My second visit to the provinces of Abyan and Shabwa By: Abdulrazaq Al-Jammal
This is the second time that I visit the provinces of Abyan and Shabwa in less than three months, for almost the same reasons: the situation that some of the media is trying to portray, when the image in these two provinces is totally different and almost at the various levels, but rather it has nothing to do with that image, especially in the province of Abyan or its capital the city of Zinjibar as an area of continuous battles. There wasn’t anything new that strongly draws attention like the increase of the numbers of those who go to jihad for the sake of Allah, as the commanders in the organization say, especially after signing the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative which many who came to Abyan saw in it as a treachery to the blood of the martyrs and a response to the dictation of abroad. We didn’t seize regions to hand it over again The question that everyone asks there is: what is the stance of the youth of the revolution in the arenas from the agreement between the regime and opposition to transfer the authority in the framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative? They think that this agreement will widen more the gap between the youth and the Yemeni opposition parties, who they see that they are working for their interests without regarding the demands of the youth of the revolution. Regarding the issue of future of the presence of Ansar Al-Sharia if the new regime became stable and the presence of a popular propensity for stability, some of the leaders of the organization say that the popular stability in the regions that they control happened
before there be any stability in any other region, and that they didn’t seize these regions to hand it over in the future to anyone. In what provinces is Al-Qaeda present and which of it resembles a challenge to them?
Through it activity in the regions that it manages its affairs, Ansar Al-Sharia group seems an urgent need in the other regions that it doesn’t control in the provinces of Shabwa and Abyan, in the consideration of most of the local population, especially in the light of the near-total absence of the government in these two provinces or most of its regions from a long period. But despite of this the group didn’t take the opportunity of the vacuum caused by the absence of the regime to strengthen its presence, by seizing more land, as the others do or have done, especially in the light of the current reality of the revolution, since seizing it is available to them more than ever before. Al-Qaeda or Ansar Al-Sharia is afraid from stirring the feelings of citizens adversely against its presence if it seized their regions or tried to manage their affairs without the presence of a total popular satisfaction, but it’s counting on the satisfaction that will be caused by the bad situation that will necessarily result in a chaos. But Anar Al-Sharia do not turn a blind eye to the problems in the regions that they have a presence in it outside the process of control, since there is a difference, between the presence to control the land and running the affairs of the people, and their obligation of promoting of virtue and preventing of vice because they have the ability to change. The directorate of Al-Mahfad that is practically under their control, even if it wasn’t so administratively, witnesses a strong activity of Ansar Al-Sharia, especially in the field of securing the public road from the bandits and thieves, particularly that Al-Mahfad directorate or the public road which passes through it, which was known of terrible robberies of the travelers, it reached the extent of stripping women from their gold. Ansar Al-Sharia were satisfied merely to have a presence in this directorate, and they didn’t seek to establish posts in the entrances and exits of the directorate, despite their need to that in the framework to crack down on the thieves and bandits. They don’t want – according to one of the fighters of the group – to raise a local outrage against them, and this fighter sees that in this matter an exaggeration in taking into account, since the control that will adjust the situation will be accepted, even in the medium or long term. The damages of the security breakdown isn’t limited to the people of the directorate without Ansar Al-Sharia getting a share of it, in last week some of the fighters of the organization were killed and wounded in the Al-Mahfad directorate after clashes that happened with some thieves.
But Ansar Al-Sharia in the directorate see that they achieved a significant and tangible success when they were managed to secure the public road that links the province of Shabwa to the province of Abyan and other provinces. Regarding the near Ahwar directorate, which is a big directorate from the geographical area, Ansar Al-Sharia were satisfied by giving assurances to its people regarding securing the public road despite of the huge acts of tribal banditry which the public road witnessed in that directorate in the past months, after it was the alternative road to the Al-Mahfad road. In one of the outskirts of the Ahwar directorate there is the presence of a military brigade that belongs to the regime, but Ansar Al-Sharia took pledges from the tribes of the directorate to manage the issue of the military brigade if he did any kind of move against them or against the sons of the directorate, and it seems that it won’t do anything like that, for the shortage of its munitions, and its presence in a region surrounded by many regions where there are fighters of the group. May be the directorates of Lawdar and Mudiyah represent the biggest challenge to Ansar Al-Sharia in the province of Abyan, especially the Mudiyah directorate where Al-Qaeda organization has cases of revenge with some of its residents, on the background of what has and still been conducted from operations against who they call “Sahwas awakenings-” who were recruited by the authority or other parties who are interested in fight Al-Qaeda organization, to fight the organization, even if among them were Salafies whom the organization is calling to aid against what they are being exposed to in the province of Saada from siege imposed on them by the Houthi group for over a month. The strange thing is that many operations that were conducted by the organization against the government forces in these two provinces before the revolution, especially the central security forces, were in the framework of supporting their sons because of the arbitrary acts that they were exposed to, and the organization documented that all previously in the video entitled “Repelling the Aggression”. And the more bizarre from what have been mentioned is that these two provinces were until recently the most important strongholds for Al-Qaeda organization in the province of Abyan, and in them fierce battles took place between the organization and the government forces. Close to the directorates of Lawdar and Mudiyah, is the coastal city of Shuqrah, which is the city almost the second model administered by Al-Qaeda organization “from A to Z” and its laws are applied there, especially regarding implementation of the Hudud, after the city of Waqar.
The city of Waqar, which is the city known as “Jaar”, is considered one of the most important strongholds of the organization after he controlled the province of Abyan. The organization has changed the name of the city that is administratively follows the Khanfar directorate, because of the ugliness of the name which means in Arabic voices or homes of the hyenas, and the prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family changed the names of some people and places that bear a bad meaning, according to them. Regarding the internal situation of the city of Jaar or Waqar it has witnessed more improvement, when comparing it to before three months, I mean the period of time that I visited the city, since the organization devoted itself more for the Dawah work and managing the affairs of the city, making it a model similar to an Islamic state which it seeks to make it a reality, also the general military mobilization disappeared or almost so which the fighters of the organization lived in the city because of the aerial raids which were conducted by Yemeni and Saudi warplanes in the past months. Adding to that, which is almost the most important, some of the families of the city returned to it, after it was displaced in the past months fleeing from the aerial bombardment mentioned previously. Regarding the city of Zinjibar the capital of the province of Abyan, the continuing battles remained going on throughout of the past weeks a rich material for some of the local media, despite what was happening on the ground of that city was totally different to what has been written on the pages of these publications which depended in most of its news on “eye witnesses” in a city which only are present in it forces of government and the fighters of the Ansar Al-Sharia. The organization says that some of these publications became used to lying, while others depended on one party in the province that calls itself “the movement of the Salmeen” that declare to the media about killings and speak about operations against Ansar AlSharai. “We have arrested some of them and the regretted for these false statements, and they alleged that they only wanted money”. Regarding the course of battles in the city of Zinjibar, it appears that the forces of the army have been satisfied to reach the stadium region and its vicinity as well as the 25th Mechanised Brigade region, and this was wanted by the organization itself after it withdrew from the front of the Dofas region in the framework of the military strategy which the organization have substituted it conventional confrontations which was already new to it, with a guerrilla warfare strategy which it masters it very well, and that in the Dofas front only. The region of Bajdaar in the city of Zinjibar is considered the line of contact that separates the government forces and the fighters of Ansar Al-Sharia, but most of the
places that surround the areas where the forces of the army exist, are surrounded by a belt of landmines followed by another belt of the human ambushes, which means that the big military campaign, didn’t totally lift the siege on the Al-Somali brigade, but rather it also became partly besieged, but on a wider geographical zone. The situation isn’t different much in the neighboring province of Shabwa, Ansar AlSharia have a presence similar to their presence in the province of Abyan. It’s worth mentioning here that the security vacuum was happening even in the presence of the government, although it wasn’t in that form which Ansar Al-Sharia appeared due to it. Dialogue with the Al-Qaeda youth It appears that it’s one of the coincidences that they say it might be better from one thousand appointments, and indeed it was so. The one who presented himself to me in the name of “Abu Abdurrahman Al-Awlaki” in one of my sessions with the Al-Qaeda youth in the city of Azzan in the province of Shabwa, wasn’t ordinary in his culture which I found it drawing me to him in a power that exceeds ten degrees, of course not in Richter scale. There had to be an interview, even if it was short, with the leader who has a wide culture to know the stance of the organization towards many important matters related to the past and present of the Al-Qaeda organization in Yemen, and also its future, on more than one level. I have been very much delighted for him agreeing to conduct a quick interview with him, where I present to him what I want him to comment on, and I leave for him the freedom of commenting. About the stance of Al-Qaeda organization from the freedom of belief, personal freedoms, free trade, and the reality of the logo of the Houthi group against America, and the program of sheikh Anwar Al-Awalaki through his activity in the framework of AlQaeda organization, their view for the reality of the going on conflict between America and Iran, and the military strategy of Al-Qaeda organization in its war with the United States of America. About all these issues and other, we will leave the honorable reader with Abu Abdurrahman: - In the field of beliefs and personal freedoms and commercial dealing in their region of control: He said: Our mission is monitoring and judiciary, and leaving the community to move by itself without interference of the central government directly. We speak here about monitoring in its Sharia concept, which means the promotion of virtue and prevention of vice regarding the apparent matters, and that doesn’t mean spying on the people inside their homes, since we weren’t ordered to know what’s in the hearts of the people, but we
judge according to the apparent, but this doesn’t mean that we allow the deviant ideas to spread. We won’t search for the convictions and beliefs of the people, they can believe what they want as long as they don’t show their beliefs and call people to it. We differentiate between the innovator himself and the innovator who calls to his innovation. We have here in Azzan a mosque for Al-Islah (Yemeni Congregation for Reform), and another for the Al-Hajorian Salafies and no one of them complained of any harassment, unlike their dealing with us in the regions where they have influence and unlike the dealing of AlHouthi group with its ideological opponents, which kills only for the disagreeing. Also we will allow free trade, Halal is what has been made Halal by Allah and the Haram is what have been made Haram by Allah, also we won’t impose on the people what hasn’t been imposed on them by the Wise Legislator, like customs, taxes and tolls, and we won’t partake with them in their livelihoods and impose on them the royalties which the regime takes in return for protection, but rather we will provide for them protection for free, not as a favor from us but because this is our obligation in the Sharia, we will demand from them only what have been imposed by Allah on them like the legitimate Zakat, we also will ban monopoly, all these matters together will inevitably lead to the decline in prices. We have no objection to do business with the Kaffir, but under the covenant of security. Deleted all the debts on the fishermen of the city of Shuqrah which was imposed on them in return for the fishing boats provided to them by the government. The most important thing that our Islamic economy will be established on is the prohibiting of dealing with usury, (you shall have your capital; neither shall you make (the debtor) suffer loss, nor shall you be made to suffer loss) 279 Surah Al-Baqara. - About the Aden Abyan Hadith He clarified: Regarding the Hadith that refers to an army going out from Aden Abyan, we deal with it as a hope not certainty, because it would be interfering in the matters of Allah if it was a certainty as long as it is from the news of the future which we believe in and wasn’t achieved in realty yet. We wish from Allah Almighty that he honor us to be those who the prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family referred to, and if we weren’t so, then we ask Allah Almighty to be from those who prepare for that matter. Al-Qaeda believes in the authentic news that narrated from the prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him about seditions and epics, even if it on the ground deal with the orders of the Sharia and the stable beliefs that don’t change by the change of time and place, like disowning from the Tagut and fighting it, and repelling the aggressive enemy on the religion, honor and land. Either we were that Aden Abyan army
which the prophet peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family told about or we weren’t so, we will drive out the Tagut and fight the aggressive American enemy. We won’t build our strategy on metaphysical matters but we resort to the factual events and the authentic prophetic news that they are going to the time of epics. - About the conflict between Iran “the Persian project” and America He confirmed: We believe in the presence of a real conflict between the republic of Iran and the United States of America, and we are the farthest people from the conspiracy theory which many of the Islamists and Arab nationalists sank in, but it is not the conflict which one side wants to totally eradicate the other. The purpose of the conflict is weakening not total elimination, because America needs the presence of Iran in the region for its stance from the Sunni Moslems, which is a known aggressive stance, also the republic of Iran needs the presence of America because it reduce the Sunni growth in the region, especially the military one, through its war against Al-Qaeda organization. And it’s in all conditions is a conflict of influence and expansion or a conflict of empires, also it’s in its essence an extension to the ancient historical conflict between Persia and the Rum. Also we do not overlook to note here to the economical aspect as one of the most important factors or elements of the conflict. If Iran was succeeded in controlling the oil of the Caspian sea in northern Iran, and controlled all the oil of Iraq, in its north and south, and controlled the sources of oil on the two banks of the Gulf in Ahvaz and in the countries of the Gulf, especially the Eastern region of Saudi Arabia which has an intensive Shia presence, if Iran controlled all what we have mentioned practically it would have controlled two thirds of the world’s oil, and if we add to that the horror of the West from the possession of Iran to the Atomic bomb we will be before the establishment of a Persian empire which I think no way the West will allow that and will confront this project before it’s complete. - About the Al-Houthi group (great battles don’t fall from history easily) He mentioned: Through 128 years, meaning from 1839 when the British colonialism entered until it left in 1967 the armies of the Zaydi Imams, which ruled the North and some of the South, didn’t advance to Aden, despite their rule reached the province of Lahej in the South, and no Fatwa was issued for defensive jihad to drive out the British colonizer from Aden, despite the historical chance was very ripe. And as the grandparents of the Houthis from the Zaydi Imams didn’t fight the British in Aden, their sons won’t fight the Americans anywhere, even if they entered regions in Yemen.
Also history says that Zaidism never fought throughout its rule of Yemen a Seeking jihad, we mean by it invading the Kuffar in their land and raising the banner of L Il ha Illall h fluttering on the lands of the polytheists. For example, Abyssinia which is the stronghold of Christianity in the African continent, and almost 300 kilometers from Al-Hudaydah, but through more than 1000 years from the Zaydi rule to Yemen didn’t prepare a naval fleet to do the mission of seeking jihad and invade the Abyssinian Christians in their home land, as the Sunni Ottoman Turks did in Europe, that’s why the United States of America is never worried from the presence of the Al-Huothi groups, because the Westerners read the Islamic history well and know for sure who is their friend and who is their foe, and the Houthis today in releasing their slogans are like their grandfathers… (The Americans know their enemies well, and also their friends). The Zaydi fighting throughout the history of their presence in Yemen was only in four types: * an internal fighting amongst the Hashemite families over the thrown. * fighting with the Ismailis (the Bohra and Makarma) * fighting with the Turks * fighting with the Shafi'ites Regarding fighting with the Jews and Christians in a defensive jihad or seeking jihad, it was never known of them to do so, neither in their old or modern history, in contrast look to the history of Ahl s-Sunnah wa l- am ah in this subject. - About sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki He explained: The cause of sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki is global more than being only inside the organization. Al-Qaeda project is fighting the crusaders in general, but Anwar had his own program in this project, which was in focusing on the English speaking Muslim individual in West for the purpose delivering the message of jihad to him, and that work was effective, to the point that advices were presented to the organization to work in the under the strategy of sheikh Anwar. No doubt that the most thing feared by the West that the organization have members with white skin and blue eyes, also the third generation of immigrants from the Islamic world to Europe and America are the most affected by the Dawah of sheikh Anwar. - About the military strategy of Al-Qaeda
He stated: Preparation not in the exclusively conventional military concept, and not on the bases of the parallel wars, but rather on the contrary, we mean by the parallel wars the reciprocal war where each side has army against army, land against land, population against population, alliance against alliance, economical interests against economical interests, and that certainly cannot be provided in the war of America against AL-Qaeda. The strategy of the department of defense of America since the end of WWII was based on the parallel war until the events of 9/11 happened and Al-Qaeda imposed on them the non-parallel war which wasn’t in the mind of the American military. Due to the inequality in all the material standers between Al-Qaeda organization and the United States of America in the going on conflict, between the two sides on every land and under every sky. What decreases on the organization this big difference is the presence of a fighting ideology in the organization that isn’t found in other military formations, either in armies or militias. We mention one part only from the integrated ideological system that is educed from the Book and Sunnah, which is the “Aqeeda of Tarabus – waiting -” and we mean by it the waiting of the Moslem solider for the Kaffir to be affected with a Sharia matter which is defeating the enemy by the hands of the believers, or to be affected with a universal matter which is a calamity that dwelleth in their land or near it (floods – storms – earthquakes – volcanoes – meteorites – severe economical crisis – etc...), as for the Moslem soldier Aqeeda revolves around victory and martyrdom, and you will this confirmed in His saying Almighty: (Say: Can ye await for us aught save one of two good things (death or victory in Allah's way)? while we await for you that Allah will afflict you with a doom from Him or at our hands. Await then! Lo! We are awaiting with you) 52 Surah At-Taubah. This in general is the strategic work of Al-Qaeda organization, regarding handing over what is under our control, that won’t be except if the matters were over the capability of the organization, as happened to the government of the Taliban when it ruled Afghanistan, then you know what happened to it after it lost its presence as a central state after the events 9/11. But we didn’t seize what it is under our hands to hand over to anyone… *** Al-Qaeda compensates the weakness of its media intercommunication by establishing electronic intercommunication websites The results on the ground say that America, despite its big military power and also the power of its allies, didn’t achieve any military success in its war against Al-Qaeda organization for almost ten years that we can say that this success contributed in reducing the activity of the organization on any aspect, but rather what might happened is the contrary, but on the media aspect it achieved a big and remarkable development, that you
can read by knowing the nature of the presence of the organization in the culture of many people. If the organization succeeded militarily in its war against the Untied States of America, despite of the big difference in power, but its media didn’t have the same effect, despite that the subject of America is very rich, since it’s the country whose name is linked to many crimes in many countries in this world throughout the period of it sitting on its throne. By auditing what is happening, it doesn’t appear that there is a media failure of Al-Qaeda organization, since America failed militarily because it is facing Al-Qaeda organization itself, and succeeded in the media because it targets the community which the organizations reaches to it in a very hardly, because of the harsh security conditions that it lives in it from the beginning of the global war against it, adding to that the fear of the people from having contact with anything that has a relation to the organization. Which means that the organization, in this aspect, was effected by the community which lived this ideological terrorism and got adapted to it, especially the Arabic and Islamic community, and if Al-Qaeda organization was given the same chance that was given to its opponent or half or quarter or any part of it, it would be able to make a big difference in that also, since it has a the cause that is more just when comparing it to the American cause, but rather there is no comparison, because it’s the practical expression to the feeling of millions of Arabs and Moslems towards America, even if it was viewed by some peoples of these nations as extremism. The American media would be able to make that effect if it wasn’t supported by an unlimited media by parties inside the Arab and Islamic world which have a weight and effect in their communities, and most of them were from Islamic parties that worked in the framework of the regimes that work in the framework of the Western and American project. Speaking about Al-Qaeda as a terrorist group that kill innocent citizens, in the course of the war between it and the United States of America, won’t convince anyone, because the models of the other side in this aspect doesn't need any effort to identify it or to convince about the barbarity of the party that stands behind it, that’s why it had to launch a media war on the organization in another framework, that’s related firstly to the global peace, and secondly to the Moslems, and their interests, and Aqeeda. Now Al-Qaeda organization stands behind every bad thing done by the United States of America in the Arab and Islamic countries, or against the Arabs and Moslems in any country, in the viewpoint of many people, who were deceived by what is in the American media and the media of who allied with it, because Al-Qaeda was the one who provoked
the sleeping lion “America”, according to them, but this lion was sleeping on the chest of the Ummah from decades and not in any other place, according to Al-Qaeda. Maybe Al-Qaeda organization wasn’t concerned much, or couldn’t until now employ the bad situation especially in the Arab countries, for its cause, especially in the stage before the popular Arab revolutions, and it’s enough for example, that one of the citizens in the province of Abyan denies the relation of those who controlled the province to Al-Qaeda, based on the unique idealism which those who control have, which doesn’t fit what is being said about it, Al-Qaeda in his viewpoint is that pure evil which the American directed media speaks about… nothing more. As those are angels walking on the earth in humility. Maybe it wasn’t an inability in employing by Al-Qaeda organization, but it was the force of the media campaign bigger than the force of self-defense, with its huge tools and permanent friction to the targeted, since America came to ready media system, and directed it towards those who were ready to accept what it says. But what is happening in the recently suggests that the organization as it has exceeded the difference of the military capabilities between it and its opponent and opponents, it’s in his way to exceed its problem in the media aspect, and the atmosphere that was created by the Arab spring will help much it that, when the peoples reached in their relations with the regimes and the in its view to the West also, to many points of convergence with the organization, even if it were in other ways, but the organization needs to develop itself in the media albeit in traditional mechanisms. “Madad agency” the latest in the media of the Yemen organization Beside Al-Malahim media, which publishes the “Sada Al-Malahim” magazine, and the English “Inspire” magazine, and all the publications of the organization in general, it issued recently the “Madad” news report, which is published weekly and is concerned about all the updates of the organization, especially in the province of Abyan. The idea of the “news report” after the many fabricated news that were published by some of the media, especially the local, about the province of Abyan, so that this news report be the main source of the news about the organization and everything that relates to it. It’s expected, according to the media officials here, that the work of “Madad” will develop to more than just a report that is published every week, or every ten days, and those media professionals in the organization aspire that “Madad” become as a news agency for the Al-Qaeda organization in Yemen, and they say that they are in the process of developing it in this way.
Until now five editions were issued from the report, but it didn’t spread on a large scale, due to the security difficulties relating to the organization in this aspect, but to facilitate the spreading of the news and reports of “Madad”, the media workers of the organization are working currently to make a special website for this news report, to make it easy for the local and foreign media to return to it, in addition to a blog and an account on the facebook and twitter website. In the 6th issue of Madad Al-Qaeda organization speaks about the presence of American troops in the capital Sana’a, and the organization have published images of American soldiers in the Sheraton region near the American embassy, taken by its cameras, and the organization believes that it’s a prelude for the American occupation of Yemen. Martyr of the Dawah “Martyrdom is like a tree, that fruits appear in it, and it becomes ripe, then it’s time to harvest. This way the worshipers of Allah pass through the stages until they reach a stage that they are chosen as martyrs... people have to learn the culture of martyrdom”. (sheikh Anwar Al-Awalaki in a video before his death). The video which is published by Al-Malahim media, and entitled “Martyr of the Dawah” contained a speech for sheikh Ibrahim Al-Rubaish lamenting the death of sheikh Anwar Al-Awalaki, and Al-Rubaish was a former prisoner in Cuba and one of the wanted on the list of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The speech was interposed by comments for the chief editor of Quds Al-Arabi Abdulbari Atwan, and other for the Yemeni journalist Ahmed Al-Zarqa. For the mentioning of the journalist Ahmed Al-Zarqa I wish to note that Al-Zarqa asked one day on his page on the facebook: “Wasn’t Ibrahim Al-Bannah the one the interior ministry said that it had arrested him and charged him with many accusations and confirmed that it will put him trail?... Or something like that”. The answer easily is that media worker of Al-Qaeda Ibrahim Al-Bannah was never imprisoned in Yemen, as have been confirmed by the members of the organization whom I met in the city of Azzan, also Al-Bannah was present in the city of Azzan during the American raid. Returning to the new video, it contained a new speech in English for sheikh Anwar AlAwalaki recorded before his death, directed to the Americans, and to the Muslims who live in the West in general.. in which he said: “Peace will be upon him who follows the guidance… After 9/11 the American people gave George Bush an absolute support to launch war against mujahidin, and gave him a plenipotentiary to spend what he wants for this war… and the result: he failed… He
failed miserably, if America failed in defeating the mujahidin after it gave it’s president an absolute support, how could it win under the leadership of Obama who the people chained him with a short bridle, and if America failed when it was in the peak of its economy, how could it win today while it’s passing in a severe economic crisis?. The answer is that America can’t and won’t be able to win”... Al-Awlaki adds in the recorded speech which he said before his death and hasn’t been published yet: “The table have turned and there is no going back for the global movement of jihad… On 9/11 it was only Afghanistan, but today, it’s Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, the Arabian Maghreb, and the Arabian Peninsula, and the list continues”. He continues: “to the American people I say: we will continue our threatening to your security as long as your government continues its aggression against the Moslems… If your security was dear to you, you have ask your government to withdraw its forces from the Moslem land. The mujahidin have offered truce on the West, but the West refused it. We chose the option of war to defend ourselves from your oppression, and Insha’Allah we will continue fighting you and you will find us steadfast… Do you think that you will destroy the life of others and get away with it?”. He continues sending his messages to the American people: “We have won the battle of morals, as for the real battle it will follow, and its’ foregone conclusion… We are Muslims, we don’t carry animosity towards any race or sex. We aren’t against Americans just because they are Americans, but we are against falsehood, and America has turned to a state of falsehood”. Regarding his personal experience he says: “Regarding me… I was born America, I lived in it for 21 years. America was my homeland, and I was calling for Islam and practicing a peaceful Islamic activity. But after the American invasion to Iraq, and the continuous aggressions against Muslims, I couldn’t match between being a Muslim and staying in America, and I reached to the conclusion that my brothers in Al-Qaeda reached years before, which is that the jihad against America is an obligation… It’s an obligation on me and on every capable Muslims”. In the end of his speech Al-Awlaki keeps the Muslims in the West between two options, which are hard to some extent: “You Muslims in the West, learn the lessons of history… There are black clouds forming in your horizon, yesterday America was the land of slavery, segregation, torture and the white racist groups, tomorrow it will turn to the country of religious injustice and big prisons. Don’t be deceived by the promises that you hear from the government that kills your brothers and sisters today. Today with the escalating war between the Muslims and the West, you cannot rely on a supporting letter from a political party or civic group or a supporting word that you hear from your nice neighbor or good neighbor, the West will turn the table over its Muslim citizens, that’s
why my advice to you is: you have two options, either you migrate or do jihad, either you leave or fight, either you migrate and live among the Muslims, or stay and follow the footsteps of Nidal Hassan and others”. Usaid Abdurrahman Anwar Al-Awlaki or “Usaid” as the members of the organization in this city like call him. The word “Usaid” comes from the word “Asad” - Arabic word for lion -, this name is referring Arab proverb that says “That cub is from that lion”. He became very sad after the American drones killed his father, but he use to say to the Amir of the city of Azzan: “I wish to get martyred as my father” he didn’t think that this will happen after only one day from that wish. And that indeed that happened, he followed his father in another American raid that there was only two weeks between it and the previous raid that killed his father. Some of the members of the organization believe that the operation might be intended, so that America doesn’t be worried in the future with another Awlaki from the same model of his father. It’s America that seeks to destroy the crops and the cattle, as they say here. After three hours from the operation that killed sheikh Anwar’s son, Al-Qaeda organization blow up the gas pipeline in the Balhaf region in the province of Shabwa, and promised for a more fierce respond if the American aviation continued its bombardment. Source: Al-Wassat newspaper