The Issues of the Revealers of the Truth Series Foreigners’ Center for Islamic Studies Afghanistan, The Taliban, And The Battle For Islam Today ‘Umar ‘Abd-al-Hakim (Abu Mus’ab al-Suri) (Extended Islamic Blessing to the Reader) I begin the writing of this study from Kabul today, in the month of Jumadi al-Thani, 1419, corresponding to October 1998. This discussion revolves around the issue of Afghanistan today, the Taliban Movement that rules it, its implementation of Islamic Shari’a, the fissures within it, and the suspicions that exist regarding the Taliban and their rule. [It also covers] The issue of the fighting between the Taliban, their opponents among the opposition parties, and their internal and external allies. Then [I discuss] the issue of fighting at the side of the Taliban and the suspicions surrounding that and standing with them to support the foundations of this eternal Islamic nation, the first such opportunity granted to Muslims and the People of the Sunnah after a long absence. This is a nation that came as the fruit of the Jihad of the Afghan people that has lasted nearly 20 years until the present day, and by which the Islamic Nation was shown for its weakness and its fragmentation, and for its immenseness in men, money, and support, while it sat waiting for this hope that came to pass during the crushing wars between the Mujahideen up until the time that this movement came into being which we are now experiencing and can touch today. These issues were making me speak about them, and to witness by God to whomever is concerned about them, as an eye witness living through these events in a real way. And I have gone back and forth about it up to this day, and have delayed this testimony of mine for numerous reasons, the most important of which is the anticipation of an increase in clarity, first of all, and [secondly] the fear that some sudden change or transformation will come over this blessing we’re witnessing of the Taliban. A change that will put us at the mercy of the tongues of the people, or particularly of the tongues of the brethren; these tongues that have shown us they have no mercy. This is because our brethren do not grasp the omens of the changes in the political conditions, which in turn produce changes in [political] positions, which then cause changes in legalistic political judgments, as I will show later. I wrote a report about the Taliban following an exploratory visit I made to Afghanistan about two years ago. I wrote the report with cooperation from the information office of the Jihad Group in Egypt. It was titled “The Taliban,” and ran to approximately 35 pages. Then I returned to Afghanistan on another exploratory visit in April of last year, 1997, after which I decided to immigrate permanently to Afghanistan. I came here last August, and have been here ever since (in other words, more than a year). I lived in close proximity to the events that have transpired day by day, and have lived with the Taliban in such a manner that I can write and publish this testimony, for which I beseeched God for his assistance, and which I hope is as close to the truth as possible. A while back, I learned through some brothers who live in London, may God comfort them--and some of the learned men in London have become the most backwards of the ‘Ulama (of the Salafists)--they asked about Afghanistan, and if by the Taliban’s implementation of the Islamic Shari’a it has become the House of Islam and a place of Hijra [tc: a place to which all good Muslims should immigrate]. His Excellency [one of the ‘Ulama] replied that in it (in other words, Afghanistan), the conditions aren’t present for it to be the House of Islam, and that in its government (in other words, the Taliban) weren’t the conditions for the Shari’a. Then the brothers informed me of the disaster which befell another resident of the House of Thatcher. He asked recently about the ongoing battle in Afghanistan between the Taliban and their opponents. His Excellency answered: “In this fight, both the fighters and those they’re fighting are in hell” !!! I have heard these types of lies and distortions, and these types of sayings and Fatwas, [coming from] some of the Salafist bastards and the propaganda of the Muslims in Pakistan and some of the Arab states. How can it be that some worshipers can spread rumors about God without any knowledge, while they’re thousands of miles away from what’s happening, and they know nothing about it whatsoever except what they find from the world media and those who are behind it. Or they get news from the telephone, with people telling them: “I encourage you with this Fatwa, I encourage you into the fire.” The Prophet, peace be upon Him, said: “Like the Sun, witness or say farewell.” What pains me is that among the Mujahideen here are those who will consider these things from afar, in all their ignorance, and decide their position based upon these Fatwas rather than experiencing these things for themselves. After hearing these types of London Fatwas, and seeing some who are out of touch here in Afghanistan, I saw that it was truly my duty to record a descriptive and objective field testimony of the situation we and Afghanistan live in today; to place before Muslims the reality of the issue. Perhaps it will help people such as those who took it upon themselves to issue Fatwas and to direct the young men to quote God without any real knowledge. It will give them knowledge of the fact about which they are still ignorant, and that is the basis of the Fatwa and the knowledge of the judgment of God. And so let us therefore show the Muslims in general the conditions that make up the most important opportunity given to the People of the Sunnah to transform the balance of power between the People of Islam and their enemies in this existential battle were are experiencing today. Let us set forth the pretext to whatever good people remain and to whichever ‘Ulama remain. Let us set their responsibilities before them to carry out God’s truth, and to establish God’s rule and the duties it contains for us Muslims. I truly intended this, and I prepared some papers and worked on them for a while. Then came the events of last week, and I came face to face with the necessity of this testimony. Events have followed one after another for the last three months as follows: The Taliban burst forth in successive conquests toward the north, and spread its control and its implementation of the Shari’a over all Afghan territory with the exception of a narrow valley extending from north of Kabul up to the province of Badokhsan in Northeast Afghanistan, in addition to the Bamyan region, where the Shi’ite minority of Afghanistan reside • After these abrupt changes, the western world and its media, led by America, went on alert, and Russia and the Communist nations of Central Asia that belong to Moscow to this day mobilized and threatened to interfere in Afghanistan. Iran put its media on alert, and undertook an unusual diplomatic action which incited the entire world against Afghanistan and the Taliban, and mobilized the heads of the opposition alliance (Rabbani, Mas’ud , Dostum, Sayyaf, Hikmatyar), taking advantage of the world situation to present themselves as the elite of the Earth, ready to carry out the policy of the new world order if support were given to them against the Taliban. Then recently Clinton came to Moscow to discuss with Yeltsin the affairs of Central Asia in light of a storm of economic collapses that foretell of the disappearance of Russia forever, God willing. Military aid poured into the parties opposed to the Taliban, particularly to Mas’ud and the remnants of Sayyaf’s group, by air from Tajikistan. Dostum flew away on the last bygone symbol of the Communist regime to Istanbul, then returned to Uzbekistan. Events followed each other, and Iran escalated its position by carrying out military maneuvers on the southwest borders of Afghanistan. It followed this up by beating the drums of war by throwing the spotlight on the killing of Iranian Diplomats following the storming of Mazar-e Sharif by the Taliban. The news then said that Israel had entered the picture, and Israel is well known for being quick to enter into areas it considers strategic to its national security. The news agencies reported the arrival of generals of the Israeli Defense Forces in northern Afghanistan, and the arrival of aid from the IDF to Rabbani and Dostum. The world media reported on this Israeli presence in northern Afghanistan. In that atmosphere, the situation escalated greatly about two months after America launched a cruise missile attack on the Arab Mujahideen bases in Afghanistan. Then came America’s threat that it had declared war on the Islamic terror bases protected by the Taliban in Afghanistan. America then hinted that the option was open to use strategic nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction against terror bases, their infrastructure, and their allies in Afghanistan if need be. In the face of this American arrogance, the Taliban held steadfast. Mullah Muhammad ‘Umar, Commander of the Faithful in Afghanistan, stated that he would not give up ‘Usama Bin Laden and the Arab Mujahideen, nor would he bow to American pressures.