‘Kaide’ (‘Al-Qaeda’) Magazine Published Openly in Turkey

The Turkish political weekly Tempo, along with some major Turkish daily newspapers including Milliyet,Aksam and Cumhuriyet, reported that the Islamist Turkish terrorist organization Great East Islamic Raiders Front (IBDA-C) [1] has begun publishing a new weekly, Kaide ("Al-Qaeda" in Turkish) which openly praises its namesake and idolizes Osama bin Laden. Kaide, which looks like an Al-Qaeda bulletin and includes all Al-Qaeda announcements, is published legally in Istanbul and sold at newsstands across Turkey.

It is worth noting that according to Aksam, [2] Kaide is distributed by Yay-Sat, which is Turkey’s largest magazine-newspaper marketing and distribution network. Yay-Sat is owned by the Dogan Media Group, which includes mainstream media outlets in Turkey such as Hurriyet, Milliyet, Radikal, Turkish Daily News, Dunya, and Tempo, as well as TV channels such as CNNTurk and Kanal-D.

"May Allah Protect Bin Laden from the Evil of His Enemies"

The Turkish weekly Tempo interviewed Kaide executive Ali Osman Zor in Kaide' s offices in the Kasimpasa neighborhood of Istanbul. Following are excerpts: [3]

"[…] Even the plain fact that Al-Qaeda has an office in Kasimpasa, in the middle of Istanbul, where they publish this [Kaide] magazine, is frightening. Despite the publishers' claim that they only have 'emotional ties' with Al-Qaeda, the entire Kaide magazine is formatted like an Al-Qaeda bulletin. On the London attacks, their headline read 'Al-Qaeda is Liberating the World,' and many pages are dedicated to statements by Al-Qaeda. The Kaide magazine boasts of the beheadings in Afghanistan and Iraq by saying 'the jihad fighters continue to behead!' and all its pages are filled with frightening statements and threats. Kaide also shows the ties between IBDA-C […] and Al-Qaeda.

"IBDA-C leader Salih Mirzabeyoglu [Salih Izzet Erdis] is serving a life sentence which is a commutation of a death sentence. The staff of the Kaide magazine is made up of convicts who served long prison terms for their affiliation with IBDA-C, and were released under the government's 'general pardon.'

"[…] Ali Osman Zor speaks of Osama bin Laden and Zarqawi as 'heroes,' saying that the London attacks that killed over 50 people were 'acts of revenge for Allah,' and claims that former ANAP MP Mehmet Kececiler has met with bin Laden. [4]

"Following are the shocking statements by Ali Osman Zor:

Tempo: "Does Kaide magazine have relations with the Al-Qaeda organization?"

Kaide: "Even if we had ties with Al-Qaeda, given the present legal structure, I don't think you would expect from us such a declaration. But Allah has declared in the Koran that all Muslims are brothers. You can include in this circle of brotherhood, our Al-Qaeda brothers, our Hamas brothers and all our brothers who are with Zarqawi, the legendary fighter in Iraq. The people in the Kaide magazine are members of the IBDA thought and action movement. Our leader Salih Mirzabeyoglu is being held in a three-meter cell. Our souls are tied with Al-Qaeda. We do not deny this tie. We are honored to have this tie."

Tempo: "What are your thoughts about Osama bin Laden?"

Kaide: "We pray for all those who fight for Islam's world domination. Bin Laden is a heroic fighter of Islam. Like many Muslims, we are proud of him. Bin Laden expresses the accumulated anger felt by Muslims for centuries against the 'infidel.' We believe that bin Laden, like our commander Mirzabeyoglu and our soul-mate Carlos the Jackal, [5] is one of the architects of the new world that will be built following the triumph of Islam. May Allah protect bin Laden from the evil of his enemies."

Tempo: "Is IBDA-C leader Salih Mirzabeyoglu acquainted with bin Laden?"

Kaide: "I think you should address this question to the former ANAP MP from Konya, Mehmet Kececiler. We know that when he was a minister in the government, Mehmet Kececiler attended a business meeting in Yemen. Osama bin Laden, who was there as a businessman, asked Kececiler if he knew Salih Mirzabeyoglu. I hope this gives you some clues."

Tempo: "While Al-Qaeda paints the world with blood, your headline reads 'Al-Qaeda is liberating the world'. What kind of 'liberation' is that?"

Kaide: "[…] The way they are liberating Iraq is clear. Since the beginning of the occupation of Iraq, 100,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed in the name of what Bush calls 'liberating Iraq.' The Western world stood with the U.S. in this war. Since the Muslims are being liberated in this manner, some Muslims may think that the English or other Western countries need to be liberated too. We think that it is the Westerners that need to be liberated. With its actions, Al-Qaeda is liberating the West. Also, there is the concept of 'payback.' Muslims today are exercising their rights of 'payback' by attacking Western capitals. As a Muslim, I think these attacks are normal, even necessary. It is not us but the infidel who started this war. This is the language Westerners understand."

Tempo: "But Al-Qaeda kills innocent people who are on their way to work. Doesn't the killing of innocent people disturb you?"

Kaide: "No, it does not. I do not consider those killed in the London attacks as innocent. Because those people paid taxes to the English government and elected Blair, who is responsible for the killing of thousands of Muslims. Do they make that differentiation when innocent people are killed in Iraq and Afghanistan? […] When America kills it is called '[collateral] war damage'... Westerners started to think again after the London bombings. They are asking "What did we do wrong?" That means that terrorism is not always harmful. There are benefits to terrorism too."

Tempo: "So, does this mean that you were happy because of the attacks in London?"

Kaide: "Of course I was happy. Are Americans saddened by the death of children in Iraq, in Palestine? Also, one of Allah's names is 'vengeful.' [He] avenges. Those heroic fighters of Islam who blow themselves up in London [or] Egypt are trying to earn Allah's name, 'vengeful.' There are thousands of young Muslims preparing to blow themselves up. As long as Muslims are oppressed, Westerners will have no peace. The Koran says: 'Fight them until evil disappears and all religion becomes Allah's [religion].' [6] The suicide activists who blow themselves up are carrying out the Koran's commandment."

Tempo: "Will these attacks be followed by more attacks, in your view?"

Kaide: "This fire was set by the infidels, not the Muslims. […] Every day our children and our women are dying under the U.S. bombs. […] Here, I openly declare this: As long as the suffering continues in the Islamic world, attacks against the Western capitals will continue, and increase. The Westerners will have much more of the taste of the pain the Muslims are enduring. We, as IBDA, see Iraq's occupation by America as World War III. This is a war between the believers and the unbelievers. Salih Mirzabeyoglu, Osama bin Laden, Shamil Basayev, Mullah Omar and Al-Zarqawi are the honorable commanders of this holy war. We believe that these leaders will carry the world to more peaceful and happy days."

Tempo: "Kaide magazine claims that Marcos, the leader of the Mexican Zapatistas, has converted to Islam. What is the basis of your claim?"

Kaide: "We have much evidence about Marcos becoming a Muslim. In the coming days we will make this known. Let me say just this: Marcos is a professor of linguistics. Upon his request our friends have provided him with some books by Salih Mirzabeyoglu. We are in contact with Marcos. The public must prepare for surprising developments regarding Marcos, the brave commander ofthe Zapatistas, after Carlos the Jackal."

Tempo: "It is thought that [all] Islamist organizations in the world are interrelated. Does such a relationship exist between IBDA-C and Al-Qaeda?"

Kaide: "I am not the spokesman for IBDA-C. But based on my experience I can say this: No organization admits to such ties. I personally think that the Islamist organizations in the world are assisting one another. An organization in Afghanistan cannot come and carry out an action in Turkey. They can carry out an attack only with the assistance of a local organization in Turkey."

Tempo: "Will the wave of terror that is striking Western capitals come to Turkey too?"

Kaide: "This depends on the Turkish government's attitude. If you build alliances with the oppressors of Muslims, and if you call for a joint front to fight the resistance [movement], you will have to pay the price. The most important factor that feeds terrorism is the suffering endured. For example our leader Salih Mirzabeyoglu is kept in a three-meter cell. An IBDA activist may carry out a suicide mission to protest the pain inflicted on Mirzabeyoglu. Those who want the attacks to stop must first stop their torturing."

"What is IBDA-C? A Radical Islamist Organization – Similar to Al-Qaeda"

"The roots of the IBDA-C organization go back to Islamist author Necip Fazil Kisakurek and his sheikh Seyyid Abdulhakim Arvasi and his Raiders. The first nucleus was formed on November 15, 1975 by Salih Mirzabeyoglu, around The Golge ['Shadow'] magazine. This group weeded out circles they thought were too passive from Erbakan and his [Islamist] MSP [National Salvation Party]. They took part in many demonstrations and lost some of their militants in armed confrontations prior to the September 12, 1980 [military intervention which outlawed PM Erbakan's MSP]. […] In 1979, their leadership began publishing the Raiders' Power magazine. The Raiders then built training camps for the armed struggle in Anatolia and carried out attacks under the name of IKP-C [the Islamic Salvation Party Front].

"On August 1, 1984, the organization, that drew in the pre-1980s radicalized young Islamists, declared an armed struggle for [the establishment of] Shari'a in Turkey. They were involved in various bombings and assassinations. […] The ideology of the IBDA-C movement is based on armed revolution and the teachings of Sunni Islam. The books and periodicals that they publish on behalf of their movement direct young and dynamic Islamists in building terror-based cells.[…] This type of organization resembles Al-Qaeda's terror cells. This organization [IBDA-C] has many illegal fronts, and currently has a monthly publication called Aylik. […] Members of the IBDA-C organization claim that more than 60 of their militants are currently in Iraq fighting against the American soldiers alongside Al-Zarqawi."

" Kaide is Legal in Turkey!"

The Turkish mainstream secular daily Aksam reported: [7]

"[…] The photo of the leader of the Islamist IBDA-C organization, Salih Mirzabeyoglu, also known as 'the Commander,' is on the cover of the new magazine Kaide. In the foreword of the first issue, they introduce themselves: 'We are Islamists – we are IBDA!' […] Kaide explains its goal as 'domination' and writes, 'Our main hatred is for the Christian-Jewish-Western imperialism […]'

"The back cover of the magazine shows pictures and statements by Salih Mirzabeyoglu, Osama bin Laden, and Carlos the Jackal. There is a quote from Mirzabeyoglu's 1996 statement that reads '[…] The pitiless terror that strikes the Russians in Russia and the French in France [will soon] strike the English in England and the Americans in America.' In another quote by bin Laden, it uses the words of the Prophet Muhammad glorifying 'the young who sacrifice themselves for Islam.' In response to Bush's statement after 9/11 that 'this attack is against our way of life,' the magazine wrote, 'Yes! The attack is against your lifestyle. Your lifestyle that exploits the world […]'

"The main article, titled 'Al-Qaeda is Liberating the World,' includes horrific pictures of the terror attacks by Al-Qaeda with a caption that says '35 of the dead were Jews.' Under one of the photos it says:

"'March 24, 2004, Turkey: Two [Islamic] activists carried out a bomb attack on a Masonic Lodge in Istanbul, where an important Mossad official was also present. One militant was martyred and one waiter who tried to protect the Masons died. November 28, 2002, Kenya: In a suicide attack on a Mombasa hotel run by the Jews, 18 people died. At the same time an Israeli commercial jet was attacked by two missiles after taking off from Mombasa but escaped the attack.' In addition to these, the fact that the article gave the complete text of Al-Qaeda's statement after the London attacks gives the impression that this magazine [Kaide] acts as the mouthpiece for Al-Qaeda. […]"

"Al-Qaeda is Publishing a Magazine in Kasimpasa"

The mainstream popular Turkish daily Milliyet wrote: "Members of the radical Islamist IBDA-C organization launched a new publication in Istanbul that openly supports Al-Qaeda." [8]

"This week, Tempo published news that will be much talked about. While the debate in the world on the subject of the bloodiest terrorist organization of the 21st century mounts... a new magazine which shocks everyone who sees it is appearing for sale at Turkish newsstands. This magazine [which appeared July 28, 2005], called Kaide, is being published in Kasimpasa. [9] It is an unfortunate coincidence that this magazine is published in Kasimpasa, [a place] often identified with Prime Minister Erdogan, because this publication openly defends Al-Qaeda. While it openly praises Al-Qaeda, it includes outrageous titles like 'The Taliban Killed 600 Johnnies."

The paper goes on to cite extensive excerpts of the Tempo article.

" Kaide Magazine, From IBDA-C"

The leftist liberal Turkish daily Cumhuriyet reported: [10]

"Members of the Sharia -supporting Islamist terror organization IBDA-C are publishing a magazine that praises Al-Qaeda. […]

"While Al-Qaeda continues its attacks, its actions are praised by a new magazine named Kaide' published in Istanbul. There are frightening expressions and many threats in the IBDA-C magazine […] as well as Al-Qaeda's announcements. It has [article] titles like 'The Taliban Killed 600 Johnnies.' Osama bin Laden is referred to as a 'hero,' and about the London attacks, it is said that 'the bombs have been useful in urging the West to recognize their mistakes.'

"In the same article, it says: 'We want to burn all the bridges between us and the [Western] colonialists. We want to see the same scenes we see in Iraq every day, in the U.S., England, Spain and Italy. We want to see Africa's hunger happen in the Western world that caused this hunger. The Sharm Al-Sheikh region of Egypt is where Jews and Westerners amuse [themselves] and commit adultery. It is also the spot where Israelis and Americans come to bargain. In this context, striking there [in Sharm Al-Sheikh] is dealing an important blow to imperialism'..."