by Dr. Mordechai Kedar
Sometimes it is best to separate temporarily so as to be able to join forces with others. It doesn't matter, just so long as each party keeps their eyes on the prize - in this case, Islam's global domination.
Everyone is familiar with
the expression a "marriage of convenience." This refers to the type of
marriage that is not based love and affection but is undertaken in order
to advance the financial, social or other interests of the couple.
Divorce, in contrast, is always a result of conflict and generally
results in harm to both sides. A "marriage of convenience" can be used
to describe organizational, political or other unions between two bodies
who have little love for one another but wish to promote their own
interests.
Sometimes
divorces lead to an improvement in the status of one or both of the
sides involved, and then one can talk of a "divorce of convenience" –
whether the two sides are a couple or consist of organizations,
political parties and states.
This
week an incident of that ilk occurred between two Jihad organizations,
al Qaeda and Jabhat al Nusra, the first a global Jihad organization and
the second operating only in Syria. Up to now, Jabhat al Nusra
operations were directed by Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of al Qaeda, and the
group was considered the Syrian arm of al Qaeda. This connection gave
Jabhat al Nusra recognition as an organization with capabilities and the
means to act on them, but the group paid a high price for being
identified more as a global organization than as a Syrian liberation
organization.
This week,
Abu Mohammed al-Jolani,, the leader of al Nusra, appeared in a video
clip broadcast in real time, his face revealed for the first time, and
read the following proclamation (my additions are in parentheses, M.K.):
After
the usual greetings, al-Jolani said; "My Muslim brothers wherever you
may be, Salaam Aleikhim, the mercy of Allah and his blessings upon you.
We give thanks to all the Sheikhs of al Qaeda al Jihad (al Qaeda's full
name) and especially Sheikh Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri, may Allah protect
him, and his second in command, Sheikh Ahmad Hassan Abu al-Khayr, may
Allah guard him."
"We
thank you for coming to the aid of the sons of al Sham (the classic name
for Syria), for the help proffered both to their Jihad and blessed
revolution and to Jihad in general (worldwide). History will tell of al
Qaeda's steadfastness with veneration and in letters made of light,
because this blessed leadership (of al Qaeda) has granted and still
provides the most magnificent model of how the interests of Muslims as a
whole supersede limited organizational interests. They have carried out
the words of Sheikh Osama (bin Laden), may Allah's mercy be upon him,
who said that the interests of the Umma (Islamic nation) take precedence
over the interests of every private organization, the interests of the
Umma take precedence over the interests of any one Islamic nation, the
interests of the nation take precedence over those of a group, and the
group is of more importance than an individual.
"We, the leaders of Jabhat al Nusra, in conjunction with the directives and general trends of the blessed leadership (of al Qaeda) act from a feeling of responsibility for the good of the sons of al Sham and their Jihad, trying to ease their burdens without lessening the immutable demands of our religion, to guard the Jihad in the land of al Sham,, protect it and use all legitimate means to achieve the goals we have set, bridge the gaps between ourselves and other Jihad organizations, in the hope that a unified group will arise, as a result of our consultations and discussions to that end, and will unite the sons of al Sham, liberate their land, protect their religion and grant power to the word of the one God in their midst.
"In
accordance with the will of the sons of al Sham to put an end to the
excuses of the international community headed by Russia and the USA who
use our connection with al Qaeda as the excuse to bomb and disperse the
sons of al Sham while claiming that they are aiming at al Qaeda and
Jabhat al Nusra – we have decided to cease operating under the name
Jabhat al Nusra and establish a new unified front called Jabhat Fatah el
[sic] al Sham (The al Sham Conquering Front) and keep this group from
forging any connections with outside bodies.
"The new group will work towards achieving the following goals:
1.
Actions for the religion of Allah, may he be exalted, strengthening
Sharia law and the rule of justice between people, all people.
2.Actions
aimed at unity with the other groups in Syria, in order to have all
the Jihad fighters under one roof, thereby able to succeed in freeing
the land of al Sham from the rule of despots (the Alawites) and destroy
the regime and its cohorts. Allah said: "Keep hold, all of you, to the
religion of Allah and be not afraid" (Koran, Sura 3, verse 103).
3. Protecting Jihad in the land of al Sham, perseverance in that mission and using any and all legal means that can be of help.
4.
Expending efforts to serve the Muslim populace, improve their ability
to resist and the conditions they live under and ease their suffering
in every possible way.
5. Seeing to it that there is security, stability and a decent life for everyone.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Universe
Your brother, Abu Mohammed al-Jolani"
So
ends al-Jolani's speech, now the leader of the newly-named "Al Sham
Conquering Front." Most striking is the lack of any anger aimed at al
Qaeda, and in fact there is much respect and admiration – perhaps in
order to leave the path to future reunification intact, if circumstances
allow that to be considered or force it upon the organization. It is
clear that al-Jolani wants to create a wide coalition of Syrian
organizations, especially those who do not want to be affiliated with al
Qaeda.
Ayman
al-Zawahiri, the leader of al Qaeda, responded in a video in which he
said "The affection of Islam that exists between us is stronger than all
the temporary and changeable organizational ties, while your unity,
coming together and joining one another are important and more dear to
us than any organizational ties (with us). Your uniting and
enhancing the unity within the ranks are above any party loyalty and
organizational attachment. Unhesitatingly, we must sacrifice the
political and organizational ties that are antithetical to the closing
of the ranks between you, to your becoming one solid edifice that allows
you to stand in the face of your secular ethnic (Alawite) enemies
supported by Iran (here he used a derogatory term for the country),
Russia and China, and the modern Crusade (meaning the West) to which
they lend their support."
The
leader of al Qaeda says these words as a father, leader, teacher and
counselor, who derives pleasure from his student-sons who evince
independence, wish to separate from him in order to unite for a goal in
which he believes and which he inculcated in them so that they would
succeed in achieving it. There is not an iota of anger in his words
about al Jolani's leavetaking. On the contrary, he sees great importance
in al Jolani's attempt to establish a joint front of local Syrian
organizations, even if that means not being identified with al Qaeda, so
long as this unity leads to achieving the supreme goal, ending the
Assad Alawite regime.
Al-Zawahiri
is well aware of the intense suffering borne by the Syrians and the
difficulties facing the rebels due to the intensive,
merciless intervention of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah in the Syrian
maelstrom. The situation on the ground forces the rebels to unite, and
al-Zawahiri understands the challenge and identifies with the rebel
needs. He is willing to step aside and grant them his best wishes for a
safe trip.
It is more
important to him to be rid of Assad, defeat the Iranians, destroy
Hezbollah and sweep out the Russians than to be organizationally
connected to the Syrian rebels.
Jabhat
al Nusra's separation from al Qaeda is another step in the process of
the privatization of Jihad and its becoming a local phenomenon instead
of a global one. Al Jolani's success in uniting the rebels in Syria will
allow him to resist Islamic State more effectively – and that is the
biggest challenge facing al Qaeda, despite the fact that both
organizations are alumna of Osama bin Laden and Ayman al Zawahiri.
The
big question is deciding what is preferable: local Jihad that is joined
by non-Jihad groups, or global Jihad limited to Jihadists. That is the
crucial question at the root of the debates about the character and
scope of Jihad organizations. The goal – Islamic rule the world over –
is the same for both, with the argument only over the question of how
best to achieve that goal. Is it better to work locally or
internationally? This question will continue to be raised in various
Jihad organizations for the forseable future. The answer depends on
continuously changing variables in each place and at each moment in
time. That is why these organizations change their organizational
strategy each time the situations warrants it.
Written for Arutz Sheva, translated from Hebrew by Rochel Sylvetsky, Arutz Sheva Op-ed and Judaism editor.
Dr. Mordechai Kedar is a senior lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University. He served in IDF Military Intelligence for 25 years, specializing in Arab political discourse, Arab mass media, Islamic groups and the Syrian domestic arena. Thoroughly familiar with Arab media in real time, he is frequently interviewed on the various news programs in Israel.
Source: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/19292
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