Decoding Ustadh Usama Mahmoud—The Shadowy and Uncrowned Leader of AQIS
Decoding Ustadh Usama Mahmoud—The Shadowy and Uncrowned Leader of AQIS
Following the death of al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent’s (AQIS) founding leader Asim Umar and several of his associates in September 2019 in Afghanistan, it was believed that the youngest franchise of the international terrorist organization would be in disarray. However, the jihadist franchise seems to have grown in strength, at least in its virtual jihad and dawa (proselytizing) campaigns. In the months following Umar’s death, the long-serving scholar spokesman, Ustadh Usama Mahmoud (a.k.a. Osama Mahmood), has risen to prominence in AQIS. A Pakistani-born Islamic cleric and teacher, Usama Mahmoud is believed to have replaced the slain Asim Umar (a.k.a. Sanaul Haq) as the leader of AQIS. Although Mahmoud has been serving as AQIS’s spokesperson since 2014, he has been referred to as the al-Qaeda franchise’s central leader in recent press releases.
Like Asim Umar and other jihadist scholars and functionaries of al-Qaeda, the identity and whereabouts of Usama Mahmoud has been guarded by the organization’s media and propaganda units. Little background information about him exists in open sources, or in al-Qaeda’s own writings. Even though he is from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, as per media reports, and regularly criticizes the government, Mahmoud does not seem to be reported on often. Surprisingly, the country’s media and its powerful intelligence agencies often describes AQIS as a “defunct” organization. Barred from reproducing Mahmoud’s statements and press releases, Pakistan media once reported his death in April 2017. Reports at that time in the Urdu media largely focused on AQIS leader Asim Umar’s erroneous statement about Usama Mahmoud’s death (he was also called Osama Ibrahim in the AQIS communique). He was reportedly killed during a raid by U.S. forces in Zabul province in Afghanistan in September 2016, on the eve of Eid-ul-Adha (Daily Pakistan [Urdu], April 28, 2017; Geo TV Urdu, April 27, 2017). No further investigations were undertaken when his name again surfaced in AQIS propaganda.
Information gleaned through audio-visual materials comprising press releases, lectures, writings, and speeches on jihad and dawa shed much light on Usama Mahmoud’s role as a guiding voice of al-Qaeda’s brand in the region. He is one of the core founding members of AQIS and has been serving as its spokesperson since the organization was formed in September 2014. After the death of AQIS Deputy Chief Ustad Ahmed Farooq in January 2015, Usama Mahmoud was elevated to the rank of deputy, concurrently overseeing Urdu language propaganda affairs for al-Qaeda. His role within AQIS is primarily known through statements and audio-visual releases from the al-Sahab (Subcontinent) media foundation and the online portals of the group such as “Matboaat-e-jihad,” “Nawa-i-Afghan jihad” or the latest – “Nawa-i-Gahazwa-e-Hind.” He has also shared several messages through audio-visual publishing platforms such as Islami Dunya and social media channels such as Twitter and Telegram (Islami Dunya, July 10, 2017).
The United States, South Asia, and Beyond
Like most al-Qaeda leaders and functionaries, Usama Mahmoud always considered the United States as the primary enemy, along with the alliance of “Crusaders, Zionists [Israel and Western countries], Mulhids [apostates], polytheists, and secularists [e.g. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh].” At various times, through statements and interviews, Usama Mahmoud, who is fluent in Urdu, has pointed to Kashmir as a focal point of the ongoing jihad. In one of his earlier statements, released in June 16, 2016, he compared the United States with the Egyptian Pharaoh for its supposedly oppressive nature. He said that “humiliation is destined for the Pharaoh [the US] and its slave soldiers; while Islam’s victory is manifest destiny.” [1] However, in one such audio message, titled “What do we (AQIS) want to achieve?”, Usama Mehmood charted the immediate geographical ambition of his group beyond anti-U.S. and Israeli sentiments, saying that AQIS’s purpose was to defend the Muslim populace of “Pakistan, Kashmir, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar” from atrocity and oppression.
Soon after Asim Umar’s death in September 2019, Usama Mahmoud swiftly took the reins of AQIS, urging militants in the region to support Muslims in Kashmir by carrying out attacks against India. He asked them to follow in the footsteps of the Taliban and their Islamic Emirate model to reinvigorate the ongoing Islamist campaign. Like al-Qaeda’s central leadership, Usama Mahmoud declared his allegiance to the Taliban and its supreme leaders, maintaining AQIS’s loyalty towards the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
In an audio-visual message titled “The Kashmir: The Lion Shall Wise up Now,” released in October 2019, Mahmoud, along with al-Zawahiri, urged Indian and Pakistani Muslims to join the jihad against the supposed atrocities of democratic governments. He specifically highlighted the prevailing situation in Kashmir and the August 2019 abrogation of Article 370 in the Indian constitution, which gave the special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir. Questioning the idea of democracy as the “charm of the powerful,” Mahmoud called for Muslims to take up arms and disobey government-imposed curfews and blockades. [2]
In that same message, he vehemently condemned Pakistan’s hand in facilitating India’s alleged atrocities against Kashmiri Muslims. He blamed Pakistan’s political and military elites for their “selfishness, hypocrisy, and betrayal” that caused the sufferings of the Muslims of Kashmir. He basically condemned the Pakistani establishment for not supporting Kashmiri-centric militant movements. Mahmoud compared Pakistan with Middle Eastern nations for not supporting the Palestinian cause and other large jihadist movements. Usama Mahmoud reiterated al-Qaeda’s focus on liberating oppressed Muslims “from Kashmir and Turkestan to Palestine and Syria.” He maintains that the Pakistani army is an obstacle for AQIS’ jihad and martyrdom in the region. His views on Kashmir were largely in tandem with al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri’s calls to launch attacks against India and the Pakistani army.
In June 2019, Usama Mahmoud paid tribute to the AQIS-linked Kashmir militant leader Zakir Musa. Mahmoud said that the heart-breaking news of Zakir Musa’s death has “filled the hearts of the Mujahideen here in Afghanistan.” The tribute proved to a certain extent that AQIS was located in Afghanistan rather than Pakistan’s tribal areas, which is often suspected to be a safe haven for al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives (The Kashmir Walla, June 7, 2019). This audio message and subsequent Kashmir-centric releases from Usama Mahmoud signaled AQIS’s interests in energizing the stifled Kashmir jihad. [3]
On January 23, Osama Mahmoud looked beyond Kashmir, urging Muslims in India to wage jihad against government “oppressors.” In this 27-minute audio-visual presentation titled “Message of love and brotherhood in the service of Muslims of India,” he cited several incidents often exploited for propaganda purposes within the jihadist community to raise anti-Indian sentiments. The oft-repeated events include the 2002 Gujarat communal riots, the recent citizenship law and the Indian Supreme Court’s recent order to build a Hindu temple on the site of a demolished mosque. Mahmoud used these events to incite Muslims to wage jihad and fight back right-wing aggressions. He went a step further, comparing the situation of Indian Muslims to that of the Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State. He compared their relative lack of armed resistance. In this message, Usama Mahmoud charted a five-point plan to protect and empower Muslims in India, exhorting them to fight back against Hindu “aggressors and wage jihad” (Matboaate jihad, January 23).
Striving for Sharia in Pakistan
On several occasions in the past, Usama Mahmoud used his perch as AQIS’s second-in-command and spokesperson to speak out against Pakistan. Being of Pakistani origin, Usama Mahmoud never hesitated to show his support for Islamic rule in his home country. In this regard, a statement he released on August 14, 2018, ironically coinciding with Pakistan’s Independence Day celebrations, remains a guiding indicator for AQIS’s larger goals. The statement, titled “Pakistan Is Ours” and released on various online platforms and social media channels, questioned the real identity of Pakistan. In chaste Urdu primarily aimed at Muslims in India and Pakistan, Usama Mahmoud attempted to answer several questions, such as: “Who should be the real custodian of Pakistan; who is destroying the country; and the foremost, to whom does Pakistan belong?” (Memri Special Dispatch, August 17, 2018) Mahmoud’s criticism of Pakistan’s politicians and military remains constant and often vociferous. He calls the Pakistani military a “slave of the U.S.” and an instrumental force behind the prevalent conflicts and atrocities against real and practicing Muslims in the country. He argued that Pakistan belongs to Islamic scholars and jihadist fighters who have been sacrificing their lives for the real Pakistan based on Islamic Sharia laws. Again, between November 9 and November 20, 2018, in an audio-visual message series, Usama Mahmoud urged all religious-political parties to reject democracy in Pakistan. He also blamed Pakistan’s Islamist parties for deviating from the path of jihad and dawa, and falling prey to electoral politics. He also accused the Pakistani army and press of working with anti-Islamic forces in Pakistan.
In these messages, as on previous occasions, Usama Mahmoud underscored that democracy is a threat to Islam and something that religious scholars in Pakistan wrongly perceive as a means to establish Islamic Sharia rule. He argued that those Islamists presently working under the government’s arrangements can never bring change to Pakistan or ever implement Sharia law in the country. Chiding Pakistani Islamist political and religious parties for their failure to capitalize on their electoral success in 2002, Usama Mahmoud underscored their failure to do anything for Islam during the five years that they were part of the government machinery. He described how, over those five years, U.S. and Pakistani forces launched campaigns against “the Mujahidin” and civilians in Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas without any resistance from Islamist parties. He concluded by calling for people to take up arms and to wage jihad either “physically” or by using “pen and words” (Matboaate jihad, November 20, 2018).
Conclusion
Core al-Qaeda’s Emir Ayman al-Zawahiri never officially declared or designated Usama Mahmoud as the successor to the slain AQIS leader, Asim Umar. But signs of Usama Mahmoud’s authority have been visible throughout AQIS’ propaganda campaign since late 2019. His constant focus on “anti-India and anti-Pakistan” propaganda certainly bolsters a new optimism among AQIS’ rank-and-file members in the region. His persistent diatribes against the Pakistani army’s atrocities and corruption might have helped AQIS build on popular sympathy and support from religious groups in the region. However, it would be an uphill task for Usama Mahmoud to lead AQIS from the front while evading scrutiny in Pakistan. Now that this al-Qaeda affiliate is reportedly shifting its violent jihad campaign from Afghanistan to Kashmir following the recent U.S.-Taliban agreement, it would be a challenge for Usama Mahmoud to remain safe, relevant, and effective beyond Afghanistan’s safe havens (see TM, April 17).
Notes
[1] “Stand Up to Today’s Pharaoh America,” June 16, 2016, retrieved from https://scholarship.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/bitstream/handle/10066/18597/OMM20160616_2.pdf?sequence=1 [2] “The Kashmir: The Lion Shall Wise up Now,” https://matboaatejihad.net/?p=1230. [3] “Zakir Musa: A Determination, A Movement (Audio),” June 06, 2019. Retrieved from https://matboaatejihad.net/?p=2018
