Post by peterd on Jan 24, 2008 17:28:33 GMT -8
Major Jihadi Cleric and Author of Al-Qaeda's Shari'a Guide to Jihad Sayyed Imam vs. Al-Qaeda (Part II): Al-Zawahiri Was Sudanese Agent – Sudan's VP Ali Othman Taha Hired Him to Attack Egypt; Ban on Jihad against Egyptian Regime in Egypt; Summary of Imam's New Right Guidance for Jihad Book
Sudanese VP 'Ali Othman Taha Hired Al-Zawahiri to Attack in Egypt
In this portion of Sayyed Imam's interview with the Al-Hayat daily, he discusses Ayman Al-Zawahiri's and bin Laden's relations with the Sudanese government and intelligence agencies, and also responds to criticism directed against him by pro-Al-Qaeda jihadis:
Al-Hayat: "After you cut your [formal] ties with Al-Zawahiri and the [Jihad] organization in Sudan, what was the nature of the relations among you all?
Sayyed Imam: "I learned that they [the Jihad] were carrying out operations in Egypt, in late 1993, and I said to Ayman Al-Zawahiri: Have fear of Allah for the brothers' [sake], and don't expose them to perils that are not obligatory on them.
"Al-Zawahiri told me that he was obligated to the Sudanese to carry out 10 operations in Egypt and that he had received $100,000 for these operations.
"The Sudanese intelligence agent who dealt with Al-Zawahiri was Nafi' 'Ali Nafi'. There was a Sudanese intermediary between them, whose name was Muhammad 'Abd Al-'Aziz. The one who oversaw all of this was the Sudanese vice president and No. 2 in Hasan Turabi's [Islamic Salvation] Front, 'Ali Othman Muhammad Taha.(1)
"The first time Al-Zawahiri met 'Ali Othman Taha, Al-Zawahiri told him that he had an organization with 10,000 fighters in Egypt whose level of training was that of commando troops, and that he and those with him would never leave Sudan except [in order to enter] Egypt as conquerors.
"This was the very essence of falsehood, since they numbered no more than a few dozen [individuals]. Some of the brothers in the prisons still believe this lie to this day.
"In short, Al-Zawahiri tried to turn the Jihad group into mercenaries and agents, and he sold them to the Sudanese intelligence agencies, who found in them cheap and easy prey with which to harass the authorities in Egypt.
"Then Al-Zawahiri started sending the brothers to Egypt. Egyptian security had already infiltrated them after the 'Atef Sidqi incident,(2) and none of the brothers reached their target in Egypt; they were [all] killed or wounded."
"[Al-Zawahiri] Hanged His Brothers on the Gallows and Crammed Them into the Jails"
"After Al-Zawahiri informed me that he was acting as an agent for the Sudanese, the brother Rifat, whose [real] name is Zaki 'Izzat Zaki, invited me to the celebration of the birth of his daughter. A number of the brothers were there – Abu Talha,(3) Hisham Abaza,(4) and others. I said to them more than what I said in the Document [of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World]. I told them that jihad was not an obligation for them in Egypt, that there was no parity [between them and the Egyptian security forces], and [thus] they incurred no sin [by not waging jihad].
"I told them that they had learned the principles of guerilla warfare and conventional warfare, and that the confrontation they were carrying out in Egypt could not be classified as either – that it was a kind of futility that brought no benefit.
"I spoke to them about the error in what they were doing, using proofs from the shari'a and from reality – this is what is included in the second notice, at the end of the Document. [See translation at the end of this report.] The brothers said they had been convinced by what I said. This was in late 1993 or early 1994.
"Al-Zawahiri was alarmed when he learned of this, and he gathered them together and said to them: 'Dr. Fadl [i.e. Sayyed Imam] wants to make us a salafi group, but we are a jihad [group], and we will continue fighting in Egypt down to our last dollar and our last man.'
"But this was a lie, as he was the first to leave Sudan when the Sudanese expelled them in 1995, when they discovered that Al-Zawahiri had been lying to them and didn't fight down to the last man, as he claimed. He was the first to flee, as usual. When the Sudanese expelled him, he announced that he was stopping operations in Egypt, in 1995 – after he had hanged his brothers on the gallows and crammed them into the jails in Egypt."
Al-Hayat: "But didn't Al-Zawahiri leave Sudan together with Osama Bin Laden?
Sayyed Imam: "What the Sudanese did with Al-Zawahiri they did with bin Laden as well. If the oil tanker from Saudi Arabia came to them late, they would urge bin Laden to publish communiqués attacking Saudi Arabia, and bin Laden's followers would stay up all night by the fax machine to send the communiqués to Saudi Arabia. Then they expelled bin Laden like they did Al-Zawahiri.
"So whoever claims that I retreated and changed my views in prison should know: What is in the Document, I have been telling the brothers since 1992. This is the reality of which they are unaware, and I could say more."
"'You Mean We Were Mercenaries?'"
Al-Hayat: "So say more."
Sayyed Imam: "I met Majdi Kamal in prison in Egypt in February, 2007. I said to him: 'You told me in 1992 that the time for speaking had come to an end and that the time for action had come. So tell me, what have you done these 15 years, from 1992 to 2007?'
"The brother was silent, because he hadn't done a thing except for [being in] prison. I said to him: 'The Sudanese intelligence agencies induced you with money to clash with Egypt, and I forbade you to do this in the past.' Majdi Kamal said to me: 'You mean we were mercenaries?' I said to him: 'Yes, Al-Zawahiri turned you into mercenaries of Hasan Al-Turabi's intelligence agencies.' The brother said to me: 'Please don't mention this to anyone.'
"I will go on and say that when I was [still] free in Yemen, around 2000, the brother Osama Siddiq called me from Germany and consulted with me about launching an initiative for calm (tahdiya) in Egypt. I encouraged him to do so. Osama Siddiq is with you in Europe. You can ask him…"(5)
Al-Qaeda's Followers Commit Grave Violations in the Name of Jihad Almost Daily in Iraq
Al-Hayat: "Some Islamists overseas(6) have asked why you wrote about 'right guidance for jihad', as the Jihad organization already announced that it had stopped its operations in Egypt in 1995?
Sayyed Imam: "I don't write for any particular group or against any particular group. [Religious] knowledge is written for all…
"As for grave violations [of shari'a] committed in the name of jihad in various places in the world, these still occur, especially among those influenced by the deviant program of Al-Qaeda.
"The violations in Iraq [occur] almost daily. Not long ago there was the incident of the killing of French tourists in Saudi Arabia, and it came to light that they were Muslims. Not long ago there was the incident of the organization of Indian doctors in Britain.
"All the time, organizations [made up] of the youngest youth fall in Egypt – those who were recruited through the Internet. They are known in the prisons by the name of 'net-brothers.'
"So to say that the violations have come to an end is not true, and it is contrary to reality. [But true] jihad is in force until Judgment Day, and jihad is not limited to any given organization, like these [people] think. It is a law that is in force until the end of time.
Al-Hayat: "Some of the organizations denied that there are groups that kill based on nationality, [and said that what they do] is in the framework of their war with the West or with the Arab regimes.
Sayyed Imam: "This is not true. The Al-Qaeda organization, and bin Laden, declared more than once that they target Americans indiscriminately, and this is what they did on September 11. This is killing on the basis of nationality.
"Then those who sympathize with them carried out the Madrid bombings in 2004, and they killed people indiscriminately. Likewise, there were the bombings in the London Underground in 2005, and [the perpetrators] killed Britons indiscriminately.
"All of this is killing on the basis of nationality, and I discussed the proofs of the wrongness of this in the Document, as well as the fact that one's being of a given country is not proof of being an infidel or a believer, and is not proof that [someone's] blood or property is made licit…"
For Years, Al-Zawahiri Provided Justifications for the GIA's Killing of Civilians, Women, and Children, and For Its Kidnappings and Rapes
Al-Hayat: "What was the reason for publishing the Document, given that the jihad groups to whom it is addressed had, for instance, publicly dissociated themselves from the Algerian GIA when they became convinced that it was exceeding all bounds in [spilling] blood?"
Sayyed Imam: "I did not address the Document to any particular group, as I already despaired of reforming them in 1992… I write for everybody, Muslims and non-Muslims, people today and those not yet born.
"As for those who say that 'they dissociated themselves from the Algerian GIA,' this is an expression that indicates the ignorance of the religion of the one who says it, and it indicates his not having studied Sunni [articles of] belief. This is because a Muslim is not allowed to dissociate himself from another Muslim if he errs, but rather he dissociates himself from his wrong action. Dissociating oneself from someone's person is what one does with infidels.
"The ignorant person should be careful with his words, and should study his religion before he criticizes someone else. I have already drawn attention to this useful lesson in the Document, since his saying that they dissociated themselves from the Algerian GIA is an implicit pronouncement of apostasy against them.
"As for his saying that they dissociated themselves from this group, that is not the truth. The truth is that the person who is shouting from London, he and his sheikh Al-Zawahiri – when they went out of business in Egypt, they were dependent on [finding] something that would give them a continued presence in jihad activity, and [so] they encouraged the GIA in their publications Al-Ansar and Al-Mujahidoun.
"This went on for years, and they kept providing justifications for this group's killing of civilians, women, and children, and its kidnappings and rapes.
"This is what I described in the Document as 'the jurisprudence of justification' – like how they provide justifications today for bin Laden's crimes.
"Then, when things came to a head, they dissociated themselves from the GIA, after they had put it in a bad situation and extolled it and its activities. They and this group [the GIA] are like what Allah said (Koran 59:16-17): '[They are] like Satan who says to man "disbelieve," and when he disbelieves, says "I dissociate myself from you, for I fear Allah Lord of the worlds." The end of both of them is to be eternally in the fire, and this is the reward of the unjust.'
"Also, this dissociation did not last long. It was only a few years before the Algerian group returned to the fold of the Al-Qaeda organization, calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb…"(7)
Summary of the Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World
In the second installation of the Al-Hayat interview, published December 9, 2007, Sayyed Imam provided his own summary of his new work, Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World:
"The Document, after the introduction, contains 15 articles and four notices:
"Article 1: Elucidation of the truth of the Islamic religion and the fact that it is obligatory on all humanity, and that its shari'a already includes everything that created beings need to make right their [portion in] this world and the next, until Judgment Day.
"Article 2: Elucidation concerning the conditions for being obligated [to perform a commandment], in addition to [the condition of] mental competence: one must know that the matter is obligatory, and one must be capable of carrying it out. It is not permitted to venture any action until one knows what its status is in the shari'a, as Allah said (Koran 17:36): 'Pursue not that of which you have no knowledge'.
"This is especially true in jihad, which entails the taking of lives and property that are normally inviolable. And it is not permitted to undertake to carry out that which one is not in a position to do, because Allah said (Koran 2:286) 'Allah only imposes on someone that of which he is capable'. A Muslim incurs no sin for [failing to do] that of which he is incapable, and his reward will be given in payment for his right intention."
One May Not Steal in Order to Fund Jihad; One Who Lacks the Necessary Resources is Exempt
"Article 3: One who lacks the resources is not obligated to fight jihad, even in cases where jihad is an individual obligation (fardh 'ayn). Jihad was an individual obligation in the Tabuk raid, and Allah excused those who stayed behind due to lack of resources, [as He said] in Koran 9:91: 'There is no blame on those who cannot find what to expend.' And the Prophet said, in a hadith whose authenticity is agreed upon, that Allah wrote [i.e. decreed] reward for this raid for those [who stayed behind due to lack of resources] in payment for the sincerity of their intention.
"One who lacks resources [to fight jihad] is forbidden to acquire money through forbidden means, like burglarizing those whose property it is forbidden to take, in order to make use of these funds for jihad. It is not permitted to do that which is not permitted in order to carry out that which is not required of him due to his inability. If he violates this, then his jihad, if he carries it out, is not accepted [by Allah], since the Prophet has said: 'Allah is good and accepts only the good,' as told by Muslim [i.e. in Muslim Ibn Al-Hajjaj's compendium of hadith]."
Jihad Requires the Permission of One's Parents and Creditors
"Article 4: It is not permitted to go out to fight jihad without the permission of both parents and the permission of one's creditors, because acting rightly with one's parents is an individual obligation (fardh 'ayn), and they have rights over their son, and [thus] he should not go out to jihad without their permission. This appears in an authentic hadith.
"Likewise, Allah does not accept martyrdom as atonement for a mujahid's debts, and he should not go out [to fight jihad] without the permission of his creditor.
"This has become pandemic in our times. We find parents who only learn that their son has gone to fight jihad after his picture is published in the newspapers as a fatality or a prisoner."
"Allah Permitted One Who Is Weak to Hide and Disguise His Faith"
"Article 5: Elucidation [of the fact] that protecting Muslims from ruination is one of the purposes of the shari'a, and for this reason Allah permitted one who is weak to hide and disguise his faith. Allah [also] permitted emigration.
"Allah considered equality of force between the Muslims and their enemy [as a condition] and did not obligate the Muslims to persist in fighting if the enemy [numbers] more than double [the Muslims]. In addition, Allah permitted peace treaties (sulh) and cease-fires (hudna) with the infidels, either in exchange for money or without it – all of this in order to protect the Muslims, in contrast with those who push them into peril.
"Article 6: Elucidation [of the fact that] it is not permitted to fight the rulers in Muslim countries today in order to implement the Islamic shari'a, due to [the Muslims'] incapacity to do this, and due to [its entailing] more damage than benefit. Exposition of this is to be found in the second notice at the end of the Document." [See translation below.]
It Is Forbidden to Harm Tourists, Even If it is Known that They Are Infidels
"Article 7: On the prohibition of doing harm to tourists who come to Muslim lands, even if it is established that they are infidels, and all the more so when there may be Muslims among them.
"I gave six reasons for this, and they are summed up in what Abu 'Omar Bin 'Abd Al-Barr wrote in Al-Istidhkar: that anything the infidel thinks is a guarantee of safety (aman) when he comes to us is a [valid] guarantee of safety, in the view of all of the jurisprudents. Al-Shafi'i expounds on this in [Kitab] Al-'Umm, vol. 4, p. 196, and the essence of what he says is that the infidel does not distinguish between those of us from whom he may receive a guarantee of security and those of us from whom he may not. In any event, if an infidel comes to us with an invalid guarantee of security, what is required is not killing him; rather, one must convey him to where he is safe (i.e., to send him off and expel him to wherever he wants where he will be safe), as Allah said (Koran 9:6): 'Then convey him to where he is safe'.
"Article 8: One who enters the Abode of War (dar al-harb) under a guarantee of safety from its people is prohibited from [undertaking] acts of belligerency. He is not permitted to betray them with regard to their lives, their honor, or their property. This is a matter of agreement among the scholars, as I said when I spoke of 'perfidy towards the enemy' in connection with the events of September 11, 2001. Allah said (Koran 5:1) 'Oh those who believe, fulfill [your] obligations'. This [i.e. keeping one's obligations] is obligatory with Muslims and with infidels. The Prophet said: 'Perfidy is not right in our religion'."
On Killing Civilians
"Article 9: Prohibition against killing civilians. The prohibition against killing those civilians who are visibly Muslims is emphasized in the Prophet's saying, 'Every Muslim's life, property, and honor is inviolable to other Muslims', as told by Muslim [i.e. in Muslim Ibn Al-Hajjaj's compendium of hadith].
"Those whose condition is unknown [i.e. when it is not known whether or not they are Muslim], it is not permitted to attack them, even in a state of fighting, until the truth of their condition is known, because Allah said (Koran 4:94): 'Oh you who believe, when you go forth to fight jihad, distinguish' [Muslims from non-Muslims]."
On Takfir
"Article 10: Some guiding rules of takfir [pronouncing other Muslims apostates] in the shari'a. I state [in this article] that takfir is a shari'a law, and not a forbidden innovation. There is original heresy [i.e. when one is born a non-Muslim] and there is newly-occurring heresy (apostasy).
"When a Muslim does something that makes one an apostate, he should not be judged an apostate until one has examined his action (word or deed) [to see] whether it is explicit or ambiguous, and whether the proof text that indicates his apostasy is explicit or ambiguous. Then one must examine the conditions [required for declaring him an apostate] and the impediments [that would prohibit declaring him an apostate] with regard to this individual, in accordance with the principle of 'the ruling is applied to the case when the condition is present and the impediment is absent.'
"Then, there is a difference between abstract takfir (ruling only on the cause), and takfir against the individual (after considering the conditions and the impediments), which is to be referred to a Muslim judge (qadi).
"Once [someone's] apostasy has been proven, it is obligatory to propose to him that he repent. No subject should carry out any of the Koranic punishments (hudud) except on his slaves; he is not permitted to do this against free men like himself. If this were not the case, anarchy would ensue, and people would kill one another on the slightest suspicion."
Sudanese VP 'Ali Othman Taha Hired Al-Zawahiri to Attack in Egypt
In this portion of Sayyed Imam's interview with the Al-Hayat daily, he discusses Ayman Al-Zawahiri's and bin Laden's relations with the Sudanese government and intelligence agencies, and also responds to criticism directed against him by pro-Al-Qaeda jihadis:
Al-Hayat: "After you cut your [formal] ties with Al-Zawahiri and the [Jihad] organization in Sudan, what was the nature of the relations among you all?
Sayyed Imam: "I learned that they [the Jihad] were carrying out operations in Egypt, in late 1993, and I said to Ayman Al-Zawahiri: Have fear of Allah for the brothers' [sake], and don't expose them to perils that are not obligatory on them.
"Al-Zawahiri told me that he was obligated to the Sudanese to carry out 10 operations in Egypt and that he had received $100,000 for these operations.
"The Sudanese intelligence agent who dealt with Al-Zawahiri was Nafi' 'Ali Nafi'. There was a Sudanese intermediary between them, whose name was Muhammad 'Abd Al-'Aziz. The one who oversaw all of this was the Sudanese vice president and No. 2 in Hasan Turabi's [Islamic Salvation] Front, 'Ali Othman Muhammad Taha.(1)
"The first time Al-Zawahiri met 'Ali Othman Taha, Al-Zawahiri told him that he had an organization with 10,000 fighters in Egypt whose level of training was that of commando troops, and that he and those with him would never leave Sudan except [in order to enter] Egypt as conquerors.
"This was the very essence of falsehood, since they numbered no more than a few dozen [individuals]. Some of the brothers in the prisons still believe this lie to this day.
"In short, Al-Zawahiri tried to turn the Jihad group into mercenaries and agents, and he sold them to the Sudanese intelligence agencies, who found in them cheap and easy prey with which to harass the authorities in Egypt.
"Then Al-Zawahiri started sending the brothers to Egypt. Egyptian security had already infiltrated them after the 'Atef Sidqi incident,(2) and none of the brothers reached their target in Egypt; they were [all] killed or wounded."
"[Al-Zawahiri] Hanged His Brothers on the Gallows and Crammed Them into the Jails"
"After Al-Zawahiri informed me that he was acting as an agent for the Sudanese, the brother Rifat, whose [real] name is Zaki 'Izzat Zaki, invited me to the celebration of the birth of his daughter. A number of the brothers were there – Abu Talha,(3) Hisham Abaza,(4) and others. I said to them more than what I said in the Document [of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World]. I told them that jihad was not an obligation for them in Egypt, that there was no parity [between them and the Egyptian security forces], and [thus] they incurred no sin [by not waging jihad].
"I told them that they had learned the principles of guerilla warfare and conventional warfare, and that the confrontation they were carrying out in Egypt could not be classified as either – that it was a kind of futility that brought no benefit.
"I spoke to them about the error in what they were doing, using proofs from the shari'a and from reality – this is what is included in the second notice, at the end of the Document. [See translation at the end of this report.] The brothers said they had been convinced by what I said. This was in late 1993 or early 1994.
"Al-Zawahiri was alarmed when he learned of this, and he gathered them together and said to them: 'Dr. Fadl [i.e. Sayyed Imam] wants to make us a salafi group, but we are a jihad [group], and we will continue fighting in Egypt down to our last dollar and our last man.'
"But this was a lie, as he was the first to leave Sudan when the Sudanese expelled them in 1995, when they discovered that Al-Zawahiri had been lying to them and didn't fight down to the last man, as he claimed. He was the first to flee, as usual. When the Sudanese expelled him, he announced that he was stopping operations in Egypt, in 1995 – after he had hanged his brothers on the gallows and crammed them into the jails in Egypt."
Al-Hayat: "But didn't Al-Zawahiri leave Sudan together with Osama Bin Laden?
Sayyed Imam: "What the Sudanese did with Al-Zawahiri they did with bin Laden as well. If the oil tanker from Saudi Arabia came to them late, they would urge bin Laden to publish communiqués attacking Saudi Arabia, and bin Laden's followers would stay up all night by the fax machine to send the communiqués to Saudi Arabia. Then they expelled bin Laden like they did Al-Zawahiri.
"So whoever claims that I retreated and changed my views in prison should know: What is in the Document, I have been telling the brothers since 1992. This is the reality of which they are unaware, and I could say more."
"'You Mean We Were Mercenaries?'"
Al-Hayat: "So say more."
Sayyed Imam: "I met Majdi Kamal in prison in Egypt in February, 2007. I said to him: 'You told me in 1992 that the time for speaking had come to an end and that the time for action had come. So tell me, what have you done these 15 years, from 1992 to 2007?'
"The brother was silent, because he hadn't done a thing except for [being in] prison. I said to him: 'The Sudanese intelligence agencies induced you with money to clash with Egypt, and I forbade you to do this in the past.' Majdi Kamal said to me: 'You mean we were mercenaries?' I said to him: 'Yes, Al-Zawahiri turned you into mercenaries of Hasan Al-Turabi's intelligence agencies.' The brother said to me: 'Please don't mention this to anyone.'
"I will go on and say that when I was [still] free in Yemen, around 2000, the brother Osama Siddiq called me from Germany and consulted with me about launching an initiative for calm (tahdiya) in Egypt. I encouraged him to do so. Osama Siddiq is with you in Europe. You can ask him…"(5)
Al-Qaeda's Followers Commit Grave Violations in the Name of Jihad Almost Daily in Iraq
Al-Hayat: "Some Islamists overseas(6) have asked why you wrote about 'right guidance for jihad', as the Jihad organization already announced that it had stopped its operations in Egypt in 1995?
Sayyed Imam: "I don't write for any particular group or against any particular group. [Religious] knowledge is written for all…
"As for grave violations [of shari'a] committed in the name of jihad in various places in the world, these still occur, especially among those influenced by the deviant program of Al-Qaeda.
"The violations in Iraq [occur] almost daily. Not long ago there was the incident of the killing of French tourists in Saudi Arabia, and it came to light that they were Muslims. Not long ago there was the incident of the organization of Indian doctors in Britain.
"All the time, organizations [made up] of the youngest youth fall in Egypt – those who were recruited through the Internet. They are known in the prisons by the name of 'net-brothers.'
"So to say that the violations have come to an end is not true, and it is contrary to reality. [But true] jihad is in force until Judgment Day, and jihad is not limited to any given organization, like these [people] think. It is a law that is in force until the end of time.
Al-Hayat: "Some of the organizations denied that there are groups that kill based on nationality, [and said that what they do] is in the framework of their war with the West or with the Arab regimes.
Sayyed Imam: "This is not true. The Al-Qaeda organization, and bin Laden, declared more than once that they target Americans indiscriminately, and this is what they did on September 11. This is killing on the basis of nationality.
"Then those who sympathize with them carried out the Madrid bombings in 2004, and they killed people indiscriminately. Likewise, there were the bombings in the London Underground in 2005, and [the perpetrators] killed Britons indiscriminately.
"All of this is killing on the basis of nationality, and I discussed the proofs of the wrongness of this in the Document, as well as the fact that one's being of a given country is not proof of being an infidel or a believer, and is not proof that [someone's] blood or property is made licit…"
For Years, Al-Zawahiri Provided Justifications for the GIA's Killing of Civilians, Women, and Children, and For Its Kidnappings and Rapes
Al-Hayat: "What was the reason for publishing the Document, given that the jihad groups to whom it is addressed had, for instance, publicly dissociated themselves from the Algerian GIA when they became convinced that it was exceeding all bounds in [spilling] blood?"
Sayyed Imam: "I did not address the Document to any particular group, as I already despaired of reforming them in 1992… I write for everybody, Muslims and non-Muslims, people today and those not yet born.
"As for those who say that 'they dissociated themselves from the Algerian GIA,' this is an expression that indicates the ignorance of the religion of the one who says it, and it indicates his not having studied Sunni [articles of] belief. This is because a Muslim is not allowed to dissociate himself from another Muslim if he errs, but rather he dissociates himself from his wrong action. Dissociating oneself from someone's person is what one does with infidels.
"The ignorant person should be careful with his words, and should study his religion before he criticizes someone else. I have already drawn attention to this useful lesson in the Document, since his saying that they dissociated themselves from the Algerian GIA is an implicit pronouncement of apostasy against them.
"As for his saying that they dissociated themselves from this group, that is not the truth. The truth is that the person who is shouting from London, he and his sheikh Al-Zawahiri – when they went out of business in Egypt, they were dependent on [finding] something that would give them a continued presence in jihad activity, and [so] they encouraged the GIA in their publications Al-Ansar and Al-Mujahidoun.
"This went on for years, and they kept providing justifications for this group's killing of civilians, women, and children, and its kidnappings and rapes.
"This is what I described in the Document as 'the jurisprudence of justification' – like how they provide justifications today for bin Laden's crimes.
"Then, when things came to a head, they dissociated themselves from the GIA, after they had put it in a bad situation and extolled it and its activities. They and this group [the GIA] are like what Allah said (Koran 59:16-17): '[They are] like Satan who says to man "disbelieve," and when he disbelieves, says "I dissociate myself from you, for I fear Allah Lord of the worlds." The end of both of them is to be eternally in the fire, and this is the reward of the unjust.'
"Also, this dissociation did not last long. It was only a few years before the Algerian group returned to the fold of the Al-Qaeda organization, calling itself Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb…"(7)
Summary of the Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World
In the second installation of the Al-Hayat interview, published December 9, 2007, Sayyed Imam provided his own summary of his new work, Document of Right Guidance for Jihad Activity in Egypt and the World:
"The Document, after the introduction, contains 15 articles and four notices:
"Article 1: Elucidation of the truth of the Islamic religion and the fact that it is obligatory on all humanity, and that its shari'a already includes everything that created beings need to make right their [portion in] this world and the next, until Judgment Day.
"Article 2: Elucidation concerning the conditions for being obligated [to perform a commandment], in addition to [the condition of] mental competence: one must know that the matter is obligatory, and one must be capable of carrying it out. It is not permitted to venture any action until one knows what its status is in the shari'a, as Allah said (Koran 17:36): 'Pursue not that of which you have no knowledge'.
"This is especially true in jihad, which entails the taking of lives and property that are normally inviolable. And it is not permitted to undertake to carry out that which one is not in a position to do, because Allah said (Koran 2:286) 'Allah only imposes on someone that of which he is capable'. A Muslim incurs no sin for [failing to do] that of which he is incapable, and his reward will be given in payment for his right intention."
One May Not Steal in Order to Fund Jihad; One Who Lacks the Necessary Resources is Exempt
"Article 3: One who lacks the resources is not obligated to fight jihad, even in cases where jihad is an individual obligation (fardh 'ayn). Jihad was an individual obligation in the Tabuk raid, and Allah excused those who stayed behind due to lack of resources, [as He said] in Koran 9:91: 'There is no blame on those who cannot find what to expend.' And the Prophet said, in a hadith whose authenticity is agreed upon, that Allah wrote [i.e. decreed] reward for this raid for those [who stayed behind due to lack of resources] in payment for the sincerity of their intention.
"One who lacks resources [to fight jihad] is forbidden to acquire money through forbidden means, like burglarizing those whose property it is forbidden to take, in order to make use of these funds for jihad. It is not permitted to do that which is not permitted in order to carry out that which is not required of him due to his inability. If he violates this, then his jihad, if he carries it out, is not accepted [by Allah], since the Prophet has said: 'Allah is good and accepts only the good,' as told by Muslim [i.e. in Muslim Ibn Al-Hajjaj's compendium of hadith]."
Jihad Requires the Permission of One's Parents and Creditors
"Article 4: It is not permitted to go out to fight jihad without the permission of both parents and the permission of one's creditors, because acting rightly with one's parents is an individual obligation (fardh 'ayn), and they have rights over their son, and [thus] he should not go out to jihad without their permission. This appears in an authentic hadith.
"Likewise, Allah does not accept martyrdom as atonement for a mujahid's debts, and he should not go out [to fight jihad] without the permission of his creditor.
"This has become pandemic in our times. We find parents who only learn that their son has gone to fight jihad after his picture is published in the newspapers as a fatality or a prisoner."
"Allah Permitted One Who Is Weak to Hide and Disguise His Faith"
"Article 5: Elucidation [of the fact] that protecting Muslims from ruination is one of the purposes of the shari'a, and for this reason Allah permitted one who is weak to hide and disguise his faith. Allah [also] permitted emigration.
"Allah considered equality of force between the Muslims and their enemy [as a condition] and did not obligate the Muslims to persist in fighting if the enemy [numbers] more than double [the Muslims]. In addition, Allah permitted peace treaties (sulh) and cease-fires (hudna) with the infidels, either in exchange for money or without it – all of this in order to protect the Muslims, in contrast with those who push them into peril.
"Article 6: Elucidation [of the fact that] it is not permitted to fight the rulers in Muslim countries today in order to implement the Islamic shari'a, due to [the Muslims'] incapacity to do this, and due to [its entailing] more damage than benefit. Exposition of this is to be found in the second notice at the end of the Document." [See translation below.]
It Is Forbidden to Harm Tourists, Even If it is Known that They Are Infidels
"Article 7: On the prohibition of doing harm to tourists who come to Muslim lands, even if it is established that they are infidels, and all the more so when there may be Muslims among them.
"I gave six reasons for this, and they are summed up in what Abu 'Omar Bin 'Abd Al-Barr wrote in Al-Istidhkar: that anything the infidel thinks is a guarantee of safety (aman) when he comes to us is a [valid] guarantee of safety, in the view of all of the jurisprudents. Al-Shafi'i expounds on this in [Kitab] Al-'Umm, vol. 4, p. 196, and the essence of what he says is that the infidel does not distinguish between those of us from whom he may receive a guarantee of security and those of us from whom he may not. In any event, if an infidel comes to us with an invalid guarantee of security, what is required is not killing him; rather, one must convey him to where he is safe (i.e., to send him off and expel him to wherever he wants where he will be safe), as Allah said (Koran 9:6): 'Then convey him to where he is safe'.
"Article 8: One who enters the Abode of War (dar al-harb) under a guarantee of safety from its people is prohibited from [undertaking] acts of belligerency. He is not permitted to betray them with regard to their lives, their honor, or their property. This is a matter of agreement among the scholars, as I said when I spoke of 'perfidy towards the enemy' in connection with the events of September 11, 2001. Allah said (Koran 5:1) 'Oh those who believe, fulfill [your] obligations'. This [i.e. keeping one's obligations] is obligatory with Muslims and with infidels. The Prophet said: 'Perfidy is not right in our religion'."
On Killing Civilians
"Article 9: Prohibition against killing civilians. The prohibition against killing those civilians who are visibly Muslims is emphasized in the Prophet's saying, 'Every Muslim's life, property, and honor is inviolable to other Muslims', as told by Muslim [i.e. in Muslim Ibn Al-Hajjaj's compendium of hadith].
"Those whose condition is unknown [i.e. when it is not known whether or not they are Muslim], it is not permitted to attack them, even in a state of fighting, until the truth of their condition is known, because Allah said (Koran 4:94): 'Oh you who believe, when you go forth to fight jihad, distinguish' [Muslims from non-Muslims]."
On Takfir
"Article 10: Some guiding rules of takfir [pronouncing other Muslims apostates] in the shari'a. I state [in this article] that takfir is a shari'a law, and not a forbidden innovation. There is original heresy [i.e. when one is born a non-Muslim] and there is newly-occurring heresy (apostasy).
"When a Muslim does something that makes one an apostate, he should not be judged an apostate until one has examined his action (word or deed) [to see] whether it is explicit or ambiguous, and whether the proof text that indicates his apostasy is explicit or ambiguous. Then one must examine the conditions [required for declaring him an apostate] and the impediments [that would prohibit declaring him an apostate] with regard to this individual, in accordance with the principle of 'the ruling is applied to the case when the condition is present and the impediment is absent.'
"Then, there is a difference between abstract takfir (ruling only on the cause), and takfir against the individual (after considering the conditions and the impediments), which is to be referred to a Muslim judge (qadi).
"Once [someone's] apostasy has been proven, it is obligatory to propose to him that he repent. No subject should carry out any of the Koranic punishments (hudud) except on his slaves; he is not permitted to do this against free men like himself. If this were not the case, anarchy would ensue, and people would kill one another on the slightest suspicion."