Doctrines for jihadi terrorist training

Terrorism and Political Violence

Volumn 20, Issue 4, 2008, Pages 518-542

  Lia, Brynjar ^a  

^a NORWEGIAN DEFENCE RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT FFI   (Norway)

Author keywords

Al Qaida; Jihadi; Terrorist training

Indexed keywords

EID: 53549099917     PISSN: 09546553     EISSN: 15561836     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09546550802257226     Document Type: Article

References (140)

1. The author would like to thank his colleagues Petter Nesser, Thomas Hegghammer, and Anne Stenersen at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment (FFI), as well as the TPVs anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and constructive critiques on earlier versions of this article.
2. The literature on terrorist training includes James J. F. Forest, Teaching Terror: Strategic and Tactical Learning in the Terrorist World (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2006);
3. James J. F. Forest, ed., The Making of a Terrorist: Recruitment, Training and Root Causes Volume II: Training (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2006);
4. Brian A. Jackson, Aptitude for Destruction, Volume 1: Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups and Its Implications for Combating Terrorism and Volume 2: Case Studies of Organizational Learning in Five Terrorist Groups (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2005);
5. and Calvert Jones, "Al-Qaeda's innovative improvisers: Learning in a diffuse transnational network," Cambridge Review of International Affairs 19, no. 4 (December 2006): 555-569.
6. According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, the term doctrine has different meanings, such as "something that is taught," "a principle or position or the body of principles in a branch of knowledge or system of belief." In military and foreign policy domains, the term has other meanings. In this article, the term is used about the corpus of principles and strategies guiding jihadi action within the domain of training, educating, and preparation recruits for participation in political violence.
7. Searches at the largest online library of salafi-jihadi literature, the minbar al-tawhid wa'l-jihad [The Pulpit of Monotheism and Jihad], http://www.tawhed.ws, yield only a dozen or so books on the topic.
8. See for example the list of documents found on the computers of the prime suspects behind the Madrid train bombings published in Audiencia Nacional Madrid, Juzgado Central de Instrucción no. 6, Sumario no. 20/2004, [the 11-M Indictment], Madrid, 10 April 2006, 468, 490.
9. See for example the list of recommended literature in Muhammad bin Ahmad al-Salim, 39 Ways to Serve Jihad and the Mujahidin in the Path of God, 36-42.
10. The booklet is dated 19/5/1424h or 19 July 2003, and was published by markaz al-buhuth wa al-dirasat al-islamiyya [Centre for Islamic Research and Studies], a key al-Qaida media outlet. It has circulated extensively on jihadi websites. See also biography of Abdallah Azzam, published by minbar al-tawhid wa'l-jihad, www.tawhed.ws/a?i = 77, accessed May 2007.
11. The 84-page word document containing the text Abdallah Azzam, "Introduction to Emigration and Preparation" [in Arabic] was placed in a zip-file in mid-1997. Other Abdallah Azzam lectures transcribed and published by the Martyr Abdallah Azzam Media Center, such as "Jihadi Education for the Islamic Nation" [in Arabic], are dated 1992 and published in Peshawar. See "The Abdallah Azzam File" [in Arabic], minbar al-tawhid wa'l-jihad, http://www.tawhed,ws/a?i = 77, accessed May 2007.
12. Judging by the number of times it has been downloaded from minbar al-tawhid wa'l-jihad, the collection is one of Azzam's most popular texts. By early May 2007, it had been downloaded 12,181 times. See "The Abdallah Azzam File."
13. Azzam, "Introduction to Emigration and Preparation" (see note 7 above), 29.
14. Ibid., 1.
15. Azzam recalled that the Afghans insisted on calling the Arab volunteer fighters "emigrants" (muhajirun), not refugees. Ibid., 21.
16. Ibid., 13.
17. Ibid., 16.
18. Ibid., 18.
19. Ibid., 13.
20. Ibid., 22.
21. Ibid., 17.
22. Ibid., 20.
23. Ibid., 17.
24. Ibid., 20.
25. Ibid., 16, 18.
26. Ibid., 16.
27. Ibid., 26.
28. Ibid., 28.
29. Ibid., 28.
30. Ibid., 21.
31. Azzam, "Jihadi Education for the Islamic Nation" (see note 7 above), 50.
32. Azzam, "Introduction to Emigration and Preparation" (see note 7 above), 21.
33. Ibid., 25.
34. A famous area at the Afghan frontline where the Arab-Afghan volunteers fought at the end of the Afghan liberation war.
35. Azzam, "Introduction to Emigration and Preparation" (see note 7 above), 25.
36. Ibid., 29.
37. Ibid., 21.
38. Ibid., 22.
39. Ibid.
40. See for example Azzam's speeches in the film "The Lovers of Martyrdom," FFI Database on Jihadi Videos, and Abdallah Azzam, "The Tawheed of Action: The First Series of Treatises Breezes from the Gardens of Firdaws" (Al-Tibyan Publications, undated), 6-9.
41. Ibid., 9. The quotation has been slightly modified to conform to the orthography and syntax in the rest of this paper.
42. Azzam, "Introduction to Emigration and Preparation" (see note 7 above), 30.
43. Ibid., 29.
44. Ibid., 30.
45. Cited in Azzam, "The Tawheed of Action" (see note 36 above), 4.
46. Abd al-Qadir bin Abd al-Aziz, The Pillar in the Preparation of Jihad [in Arabic] (Peshawar: Publisher unknown, undated, ca. 1987).
47. (Arabic title: risalat al-'umda fi i'dad al-'uddah lil-jihad fi sabil allah). According to Spanish authorities, the first edition of the book was dated 1408h, which corresponds to 26 Aug. 1987-13 Aug. 1988.
48. See Ministracion de Justicia, Juzgado Central de Instruccion no. 005, Sumario (Proc.Ordinario) 0000035/2001 E, Madrid, 17 Sep. 2003, [indictment against the Abu Dahdah network], 172.
49. For a brief biography of al-Sharif and a list of his most important publications, see "The Abd al-Qadir bin Abd al-Aziz file" [in Arabic], minbar al-tawhid wa'l-jihad, www. tawhed.ws/a?i=6, accessed May 2007.
50. Ibid.
51. bin Abd al-Aziz, The Pillar in the Preparation of Jihad (see note 42 above), 5.
52. Doctor Fadl is profiled in the important online library of salafi-jihadi literature, minbar al-tawhid wa'l-jihad, and his most important works are available there, including The Pillar in the Preparation of Jihad, which has been downloaded more than 24,000 times. Excerpts of the book have also been translated into English by the prominent jihadi media outlet Al-Tibyan Publications, which further suggests the centrality of his writings for contemporary jihadis. See "The Abd al-Qadir bin Abd al-Aziz file" (see note 43 above); and Shaykh 'Abdul Qadir Ibn Abdil-'Aziz, "The Refutation of the Doubts Concerning Bay' ah wa Imara" (Al-Tibyan Publications, undated), 4.
53. See for example Ministracion de Justicia (see note 42 above), 172;
54. Audiencia Nacional (see note 5 above);
55. and "Ideologisches Handbuch für die Mudjahidin-Ausbildung in Stuttgart beschlagnahmt," Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Baden-Württemberg) website, March 2005, www.verfassungsschutz-bw.de/ kgi/files/kgi_arab_2005-03.htm, accessed April 2007.
56. bin Abd al-Aziz, The Pillar in the Preparation of Jihad (see note 42 above), 92.
57. Ibid., 312.
58. Ibid.
59. Ibid., 5, 442.
60. Ibid., 23, 216.
61. Ibid., 5.
62. Ibn Abdil-'Aziz, "The Refutation of the Doubts Concerning Bay'ah wa Imara" (see note 46 above).
63. bin Abd al-Aziz, The Pillar in the Preparation of Jihad (see note 42 above), 5.
64. Ibid.
65. Ibid., 229.
66. The book has been translated into English by Will McCants at the U.S. Combating Terrorism Center (CTC) at West Point, see "The Management of Savagery," by Abu Bakr Naji. Translated by William McCants, CTC website, www.ctc.usma.edu/naji.asp, accessed April 2007. This article has borrowed heavily from McCants' translation.
67. See for example "al-Qaida between a past phase and a new phase which has been announced by the al-Muhajir" [in Arabic], muntadayat al-firdaws al-jihadiyya, 30 Nov. 2006, http://www.alfirdaws.org/vb// showthread.php't = 21245, accessed April 2007.
68. For a good analysis of the book, see Jarret M. Brachman and William F. McCants, "Stealing Al-Qa'ida's Playbook," CTC Report (Feb. 2006), www.ctc.usma.edu/Stealing% 20Al-Qai%27da%27s%20Playbook%20-%20CTC.pdf, accessed April 2007.
69. This summary of Naji's thinking is borrowed from ibid., 6-7.
70. See Brynjar Lia and Thomas Hegghammer, "Jihadi Strategic Studies: The Alleged Al Qaida Policy Study Preceding the Madrid Bombings," Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 27, no. 5 (Sep.-Oct. 2004): 355-375.
71. Abu Bakr Naji, Management of Savagery: The Most Critical Stage through Which the Ummah Will Pass [in Arabic], (Place unknown: markaz al-buhuth wa al-dirasat al-islamiyya [Center of Islamic Studies and Research], undated), 15-16.
72. Ibid., 32.
73. Ibid., 32.
74. Ibid., 11.
75. Ibid., 54.
76. Ibid., 12, 19.
77. Ibid., 23.
78. Ibid., 54.
79. Ibid., 55.
80. Ibid., 56.
81. Ibid.
82. Ibid.
83. Ibid.
84. Ibid.
85. Ibid., 56-57.
86. Ibid., 58.
87. Muhammad Amin al-Misri, "Methods of Islamic Proselytising," cited in Naji (see note 63 above), 58.
88. Naji (see note 63 above), 59.
89. Ibid.
90. Ibid., 31.
91. Ibid.
92. Ibid., 59.
93. The following section borrows heavily from Brynjar Lia, "Al-Suri's Doctrines for Decentralised Jihadi Training: Part 1 and 2," Terrorism Monitor (Jamestown Foundation) 5, nos. 1, 2 (18 January and 1 February 2007).
94. Brynjar Lia, Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of al-Qaida Strategist Abu Mus'ab Al-Suri (London & New York: Hurst & Columbia University Press, 2007).
95. The full title of the book is Umar Abd al-Hakim (Abu Mus'ab al-Suri), The Global Islamic Resistance Call. Part I: The Roots, History, and Experiences, Part II: The Call, Program and Method [in Arabic] (Place and publisher unknown, Dec. 2004).
96. Hereafter cited as The Global Islamic Resistance Call. All page references here are to the pdf-version of the document.
97. The full title of the two-volume book is Umar Abd al-Hakim, The Islamic Jihadi Revolution in Syria. Part I. The Experience and Lessons (Hopes and Pains). Part II. Ideology and Program (Research and Foundation in the Way of Armed Revolutionary Jihad) [in Arabic]. (Peshawar: unknown publisher, May 1991).
98. al-Hakim, The Islamic Jihadi Revolution in Syria. Part /(see note 88 above), 9.
99. As examples of such "Open Fronts," al-Suri refers to: "The First Afghani Jihad, Bosnia, Chechnya, and The Second Afghani Jihad in the Era of Taleban." Cited in al-Suri, The Global Islamic Resistance Call (see note 87 above), 1361.
100. The term is introduced by al-Suri in Chapter 8.4 and 8.5 in his The Global Islamic Resistance Call (see note 87 above), 1379, 1395 and 1405.
101. The importance of this concept was pointed out by Jeffrey Cozzens in an article on Counterterrorism Blog, 21 April 2006, http:// counterterrorismblog.org/2006/04/post_1.php
102. Al-Suri, The Global Islamic Resistance Call (see note 87 above), 1407.
103. For more on this, see Brynjar Lia, "Abu Mus'ab al-Suri: Profile of a Jihadist Leader," Paper given at the King's College Conference The Changing Faces of Jihadism, London, 28 April 2006, see www.mil.no/ multimedia/archive/00080/Abu_Musab_al-Suri_80483a.pdf
104. The "training theory" is presented in chapter 8.6 in al-Suri, The Global Islamic Resistance Call (see note 87 above), 1414-1428.
105. Ibid.,1425.
106. Ibid.
107. Lia, Architect of Global Jihad (see note 86 above), 106.
108. Translation from Pickthal, via Search Truth: Search in the Quran and Hadith website, www.searchtruth.com/.
109. See for example, a booklet by the now deceased Shaykh Hamud bin 'Uqla al-Shu'aybi, perhaps the most prominent Saudi Salafi-jihadi ideologue in which he argues that there is a kind of terrorism which "is legitimate, sanctioned and ordered by God, which is to prepare strength and be mobilised for resisting the enemies of God and his prophets." Cited in "The Meaning and Truth of Terrorism" [in Arabic], minbar al-tawhid wa'l-jihad, 5/9/1422h or 20 Nov. 2001.
110. Translation from Pickthal (see note 97 above).
111. When al-Suri discusses the training options, especially the last three models, he appears slightly ambiguous and self-contradictory, although his conclusion is clear. This probably reflects the fact that The Global Islamic Resistance Call was written over a long period of time. After the U.S. announced the $5 million bounty on his head, the book was hastily released before he had time to double-check and finalize the manuscript.
112. Al-Suri, The Global Islamic Resistance Call (see note 87 above), 1414.
113. Ibid., 1417.
114. Ibid.
115. Ibid., 1416.
116. Ibid., 1419.
117. Ibid., 1416.
118. Ibid., 1418.
119. Ibid., 1416.
120. Ibid., 1419.
121. Ibid., 1424.
122. Ibid., 1423.
123. Cited in ibid., 1423.
124. Ibid., 1424.
125. These lectures were "The Management and Organisation of Guerrilla Warfare," Khowst, 1998;
126. "Explanation of the Book 'War of the Oppressed,'" Khowst, 1998;
127. and "Lessons in Guerrilla Warfare Theories," Jalalabad, 1999. See posting on muntadayat al-firdaws al-jihadiyya, 21 September 2006, www.alfirdaws.org/vb/showthread.php? t=16892&highlight= %E3%D5%DA%C8+%C7%El%D3%E6%D1%ED, accessed Oct. 2006.
128. Document on file with author. For details on al-Suri's lecture series in Afghanistan, see Lia, Architect of Global Jihad, (see note 86 above), 259-264.
129. Al-Suri, The Global Islamic Resistance (see note 87 above), 1424.
130. Ibid., 1426.
131. Ibid., 1424.
132. Ibid., 1427.
133. See William McCants, ed., The Militant Ideology Atlas (West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center, 2006), www.ctc.usma.edu/atlas/Atlas- ResearchCompendium.pdf
134. Lia, Architect of Global Jihad (see note 86 above), 27.
135. The argument has been made that the obsessive fanaticism of jihadi terrorists, their religious dogmas, their pursuit of martyrdom, and visceral hatred for the West made them blind, and their behaviour was not rooted in any kind of rational strategy. While this school of thought still has numerous protagonists, a growing number of studies have already begun to debunk the myth of a non-existent al-Qaida strategy. See for example Robert Pape, Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism (New York: Random House, 2005);
136. Lia and Hegghammer (see note 62 above); Brachman and McCants (see note 60 above);
137. and Stephen Ulph, "Al-Qaeda's Strategy Until 2020," Terrorism Focus (Jamestown Foundation), 2 no. 6 (17 March 2005).
138. See in particular lecture by al-Suri cited in Lia, Architect of Global Jihad (see note 86 above), 310.
139. Susan B. Glasser and Walter Pincus, "Seized Letter Outlines Al Qaeda Goals in Iraq," Washington Post,12 Oct. 2005, A13.
140. Jarret Brachman, "Leading Egyptian Jihadist Sayyid Imam Renounces Violence," CTC Sentinel 1, no.l (Dec 2007); 12-14.