Will Egyptian-Born al-Qaeda Media Chief Husam Abd al-Rauf Succeed Zawahiri?
Will Egyptian-Born al-Qaeda Media Chief Husam Abd al-Rauf Succeed Zawahiri?
Husam Abd al-Rauf is among the few remaining al-Qaeda figures with a public profile. A prolific contributor to al-Qaeda’s jihadist productions and publications, al-Rauf has repeatedly threatened to target Western countries. He is credited with reviving and modernizing al-Qaeda’s media operations, in particular the group’s official outlet, al-Sahab. He is believed to be a close aide of the ailing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and a key official involved in al-Qaeda’s day-to-day operations. The al-Qaeda official, who is fluent in English, was the long-time editor of the group’s now-defunct flagship magazine Vanguards of Khorasan. Earlier this year, the FBI added him to its list of most wanted terrorists, saying his crimes included conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals.
Education and Background
Hussam Abd al-Rauf, a.k.a. Abd-al-Hadi Mustafa, was born in Egypt in 1957. He is well educated, having graduated with a degree in agriculture from a university in Cairo in 1979. He studied English and joined the Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture in 1981, where he was in charge of handling the ministry’s foreign relations. Al-Rauf also gained computer expertise, and in 1988 he turned down an offer to pursue higher education in the United States, citing his hatred for America (Al-Marjie, August 1, 2019).
The al-Qaeda official started his jihadist career in 1986, when he joined hundreds of Arab fighters in Afghanistan to fight against the Soviet occupation. He stayed in the country for nine months before returning to Egypt. Following his return, al-Rauf worked as a secretary and computer administrator in the office of the then-Egyptian Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Youssef Wali.
In 1989, al-Rauf and his wife moved to Pakistan and joined the Service Bureau, an organization in Peshawar co-founded by late al-Qaeda figures Abdalla al-Azzam and Osama bin Laden. During his stint with the bureau from 1989 to 1995, he took on various roles such as treasurer in the financial department, administrative manager, and a member of the editorial board of al-Jihad magazine, an Arabic monthly launched by Abdallah al-Azzam. In July 1995, al-Rauf and his family moved to Kabul to supervise some of the bureau’s projects in three Afghan provinces (Mobtada, August 20, 2018; Daral Marif, January 13).
Role as al-Qaeda Propagandist
Al-Rauf got his first taste of media experience with al-Qaeda when he was made the editor of al-Qaeda’s Vanguards of Khorasan magazine. He edited the publication beginning with its first issue that came out following the 7/7 London bombings in 2005. Al-Rauf also prolifically wrote in the magazine about al-Qaeda’s jihadist ideology.
He wrote a number of articles and appeared in several videos propagating al-Qaeda’s jihadist views and threatening attacks against the group’s enemies. In 2006, for example, al-Rauf threatened attacks against Canada unless the country withdrew its troops from Afghanistan (Al-Jazeera, October 29, 2006).
Al-Rauf’s first appearance in a video produced by al-Qaeda’s media arm al-Sahab was in June 2013 when the terrorist group sought to capitalize on the Arab Spring revolutions that were sweeping through several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The lengthy documentary-style video was packed with historical references and religious quotations, and centered on al-Rauf declaring the Arab Spring a failure in an attempt to convince Muslims that armed jihad was the only viable path to overthrowing repressive regimes in the region (Emaad.net, June 28, 2013).
Although al-Rauf has delivered several key propaganda items for al-Qaeda, he has struggled in recent years to stay active and his public messages have been erratic. He was absent from al-Qaeda videos for three years, from 2015 to 2018. He reappeared in May 2018, issuing an audio message deriding U.S. President Donald Trump (Emaad.net, May 22, 2018).
Al-Rauf has edited and abridged a series of old works by the brothers Sayyid and Muhammad Qutb, two Egyptian Islamist thinkers whose works have formed the ideological basis for modern jihadist groups. In an effort to appeal to new recruits, al-Sahab recently started disseminating the works via social media platforms. In an introduction, al-Rauf said the series was aimed at challenging the influence of Western ideologies, which, he argued, had contaminated the puritan version of Islam (Emaad.net, June 3, 2019).
In 2014, al-Rauf delivered a key message denying reports of al-Qaeda’s decline and claiming that the group was making inroads in various parts of the world (Youm7, September 2014).
Current Role and al-Sahab Revival
Al-Rauf has been widely described as a close associate of the ailing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri. The veteran jihadist is a member of al-Qaeda’s key strategy and information committee and is thought to have a crucial role in the management of the group’s day-to-day operations. His appearance in several high-profile videos has prompted experts and media to suggest he is one of the people potentially being considered to succeed the current al-Qaeda leader (Al-Sharq al-Awsat, April 30). In an indication of his position within the group, in 2014, a letter sent by al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraqi Kurdistan addressed al-Zawahiri along with al-Rauf (Al-Marjie, August 1, 2019).
Al-Rauf was first identified as the head of al-Qaeda’s media operations in July 2018. He has since taken major steps to upgrade al-Qaeda’s media offerings and has introduced new magazines. He has streamlined the group’s propaganda dissemination by ensuring a stable online presence for its official outlet, al-Sahab.
Under al-Rauf, the group launched a website for al-Sahab in 2018. That was the first time al-Qaeda started using an open website to directly communicate with its followers since its former website, al-Neda, was taken down in 2003. The al-Sahab website replaced online jihadist forums such as al-Fida.
Al-Sahab has maintained a stable online presence without much interruption until now, surviving a crackdown by tech companies. The website uses several advanced features to avoid suspension, such as the popular website security company Cloudflare for protection against DDoS attacks. As for its content, al-Sahab hosts a flurry of materials used by al-Qaeda to broaden its support base, including leadership messages, magazines, video productions etc. Al-Sahab has also notably amplified the messaging from the group’s South Asia branch, hosting content in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, as well as launching new platforms for dissemination.
In April of last year, al-Qaeda launched a new Arabic-language magazine called One Ummah (One Nation), a significant addition to al-Rauf’s list of media projects. Al-Qaeda described it as a periodical that covers Muslim affairs. Five months later, the group launched the English version of the magazine on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, with the clear intention of attracting more non-Arabic speakers. (Youm7, April 2019)
The magazine’s content has been at times remarkable, and its editions have focused on current issues such as Black Lives Matter protests, the Covid-19 pandemic, and the ongoing economic recession. Al-Rauf has been a regular contributor to the publication and has written several articles propagating al-Qaeda’s ideology, particularly targeting a younger audience. For example, in one article, he warned Muslim parents against exposing children to cartoons and video games, arguing they were being used by Western countries as part of an ideological invasion of the Muslim world (Emaad.net, August 2019). Under al-Rauf, al-Sahab has also experimented with social media platforms other than messaging service Telegram in the wake of relentless crackdown by tech companies and authorities.
Husam Abd al-Rauf is one of the key figures to watch out for amid growing uncertainty over al-Qaeda’s leadership succession plans. Al-Rauf’s long-term experience, dating back to the Soviet-Afghan War, have resulted in him acquiring wider leadership roles since the death of Osama bin Laden. The fact that the veteran jihadist is a top target of Western intelligence agencies is testimony to his indispensable role within the group. Al-Rauf has become one of the most effective promoters of al-Qaeda’s jihadist worldview, authoring articles and being prominently featured in jihadist propaganda. While al-Qaeda has suffered major operational setbacks in recent years, its media—led by al-Rauf—thrived, challenging the perception that the group had become weak and irrelevant particularly in the wake of the emergence of its jihadist rival Islamic State.
