The third issue of the Turkish-language journal Islamic World has been published online (in Turkish jihadist forums) and in print. This edition’s main theme is Syria, with the cover bearing the title “Syria, the Land of Patience and Jihad.” The issue is 64 pages long and features 23 articles, on topics including Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen, Africa, the Caucasus, and Iraq.
As noted by the SITE Intelligence Group, which provided a translation of the “Editor’s Note,” this issue contains “Turkish translations of speeches from al-Qaeda officials Ayman al-Zawahiri and Ebu Yahya al-Libi, and translations of articles from ideologies including Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, Ikram Hijazi, and Abu Baseer al-Tartusi.”
A common message throughout the issue is that the Arab Spring revolutions are Islam’s defiance against Western powers that have been fomenting conflict in order to colonize the Islamic world. For example, the articles on Syria denote the opposition groups and civilian fighters in Syria as “jihadists.” The featured Ayman al Zawahiri speech proclaims: “To my brothers in Syria!… Do not trust the West, the U.S., Arab governments, or Turkey…. Only trust God! Only trust the victims that you lost to Allah, your fight and your determination!… They do not want a Syria that is Muslim, free, independent or fighting against Israel. They want a dependent, defenseless Syria that has broken from its religion, its legacy and history. They want a Syria that recognizes Israel and one that consents to the global torture that they call ‘international legitimacy’.”
A report on Yemen titled “What is happening in Yemen?” claims that the US is preparing to invade Yemen, stating that the US is “attacking everywhere to colonize Islamic countries by suppressing the awakenings.”
The developments in Syria and Africa are summarized in the “Editor’s Note” on the first page. From SITE:
The editorial praises both the Shabaab al-Mujahideen Movement in Somalia and Ansar al-Shariah, the name used at the local level by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen, and notes the accelerating developments in Syria. The editor wrote: “The incidents happening in Syria right beside us are developing in a way that can turn the local and global balance of power upside down. On one side are the regional countries that are waiting like ravenous wolves to colonize Syria, and on the other side, America – the Hubal of the era – and imperialist Russia, inspired by America, who shows up as if in a duel.”
The journal features a special page titled “Afghanistan Islamic Emirate’s Declaration Regarding the Kandahar Massacre,” in which it is claimed that 20 civilians were killed by American “terrorists” whom the US described as “mentally ill.”
“The Rise of Jihad Movements in Africa” discusses the rise of al Qaeda in Africa.
An article called “Pakistani Intelligence is Working for the CIA” discusses an interview with an alleged prisoner by the name of Habbab Çetin Akdeniz, who supposedly spent time in ISI prisons. Akdeniz states that “Pakistan doesn’t even know where the ISI prisons are,” and claims that the ISI was established by the British and that their agents are working with CIA agents.
An article on Iraq titled “Iraq’s Longest Standing Jihad Movement: Ansar al-Islam” claims to discuss the founding, history, and current state of Ansar al-Islam.
And an article on “Turkish-Kurdish Brotherhood in Jihad Zones” discusses the history of Kurdish-Turkish cooperation in Central Asia, Anatolia, and Europe, focusing on their shared religion.
The magazine closes with a page extolling two Turkish fighters who were “martyred” in Afghanistan.
The journal is a bimonthly publication, with this (April-May 2012) being the third issue. A yearly subscription (six issues) from Turkey is 35 Turkish Liras (~$19); from Europe the cost is 35 Euros, and from other countries it is $50. Subscription is possible online, or through bank deposits (account numbers are provided).
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4 Comments
Good information. The jihadist’s PR apparatus appears to be doing well.
Would be nice to see translations of the other articles as well so we can learn what al Qaeda plans to do with all the advanced weaponry paid for by the USA and delivered by the Saudis and Qataris?
Al Qaeda had their dreams come true when Gaddafi’s massive weapons stockpiles ended up scattered across the region, and inevitably ended up in their hands.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/12/us-africa-pirates-idUSBRE83B0HO20120412 – Just one example.
Qatar was caught many times delivering weapons to Libya. They apparently even paid salaries to Libyan rebel fighters, just like they’re doing in Syria right now reportedly.
You’d think we would learn our lesson after Afghanistan (1980’s) that meddling in things like this is a recipe for a medieval disaster, and that if we continue to conduct business like this, things are going to explode in the region (I mean that metaphorically, and literally.)
In the rat race that is geopolitical power struggles, nobody wins in the long term. Maybe the short term, but that never really matters anyway. What you’re left with is less security than you had before, and more enemies to worry about.
Sundoesntrise, I ask you recall, in support of your points strong, that in the 1980s the Saudis assured the USA and the dupes of Reagan that the massive funds funneled so to the Afghanistan fighters against Russia would not reach Islamic extremists, all the while funneling as a nation HUNDREDS of millions of dollars to Osama bin Laden personally.
So now the dupes of Obama and McCain believe the same Saudi lies as they vouch for the al Qaeda types in Libya and Syria receiving US funded weaponry and cash welfare handouts.
We have learned nothing. Nothing.