BRIEFS

JIHADI FORUM DISCUSSES USE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS BY THE MUJAHIDEEN

On March 4, a jihadi website user posted a statement arguing that Muslims should not use nuclear weapons to attack their enemies since such an action is forbidden according to Islam. The user, Abu Zubaydi, used the Sunnah and Hadith to argue that it is not permissible to use nuclear weapons against enemies, such as the United States. He explained that nuclear weapons are much more devastating than conventional weapons and take a huge toll on civilian life. He also claimed that the use of nuclear weapons by the mujahideen is contrary to Islam since such an attack would provoke a much stronger counter-attack that would kill untold numbers of Muslims. Abu Zubaydi disagreed with the September 11 attacks, saying that Islam does not permit the killing of civilians even if they are not Muslims. Various users criticized Zubaydi’s post, and some labeled him as an American at a “strategic center which are against Islamic jihad.” Similar posts and counter-posts regarding the use of nuclear weapons in the jihad have appeared on the forums in the past, and this latest contribution simply adds to the ongoing debate.

ISLAMISTS SEEK TO PREVENT DIVISIONS BETWEEN IRAQ’S INSURGENTS

As a result of the growing schism between insurgent groups in Iraq, various postings on the jihadi forums have tried to bring the divergent groups together. One of the latest postings came on April 5, when a user posted a message calling on Iraq’s insurgent groups to unite against the “aggression of the crusaders” since the positive actions of the mujahideen are “hindering the [United States’] greater Middle East plan and eliminating it.” The posting is addressed to the “lions of al-Qaeda, the heroes of the Islamic Army [in Iraq] and the brave of Ansar al-Islam,” in addition to the al-Rashidin Army, the Mujahideen Army and the 1920 Revolution Brigades. The poster is a supporter of al-Qaeda’s global jihad rhetoric, telling Iraq’s insurgent groups that they will be needed in the future to “liberate Chechnya, Palestine, Kashmir and Somalia.” In recent weeks, the jihadi forums have been rife with disagreement between Iraqi insurgent groups, especially between the Islamic Army in Iraq and Al-Qaeda in Iraq (Terrorism Monitor, April 12).