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From Afghanistan to Syria: the Development of the Theological and Political Aspects of Jihadi-Salafism By The Development of the Theological and Political Aspects of Jihadi-Salafism ORWA AJJOUB CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES | SASNET | LUND UNIVERSITY Contents Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. 3 Glossary of Key Islamic Terms ......................................................................................... 3 List of Abbreviations ......................................................................................................... 3 Introduction and Aim ....................................................................................................... 4 Data and Summary ....................................................................................................... 4 The Theological Development of al-Qaʿeda (AQ) ................................................... 6 Declaration of Jihad Against the Americans Occupying the Land of the Two Holiest Sites ........................................................................................................... 6 Declaration of the World Islamic Front .................................................................. 7 Theological Justification for 9/11 ............................................................................. 8 The Influence of Abu Musab al-Suri ......................................................................... 10 Al-Qaʿeda in Mesopotamia (AQM) and the Relationship with al-Qa´eda Central Command (AQC) .......................................................................................... 11 Invading Iraq 2003 ...................................................................................................... 13 ‘The Jurisprudence of Jihad’ – al-Zarqawi’s Ideology .......................................... 15 The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) ........................................................................................ 19 Qital al-Nikaya versus Qital al-Tamkin – Strategic Divergence ...................... 19 The Syrian Conflict ........................................................................................................ 22 The Caliphate ................................................................................................................... 23 The Caliphate of the Islamic State Group (IS) ........................................................ 25 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 26 Cover picture: Tookapic/Pixabay ISBN 978-91-7895-771-2 (tryck) ISBN 978-91-7895-772-9 (pdf) Layout and typesetting: Media-Tryck Print by Media-Tryck, Lund University , 2021 Printed by Media-Tryck, Lund 2021 NORDIC SWAN ECOLABEL 3041 0903 FROM AFGHANISTAN TO SYRIA 3 Acknowledgments Completing this report would not have been possible without the support of some indi- viduals, to whom I owe so much gratitude. I am indebted to my good friend Dr. Anders Ackfeldt for his valuable feedback and endless support. I would also like to thank Dr. An- dreas Johansson and SASNET for funding the last part of the project. A huge thanks goes to my best friend James Root for listening, discussing and providing critical comments on the content and the language of this report as well as to Dr. Rahaf al-Doughli for sharing her positive energy and motivation. I would also like to thank my friend Darcy Thomp- son for her support and proofreading the final version of this report. Last but not least, I would like to thank Professor Leif Stenberg of Aga Khan University for his and valuable feedback on this report. Glossary of Key Islamic Terms Al-Jizya: Compensation, poll tax levied on non-Muslims as is applied when a country or city belonging to Muslims is a form of tribute and in exchange for an exemption from attacked. Defensive jihad is al-fard ʿayn, while offensive military service. is al-fard kifayah, which means if one group of Muslims bayʿa: An oath of allegiance or the act by which a certain fulfils the obligation then it is sufficient for all Muslims. If number of persons, acting individually or collectively, there are no Muslims fulfilling the obligation, then all are recognize the authority of another person. considered sinful. Dar al-Kufr: Any territory where the Shariʿa law is not Khawarij: The literal meaning is those who left Islam. It is applied. a sect that developed during the dissension after the assassination of the third caliph, Uthman, in 656. Khawarij Dar al-Harb: Any dar Kufr which has no treaty of peace or are accused of disobedience to the righteous authority. non-aggression with Muslims. Al-Khawarij demanded that all rule should belong to God Dar a-Islam: Any territory where the Shariʿa law is applied. and that anyone can become a caliph as long as he is just. Fatwa: an authoritative legal opinion given by a mufti (legal The term is often used as a slur by Salafis against their scholar) in response to a question posed by an individual opponents. or a court of law. Religious scholars also issue fatwas Qisas: The principle of equal retaliation, retaliation in kind, providing their religious-based opinion regarding a specific or lex talionis. It is part of Islamic criminal jurisprudence issue. allowing the victim to seek retribution in kind against the Hadith: Reports of the words and deeds of the Prophet perpetrator of a particular crime. Muhammad, consisting of a text preceded by a chain of Taghout: Quranic term for false god or idol. Also applied to authorities who transmitted the text to later generations tyrannical rulers who arrogate God’s absolute power and Ijtihad: Independent juristic reasoning by a competent scho- use it to oppress people. lar who uses scriptural sources to deduce a legal ruling. Wajib: Denotes acts that are understood as obligatory for Jihad: has various meanings but Jihadi-Salafis place more every individual (fard al-ʿayn), such as prayer, or on the emphasize on its meaning as to fight. It is either offensive entire community (fard al-kifayah), such as burying the and defensive. An offensive attack requires a rightful dead. In the latter case, if some members perform the act, authority, such as the caliph, to sanction it. Defensive jihad the obligation on the rest of the community is removed. List of Abbreviations JTJ Jamaʿat al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad ISIS/ISIL The Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham/the Levant MSC al-Mujahidin Shura Council in Iraq AQ al-Qaʿeda IS The Islamic State or the Caliphate AQC al-Qaʿeda Central Command ISI The Islamic State in Iraq AQM/AQI al-Qaʿeda in Mesopotamia/Iraq 4 FROM AFGHANISTAN TO SYRIA Introduction and Aim Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, scholars have increa- Islamic studies,3 this report adopts Shiraz Maher’s defini- singly turned their attention to the rise and influence of tion of the movement. According to him, five features jihadi-Salafism.1 For the most part, though, the focus of characterize jihadi-Salafism: Jihad (struggle for sake of this body of work has been on the sociology and acti- Allah which means abstaining from committing sins vities of organizations such as al-Qaʿeda (AQ), with less but also means fight), tawhid or monotheism, takfir attention paid to the details of the movements’ ideolo- or excommunication, al-hakimiyya or applying Allah’s gies. Editors of Perspective on Terrorism journal Alex P. rule, and al-walaa’ wa al-bara’ or loyalty to Muslims Schmid and James J. Forest, list the religious beliefs of and disavowal to non-Muslims.4 Maher contends that jihadi-Salafi groups as one of the 150 unresearched or these five characteristics define jihadi-Salafism and are under-researched topics within the field of jihadism.2 concerned with two things – protection and promotion. The lack of studies, however, should not suggest that Protection of the faith comes through jihad, al-walaa’ religious beliefs, which stem from theology, do not play wa-l-bara’, and takfiir; while its promotion is linked to an important role in jihadi-Salafi political violence. At tawhid and al-al-Hakimiyya. It is the first part of this the same time, it is not safe to claim that theology is the equation that interests Salafi-Jihadis the most because main or the only driver behind the military activities of it is battlefield-related, providing the raison d’être for jihadi-Salafi militants. This report interrogates the com- their modus operandi.5 For jihadi-Salafis who believe in plicated relationship between the theological concepts following the path of al-salaf al-salih or ‘righteous pre- of these groups and the ever-changing socio-political decessors,’ Islam needs to be protected and maintained context in which these concepts have developed. from the outside enemy and promoted to reach more Undoubtedly, significant political events such as the US people.6 invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq have galvanized jihadi fighters from all over the world to join jihad against the DATA AND SUMMARY US and its allies. The nature of this jihad – its goals, To explore these concepts and their development in the manners and rules – have been theorized by jihadi-Salafi light of ever-changing socio-political contexts, this report ʿulamaʾ and leaders, whose works are analysed in this analyses influential fatwas (religious rulings), statements, report. This does not suggest that jihadi-Salafism is a and books written by jihadi-Salafi ulama or religious homogenous movement, united under one religious ʿ ʾ scholars and leaders. The data contains various funda- authority that sets the conceptual
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