Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri has issued his first specific guidelines for jihad, urging restraint in attacking other Muslim sects and non-Muslims and in starting conflicts in countries where jihadis might find a safe base to promote their ideas.
The document, published by the SITE monitoring service, provides a rare look at al-Qaeda’s strategy 12 years after the September 11 attacks on the United States and the nature of its global ambitions from North Africa to the Caucasus to Kashmir.
While al-Qaeda’s military aim remained to weaken the United States and Israel, Zawahiri stressed the importance of dawa , or missionary work, to spread its ideas.
“As far as targeting the proxies of America is concerned, it differs from place to place. The basic principle is to avoid entering into any conflict with them, except in the countries where confronting them becomes inevitable,” he said.
“... our struggle is a long one, and jihad is in need of safe bases,” said Zawahiri in his “general guidelines for jihad ” posted on jihadi forums.
Zawahiri spelled out where conflict was inevitable, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Somalia.
In Pakistan, where intelligence sources believe Zawahiri is hiding, he said fighting “aims at creating a safe haven for the mujahideen in Pakistan, which can then be used as a launching pad for the struggle of establishing an Islamic system in Pakistan.”
He endorsed the right of militants to fight Russians in the Caucasus, Indians in Kashmir and Chinese in Xinjiang.
Other sects
But al-Qaeda’s indiscriminate violence, including suicide bombings and targeting of Shia Muslims, has made it unpopular among many Muslims.
Zawahiri called on his mainly Salafist followers to avoid attacking other Muslim sects, and said if they were attacked, they should limit their response to those involved in fighting.
Christians, Hindus
and Sikhs
They should also leave alone Christians, Hindus and Sikhs living in Muslim lands, respect the lives of women and children and refrain from targeting enemies in mosques, markets and gatherings where they mix with Muslims they were not fighting.
But while affiliates subscribe to al-Qaeda’s ideology, they are largely autonomous in day-to-day operations, making it hard for Zawahiri to control the behaviour of their fighters.
The document was posted on September 13, according to SITE, though it was unclear when the guidelines were written by Zawahiri, whose messages — based on their content — appear to take weeks to be smuggled out from where he is in hiding. — Reuters
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