Essay:Global jihad

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The global jihad (sometimes referred to as World War III), as the Salafi-jihadi see it, is a struggle between the people of God {ummah) and the enemies of God (kafir) for control of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, effectively all of Islam, and ultimately world domination.[1] The victor is also granted the right to exploit the assets of the world's richest corporation, now known as Saudi Aramco.

There are four primary belligerent groups:

  • Various disparate groups adhering to Al Qaeda's "teachings",
  • the Islamic State and its protectorates,
  • Iran and Iranian proxies,
  • and global infidels (everyone else).

Dar al-Harb

Dar al-Harb (the Realm of Conflict), according to Salafist[2], is made up primarily of what they claim is 'the New World Order'[3] organized within the kufr member states of the United Nations[4]. Iran is a recognized, sitting, and participating member of the United Nations. Despite its official name - the Islamic Republic of Iran - is considered by Salafists to be among the unbelieving kufr nations.

Global infidels

From the Salafi-jihadist perspective, global infidels are a diverse group who have either not embraced the Prophet's message after 1400 years, or are Muslim lands ruled by tyrants.

Global infidels broadly follow alliance schemes set down during the Cold War, with a few alterations. China, Japan and India are also reckoned among global infidels.[5]

Comparative asset value of Saudi Aramco, the world's richest corporation against United States GDP, China, and total world economic output, in trillions in 2014.[6] With the collapse of oil prices in 2015, these comparisons have been drastically revised. It should be noted however, Saudi Arabia is responsible for the collapse of global oil prices by flooding the market in an effort to combat their enemies -Putin, Iran, and the Islamic State (American frackers also have become collateral damage[7]). In one sense these actions have upped the ante among Saudi Arabia's enemies as a motivating factor to remove the House of Saud.

Global infidel alliance

Sheikh Abd al-Aziz bin Baz, Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia from 1993 until his death in 1999 and a prominent Salafi-Wahhabi scholar, was ostracized by radical Salafi-jihadists for his support of the Saudi regime. His rulings allowed the basing of a non-Muslim Army in the Islamic Holy Land and an attack on a neighboring Muslim country from the land of the Two Holy Mosques with troops that included Christians, Jews, and women.[8] This amounted to replacing Shariah with secular rule [9] and made the Saudi regime, in the radical Salafist's view, partners in the New World Order and the global infidel alliance (also known as the "Crusader Alliance").

Junior Nato Crusaders

The Global jihad impacted outcomes of democratic elections in some countries. For example, the 2004 3/11 attacks, killing 192 persons three days prior to a national election, caused Spain to withdraw its forces fighting the Islamic State's predecessor group.

By the later half of 2015 more than twice as many refugees of the Syrian war entered Germany (484,000[16]) than the size of Germany's standing army (184,000 [17]). Of the estimated 5000 EU citizens fighting for ISIS[18], some concern has been expressed about trained jihadis returning home as Syrian refugees. [19] In the case of the November 2015 Paris suicide attacks which killed129 civilians, that's what happened.[20]


The Nato organization also consists of these member states:

Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Belgium[21], Luxembourg, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia.

Nato Muslim partners

With the second largest fighting force in the Nato organization, Turkey deferred granting assistance to the Kurdish Peshmerga fighting Assad and Daesh. [22] By 2016 it became obvious to the U.S. administration that the Turkish government regarded all Kurdish groups, including those armed by the United States, as a greater national security threat to the Turkish Republic than either the Assad regime or the Islamic State.[23]

Non-Nato members

Russia and non-Muslim federated Republics

After its founding in 1992 the Russian Federation fought several insurgencies against al-Qaeda affiliates within its borders.[26] By 2012 many veteran jihadis of the Chechen Wars showed up in Syria, playing an important roll as combat leaders and trainers for a younger generation of recruits of the Islamic State during the Syrian Civil War.[27]

By early 2015 Russia was openly providing military assistance to Iran[28] and at year's end intervened to support the Alawite regime in the war against al-Nusra, ISIS, and groups the U.S. State Department dubbed "moderate rebels" of the "Syrian opposition".[29] [30]

By virtue of its position among the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, and its traditional Christian character, Russia properly belongs to the Realm of Conflict.

Muslim Republics of the CTSO and Russian Federation

Others

Although most of these groups are considered 'Muslim' or 'Islamic', some can also be considered secular who practice shirk, i.e., idolaters who worship anything other than Allah, more specifically, people who submit to man-made government. Therefore they cannot be considered as residing in the Realm of Peace and are consigned, along with infidels, to the Realm of Conflict.

Jundallah (Iran) is/was an armed Sunni group inside Shi'ite Iran which received covert assistance under a Presidential Finding and Executive Order by U.S. President George W. Bush. The covert action, according to reports, was rescinded by President Obama. Jundallah (Iran) members however should not be considered secular or even kufr.[34]

  • Peshmerga
  • Naqshbandi Army (JRTN_[35]
  • Free Syrian Army (FSA)
  • Syrian Democratic Forces[36]
  • Knights of Justice
  • Jundallah (Iran)[37]

Dar al-Salam

The term, 'Dar al-Salam' is usually translated as 'the Realm of Peace' or 'Abode of Peace'. Three factions within the Realm of Peace are presently at War among themselves and the global infidels to liberate Mecca from Saudi and Western domination and to control the assets of Saudi Aramco.[38]

While al Qaeda and Daesh share the common goal of establishing a Worldwide Caliphate, al Qaeda has taken a long view of the problem. It regards the United States as the main impediment to acheiving the end result. Daesh views apostates and infidels in their midst - the Shi'a, Saudis, secular Sunnis, Christians and Jews - as the problem to be removed before Allah will reward them with the restoration of Mecca and the hajj under the Caliph.[39] This is often spoken of as defeating the Near Enemy (apostates and infidels in the region) before conquering the Far Enemy (unbelievers outside the Realm of Peace - Russia, the United States, the EU, the Nato alliance, among others). Daesh wants to fight the Near Enemy, al Qaeda the Far Enemy as the path to retaking Jerusalem, Mecca, and Medina.[40]

The leaders of the Western world have already specifically identified Islam as the most powerful remaining threat to their way of life since the fall of communism, and have proclaimed this belief to their people. How often are the citizens of Western nations told that Muslims are fanatical terrorists, who have spread Islam across the world by the sword; and, how seldom do they hear the wondrous Truths of Islam, of the Mercy and Compassion of Allah? Let there be no doubt, the goal of the leaders of the Western world is to destroy the power of Islam.

Of course, they are partly right. Islam is the only real threat that exists to their way of life, to the shaitanic aspects of their culture. Nothing else in this world has any chance of stopping the power of Western secular materialism. Allah gave the people of the world Islam as their religion.[41] Islam is the only way to stop the power of shaitan to rule this world.

Allah gave us as our responsibility the role of kalifah in this world. The primary role of the kalifah is to fight against the influence of shaitan. This obligation has three parts; we are to perfect ourselves according to the Will of Allah, we are to perfect all society according to the Will of Allah, and we are to perfect the physical environment according to the Will of Allah.[42]

Iran likewise, wants to see the House of Saud removed, and views itself as the leading Superpower in the region ready to lead all of Islam.[43]

There has been some cooperation between al Qaeda and Iran on some fronts[44] with notable exceptions on the Syria, Iraq, and Yemen[45] fronts where Sunnis and Shi'as have been fiercely battling each other. By contrast, the Islamic State does not make alliances, but rather demands submission, control, and strict allegiance.

In 2023 the Peoples Republic of China mediated a détente between two of the major internecine belligerents, Saudi Arabia and Iran.[46]

Iran

Extent of influence of a proposed Iranian Superpower. (In Yellow)

Because of its Shi'ite character, the Islamic Republic of Iran is referred to as Rafida, or rejectionist of the orthodox Salafi traditions handed down thru Ibn Taymiyyah, Abd al-Wahhab, and others. [47]

Iran has been ruled under the Shi'a interpretation of Shariah since 1979. Within the U.N framework of the "New World Order", as some Islamists refer to it, Iran pursues its foreign policy objectives under the kufr Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations as it covertly promotes terrorism. Western governments have labeled Iran as the leading state sponsor of terrorism.[48]

Iran's foreign policy and Shi'a brand of Islam promotes Muslim unity[49] whereas Sunni Salafi-jihadists consider Shi'ism not as a dissident sect, but rather as treasonous to the people of God and worthy of the death penalty (takfir).

Since the overthrow of its monarchy in 1979, Iran has been in a covert war with the neighboring monarchy of the House of Saud.[50] After the 1987 Meccan Massacre of hundreds of Iranian pilgrims, the Ayatollah Khomeini suggested removal of the House of Saud as overseers of the hajj because of their reliance on Western powers and the Great Satan for security.[51]

The Shi'a of Iraq and Syria who look to the Islamic Republic have been victims of a genocidal campaign unleashed by the Islamic State since mid 2014. Iran actively supported the Assad regime of Syria against an insurgency by the Sunni Salafi-jihadists of al Nusra (al Qaeda), the Islamic State, and the so-called "Syrian opposition" of "moderate rebels". Iran has forged an alliance of convenience with the kufr regime of Russia[52], proving they are in bed with global infidels and are traitors to Islam.

As of Spring 2015, Iran was moving on two of the three strategic choke points for control of the flow of Middle Eastern crude oil and the global economy -- the Straits of Hormuz and the Port of Aden. In February, Iran destroyed a mockup U.S. Supercarrier in the Straits of Hormuz during a live-fire ballistic missile test[53], and in March, Iran's Houthi proxy force toppled the Yemen government which controlled Aden. Meanwhile, the third strategic chokepoint -- Suez, was claimed by the Islamic State as part of its Sinai Province which forms a common border with Egypt and Saudi Arabia. The Iranian nuke deal in late 2015 represented a softening of attitudes by Western powers toward Iran's bid for hegemony as the dominant regional power.

Iran has formulated what is known as the Axis of Resistance - resistance against the encroachment of Western civilization, consisting of Iran, the Alawite regime, and Lebanese Hezbollah. Use of the term 'resistance against the West is common to both Shia and Sunni, usually directed against Israel or American oil drilling technicians in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States. Disputes are over who will lead the Resistance. Sunnis generally refer to the Shia resistance movement as the Rejectionist Axis.

Proxies

Iran's Islamist Proxies in the Middle East

Unlike the Islamic State, the Islamic Republic of Iran has shown a willingness to organize, train, and fund political movements and armed groups outside of their sectarian beliefs so long as the group has some form of Islamic heritage. [54] [55] [56] The Iranian Quds Force (Jerusalem Force)[57] led by General Qassem Sulemeini is the organization tasked with Iran's external covert, paramilitary, terrorist and intelligence functions. Quds Force also carries out some diplomatic functions.[58]

Shi'a dominated groups

Iraqi Islamic Resistance

In the case of Iraq, Jonathan Spyer and Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi report "There are, at the very least, dozens of Shi'a militias in Iraq....They receive training and weapons from the IRGC, and are dedicated to implementing Iran’s ideological system of governance in Iraq...Iran, however, does not want any of these groups to become powerful enough to break off and follow its own agenda. To prevent this, it maintains multiple proxy militias competing against each other." [59] There are many more than cited on this list,[60][61]

  • Saraya al-Salam (Peace Brigades), formerly the Mahdi Army (Jaysh al-Mahdi or JAM)
  • Hizballah Brigades (Kata’ib Hizballah or KH)
  • League of the Righteous (Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq), aka Khazali Network
  • Brigades of the Coming Imam (Kata’ib Al-Imam al-Qadim)
  • Ramazan Corps
  • Saraya al-Khorasani (Khorasani Brigades)
  • Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada
  • Harakat al-Nujaba'
  • Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas Forces
  • Kata'ib al-Ghadab (Absent Imam Battalions)[62]no
  • Liwa al-Shabab al-Risali
  • Liwa Dhu al-Fiqar
  • Saraya Ansar al-Aqeeda
  • Saraya Ashura'
  • Kata'ib Ruh Allah

Sunni and secular groups

  • Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) - General Command
  • Hamas [Gaza]
  • Al Sabirin[63]
  • Palestine Islamic Jihad

The Islamic State

The Islamic State's design for global hegemony dates from a time when the earth was flat. 'In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, because of the threat Islamic extremists posed to Western commercial trading interests.

For nearly a millenium prior to Mohammad, East-West trade between Europe, India, and China was facilitated via the Silk Route. At this time India and China was known as the "Seres", and yes even in classical times European living standards were affected by world trade. With the rise of Islam, Western merchant caravans often were hi-jacked, their goods looted the tradesman enslaved or beheaded.

The collapse of world trade due to disruption along the Silk Route plunged Europe into a prolonged economic declension. After the failure of the Four Crusades to rollback the onslaught[64] of the new faith, Christopher Columbus devised a plan to by-pass Islam and restore global trade. By sailing West to get East, Columbus accidentally 'discovered' a new continent, altered the course of history, proving to be a boon to the economic growth of Western civilization for the next 500 years.

Modern Salafists aim to resurrect the first three hundred years of Islam (as seen in the map, upper right[65]) prior to its classic "time of troubles"[66] during the Crusader invasions from the west and Mongolian invasions from the east.

The Islamic State currently is at war with their brother Salafi-jihadis of al Qaeda. The Islamic State's long-term goals are virtually identical to al Qaeda. Tensions between the two groups have always been about leadership and tactics and not about long-term objectives.

The Islamic State is also at war with insolent Sunni tribes allied with the Shi'a-dominated Baghdad regime, the rejectionist Shi'a of Iran's proxies in Iraq and Syria, the Assad regime and Hezbollah. Daesh is seriously anti-Shi'a and views cleansing Islam of this heretical and treasonous sect as the top priority. And they are at war with the Crusader alliance led by the United States. (Salafi-jihadis expound an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that the Crusader alliance is led by Israel which controls the United States and all its crony proxies, stooges, and satellite regimes).

Provinces

Since its formulation, the Islamic State has been divided into administrative districts, or vilayets. Beginning in 2015, non-contiguous areas to Iraq and Syria were added. [67]

Typically a Shariah Council was founded followed by armed marauding bands to enforce the council rulings,[68] however in many instances the armed groups precded the open establishment of a Shariah Council.

The Islamic State (official map).
Courtesy: The Islamic State

Groups operating in the 13 contiguous vilayets

Non-contiguous vilayets

  • Template:Wpl
    • Jamaat Ansar Bait al-Maqdis
    • Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem (MSCJ)
  • Wilayat al-Yaman[70][71]
    • Mujahideen of Yemen
    • Supporters for the Islamic State in Yemen
  • Wilayat al-Haramayn [that section of the Hejaz which consists of Mecca and Medina]
    • Supporters of the Islamic State in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques
  • Wilayet al-Tarabulus [Tripoli]
  • Template:Wpl
    • Islamic Youth Shura Council
    • Shura Council of Shabab al-Islam Darnah
  • Wilayet al-Fazzan [Southern Libya]
  • Wilayat al-Jazair [Algeria]
    • Jund al-Khilafah in Algeria
    • al-Huda Battalion in Maghreb of Islam
    • Soldiers of the Caliphate
    • al-Ghurabaa
  • Wilayat al-Khorasan [Afghanistan, Pakistan & India]
    • al-Tawheed Brigade
    • Heroes of Islam Brigade
    • Caliphate and Jihad Movement
    • Tehreek-e-Khilafat
    • Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU)}}
    • Jundallah (Pakistan)
    • Ansar al-Tawhid [India]
  • Wilayet al-Qawqaz [Caucasus][72]
    • Central Sector of Karbardino-Balakria of the Caucus Emirate
    • Nokhchico Wilayet of the Caucus Emirate

Other groups that have sworn allegiance (bay'at) to the Caliph

  • Jund al-Khilafah [Egypt]
  • Mujahideen Indonesia Timor (MIT) [Indonesia]
  • Liwa Ahrar al-Sunna in Baalbek [Lebanon]
  • al-Murabitoun [Mali]
  • Abu Sayyaf [Philippines]
  • Ansar al-Khalifah [Philippines]
  • Bangsmoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) [Philippines]
  • Bangsmoro Justice Movement (BJM) [Philippines]
  • Jemaah Islamiyah [Philippines]
  • al Shabaab [Puntland region of Somalia]
  • al-I’tisam of the Koran and Sunnah [Sudan]
  • Jund al-Khilafah [Tunisia]
  • Mujahideen of Tunisia of Kairouan [Tunisia]
  • Uqba bin Nafi Battalion [Tunisia]

Groups that have voiced support for the Islamic State

  • Jund at-Tawheed Wal Khalifah [Bangladesh]
  • Lions of Libya
  • Liwa Shuhada' al-Yarmouk [Syria].[73] This group controls a 62 square kilometer area (53 square miles) and a dozen villages along the Syrian border with Israel.

Al Qaeda

The remaining Salafi-jihadis of al Qaeda who refuse to swear allegiance to the self-appointed Caliph are at war with their brother Salafi-jihadis of the Islamic State, as well as the Alawite (Nusayri) regime of Bashar al-Assad, the rejectionist Shi'a of Yemen, the Russian Federation in several Muslim Republics, the government of Pakistan, the Western satellite state of Afghanistan, and France (the 2015 Charlie Hebdo attacks).

Al Qaeda originally was in the forefront of promoting an ecumenical 'Sunni-Shi'a dialogue' and cooperation.[74] American courts have determined Iran and its proxy Hezbollah materially and directly supported al Qaeda in the September 11, 2001 attacks.[75][76][77] In late 2004 however, Osama bin Laden abandoned the Shi'a when he accepted the alligience of Daesh's founder, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

With the rise of Daesh, al Qaeda became the Junior Varsity of Salafi-jihadists, as its leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was shunted aside as leader of the Global Jihad by the upstart Baghdadi. Power struggles for the sucsessorship to Mohammad are as old as Islam itself. By early 2016, as defections, retrenchment, and economic realities caused Daesh to suffer some losses on the battlefield and prestige among the wider Salafi movement, al Qaeda became resurgent in a limited way in some sectors.

direct and indirect affiliates[78]

File:Hamid Mir interviewing Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri 2001.jpg
Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden (left) and current leader Ayman Zawahiri (right). Zawahiri's father is the nephew of the leading candidate at the 1926 Cairo Caliphate Conferance which failed to pick a successor to the Ottoman Caliph. Bin Laden's strategy to take the jihad global always was controversial within the jihadi movement. Bin Laden died a tragic figure, forced to betray his cherished belief in a Muslim unity movement after he accepted the bay'at of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi who unleashed a vicious anti-Shi'a pogrom.
  • Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
  • al Nusra
  • Afghan Taliban
  • Pakistan Taliban[79]
  • Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent
  • Caucasus Emirate
  • East Turkestan Islamic Movement
  • Al Qaeda in the Maghreb
  • Al-Shabaab (militant group) [Somalia]
  • Khorasan Group (ISIS-K)
  • Fatah Halab [Aleppo, Syria]

Independent or unknown affiliation

And there are groups throughout the world with an "Islamist vision existing within a nationalist framework", as Aymann Jawad al-Timimi observes, unaligned with the three major beligerants discussed in this essay. While these groups may oppose democracy and advocate Shariah locally, they have avoided swearing allegiance (bay'at) to either the Caliph or al Qaeda, nor received weapons transfers from Iran. Here's a partial list.

  • 1920 Revolution Brigade [Iraq]
  • Jabhat_Ansar_al-Islam [Syria]
  • Harakat al-Muthanna al-Islamiya [Syria]
  • Furqan Brigades [Syria]
  • Ahrar al-Sham [Syria]
  • Jamaat Bayt al-Maqdis al-Islamiya [Syria]
  • Shariat Jamaat|Vilayet Dagestan
  • Afghan Death Squad (Marg)[80]

Saudi clients

While Saudi Arabia unquestionably has compromised itself with its domestic Wahhabi-In-Name-Only brand of Salifism, some outside true believers and secular combatants have nevertheless accepted funding and arms from Saudi Arabia to carry on jihad at the local level. Despite some of these groups divergent political aims from their Saudi backers, it likewise cannot be said they receive aid without knowing the source.

Saudi Arabia currently has the fourth largest military budget on the planet.

  • Islamic Front (Syria)

See also

Notes

  1. http://www.clarionproject.org/analysis/islamic-state-future
  2. "The [Salafi] movement gained mass popularity during the last century and Salafis now constitute a majority or significant portion of the Muslim population in the Middle East and North Africa. This is despite the fact that it was often strongly opposed by secular nationalist regimes and non-Salafi clerics. Western governments have neither the local credibility nor the cultural expertise necessary to diminish the popularity of Salafism." Militant Ideology Atlas, Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, November 2006, Conclusions, p. 10.
  3. George H.W. Bush, New World Order speech, Sept 11 1991. youtube
  4. Not only do the Salafi-jihadists of the Islamic State and al Qaeda reject the very idea of nation states and national borders, they likewise are at war with infidel (kufr) ideas, concepts, and institutions such as the Geneva Conventions.
  5. The untapped resources among global infidels who have yet to confront the Global jihad directly on any battlefield - China, Japan and India - have a combined GDP of $13 trillion. By contrast, all of Islam, that is, the 57 members of the Template:Wpl, have a combined GDP of $7.7 trillion. Jihadists will argue economic realities don't matter if Allah is on your side.
  6. 260 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves @ $89 pbl + 239.5 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves @ $2 (2014 avgs).[1]
  7. How the Saudis blew up the US fracking industry, October 26, 2015.
  8. See Satanic Fatwa of bin Baz. For an opposing view see Ibn Baz allowed the American Military into Saudi Arabia?.
  9. Ruling By Other Than What Allaah Has Revealed, Salafi Publications, Article ID : MNJ050016
  10. The Obvious Proofs of the Saudi State’s Impiety or The Evident Sacrileges of the Saudi State (Al-Kawashif al-Jaliyya fi Kufr al-Dawla al-Sa`udiyya), Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, Islamic ruling, 1989; A Verdict Regarding the Saudi Regime, Fatwa Regarding the Saudi Regime, Shaykh Abu Baseer Mustafa Haleemah.
  11. Jordan is listed among the priority group of states in the "Path for Establishing an Islamic State", The Management of Savagery, Abu Bakr Naji, Translated by William McCants for the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, 2006, pp. 36-37 in pdf.
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20151003191704/https://www.fpri.org/articles/2014/10/gulf-cooperation-councils-unified-military-command
  13. 7/7 bombings
  14. Islamic State rulers and jihadis have a particular hatred for France. A 2014 fatwa urged attacks and murder against the "filthy French", among others. See also Charlie_Hebdo_shooting, an AQAP operation.
  15. 2014 Peshawar school massacre
  16. http://qz.com/567469/t/309634/
  17. Member_states_of_NATO#Military_personnel
  18. p. 12
  19. http://metro.co.uk/2016/02/06/suspected-isis-jihadis-enter-europe-posing-as-refugees-as-berlin-terror-attack-is-foiled-5666636/
  20. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3318379/Hunt-Isis-killers-Syrian-passport-body-suicide-bomber-Stade-France.html
  21. 2016_Brussels_bombings
  22. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ankara-urges-pyd-leader-to-join-ranks-of-free-syrian-army-against-al-assad.aspx?pageID=238&nID=72545&NewsCatID=510
  23. Turkish leàder: U.S. responsible for 'sea of blood' for supporting Syrian Kurds, CNN, 10 Feb. 2016. President Erdogen asked "Are you with us or with the terrorists?", speaking of Syrian Kurds armed by the United States.
  24. 2008 Mumbai attacks
  25. The ongoing Phillipine (or Moro) jihad is probably the world 's longest running at over 400 years. One author places the number of non-Muslims enslaved and sold by the Sulu Sultanate between 1665-1770 at 2.3 million persons.
  26. See Civil war in Tajikistan and Second Chechen War.
  27. http://www.rferl.mobi/a/chechen-syria-fighting-kadyrov/25022321.html ; it should be noted ethnic Chechen fighters also fought as mercenaries for both the Assad and anti-Assad (Saudi funded) forces in the early days of the Syrian conflict, and later as Special Operations Forces (SOF) during the Russian ground intervention.
  28. http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/01/20/russia-iran-sign-military-cooperation-deal/22037329/
  29. The Media are misleading the public on Syria, Steven Kinzer, Boston Globe, 16 Feb. 2016.
  30. As an aside, Russia, China, Iran and North Korea, despite their differences, have formed an alliance of convenience intent upon not allowing Nato to ever again amass the power it once had in the post-World War II and post-Cold War eras. From a U.S. and Nato strategic perspective the Global jihad takes a backseat to the realignment of a global balance of power among nuclear states. The issue is the subject of a coming Essay yet to be released.
  31. https://www.rt.com/news/nord-ost-terror-anniversary-827/
  32. http://www.globaljihad.net/?p=3123
  33. See Insurgency in the North Caucasus.
  34. Jundallah (Iran) has been described as a CIA "false flag" operation; False Flag, Mark Perry, Foreign Policy , 13 January 2009. While its leaders and membership cannot be considered apostate, or takfir Muslims, it's sponsors and allies are said to be infidels and infidel states. Jundallah (Iran) is alleged to have employed suicide attacks and beheadings. It has no known affiliations among the primary belligerent entities classified in the Dar al Salam section of this report. It is listed among the infidel allies because of (a) its alleged relationship with infidels, and until (b) verification it is inactive or defunct, or (c) allegiance or affiliation with a primary belligerent entity in the Dar al Salem section can be established and verified.
  35. JRTN, an the remnants of Saddam's Baathists who have not defected to Daesh; second largest militia behind Daesh who aim to overthrow the Baghdad regime.
  36. http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-syria-militias-us-cia-islamic-state-20160326-story.html
  37. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tehranbureau/2009/10/jundallah.html
  38. Oil and Green Energy: Saudi Arabia's Aramco Has $30 Trillion in Assets, Sahit Muja, 11 April 2012.
  39. "Throughout the 1400 years of history...no one has ever been successfully appointed to the Caliphate, and had his appointment legitimized by the bay'ah, or oath of allegiance...without such a person having had either actual control, or the capacity to exercise control [emp added], over the Hejaz in general and the Haramayn in particular. The office of the Caliphate, and authority over the Haramayn, have always been inseparably linked in the religio-political consciousness of the Ummah. ¶The inseparable link also had a foundation in the Shariah in so far as the hajj was an institution equally binding on all the members of the Ummah, and hajj required physical travel to the Hejaz. No one, therefore could be recognized to be the supreme leader of the Muslims who did not have the authority and the means of exercising responsibility for the organization and administration of the hajj. And this, of course, included freedom and security of the pilgrims and, hence, required control over the Hejaz [emp added]. ...¶Now the enemies of Islam paid very close attention to the study and understanding of the link between the Caliphate, the power of Islam as a world-wide force, and control over the Haramayn, and then planned their diabolical strategy to render Islam powerless, and to confine it to a personal private faith with no authority over public life. In other words, they planned their strategy to secularize Islam and so to reduce Muslims to the godless European way of life. ¶If Western civilization was ever to succeed in finally defeating and controlling Islam, and incorporating the entire world of Islam into the new secular international order that had been established by the West, the strategy required that Hejaz should be subjected to Western influence in order that the Caliphate might be weekend and eventually eliminated. So long as the Caliphate survived it would always remain a sore in the eyes of the West, a manifestation of the authority of Islam over public life, a powerful symbol of the Theo-centric Islamic Public Order and of Pax Islamica, and a rallying point through which the world of Islam could always be mobilized into a potent fighting force..." The Caliphate, the Hejaz, and the Saudi-Wahhabi Nation-State, Imran N. Hosein, Masjid Darul Qur'an, Long Island New York, 1996, p. 14-15 pdf.
  40. http://nationalinterest.org/feature/isis-vs-al-qaeda-jihadism’s-global-civil-war-12304?page=show
  41. Religion, in this context, means 'government'.
  42. Excerpt from The Final Jihad posted on a scholarly Salafi (Ahlus-Sunnah wal-Jam'ah) website in 2001. An interesting read, which calls upon all Muslims above the age of puberty to participate in a life-and-death jihad between Islam and 'Western secular materialism'. Jihad is an obligation, both upon the individual and society. If some individuals cannot or will not fulfill their obligations, others - that it to say the jihadists - must fulfill the obligations on behalf of the whole society and warrant community support. The document specifically says it is not a jihad of violence, but of knowledge, and reminds the reader "we are not so poorly equipped as the opponents of Islam might like to believe."
  43. Iran's Hegemonic Ambitions: Restoring History. www.iranintelligence.com
  44. In 2011 a U.S. Federal District Court in Manhattan ruled Iran to be material accessory with al Qaeda to the 9/11 attacks.
  45. In The Management of Savagery, Abu Bakr Naji, Translated by William McCants for the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, published in 2006, the jihadist manual and playbook, it says of Yemen: "There is no doubt that the power which God gave to the two superpowers (America and Russia) was overwhelming in the estimation of humans. However, in reality and after careful reflection using pure, human reason, (one comes to understand that this power) is not able to impose its authority from the Template:Wpl - from America, for example, or Russia - upon lands in Egypt and Yemen, for example, unless these (latter) countries submit to those powers entirely of their own accord." (p.17 pdf) "States designated as (part of) a priority group: Recent studies of the renewal movement [could refer to Islamist or Salafist movement] that are connected with current events have designated a group of states - or, more accurately, regions - which the mujahids should focus on so that their striking power will not be dissipated in states where there is nothing that results from action focused on them. Naturally, this initial, theoretical designation provides the opportunity for close scrutiny by the people of every country and the taking of a position [believer vs non-believer]. Thus, focusing on two or three candidates, in the end, makes it possible to verify the readiness of their people for the initiative. This is with respect to focused action. Therefore, it is worth noting that the studies did not ignore the remaining Muslim bands in the world that are undertaking "vexation" operations in order to disperse the concentration and forces of the enemy (and build) the foundations for the coming jihad beyond the borders after that.
    ¶ We can say that there is flexibility in the matter, such that it can change according to developments. These studies were distributed in the three years prior to the momentous events of September. After these events and the developments that followed them, the leadership announced some modifications and excluded some of the regions from the group of priority regions, assuming that their inclusion would affect the order of the remaining states. They included two countries, or rather two additional regions - the countries of the Haramayn and Nigeria. Thus, the states initially designated for inclusion in the group of priority regions are the regions of the following states: Jordan, the countries of the Maghrib, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the countries of the Haramayn and the Yemen." (p.36-37 pdf)
  46. Geopolitical game changer: China’s Iran-Saudi peace deal is big blow to petrodollar and US economic hegemony, Ben Norton, 2023-03-1. geopoliticaleconomy.com
  47. Sunnis speak of the "Prophet and his companions" as the source of divine inspiration, whereas the Shi'a reject the companions (the first 3 "Rightly-Guided Caliphs") and follow the Prophet's bloodline (the "First Imam").
  48. State Sponsors: Iran, Greg Bruno, Council on Foreign Relations, Updated: October 13, 2011. cfr.org
  49. Imams call People to Islamic Unity, Muhammad Rida al-Muzaffar. imamalinet.net
  50. Iran and the Gulf States, usip.org
  51. Political Islam, Edited by Fredric Volpi, Routledge, p. 5 pdf.
  52. http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/2015/01/20/russia-signs-military-cooperation-deal-with-iran/22042235/
  53. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrgLFcIMYDk#t=25
  54. AL Qaeda Documents, Taliban Visit Indicate Iranian Support For Sunni Terrorists, INU Staff, 22 May 2015. irannewsupdate.com
  55. State Dept: Iran Funding Both Sides in Sunni-Shiite Terror Wars, Omri Ceren, 05.02.14. thetower.org . A prime example of the misunderstanding and misreporting of the Obama State Department; nowhere is Iran supporting Sunni groups murdering Shi'a as this headline implies. Iran backs Sunni groups who serve Iran's foreign policy interests. Sunni groups who attack Isreali, U.S. or other Sunni groups who are enemies of Iran and Shi'ism have received assistance.
  56. US: Iran Remains Leading State Sponsor of Terrorism, 31 July 2012. voanews.com
  57. As the name implies, the Jerusalem Force was organized to retake Jerusalem from the Zionists.
  58. http://citizenship.typepad.com/isebrandcom/2013/10/perhaps-the-most-important-military-leader-opposing-the-us-who-youve-never-heard-of.html
  59. How Iraq Became a Proxy of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Jonathan Spyer and Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, The Tower, December 2014.
  60. http://www.frbiu.com/painful-facts-15811602157515741602-16051572160416051577.html
  61. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PF138Appendices/PF138_Appendix_3.pdf
  62. refers to the return of the Twelfth Shi'a Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi.
  63. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3318379/Hunt-Isis-killers-Syrian-passport-body-suicide-bomber-Stade-France.html
  64. The Crusades were not only an attempt to re-establish world trade, the liberation of non-Muslim communities in the Middle East who were victimized by atrocious human rights violations was also a major objective.
  65. http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-islamic-states-archipelago-of-provinces
  66. The Life Cycle of Cival-Maqdiss, Stephen Blaha, Pingree-Hill Publishing, 2002. [2]
  67. ISIL territorial claims
  68. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/02/islamic-state-sharia-council-power.html#
  69. http://www.aymennjawad.org/2015/03/jamaat-ansar-al-islam-iraq-insurgency-and
  70. Also referred to as Wilayet Sana'a.
  71. http://justpaste.it/jq9i
  72. Also translated 'Wilayet Kavkaz'.
  73. One of the original anti-Assad rebel groups, in early 2014 Liwa Shuhuda' al-Yarmouk signed a declaration affirming, "We fight so that Syrian men and women may choose a free and democratic system that establishes a prosperous state respecting the aspirations of Syrians in the freedom and dignity for which they have fought." By summer 2014, the group became increasingly radicalized and has incorporated the Islamic State flag into their official logo.
  74. 'Sunni-Shi'a dialogue', sometimes referenced as 'the Muslim Unity movement' which is the name also of several Iranian sponsored terrorist and political movements since the 1980s. See for example Harakat al-Tawhid al-Islami.
  75. http://iran911case.com/
  76. 9/11 COMMISSION REPORT at pp. 240-41.
  77. See Wikipedia: Iran and state-sponsored terrorism - Al Qaeda ties
  78. http://fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R43756.pdf
  79. Late reports on January 27, 2015, indicate a former leader of the Pakistan Taliban was appointed governor of the Islamic State's Khorasan province.
  80. http://centralasiaonline.com/en_GB/articles/caii/newsbriefs/2015/01/27/newsbrief-13
  81. Africa's World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe, Gerard Prunier, Oxford University Press, Dec 31 2008, p. 82 and note.

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