets Fed by Jihad Factories: madrassas have provided steady source of mujahedin for struggles in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Chechnya, Kashmir and elsewhere (highest honor is to wage jihad against enemies of Islam)

Al Qaeda Organization

UNCLAS

Fighting the Long War-Military Strategy for the War on Terrorism

Rear Admiral Bill Sullivan Vice Director for Strategic Plans & Policy The Joint Staff
UNCLAS

UNCLASSIFIED

Al Qaidas Plan: A Present Day Manifestation

We are seeking to incite the Islamic Nation to rise up to liberate its land and to conduct Jihad for the sake of God. - Usama bin Laden

Objective 1: Expel American influence from Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula Objective 2: Remove secular governments within the region Objective 3: Eliminate Israel and purge Jewish and Christian influence Objective 4: Expand the Muslim empire to historical significance

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLAS

UNCLAS

UNCLAS

US Strategy
The three key elements in win this war are:
Protect and defend the Homeland Attack terrorists and their capacity to operate effectively at home and abroad Support mainstream Muslim efforts to reject violent extremism

In addition to the strategic elements, there are three critical crosscutting enablers:
Expanding foreign partnerships and partnership capacity Strengthening our capacity to prevent terrorist acquisition and use of WMD Institutionalizing domestically and internationally the strategy against violent extremists

This war goes far beyond the borders of Iraq, Afghanistan and the Greater Middle East

UNCLAS

The Clandestine War

The Clandestine War

The United States has developed a cadre of terrorist-hunters in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the Horn of Africa known as Task Force 373. TF 373 works according to classified lists of enemies, "Joint Prioritized Effects Lists" (JPEL) in military jargon. The JPEL list assigns an individual serial number to each of those targeted for kill or capture. The U.S. also has worked with European allies to dismantle terrorist groups in North Africa, efforts that include a recent French strike in Algeria.

TF 373
According to the CIA, about half of the combatants on our most wanted list have been neutralized thus far. Many others have been captured and transferred to a special prisons, such as the Bagram Theatre Internment Facility in Afghanistan. Some TF 373 operations involve the use of unmanned drones to deliver missiles or 500 lb. smart bombs with pinpoint accuracy against radical shelters, vehicles, or even enemy units in the open.

 The newest version of the drone, The Reaper, is awesome: they can loiter for up to 42 hours at a time, their sensors can read the numbers on a license plate from 2 miles away, and they carry a lethal dose of smart weapons: laser and satellite guided bombs as well as Hellfire missiles that can hit a target the size of a square yard from 25,000 feet.

War Without Risk, Inconvenience, or Valor

A drone team consists of two sets of pilots. One set works abroad, handling takeoffs and landings. Once the drones are aloft, they are electronically slewed over to a set of reachback operators, at Creech AFB or CIA HQ in Langley. Using joysticks that resemble video-game controls, the reachback operators sit next to intelligence officers and watch, on large flat-screen monitors, a live video feed from the drones sensors. This team carries out the actual strike mission.

Drone Strikes in Pakistan

Some Notable Successes: Anwar al-Awlaki

Anwar al-Awlaki was a U.S.-born, Internet-savvy cleric who some officials saw as leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Awlaki was allegedly involved in the Christmas 2009 bombing attempt and had communicated with Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan.

Jihadist Web sites announced in early June 2010 that a U.S. drone attack killed AlQaedas No. 3 man, Mustafa Abu Al-Yazid, and most of his family. Most recently he was the Commander of al-Qaeda forces in Afghanistan. According to a recent Pakistani report, radical leaders are very apprehensive about what they call the silent death. They scamper around only at night and accuse followers of being spies who help target them. Many tribal leaders who formerly welcomed Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters in their territory now plead with them to leave because they fear attracting drone strikes.

Pakistani security officials announced that Baitullah Mehsud (Commander of the Taliban in Pakistan), his wife and bodyguards were killed on 5 August 2009 in a U.S. Central Intelligence Agency drone attack. Kafayat Ullah, a Taliban source, also announced the death of the militant in the strike.

 Drones have eliminated more than half of the C.I.A.s twenty most wanted high value extremist targets including Saad bin Laden, Osamas eldest son, and the man shown on the left here. He is Hakimullah Mehsud, who took over as head of the Pakistani Taliban in December 2009 and appeared in radical videos bragging that he personally sent the man on the right, a Jordanian doctor, to carry out the suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed seven CIA employees in eastern Afghanistan in early January 2010. Hakimullah did not survive the month after making the claim.

Key Taliban Ally Captured

New ground operations yield capture of key radical leaders, including the military commander of all Taliban forces in Afghanistan, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. He ranks second in influence only to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Talibans founder and a close associate of Osama bin Laden. Baradar was captured in mid January 2010 in Karachi, a chaotic city of 13 million people, which includes a large population of Pashtuns, the main ethnic group that makes up the Taliban, convincing them that it was a relatively safe place to hide.

The Taliban
Students of Allah

Who Are the Taliban?

The Taliban, backed by Pakistan and funded by Saudi Arabia, arose in 1994 during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and overran most of Afghanistan by 1996. They are driven by an extremely harsh Medieval interpretation of Sunni Islam. The Taliban imposed an extremely repressive, sectarian Islamic regime on the Afghan people, barring women from work and education and even killing Shiite Muslims.

Who Are the Taliban?

The Taliban said their aim was to set up the world's most pure Islamic state, banning frivolities like television, music, and cinema. Their attempts to eradicate crime were reinforced by the introduction of Islamic law including public executions and amputations. A flurry of regulations forbidding girls from going to school and women from working quickly brought them into conflict with the international community.

The Bin Laden Connection

Bin Laden had been a hero of the 'jihad' against the Soviet occupiers, and the Taliban welcomed him back to Afghanistan in 1996 after his expulsion from the Sudan. Bin Laden cemented his ties to the Taliban leadership through his daughter's marriage to its leader, Mullah Omar. Bin Ladens "Arab Afghan" fighters played a leading role in the Taliban's military campaign against its opponents. The Taliban's elite brigade were trained in Bin Laden's camps, and are believed to be loyal to the Saudi terrorist's "Al Qaida" movement.

The Pakistan Connection

Only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan's government prior to 9/11. Pakistan has been more than a friend to the Taliban in many ways it has been mentor and tutor, too, and even, according to opposition groups, an active participant in its rise to power.

The Pakistan Connection

Military officers and diplomats say Pakistan's tribal belt is the engine room of the Taliban insurgency today. Two shuras, or tribal councils, coordinate the attacks - one in the western city of Quetta, the other in South Waziristan, a lawless tribal area that is also a crucible of al-Qaida terrorism. In September 2006 Pakistan agreed to withdraw army units from the tribal region and turn over checkpoints to local tribes that are effectively Taliban.

The Sanctuary

The Complicating Factor

Afghanistan shares an immense border with Pakistan, stretching some 1510 miles along the southern and eastern edges of the country. The border runs right through Pashtun lands: 14 million Pashtuns live on the Afghan side of the border but 27 million Pashtuns live in adjacent territory on the Pakistani side. Pashtuns (Taliban) easily slip from one side of the border to the other

The Palestine Liberation Organization

Palestine Liberation Organization

Created in 1964 during a meeting known as the Palestinian Congress. Comprised of several factions: - The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, - Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, - Popular Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command, and - al-Fatah.

PLO Evolution
By 1967 the PLO decided that their primary goal was the destruction of the state of Israel. For the next ten years, this goal was the primary focus of the massive terrorist campaign by which their reputation was formed. In 1974 the PLO received observer status at the UN and a government in exile was recognized by the other Arab nations as a basis for a future Palestinian state, to be formed from land regained from Israel along the west bank of the Jordan River. In 1976 the PLO was granted full membership in the Arab League.

PLO Evolution
In 1979 the PLO was forced out of Jordan and fled to Lebanon. In 1982, the Israeli army swept into Beirut, Lebanon and forced the PLO to flee to Tunisia. In a decision that radical Palestinians resented, Arafat agreed to come to the bargaining table to discuss peace with Israeli leaders. Little came of these talks. In 1988, Arafat took the diplomatic road one step further when he not only announced the right of the state of Israel to exist but renounced PLO terrorism.

PLO Evolution
On 9 September 1993, in letters to Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and Norwegian Foreign Minister Holst, PLO Chairman Arafat committed the PLO to cease all violence and terrorism. On 13 September 1993, the Declaration of Principles between the Israelis and Palestinians was signed in Washington, DC.

PLO Evolution
In 1994, Arafat appointed an interim 19-member Palestinian National Authority, under his direction, to administer Palestinian affairs in the areas of self-rule. Under a 1995 accord, self-rule was extended over a twoyear period to all major Arab cities and villages in the West Bank, except East Jerusalem. Some 60 percent of the West Bank remains under full Israeli control. Arafat was elected president of the Palestinian-controlled territory in 1996. In the same year the PLO formally revoked all clauses in its founding charter that called for the dissolution of Israel, and Arafat pledged to fight terrorism. In the summer of 2000, peace negotiations sponsored by the US failed to reach agreement. Negotiations between PLO and Israel have been stalled ever since. In 2006 PLO lost an election to HAMAS and in 2007 all PLO authority was driven out of Gaza.

Differences Between PLO and HAMAS

Hamas Prime Minister Isma'il Haniya

"There is a big difference. President Abu Mazen, who holds the most senior position in the West Bank, has stated very clearly that he supports peaceful resistance, and is against comprehensive resistance against the Israeli occupation. "The situation here is different. Here we talk about resistance as a strategic option, about the right of all the resistance factions to obtain all the means needed to conduct resistance, about the legitimacy of the weapons of the resistance, and about a national consensus on managing the resistance in a way that does not harm the principle."

Hamas (The Islamic Resistance Movement)

Hamas is religious-politicalmilitary organization that evolved from Palestinian members of the Muslim Brotherhood. It opposes the Oslo peace because it involves recognizing Israel's existence. The organization's ultimate goal is to create an Islamic state in all of pre-1948 Palestine, which includes all of Israel. But its short-term objective is to drive the Israelis out of all territories they conquered in June 1967.

Sheik Yassin, Hamas Founder

Hamas, 2
One of the keys to Hamas's popularity is its large-scale welfare arm. Hamas provides educational, medical and other desperately needed welfare services in impoverished West Bank and Gaza towns and refugee camps The welfare arm also cares for the families of suicide bombers and others who have died fighting the Israelis. The social services performed by Hamas also create a pretext for the massive funding the organization receives from Muslim charities throughout the Persian Gulf and beyond.

Hamas, 3
Hamas is now believed to directly represent the political views of one in three Palestinians, and its actions carry the support of an overwhelming majority. Most of the rank-and-file of Fatah and security services regard Hamas as comrades-in-arms against the Israelis. Hamas has been the primary beneficiary of the alienation of many Palestinians from the corruption of the PA, the failure of the peace process.

Hizbullah
Hizbullah won a particular reputation for striking at western interests, pioneering the use of suicide attacks against targets such as the American and French embassies, and an American marine barracks in Beirut. Hizbullah has also been linked to atrocities abroad since the civil war ended in 1991, in particular the bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires. Hizbullah operatives may also have sponsored an attack on American servicemen in Saudi Arabia in 1997. Hizbullah is credited with making Israel's occupation of southern Lebanon so costly that it was forced to withdraw its forces in May 2000. Hizbullahs standing in Lebanon and the Muslim world in general was enhanced by its showing in the summer 2006 Israeli incursion into Lebanon.

The Case Against the West

Arrogance, insensitivity toward other cultures Unbalanced foreign policies, favoritism toward Israel Resentment over economic success, political and military power, commercial exploitation Disgust over lax morals: alcohol consumption, suggestive dress of women, commercialization of sex Economic sanctions against Muslim countries Continued stationing of US troops in Saudi Arabia Support of repressive, corrupt regimes due to Western greed (oil) Wide reach of international news media spreads resentment that can be manipulated

Differences Within The World of Islamic Believers