Al-Qaeda Essay By Sayf Al-'Adl Accuses Jews And Zionists Of Spearheading West's War On Islam; Predicts Gaza War Will Expand, Leading Muslims To Revolt Against Regimes And Regain World Domination

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On May 4, 2024, Al-Sahab, the official media outlet of Al-Qaeda's Central Command, published a nine-page essay titled "This Is Gaza: An Existential War, Not a War of Borders," by Salem Al-Sharif,[1] the sixth in a series published periodically since the beginning of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.[2] A previous installment identified Al-Sharif also as Muhammad Salah Al-Din Zaydan, the real name of the senior Al-Qaeda leader known as Sayf Al-'Adl [Sword of Justice].[3] Since Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Kabul in July 2022, Sayf Al-'Adl is widely assumed to be running the organization from Iran, although Al-Qaeda has officially confirmed neither Al-Zawahiri's death nor his succession by Sayf Al-'Adl.[4]

The essay, apparently written before Ramadan began in mid-March, accuses Jews and Zionists of seeking to enslave gentiles, branding them archenemies of Islam. It predicts that the current war in Gaza will soon escalate into a larger-scale conflict, motivating Muslims to liberate their countries from Western hegemony and regain world domination.

Zionists Are The Greatest Danger To Humanity, See Themselves As Masters And The Rest Of The World As Slaves

Al-Sharif begins by lashing out at "Zionists" and "Jews" in virulently antisemitic rhetoric: "The Zionists are the greatest threat facing humanity today. They are more dangerous to humanity that the Mongols, Nazis, and Hindus, and perhaps the most dangerous to humanity in history without exception." Accusing Zionists of corrupting many and turning them into "worshippers of Satan and money," he asserts that they have contributed nothing to humanity but "crusader idolatry with which they enslaved the nations of Europe, America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia," and spread "bad ideas" such as homosexuality and feminism. Further asserting that Zionists have sought to attain power, plunder resources, and spread ignorance and lies, Al-Sharif claims that "since the middle of the past century until today, the Americans and Jews have slaughtered an unimaginable number of people and destroyed an unimaginable number of cities."

Writing that "the (Jewish) dog follows the steps of the (American) shepherd" and vice versa, Al-Sharif favorably cites a November 2023 article by U.S.-based news outlet The Intercept titled "For a Century, The American Way of War Has Meant Killing Civilians,"[5] noting the large number of noncombatants killed by U.S. and Israeli forces in various conflicts. According to Al-Sharif, the Zionists are pleased with the destruction being inflicted on Gaza, since it is "consistent with texts from the Torah which were composed by the hands of their rabbis … They look at the world with superiority and condescension and see only masters and slaves. The masters are the Zionists, who have the full right to do whatever they see fit …"

Zionists Will Go After The Rest Of The World After Defeating Muslims, Jews Are The Vilest Murderers In History

In his essay, Al-Sharif warns "the rest of the world, chiefly Hindus, Buddhists, and others," that "if the Zionists' weakening of the Muslims continues and they continue to exclude them from global political decisions, then on the night of the next day they will be the second stage of the extermination." He claims that "in their holiest scriptures, the Jews see no existence for others and no limits to their ambitions … It is an existential conflict with no ceiling or limits."

Describing the Jews as "an abandoned nation which has incurred [Allah's] anger,"[6] Al-Sharif declares that they will not achieve their aims in their conflict with the Muslims, calling the war in Gaza "an existential conflict with no borders on the ground and no ceiling to its fighting." He adds: "On the Muslims' part, it is a struggle to guide and direct the planet's inhabitants ... because religion is their motivation and Allah is their aim. On the part of the Jews and their band of Zionists, it is a struggle of arrogance, opportunism, and exploitation of the planet and its inhabitants, because their motivation and aim is attaining the desires of the degenerate human psyche."

Al-Sharif continues: "Jihad continues until Judgment Day … and we (Muslims) have no doubt of victory … The caravan of martyrs is a proof of sincerity, devotion, confidence, and conviction in Allah's promise, and a beacon of guidance for the bewildered and hesitant … Your blood (Jews) will continue to be shed with impunity until the day when the rocks and trees will speak,[7] announcing your end and the purification of the earth from your filth. We (Muslims) and you believe in this."

According to the essay, the "Jewish Western Zionists" are greater criminals than "Genghis Khan the Mongol, Hitler the Nazi, Stalin the communist, [Indian President Narendra] Modi the Hindu, the European colonist and colonialism." So too, "the lowest murderers in history are the Jews and their descendants (Menahem Begin, Moshe Dayan, [Ariel] Sharon, Netanyahu, and the Zionist Biden, etc. the progeny of apes and pigs)."

All Jews In Israel Are Zionists And Murderers, They Will Suffer The Same Death As Gazans, Negotiating With Jews Allows Them To Kill More

Asking: "Can we distinguish between the Jew and the Zionist?" the essay asserts that although some groups of Jews did not migrate to Palestine or become Zionists, that does not mean they care about Muslims or other gentiles, quoting Quran 5:82: "You will surely find the most hostile towards the believers to be the Jews and polytheists." Al-Sharif claims that "every Jew living in occupied Palestine is an active Zionist," even if he opposes Israeli "racists" or wants to give Palestinians "some crumbs to be safe from their reaction." He adds: "The Jews of Palestine are a project of murderers, and whichever of them wants to escape this description must leave Palestine."

He continues: "Because the residents occupying Palestine have chosen their presence there, they have also chosen their form of death. Without a doubt, your death will be exactly what you do today to the people of Palestine in Gaza … by Allah – Allah willing – you will be besieged, starved, displaced, and killed."

Al-Sharif asserts that dialogue and negotiation with Jews is a waste of time, since Jews break agreements, which only "makes room for more extermination." He quotes verses from the Quran describing the Jews as faithless and sinful: "But for breaking their covenant We condemned them and hardened their hearts. They distorted the words of the Scripture and neglected a portion of what they had been commanded to uphold. You will always find deceit on their part, except for a few (5:13), and "The People of the Book … took the calf for worship after receiving clear signs … [They were condemned] for breaking their covenant, rejecting Allah's signs, killing the prophets unjustly, and for saying, 'Our hearts are unreceptive!' … and for boasting, 'We killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the messenger of Allah.' … We forbade the Jews certain good things that had been lawful to them for their wrongdoing, and for hindering many from the Way of Allah, taking interest despite its prohibition, and consuming people’s wealth unjustly" (4:153-161).

Jews Grow Close To Governments To Gain Dominance, Zionists Control The U.S. And Western Europe, Seek To Exterminate Muslims

The essay offers an anti-Jewish analysis of the Biblical Book of Esther, with Al-Sharif claiming that the Jewish hero, Mordecai, "exploited the beauty of his cousin to marry her to the Persian king, hoping that she would benefit them one day … When the king's vizier wanted to attack and exterminate the Jews, Mordecai turned to Esther and benefitted from her position … to save the Jews from extermination, then take revenge on their enemies. Afterwards he exploited the event to gain the highest position in the state, and the day of their salvation became a holiday for the Jews."

According to Al-Sharif, a recurring theme throughout history is the Jews ingratiating themselves with those in power by offering them "support, bribes, and women" in order to "protect their existence and dominance." He asserts that "eventually, the Zionists took over this duty on behalf of the other Jews," claiming that Baron Rothschild bribed the British Empire to secure the Balfour Declaration and that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) has "offered bribes and funded election campaigns for presidential or congressional nominees, and thereby guaranteed their dominance over decision-making in both the White Huse and Congress." In a footnote, Al-Sharif recommends: "The ones in charge of this organization and those backing them should be part of the bank of targets for those working for change, foremost among them the lone wolves."

The U.S. and Europe, especially the "Western and Protestant" parts of the continent, are controlled by Zionists, the essay charges. Most rulers of Muslim and Arab countries have also been "enslaved by Zionism and become its devoted adherents."

The "Zionist paradox," in Al-Sharif's view, is Zionists' support for both Ukraine and Israel, as they affirm that "the Ukrainian has the right to defend himself from the Russian occupation" while also asserting that "the Jews occupying Palestine have the right to defend themselves from their Palestinian victims whose land is occupied." He attributes this contradictory stance to Zionists' interests, as Ukraine is "the first line of defense for Europe and the West" against Russia, while "the Jews represent the Western bridgehead to wage war on the Muslims."

Al-Sharif asserts that "the Western Zionist lobby (America, Britan, Germany, and others) which is hostile to Muslims is waiting for any hint or signal from the murderer Netanyahu to tighten the siege on our grieving people in Gaza," noting that these countries quickly withdrew funding from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) when Israel accused some of its employees of participating in the October 7 attack "without verifying the truth of what the murderer Netanyahu alleged." Because the "Jewish and non-Jewish Zionists" are a "battlefront to eliminate the Muslims," any hope of a two-state solution is futile, as they will never allow the Palestinians a sovereign state.

The Jews, the essay continues, have never grown close to Allah or attained the acceptance of other nations, because they "wanted falsehood and attained it. They killed their prophets,[8] … fought and continue to fight [Allah's] friends, and harm the adherents of the truth." Their "baseless racism" isolates them from the rest of the world. Al-Sharif predicts: "Their end is imminent, as every day brings them closer to their inevitable fate. We must look at them, evaluate their future, and fight them, as we know that they will be abandoned sooner or later."

Al-Sharif asserts that Netanyahu "humiliated" the U.S. and President Biden by forcing him to airdrop aid into Gaza, while he continues to support Israel's war there. Thus, "the Jews show off their domination of the West, … defining its role. The West's task is to provide support, not to express an opinion." The rulers of Jordan, Egypt, the UAE, and Turkey likewise feigned support for the Palestinians by providing aid by air and land, airlifting the wounded, and expressing verbal support, but they have all "mastered … the art of hypocrisy," as in practice, they "support the Jews in occupied Palestine."

Israel's Establishment The Result Of Alliance Between Zionists And Crusaders To Fight Islam, Netanyahu Seeks To Provoke Regional War To Rule "From The Nile To The Euphrates"

Israel was established, according to Al-Sharif, as part of "the alliance between Zionism and the crusaders in their historic conflict against Islam and Muslims," with the goal of advancing their interests, paving the way for the arrival of the Messianic "king of the Jews," controlling Jerusalem to protect Christian holy sites, and preventing Muslim development and empowerment. This alliance, the essay argues, backs its collaborators ruling Arab countries, provokes internal conflicts among Muslims, and seeks to divide the region into tiny states to better exploit its resources, as well as spreading atheism, homosexuality, and feminism in the "land of monotheism" to corrupt its population. All Zionists – "Jews, Europeans, Americans, Arab ruling regimes, etc." – are participants in a "comprehensive war on Islam and Muslims."

Al-Sharif adds that Christian Zionists support Israel "without limits" because it reminds them of the crusades, asserting that "religious motivations have always been the main instigator of genocide."

Netanyahu and his opponents within Israel have an opportunity to remedy their failure on "the (blessed) day of October 7," claims Al-Sharif, by continuing the "genocide" in Gaza and provoking Muslims to expand the conflict into a regional or even world war. They seek to "exploit" this opportunity to eliminate enemies in the Middle East, "redivide the region," and occupy the area "from the Nile to the Euphrates" and rebuild the Jewish Temple.

Gaza And Ukraine Conflicts May Expand Into World War, Arab Nations Will Soon Rise Up Against Their Rulers And Resume Islamic World Domination

Al-Sharif asserts that following their experience in Afghanistan and other conflicts, the U.S. and "Zionist-crusader West" seek to end their direct involvement in foreign wars by backing allies and using "soft power" to weaken their enemies before eventually eliminating them. As part of this strategy, the West supports Ukraine against Russia, which may inadvertently cause a "world war." Such a war would inevitably be a "disaster" for the parties involved, but it may provide an opportunity for those involved to "bridge differences," and perhaps for "Islam and the Muslims to return to leading the world."

Claiming that Netanyahu seeks to drag the U.S. into an "open war in the Middle East to establish a new world order," Al-Sharif notes that the U.S. and Europe do not want to get more involved than they have in Ukraine. Despite attacks by Yemen's Houthi Ansar Allah Movement on international shipping, the U.S. has sent no ground troops because it fears its bases in nearby Djibouti would be targeted by "the Yemeni people and mujahideen of Somalia." Calling the Yemenis a "warlike and armed nation," Al-Sharif defends Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) for not entering the conflict, claiming that "if not for the Arab Zionists' busying Al-Qaeda's mujahideen and the tribes in Yemen with their pointless aggression and wars, we would have seen … assistance … that gladdens hearts."

Al-Sharif declares that Houthi attacks on ships in Bab-el-Mandeb have confounded the "Zionist-crusader West" and "opened a door that [underlined in original] inspires the other nations of the region to carry out secret attacks on American and Western interests, in the region, the West, or anywhere they have interests. In the event that the genocide of Muslims in steadfast Gaza continues, and with the start of the month of Ramadan, this step will become responsible for the nations that have despaired of their traitorous rulers drowning in luxury and depravity."

He concludes: "Very soon – Allah willing – the nations will need to leave the sidelines to defend their ummah [Islamic nation] and its interests, then they will liberate their countries and end the period of military, political, and psychological colonialism, and rise up to play their true and expected role of leading the world."