Intercepted Letter from Abu Mussab
al-Zarqawi
to Osama bin Laden
The following is a letter intercepted by
our forces in eastern Iraq. American intelligence believes the letter
was sent by Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi and addressed to Osama bin Laden.
If it was, then this letter provides a fascinating insight into Zarqawi's
mindset. Whether you favor, oppose or are ambivalent about the war
in Iraq, I think you will find this letter very informative. We did
some research to identify the most reliable translation.
Zarqawi, age 37, was born and raised in Jordan.
American intelligence reports identify him as the mastermind behind
a number of the bombings and attacks orchestrated during the last
few months in Iraq and directed against both Iraqis and foreigners.
In the name of God, the Merciful,
the Compassionate,
From ……………to the proudest of persons
and leaders in the age of the servants,
……To the men on the mountain tops, to the hawks of glory, to
the lions
of [the] Shara [Mountains], to the two honorable brothers……………..,
Peace and the mercy and blessings of God be upon you.
Even if our bodies are far apart, the distance between our hearts
is close.
Our solace is in the saying of the Imam Malik. I hope that both of
us are well. I ask God the Most High, the Generous, [to have] this
letter reach you clothed in the garments of health and savoring the
winds of victory and triumph …. Amen.
I send you an account that is appropriate to [your] position and that
removes the veil and lifts the curtain from the good and bad [that
are] hidden in the arena of Iraq.
As you know, God favored the [Islamic] nation with jihad on His behalf
in the land of Mesopotamia. It is known to you that the arena here
is not like the rest. It has positive elements not found in others,
and it also has negative elements not found in others. Among the greatest
positive elements of this arena is that it is jihad in the Arab heartland.
It is a stone’s throw from the lands of the two Holy Precincts
and the al-Aqsa [Mosque]. We know from God’s religion that the
true, decisive battle between infidelity and Islam is in this land,
i.e., in [Greater] Syria and its surroundings. Therefore, we must
spare no effort and strive urgently to establish a foothold in this
land. Perhaps God may cause something to happen thereafter. The current
situation, o courageous shaykhs, makes it necessary for us to examine
this matter deeply, starting from our true Law and the reality in
which we live….
Here is the current situation as I, with my limited vision, see it.
I ask God to forgive my prattle and lapses. I say, having sought help
from God, that the Americans, as you know well, entered Iraq on a
contractual basis and to create the State of Greater Israel from the
Nile to the Euphrates and that this Zionized American Administration
believes that accelerating the creation of the State of [Greater]
Israel will accelerate the emergence of the Messiah. It came to Iraq
with all its people, pride, and haughtiness toward God and his Prophet.
It thought that the matter would be somewhat easy. Even if there were
to be difficulties, it would be easy. But it collided with a completely
different reality. The operations of the brother mujahidin began from
the first moment, which mixed things up somewhat. Then, the pace of
operations quickened. This was in the Sunni Triangle, if this is the
right name for it. This forced the Americans to conclude a deal with
the Shi`a, the most evil of mankind. The deal was concluded on [the
basis that] the Shi`a would get two-thirds of the booty for having
stood in the ranks of the Crusaders against the mujahidin.
First: The Makeup [of Iraq]
In general, Iraq is a political mosaic, an ethnic mixture, and scattered
confessional and sectarian disparities that only a strong central
authority and a overpowering ruler have been able to lead, beginning
with Ziyad Ibn Abihi (tr. note: 7th century A.D.) and ending with
Saddam. The future faces difficult choices. It is a land of great
hardships and difficulties for everyone, whether he is serious or
not…..
As for the details:
1. The Kurds
In their two Barazani and Talabani halves, these have given the bargain
of their hands and the fruit of their hearts to the Americans. They
have opened their land to the Jews and become their rear base and
a Trojan horse for their plans. They (the Jews) infiltrate through
their lands, drape themselves in their banners, and take them as a
bridge over which to cross for financial control and economic hegemony,
as well as for the espionage base for which they have built a large
structure the length and breadth of that land. In general, Islam’s
voice has died out among them -- the Kurds -- and the glimmer of religion
has weakened in their homes. The Iraqi Da`wa has intoxicated them,
and the good people among them, few as they are, are oppressed and
fear that birds will carry them away.
3 [sic]. The Shi`a
[They are] the insurmountable obstacle, the lurking snake, the crafty
and malicious scorpion, the spying enemy, and the penetrating venom.
We here are entering a battle on two levels. One, evident and open,
is with an attacking enemy and patent infidelity. [Another is] a difficult,
fierce battle with a crafty enemy who wears the garb of a friend,
manifests agreement, and calls for comradeship, but harbors ill will
and twists up peaks and crests (?). Theirs is the legacy of the Batini
bands that traversed the history of Islam and left scars on its face
that time cannot erase. The unhurried observer and inquiring onlooker
will realize that Shi`ism is the looming danger and the true challenge. “They
are the enemy. Beware of them. Fight them. By God, they lie.” History’s
message is validated by the testimony of the current situation, which
informs most clearly that Shi`ism is a religion that has nothing in
common with Islam except in the way that Jews have something in common
with Christians under the banner of the People of the Book. From patent
polytheism, worshipping at graves, and circumambulating shrines, to
calling the Companions [of the Prophet] infidels and insulting the
mothers of the believers and the elite of this [Islamic] nation, [they]
arrive at distorting the Qur’an as a product of logic to defame
those who know it well, in addition to speaking of the infallibility
of the [Islamic] nation, the centrality of believing in them, affirming
that revelation came down to them, and other forms of infidelity and
manifestations of atheism with which their authorized books and original
sources -- which they continue to print, distribute, and publish --
overflow. The dreamers who think that a Shi`i can forget [his] historical
legacy and [his] old black hatred of the Nawasib [those who hate the
Prophet’s lineage], as they fancifully call them, are like someone
who calls on the Christians to renounce the idea of the crucifixion
of the Messiah. Would a sensible person do this? These are a people
who added to their infidelity and augmented their atheism with political
cunning and a feverish effort to seize upon the crisis of governance
and the balance of power in the state, whose features they are trying
to draw and whose new lines they are trying to establish through their
political banners and organizations in cooperation with their hidden
allies the Americans.
These [have been] a sect of treachery and betrayal throughout history
and throughout the ages. It is a creed that aims to combat the Sunnis.
When the repulsive Ba`thi regime fell, the slogan of the Shi`a was “Revenge,
revenge, from Tikrit to al-Anbar.” This shows the extent of
their hidden rancor toward the Sunnis. However, their religious and
political `ulama’ have been able to control the affairs of their
sect, so as not to have the battle between them and the Sunnis become
an open sectarian war, because they know that they will not succeed
in this way. They know that, if a sectarian war was to take place,
many in the [Islamic] nation would rise to defend the Sunnis in Iraq.
Since their religion is one of dissimulation, they maliciously and
cunningly proceeded another way. They began by taking control of the
institutions of the state and their security, military, and economic
branches. As you, may God preserve you, know, the basic components
of any country are security and the economy. They are deeply embedded
inside these institutions and branches. I give an example that brings
the matter home: the Badr Brigade, which is the military wing of the
Supreme Council of the Islamic Revolution, has shed its Shi`a garb
and put on the garb of the police and army in its place. They have
placed cadres in these institutions, and, in the name of preserving
the homeland and the citizen, have begun to settle their scores with
the Sunnis. The American army has begun to disappear from some cities,
and its presence is rare. An Iraqi army has begun to take its place,
and this is the real problem that we face, since our combat against
the Americans is something easy. The enemy is apparent, his back is
exposed, and he does not know the land or the current situation of
the mujahidin because his intelligence information is weak. We know
for certain that these Crusader forces will disappear tomorrow or
the day after. He who looks at the current situation [will] see the
enemy’s haste to constitute the army and the police, which have
begun to carry out the missions assigned to them. This enemy, made
up of the Shi`a filled out with Sunni agents, is the real danger that
we face, for it is [made up of] our fellow countrymen, who know us
inside and out. They are more cunning than their Crusader masters,
and they have begun, as I have said, to try to take control of the
security situation in Iraq. They have liquidated many Sunnis and many
of their Ba`th Party enemies and others beholden to the Sunnis in
an organized, studied way. They began by killing many mujahid brothers,
passing to the liquidation of scientists, thinkers, doctors, engineers,
and others. I believe, and God knows best, that the worst will not
come to pass until most of the American army is in the rear lines
and the secret Shi`i army and its military brigades are fighting as
its proxy. They are infiltrating like snakes to reign over the army
and police apparatus, which is the strike force and iron fist in our
Third World, and to take complete control over the economy like their
tutors the Jews. As the days pass, their hopes are growing that they
will establish a Shi`i state stretching from Iran through Iraq, Syria,
and Lebanon and ending in the Cardboard Kingdom of the Gulf. The Badr
Brigade entered carrying the slogan of revenge against Tikrit and
al-Anbar, but it shed its garb and then put on the emblem[s] of the
army and police to oppress the Sunnis and kill the people of Islam
in the name of law and order, all under cover of smooth talk. The
noxiousness of falsehood rides the horse of dissimulation. Their Ghunusi
religion (one based on special personal enlightenment) veils itself
with lies and covers itself with hypocrisy, exploiting the naivete
and good-heartedness of many Sunnis. We do not know when our [Islamic]
nation will begin to learn from historical experience and build on
the testimony of the empty eras. The Shi`i Safavid state was an insurmountable
obstacle in the path of Islam. Indeed it was a dagger that stabbed
Islam and its people in the back. One of the Orientalists spoke truth
when he said that had the Safavid state not existed we in Europe would
today be reading the Qur’an just as the Algerian Berber does.
Yes, the hosts of the Ottoman state stopped at the gates of Vienna,
and those fortifications almost collapsed before them [to permit]
Islam to spread under the auspices of the sword of glory and jihad
all across Europe. But these armies were forced to return and withdraw
to the rear because the army of the Safavid state had occupied Baghdad,
demolished its mosques, killed its people, and captured its women
and wealth. The armies returned to defend the sanctuaries and people
of Islam. Fierce fighting raged for about two centuries and did not
end until the strength and reach of the Islamic state had waned and
the [Islamic] nation had been put to sleep, then to wake up to the
drums of the invading Westerner.
The Qur’an has told us that the machinations of the hypocrites,
the deceit of the fifth column, and the cunning of those of our fellow
countrymen whose tongues speak honeyed words but whose hearts are
those of devils in the bodies of men – these are where the disease
lies, these are the secret of our distress, these are the rat of the
dike. “They are the enemy. Beware of them.” Shaykh al-Islam
Ibn Taymiyya spoke with truth and honesty when he said – after
he mentioned their (Shi`a) thinking toward the people of Islam – “For
this reason, with their malice and cunning, they help the infidels
against the Muslim mass[es], and they are one of the greatest reasons
for the eruption of Genghis Khan, the king of the infidels, into the
lands of Islam, for the arrival of Hulagu in the country of Iraq,
for the taking of Aleppo and the pillage of al-Salihiyya, and for
other things. For this reason, they pillaged the troops of the Muslims
when they passed among them going to Egypt the first time. And for
this reason, they commit highway robbery against the Muslims. And
for this reason, help for the Tartars and Franks appeared from among
them against the Muslims. Deep sadness over the victory of Islam appeared,
since they were friends with the Jews, Franks, and polytheists against
the Muslims. These are among the customs of the hypocrites….
Their hearts are full of vinegar and ire like no others with regard
to Muslims old and young, godly and ungodly.
Their greatest [act of] worship is to curse the Muslim friends of
God from first to last. These are the people most anxious to divide
the Muslims. Among their greatest principles are leveling charges
of infidelity and damning and cursing the elite of those who have
ruled matters, like the orthodox caliphs and the `ulama’ of
the Muslims, because of their belief that anyone who does not believe
in the infallible imam, who is not present, does not believe in God
and his Prophet, may God bless him and grant him salvation….
The Shi`a love the Tartars and their state because through it they
achieved a glory that they did not achieve through the Muslims’ state.….
They were among the greatest helpers [of the Tartars] as they seized
the countries of Islam, killing Muslims and capturing their women.
The story of Ibn al-`Alqami and his like with the Caliph and their
case in Aleppo is famous. All the people know it. If the Muslims defeat
the Christians and polytheists, this causes distress among the Shi`a.
And if the polytheists and Christians beat the Muslims, this occasions
a holiday and joy among the Shi`a.” – al-Fatawa, part
28, pages 478 to 527
Praise be to God, it is as if veils had been lifted from the hidden
for him (Ibn Taymiyya) and he looked at what was before him and then
spoke clearly on the basis of observation and information. Our imams
have traced a clear path and lifted the veil from these people. Imam
al-Bukhari says, not in the house have I prayed behind a Shi`i or
behind Jews or Christians. They are not to be greeted. They are not
to be congratulated on holidays. They are not to be taken in marriage.
They cannot bear witness. The animals they slaughter are not to be
eaten. – Khalq Af`al al-‘Ibad, page 125
Imam Ahmad says – he was asked about who had cursed Abu Bakr,
`Umar, and `A’isha, may God be pleased with them – “I
do not see him within Islam.” Imam Malik says, “He who
curses the Companions of the Prophet, may God bless him and grant
him salvation, has no share or part in Islam.” – Kitab
al-Sunna of al-Khallal, number 779
Al-Faryabi says, “I do not see the Shi`a except as atheists.” --
al-Lalika’i, part 8, page 1545
And when Ibn Hazm brought evidence and proofs against the Jews and
Christians for distorting the Torah and the Gospel, they found no
retort except to say that the Shi`a among them spoke of distortions
to the Qur’an. He said, God’s mercy! When they speak of
the claim of the Shi`a that substitution has occurred, the Shi`a are
not Muslims. They are a sect that follows the path of the Jews and
Christians in lying and infidelity.” – al-Fasl, part 2,
page 78
Ibn Taymiyya said, “With this, it becomes clear that they are
more evil than the sectarians and more deserving of being fought than
the Kharijis. This is the reason for the general opinion that circulates
that the Shi`a are people of heresy. The populace spreads around that
Shi`i is the opposite of Sunni because they show resistance to the
sunna of the Prophet of God, may God bless him and grant him salvation,
and to the Laws of Islam.” – from Sa’ir Ahl al-Ahwa’,
part 28, page 482
And he said, “If the sunna and ijma` are in agreement that --
if [the spirit of] the Muslim attacker could [only] come out by killing,
then he should be killed, even if the property that he took was [but]
a fraction of a dinar --how could it be with regard to fighting those
who deviate from the Laws of Islam and fight God and His Prophet,
may God bless him and grant him salvation? – part 4, page 251
And with all this, let the people of Islam know that we are not the
first to have begun going down this road. We are not the first to
have brandished the sword. These people (the Shi`a) are continuing
to kill those who call for Islam and the mujahidin of the community,
stabbing them in the back under cover of the silence and complicity
of the whole world, and, regretfully, even of the symbolic figures
beholden to the Sunnis.
Moreover, they are a bone in the throats of the mujahidin and a dagger
in [the backs of] their leading personalities. People without exception
know that most of the mujahidin who have fallen in war have done so
at the hands of these people. The wounds are still spreading, and
they are working the daggers of hatred and cunning in them assiduously,
Night or day, they do not let up.
2 [sic]. As regards the Sunnis
They are more wretched than orphans at the tables of the depraved.
They have lost the[ir] leader and wandered in the desert of artlessness
and negligence divided and fragmented, having lost the unifying head
who gathered the scattered [pieces] and prevented the egg from shattering.
They also are [various] kinds.
1. The Masses
These masses are the silent majority, absent even though present. “The
hooligans following everyone and his brother hungered. They did not
seek enlightenment from the light of science and did not take refuge
in a safe corner.” These, even if in general they hate the Americans,
wish them to vanish and to have their black cloud dissolve. But, despite
that, they look forward to a sunny tomorrow, a prosperous future,
a carefree life, comfort, and favor. They look ahead to that day and
are thus easy prey for cunning information [media] and political enticement
whose hiss rings out…. In any event, they are people of Iraq.
2. The Shaykhs and `Ulama’
These are mostly Sufis doomed to perdition. Their part of religion
is an anniversary in which they sing and dance to the chanting of
a camel driver, with a fatty banquet at the end. In truth, these are
narcotic opiate[s] and deceitful guides for an [Islamic] nation that
is feeling its way on a pitch-black night. As for the spirit of jihad
and the jurisprudence of martyrdom and disavowal of the infidel, they
are innocent of all of that, just as the wolf was innocent of the
blood of Joseph, may peace be upon him. With all the horrors and bad
circumstances, not one of them ever speaks about jihad or calls for
sacrifice or self-sacrifice. For these, three is too much, not to
say four. They are not suited to this.
3. The [Muslim] Brothers
As you have observed, they make a profession of trading in the blood
of martyrs and build their counterfeit glory on the skulls of the
faithful. They have debased the horse, put aside arms, said “no
jihad” … and lied.
Their whole effort is to extend political control and seize the posts
of Sunni representation in the government cake whose creation has
been decided, while taking care in secret to get control of the mujahidin
groups through financial support for two purposes. The first is for
propaganda and media work abroad to attract money and sympathy, exactly
as they did during the events in Syria, and the second is to control
the situation and dissolve these groups when the party ends and the
gifts are distributed. They are now intent on creating a Sunni shura
body to speak in the name of the Sunnis. It is their habit to grab
the stick in the middle and change as the political climate changes.
Their religion is mercurial. They have no firm principles, and they
do not start from enduring legal bases. God is the one from whom we
have sought help.
D (sic). The Mujahidin
These are the quintessence of the Sunnis and the good sap of this
country. In general, they belong to the Sunni doctrine and naturally
to the Salafi creed. The Salafis splintered only as the bend curved,
and the people of the [distant] regions fell behind the caravan. In
general, these mujahidin distinguish themselves by the following:
1. Most of them have little expertise or experience, especially in
organized collective work. Doubtlessly, they are the result of a repressive
regime that militarized the country, spread dismay, propagated fear
and dread, and destroyed confidence among the people. For this reason,
most of the groups are working in isolation, with no political horizon,
farsightedness, or preparation to inherit the land. Yes, the idea
has begun to ripen, and a light whisper has arisen to become noisy
talk about the need to band together and unite under one banner. But
matters are still in their initial stages. With God’s praise,
we are trying to ripen them quickly.
2. Jihad here unfortunately [takes the form of] mines planted, rockets
launched, and mortars shelling from afar. The Iraqi brothers still
prefer safety and returning to the arms of their wives, where nothing
frightens them. Sometimes the groups have boasted among themselves
that not one of them has been killed or captured. We have told them
in our many sessions with them that safety and victory are incompatible,
that the tree of triumph and empowerment cannot grow tall and lofty
without blood and defiance of death, that the [Islamic] nation cannot
live without the aroma of martyrdom and the perfume of fragrant blood
spilled on behalf of God, and that people cannot awaken from their
stupor unless talk of martyrdom and martyrs fills their days and nights.
The matter needs more patience and conviction. [Our] hope in God is
great.
E. (sic) The Immigrant Mujahidin
Their numbers continue to be negligible as compared to the enormity
of the expected battle. We know that the convoys of good are many,
that the march of jihad continues, and that only confusion over the
banner and a muffled reality keep many of them from [answering] the
call to battle. What prevents us from [calling] a general alert is
that the country has no mountains in which we can take refuge and
no forests in whose thickets we can hide. Our backs are exposed and
our movements compromised. Eyes are everywhere. The enemy is before
us and the sea is behind us. Many an Iraqi will honor you as a guest
and give you shelter as a peaceable brother. As for making his house
into a base for launching [operations] and a place of movement and
battle, this is rarer than red sulphur. For this reason, we have worn
ourselves out on many occasions sheltering and protecting the brothers.
This makes training the green newcomers like wearing bonds and shackles,
even though, praise be to God and with relentless effort and insistent
searching, we have taken possession of growing numbers of locations,
praise be to God, to be base sites for brothers who are kindling [the
fire of] war and drawing the people of the country into the furnace
of battle so that a real war will break out, God willing.
Second: The Current Situation and the Future
There is no doubt that the Americans’ losses are very heavy
because they are deployed across a wide area and among the people
and because it is easy to procure weapons, all of which makes them
easy and mouth-watering targets for the believers. But America did
not come to leave, and it will not leave no matter how numerous its
wounds become and how much of its blood is spilled. It is looking
to the near future, when it hopes to disappear into its bases secure
and at ease and put the battlefields of Iraq into the hands of the
foundling government with an army and police that will bring the behavior
of Saddam and his myrmidons back to the people. There is no doubt
that the space in which we can move has begun to shrink and that the
grip around the throats of the mujahidin has begun to tighten. With
the deployment of soldiers and police, the future has become frightening.
Third: So Where are We?
Despite the paucity of supporters, the desertion of friends, and the
toughness of the times,. God the Exalted has honored us with good
harm to the enemy. Praise be to God, in terms of surveillance, preparation,
and planning, we have been the keys to all of the martyrdom operations
that have taken place except those in the north. Praise be to God,
I have completed 25 [operations] up to now, including among the Shi`a
and their symbolic figures, the Americans and their soldiers, the
police and soldiers, and the coalition forces. God willing, more are
to come. What has prevented us from going public is that we have been
waiting until we have weight on the ground and finish preparing integrated
structures capable of bearing the consequences of going public so
that we appear in strength and do not suffer a reversal. We seek refuge
in God. Praise be to God, we have made good strides and completed
important stages. As the decisive moment approaches, we feel that
[our] body has begun to spread in the security vacuum, gaining locations
on the ground that will be the nucleus from which to launch and move
out in a serious way, God willing.
Fourth: The Work Plan
After study and examination, we can narrow our enemy down to four
groups.
1. The Americans
These, as you know, are the most cowardly of God’s creatures.
They are an easy quarry, praise be to God. We ask God to enable us
to kill and capture them to sow panic among those behind them and
to trade them for our detained shaykhs and brothers.
2. The Kurds
These are a lump [in the throat] and a thorn whose time to be clipped
has yet to come. They are last on the list, even though we are making
efforts to harm some of their symbolic figures, God willing.
3. Soldiers, Police, and Agents
These are the eyes, ears, and hands of the occupier, through which
he sees, hears, and delivers violent blows. God willing, we are determined
to target them strongly in the coming period before the situation
is consolidated and they control arrest[s].
4. The Shi`a
These in our opinion are the key to change. I mean that targeting
and hitting them in [their] religious, political, and military depth
will provoke them to show the Sunnis their rabies … and bare
the teeth of the hidden rancor working in their breasts. If we succeed
in dragging them into the arena of sectarian war, it will become possible
to awaken the inattentive Sunnis as they feel imminent danger and
annihilating death at the hands of these Sabeans. Despite their weakness
and fragmentation, the Sunnis are the sharpest blades, the most determined,
and the most loyal when they meet those Batinis (Shi`a), who are a
people of treachery and cowardice. They are arrogant only with the
weak and can attack only the broken-winged. Most of the Sunnis are
aware of the danger of these people, watch their sides, and fear the
consequences of empowering them. Were it not for the enfeebled Sufi
shaykhs and [Muslim] Brothers, people would have told a different
tale.
This matter, with the anticipated awaking of the slumberer and rousing
of the sleeper, also includes neutralizing these [Shi`a] people and
pulling out their teeth before the inevitable battle, along with the
anticipated incitement of the wrath of the people against the Americans,
who brought destruction and were the reason for this miasma. The people
must beware of licking the honeycomb and enjoying some of the pleasures
from which they were previously deprived, lest they surrender to meekness,
stay on the[ir] land, prefer safety,, and turn away from the rattle
of swords and the neighing of horses.
5. The Work Mechanism
Our current situation, as I have previously told you, obliges us to
deal with the matter with courage and clarity and to move quickly
to do so because we consider that [unless we do so] there will be
no result in which religion will appear. The solution that we see,
and God the Exalted knows better, is for us to drag the Shi`a into
the battle because this is the only way to prolong the fighting between
us and the infidels. We say that we must drag them into battle for
several reasons, which are:
1 – They, i.e., the Shi`a, have declared a secret war against
the people of Islam. They are the proximate, dangerous enemy of the
Sunnis, even if the Americans are also an archenemy. The danger from
the Shi`a, however, is greater and their damage is worse and more
destructive to the [Islamic] nation than the Americans, on whom you
find a quasi-consensus about killing them as an assailing enemy.
2 – They have befriended and supported the Americans and stood
in their ranks against the mujahidin. They have spared and are still
sparing no effort to put an end to the jihad and the mujahidin.
3 – Our fighting against the Shi`a is the way to drag the [Islamic]
nation into the battle. We speak here in some detail. We have said
before that the Shi`a have put on the uniforms of the Iraqi army,
police, and security [forces] and have raised the banner of preserving
the homeland and the citizen. Under this banner, they have begun to
liquidate the Sunnis under the pretext that they are saboteurs, remnants
of the Ba`th, and terrorists spreading evil in the land. With strong
media guidance from the Governing Council and the Americans, they
have been able to come between the Sunni masses and the mujahidin.
I give an example that brings the matter close to home in the area
called the Sunni Triangle -- if this is the right name for it. The
army and police have begun to deploy in those areas and are growing
stronger day by day. They have put chiefs [drawn] from among Sunni
agents and the people of the land in charge. In other words, this
army and police may be linked to the inhabitants of this area by kinship,
blood, and honor. In truth, this area is the base from which we set
out and to which we return. When the Americans disappear from these
areas – and they have begun to do so – and these agents,
who are linked by destiny to the people of the land, take their place,
what will our situation be?
If we fight them {and we must fight them}, we will confront one of
two things. Either:
1 – We fight them, and this is difficult because of the gap
that will emerge between us and the people of the land. How can we
fight their cousins and their sons and under what pretext after the
Americans, who hold the reins of power from their rear bases, pull
back? The real sons of this land will decide the matter through experience.
Democracy is coming, and there will be no excuse thereafter.
2 – We pack our bags and search for another land, as is the
sad, recurrent story in the arenas of jihad, because our enemy is
growing stronger and his intelligence data are increasing day by day.
By the Lord of the Ka`ba, [this] is suffocation and then wearing down
the roads. People follow the religion of their kings. Their hearts
are with you and their swords are with Bani Umayya (the Umayyads),
i.e., with power, victory, and security. God have mercy.
I come back and again say that the only solution is for us to strike
the religious, military, and other cadres among the Shi`a with blow
after blow until they bend to the Sunnis. Someone may say that, in
this matter, we are being hasty and rash and leading the [Islamic]
nation into a battle for which it is not ready, [a battle] that will
be revolting and in which blood will be spilled. This is exactly what
we want, since right and wrong no longer have any place in our current
situation. The Shi`a have destroyed all those balances. God’s
religion is more precious that lives and souls. When the overwhelming
majority stands in the ranks of truth, there has to be sacrifice for
this religion. Let blood be spilled, and we will soothe and speed
those who are good to their paradise. [As for} those who, unlike them,
are evil, we will be delivered from them, since, by God, God’s
religion is more precious than anything and has priority over lives,
wealth, and children. The best proof [of this] is the story of the
Companions of the Ditch, whom God praised. [Imam] al-Nawawi said that
this story contained proof that, if the city and the desert fought
each other until all without exception perished unless they professed
belief in the oneness of God, this would be good. Persons live, blood
is saved, and honor is preserved only by sacrifice on behalf of this
religion. By God, o brothers, with the Shi`a, we have rounds, attacks,
and dark nights that we cannot postpone under any circumstances. Their
danger is imminent, and what we and you feared is most certainly a
reality. Know that those [Shi`a] are the most cowardly of God’s
creatures and that killing their leaders will only increase their
weakness and cowardice, since with the death of one of their leaders
the sect dies with him. It is not like when a Sunni leader dies. If
one dies or is killed, a sayyid arises. In their fighting, they bring
out courage and hearten the weak among the Sunnis. If you knew the
fear [that exists] among the Sunnis and their masses, your eyes would
cry over them in sadness. How many mosques have been converted into
Husayniyyas (Shi`i mosques), how many houses have they demolished
on the heads of their occupants, how many brothers have they killed
and mutilated, and how many sisters have had their honor defiled at
the hands of these depraved infidels? If we are able to strike them
with one painful blow after another until they enter the battle, we
will be able to [re]shuffle the cards. Then, no value or influence
will remain to the Governing Council or even to the Americans, who
will enter a second battle with the Shi`a. This is what we want, and,
whether they like it or not, many Sunni areas will stand with the
mujahidin. Then, the mujahidin will have assured themselves land from
which to set forth in striking the Shi`a in their heartland, along
with a clear media orientation and the creation of strategic depth
and reach among the brothers outside [Iraq] and the mujahidin within.
1 -- We are striving urgently and racing against time to create companies
of mujahidin that will repair to secure places and strive to reconnoiter
the country, hunting the enemy – Americans, police, and soldiers
-- on the roads and lanes. We are continuing to train and multiply
them. As for the Shi`a, we will hurt them, God willing, through martyrdom
operations and car bombs.
2. – We have been striving for some time to observe the arena
and sift the those who work in it in search of those who are sincere
and on the right path, so that we can cooperate with them for the
good and coordinate some actions with them, so as to achieve solidarity
and unity after testing and trying them. We hope that we have made
good progress. Perhaps we will decide to go public soon, even if in
a gradual way, so that we can come out into the open. We have been
hiding for a long time. We are seriously preparing media material
that will reveal the facts, call forth firm intentions, arouse determination,
and be[come] an arena of jihad in which the pen and the sword complement
each other.
3 – This will be accompanied by an effort that we hope will
intensify to expose crippling doubts and explain the rules of shari`a
through tapes, printed materials, study, and courses of learning [meant]
to expand awareness, anchor the doctrine of the unity of God, prepare
the infrastructure, and meet [our] obligation.
5 (sic) – The Timing for Implementation
It is our hope to accelerate the pace of work and that companies and
battalions with expertise, experience, and endurance will be formed
to await the zero hour when we will begin to appear in the open, gain
control the land at night, and extend it into daylight, the One and
Conquering God willing. We hope that this matter, I mean the zero
hour, will [come] four months or so before the promised government
is formed. As you can see, we are racing against time. If we are able,
as we hope, to turn the tables on them and thwart their plan, this
will be good. If the other [scenario] [happens] – and we seek
refuge in God – and the government extends its control over
the country, we will have to pack our bags and break camp for another
land in which we can resume carrying the banner or in which God will
choose us as martyrs for his sake.
6. What About You?
You, gracious brothers, are the leaders, guides, and symbolic figures
of jihad and battle. We do not see ourselves as fit to challenge you,
and we have never striven to achieve glory for ourselves. All that
we hope is that we will be the spearhead, the enabling vanguard, and
the bridge on which the [Islamic] nation crosses over to the victory
that is promised and the tomorrow to which we aspire. This is our
vision, and we have explained it. This is our path, and we have made
it clear. If you agree with us on it, if you adopt it as a program
and road, and if you are convinced of the idea of fighting the sects
of apostasy, we will be your readied soldiers, working under your
banner, complying with your orders, and indeed swearing fealty to
you publicly and in the news media, vexing the infidels and gladdening
those who preach the oneness of God. On that day, the believers will
rejoice in God’s victory. If things appear otherwise to you,
we are brothers, and the disagreement will not spoil [our] friendship.
[This is} a cause [in which] we are cooperating for the good and supporting
jihad. Awaiting your response, may God preserve you as keys to good
and reserves for Islam and its people. Amen, amen.
Peace and the mercy and blessings of God be upon you.
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