The Real War

As of today, the Saved Sect site (here’s the hyperlink, but it’s quite dead) has joined that of al-Ghurabaa’ and gone to wherever “martyred” Islamist websites go. (Maybe there’s a virtual paradise waiting for them where they are browsed all day by virgins.) Now comes the difficult part: trying to locate the new site that will replace the old. Fortunately, the Blair government gave me time to copy off several of their better articles for future discussions, and comparisons with material on the new site when it appears.

I understand why these sites need to go down, especially after the Saved Sect site posted an article warning that blood would flow in the streets of London. (See my earlier post here.) Nevertheless, the material on these sites is so useful when I’m teaching students about jihadism. I’ll miss both sites.

Ynet is reporting that Israel is busily constructing a prison to hold Hezbollah members and other detainees rounded up in the course of the IDF’s “incursions” into southern Lebanon. According to the story, Israel’s chief military rabbinate provided special permission for work to continue through the Sabbath. One commentator has already tagged the facility, located near Rosh Pinah, north of the Sea of Galilee, as “Gitmo East.”

[Thanks to Ben Saidel]

The Islamic Republic News Agency website contains a short notice on the headlines from German newspapers for the 21^st of July. All the headlines mention the letter written by Iranian President Ahmadinejad to German Chancellor Angela Merkel. What the IRNA story does not state, is that the letter did not play very well.

German official spokesperson Ulrich Wilhelm informed Der Spiegel that the ten-page letter contained "many claims that are not acceptable to us, in particular about Israel, the state of Israel's right to exist and the Holocaust." Chancellor Merkel, Wilhelm reports, has no intention of replying: "The German government does not have the intention of entering into correspondence with the Iranian president." The Germans, unfortunately, do not plan to release a copy of the letter.

The website of the Saved Sect, proscribed yesterday by the British government, remains in operation. In fact, the site now hosts a new post by Abu Omar that ends with a threat that unless Britain changes its policies there could be “innocent blood flowing down the streets of London.” I’ll append the entire text since it might well shortly disappear. I’ll comment below.

Do You Condemn or Condone?

BBC Report

I’m almost sorry to see them go because their websites provided me with so much material to discuss in class. As I write this the al-Ghurabaa’ site is done; the Saved Sect site is still up, at least for the time being. I’m certain that the individuals involved will reorganize and form new organizations and resume their work, just as they did when Sheik Omar Bakri Muhammad was deported and al-Muhajiroun proscribed. The Saved Sect site posted a response to the British government’s actions. I’ve appended it below, since the site may not be available much longer.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak had tough words for Hamas and Hezbollah Tuesday. In an interview with the state-owned Al-Watani Al-Youm, often described as the president’s “official mouthpiece,” he stated: “Igniting the situation to achieve limited gains means losing sight of the main Palestinian goal of obtaining an independent state." He indicated that what he said about "the Palestinian resistance also applied to the Lebanese resistance." "Nobody doubts the right of peoples to resist occupation forces,” he told Al-Watani Al-Youm. “But this resistance should take gains and losses into account." "The Israeli escalation in Lebanon is dragging the entire region onto a slippery slope," he warned, adding that the “Lebanese people and the Palestinian people are paying the price."

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: The final point of liberal civilization is the false and corrupt state that has occupied Jerusalem. That's the bottom line. That's what all those who talk about liberalism and support it have in common. . . .

In my opinion, if we unmask the liberal order, and present it to humanity bare and without any mask, we will see that its role model is a bunch of shameless Zionists, perpetrating crimes in Palestine. . . .

They should know that the volcano of rage of the peoples of the region is boiling. . . .

I'm telling you… If this volcano erupts--and we are on the brink of eruption . . . and if this ocean rages, its waves will not be limited to the region.

The file containing 60 years of crimes committed by this regime is placed on the table of the peoples. Each and every one of them will be held accountable.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad here on Tuesday evening warned bullying powers of the wrath of regional nations. Addressing a local seminar attended by several university professors and thinkers in this northeastern provincial capital, he said bullying powers will soon burn in the fire of regional nations' wrath and the scenario of oppressors is coming to end.

The world is on the verge of great developments, he said, adding that world Muslims will soon be victorious over their aggressors. As to the current situation in Palestinian territories, the Iranian president called for a free and fair election for Palestinians through which they may determine their own fate. He denounced the Zionist regime for its dreadful crimes in the region on the pretext of obtaining release of two of its captured soldiers, adding that the current Israeli offensive has been pre-planned. The aggressors will suffer the most in the current situation, he concluded.

Over the past few days, as the crisis in Lebanon deepened, I kept checking some of the English-language Islamist sites to see what they had to say about the state of affairs. They were, and mostly remain, silent. Since they often praise bin Laden, I thought their silence might be related to the recent Iranian charges that al-Qaeda is controlled by unnamed first world powers. But today, when I checked the site of “The Saved Sect,” I understood.

The Saved Sect, aka the Savior Sect, is an offshoot of Al-Muhajiroun, an Islamist movement banned in the United Kingdom after its principle leader, Sheik Omar Bakri, was deported. The Saved Sect and al-Ghurabaa’ are considered the replacements for al-Muhajiroun—redundant front operations, if you will. The Saved Sect derives its name from a saying of the Prophet Muhammad drawn from a Hadith: “My nation will be divided into 73 sects, all of them will be in the Fire except for one.” Both of these UK-based groups host websites; they are clearly Islamist and support jihadism.

At some point over the last few days the Saved Sect site posted a new lecture entitled “Beware and be Aware from the Shee'ah Raafidah.” I’ll spare you the details of the history of the term, but it basically describes the bulk of Shi’a Muslims as “rejecters,” and thus members of a deviant apostate sect, rather than fellow Muslims. If you read the lecture, you will gain some insight into how al-Zarqawi could have justified his ruthless attacks against the Shi’a population of Iraq. Hezbollah and Iran, of course, are also “Shee'ah Raafidah.”

The lecture is too long to append in whole, but here are a few highlights.

In an era of much division and disunity it is essential to know with whom one should ally with and from whom one should keep their distance. Sincere Muslims must recognize the friend from the foe. The Ummah must refrain from seeking support and allegiance from an enemy that hides behind the mask of an angel, an enemy that embraces with one hand while hiding the dagger in the other, waiting for the opportunity to stab you in the back. . . .

For certain sects, groups and cults, the concept of betraying, deceiving and cheating is an integral part of their 'Aqeedah (belief). Amongst these treacherous people the vilest are the Shee’ah Raafidah. . . .

Under the guise of ‘Taqiyah’ (concealing the truth/lying), the Shee'ah Raafidah justify their betrayal and treason against the Deen of Islam and Muslims. The Shee'ah Raafidah believe that by practicing Taqiyah they will achieve leadership over the Ummah of Islam; hence, they will lie, cheat and betray to reach their goals. . . .

Even from the perspective of Jihaad, the Shee'ah Raafidah have proven their animosity towards those that desire to bring honour to Islam and remove the shackles of humiliation. The Shee'ah Raafidah believe that whosoever engages in Jihaad is an apostate; this belief of theirs proves to whom they have given allegiance to. History has proven that the children of Al-Qami [the Shi’a Abbassid Grand Vizier who reputedly opened the gates of Baghdad for the Mongols, who subsequently slaughtered the khalifa and 800,000 people] will always side with crusaders and their allies against Ahl As-Sunnah. . . .

Oh people of Sunnah, the only unity accepted by Allah (SWT) is that which is based upon the Quran and Sunnah and upon the understanding of the Salaf of the Ummah. Do not be fooled by the Shee'ah Raafidah, they are your enemies so treat them as enemies. . . .

In the first footnote of the lecture the author describes the Ayatollah Khomeini thus: [bolding mine]

He was titled ‘Grand Ayatollah Syed Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini. He was a Shee’ah Raafidah scholar and according to the Shee’ah he was also a Marja (a source of imitation). He became the supreme leader of Iran and died 3rd June 1989. “May the Curse of Allah be upon him and those who follow him.” He died upon kufr and he was a man that would insult the Mother of the Believers, Ayesha (RA), and many of the Sahaabah (RA).

In short, the lecture’s message to Sunni Muslims is clear: do not follow the leadership of either Iran or Hezbollah now, or ever.

From The Daily Star Egypt.

Dear Lebanese,

Our government and people are facing fierce aggression, to which we will not surrender. While we take all the political and relief measures, I would like to remind you of what the Cabinet decided in its latest session: "We stress the Lebanese government's right to protect the country and citizens, preserve its security and safety and its right and duty to exert its control over all the Lebanese territory and make national decisions on the internal and international levels."

Accordingly, we urge an immediate cease-fire under the auspices of the United Nations, which would be able, in cooperation with sisterly Arab countries and the Lebanese government, to resolve all the problems that caused the latest clashes.

Secondly, we call for the establishment of the government's sovereignty in all Lebanese territory in cooperation with the UN ... and adherence to the Truce Agreement signed in 1949 and the Taif Accord.

Third, Lebanon urges its brothers and friends in the world to immediately help the Lebanese by either pressuring Israel to stop its attacks or providing humanitarian aid.

The Lebanese government holds the Israelis responsible for this humanitarian and economic catastrophe in Lebanon. We were still working on erasing the signs of the Israeli invasions in 1982, 1993 and 1996 and now Israeli aggression is targeting us one again.

Lebanon is a cursed country that needs immediate and comprehensive help to rebuild what has been destroyed by this hideous war.

We are very proud of our country and we will overcome this crisis. Lebanon will survive; Lebanon will survive; Lebanon will survive.

For those of you unfamiliar with the word, it is primarily a magic term that means sleight of hand. The magician tries, though assorted hand movements, to get you to watch meaningless actions so that you miss the moves that he does not wish you to see.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is proving to be a fairly good practitioner of the art. While the crisis rages in and around Lebanon, the world’s attention has been shifted away from the international dispute concerning the Iranian nuclear program. Nor are all of the world’s academic and media “experts” able to keep their eyes on what is actually happening in the Middle East. For example, anyone perusing Juan Cole’s “Informed Comment” weblog would see only the picture of Arab and world-other-than-U.S condemnation of the Israelis. That’s neither to say that the condemnation is not real, nor a major part of the story, but the more interesting and important elements of what is happening are to be found within the subtexts, which I have discussed in posts here and here.

Ahmadinejad wants the present crisis to be viewed in the Arab world and the West as nothing more than yet another Arab-Israeli dispute, in which the poor Arabs play the victims. That’s not to say that the Palestinians and the Lebanese are not poor, and are not victims. The problem is that there is so much more going on here and it is amazing how many people cannot see it.

If you want to understand what is happening, you have to avert your glance from the Iranian President’s left hand, and keep your eyes on his right. The Saudis can see what is happening. The Israelis see it. The Americans see it. And I suspect the Jordanians and Egyptians see it as well.

This is an inter-Islamic struggle for control of the “Palestinian problem.” Will the Arabs control that process, or the Iranians? Will states control that process or non-state actors? This is a life-and-death issue for states such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. The question may ultimately become: are the stakes so high that the Arab states might sell out Hezbollah or Hamas?

Does this a signal to the Israelis that they have until September to do whatever it is they are doing? And by the way, we are coming up on the thirty-sixth anniversary of “Black September.”

However this crisis plays out, refuse to be distracted. Watch Tehran, Riyadh, and Cairo. Hamas, Hezbollah, Lebanon, and Syria are nothing but pawns, and the last three-named rabbits in Ahmadinejad’s hat.

From The Daily Star, Egyptian Edition.

Monday’s Arab News published an editorial further elucidating the Saudi line in the present crisis. The editorial discusses the difficult situation facing Lebanon. If the Lebanese government attempts to rein in Hezbollah it risks plunging the country into a renewed civil war. But if it does not, it runs the risk of being turned into a battleground by the disruptive attacks of Israel (which the Saudis at least, unlike the Iranians, actually term “Israel”). What course should Lebanon choose?

The editorial, while acknowledging that “any effort by Fuad Siniora’s government to use force against Hezbollah could trigger another bloody civil war,” nonetheless suggests that just such a course must “start now,” arguing that “[d]isarming Hezbollah should be done gradually, through a process of national reconciliation.”

Saudi reasoning reflects a realistic appreciation of the international situation (my bolding).

The Israeli response to a Hezbollah attack on Haifa will be brutal; world reaction will surely not act as a deterrent. The UN Security Council failed to agree on a statement calling for a cease-fire in Lebanon, despite pleas from the Lebanese prime minister. President Bush will not press Israel to halt its attacks. Hezbollah, meanwhile, is firing waves of rockets ever deeper into Israel, getting closer to Tel Aviv. Neither side is showing signs of backing down from the conflict. The relationship between Hezbollah and the government is complex, but should not be confused. The government is not responsible for Hezbollah’s actions. Because Hezbollah operates outside the government’s authority, the Lebanese government should not be held responsible for the present mess. States, not parties, should take decisions about going to war. Lebanese civilians and their cities are bearing the brunt of an assault for which Siniora holds both Israel and Hezbollah responsible—the former for using a disproportionate use of deadly force to secure the release of two captured Israeli soldiers, the latter for dragging Lebanon into a conflict the government neither chose nor wanted. Should it take its fate in its own hands, the Lebanese government would be exercising the right and duty it has in extending control over all its territory.

While it is true that the Saudis are pointing fingers equally at both Hezbollah and Israel for the crisis, the action Riyadh is recommending is aimed primarily at the former. I suspect that this will be seen in Washington and Jerusalem as a signal by the Saudis that the Lebanese government must act to shut down Hezbollah, and if it does not, or cannot, the Saudis are not likely to take action in support of Hezbollah unless the Israeli offensive broadens and deepens.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, the subtext of this crisis is pitting non-national (Hamas and Hezbollah) actors against national actors (Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt, etc.), and the Arab states against Iran. It is this division that has allowed the Israelis, thus far, the ability to act, and allowed the United States to remain less than fully engaged.

What should we be watching? First, does the Lebanese government show signs of the will to bring its southern region under control. Second, does the Lebanese government have the power to bring Hezbollah under control? If the answer to those questions proves to be yes, then the question will be how does Syria respond? If the answer is no, then it follows that Israel will have to do the job itself.

There are far too many variables to make predictions, but one thing that can be said with certainty is that the present predicament is not your standard Arab-Israeli crisis. This one is wholly other.

In the latest example of the growing link between jihadists abroad and neo-Nazis at home, the website of Aryan Nations exhorts Israel’s enemies to “WIPE THE TERRORIST STATE OF ISRAELI [sic] OFF THE MAP!” The group goes on to call “Syria, Iran, Iraq, Jordon, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, let ALL Islamic believing nations, in fact let the WORLD UNITE and declare WAR on Israeli and BOMB it into OBLIVION! Let this WAR not be over till every last yehudi-shataan WORLDWIDE is DEAD!”

Aryan Nations then provides a link to the website of Hezbollah. Aryan Nations then offers its praise: “Congratulations' Hizbolla keep up the missile attack against the Terrorist State of Israeli! Spare NO targets or cities! Leave NO jew alive or building standing!”