Al Qaeda’s Plan; Chaos
Amir Taheri wrote an interesting article for the New York Post about Al Qaeda’s new strategy. One of AQ’s main intellectuals (if one can use this word to describe these people) argues in his new book that Islamists have to ‘turn the world into a series of “wildernesses” where only those under jihadi rule enjoy security.’
The terrorist organization’s chief theoretician, Sheik Abu-Bakar Naji, wrote this in his book “Governance in the Wilderness.”
Taheri explains that ‘Naji’s book, written in pseudo-literary Arabic, is meant as a manifesto for jihad. He divides the jihadi movement into five circles - ranging from Sunni Salafi (traditionalist) Muslims (who, though not personally violent, are prepared to give moral and material support to militants) to Islamist groups with national rather than pan-Islamist agendas (such as the Palestinian Hamas and the Filipino Moro Liberation Front).’
In his book, Naji argues that ‘[a]ll five circles are at an impasse.’ Some, Naji says, ‘accept the status quo while hoping to reform it. Others have tried to set up governments in a world dominated by “infidel” powers, and have been forced to abandon Islamic values. Still others failed because they didn’t realize that the only way to win is through total war in which no one feels safe.’
The only way for the Islamist movement to succeed, Naji says, is to ‘fight everywhere, all the time, and on all fronts.’
America’s response to 9/11 has given many Islamists the impression that major terrorist attacks against Western targets isn’t smart. After all, the West is much stronger than they are. It’s not even close. When the West chooses to do so, it can completely destroy countries in which Islamists have taken over and / or in which they have found a safe haven. Therefore, these Islamists argue, they should commit small scale attacks.
Naji adds that they should not just commit small scale attacks, and not just in the so-called Muslim world (in an attempt to topple secular regimes in Muslim countries), but constantly, and everywhere. Time and again. Furthermore, ‘Islamists in the “wilderness” must create parallel societies alongside existing ones, Naji says - but not set up formal governments, which would be subject to economic pressure or military attack.’
Those ‘parallel societies could resemble “liberated zones” set up by Marxist guerrillas in parts of Latin America in the last century. But they could also exist within cities, under the very noses of the authorities - operating as secret societies with their own rules, values and enforcement.’
And they’re not just going to be in so-called Muslim countries. No, those parallel societies should also be created in Western countries where there are ‘many Muslims.’ ‘The jihadis are to begin by giving areas where Muslims live a distinctly Islamic appearance, by imposing special styles of dress for women and beards for men. Then they start imposing the shariah. In the final phase, they create a parallel system of taxation and law enforcement, effectively taking the areas out of government control.’
The ‘wilderness’ will, then, ‘provide the cover for bases for jihad operations. Jihad would be everywhere, rather than in just one or two countries that the “infidel” could hit with superior firepower.’
