Pro-Al-Qaeda Jihadi Clerics Eulogize Muhammad Al-Zawahiri, Younger Brother Of Organization's Slain Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Eulogies Maintain Uncertainty About Fate Of Al-Qaeda Leader

The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here. 

On February 14, 2024, pro-Al-Qaeda jihadi clerics and ideologues continued to react to the death of Muhammad bin Muhammad Rabi' Al-Zawahiri, a.k.a. Abu Ayman Al-Masri, a prominent Salafi jihadi figure and younger brother of slain Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri, who died at home in the Egyptian city of Al-Jizah. He was 71.

Though Al-Qaeda has yet to confirm, or deny, the death of its leader,[1] several clerics referred to him using the Arabic phrase "May Allah have mercy on him" or "may Allah accept him," phrases generally used for people who died of natural causes. One media outlet expressed condolences directly to the emir, Ayman Al-Zawahiri.

The following report reviews some of the commentary posted by clerics in Syria and the West eulogizing the mujahid, scholar Muhammad Al-Zawahiri.

London-Based Ideologue Stressed Muhammad's Anti-Democracy Writings

In a lengthy statement, which was posted on personal blog, Risalat Widd, on February 13, and shared on the Al-Qaeda-operated Rocket Chat server, the London-based, pro-Al-Qaeda ideologue Hani Al-Siba'i eulogized Muhammad Al-Zawahiri, publishing a brief biography of him, and describing his life story, his repeated incarcerations in Egyptian prisons, and his death sentence, which was eventually commuted.[2]

Al-Siba'i wrote that Muhammad was deeply inspired by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, and sought knowledge from prominent scholars in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, Azerbaijan, and Chechnya, and elsewhere. He authored a series of books rejecting democracy, elections, and the political party system.

Al-Siba'i especially stressed Muhammad's repeated imprisonments, beginning with a death sentence from an Egyptian court relating to the assassination of President Anwar Al-Sadat, and his arrest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), upon his return from Afghanistan where "he spent 20 years working in the field of humanitarian aid," and his repatriation to Egypt in 1999.[3]

Syria-Based Egyptian Cleric: "A Man With Exceptional Leadership Qualities"

On February 14, Syria-based Egyptian jihadi cleric Yahya (Abu Al-Fath) Al-Farghali eulogized Muhammad Al-Zawahiri, noting that they both grew up in the same Cairo neighborhood. Yet the cleric had not interacted with him directly until they met in the notorious Al-Aqrab prison, where they were incarcerated together for five years. Al-Farghali praised Muhammad's leadership qualities in prison during the 2011 uprising, before he was released later, only to join the sit-in of Salafi jihadis in Al-Nahdah Square following the "coup" in 2013 that brought Abdelfattah El-Sisi to power. Al-Zawahiri was soon arrested after the sit-in was dispersed, and then spent years between prison and living under house arrest.[4]

During the protests and uprisings of the Arab Spring across the Middle East in the 2010s, Muhammad was a signatory of a jihadi communique by a group of Egyptian Salafi clerics who urged all Muslims capable of bearing arms to head to Syria and fight the Syrian regime and to combat Hizbullah forces on the Syria-Lebanon border.[5]

Jihadi Telegram Bot Extends Condolences To "Al-Qaeda Leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri"

On February 13, the pro-Al-Qaeda Telegram bot, Rawabet Harb Al-Mustaqbal (Links of the Future War), extended condolences to Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri on the death of his brother Muhammad, calling the two brothers "the best fathers who raised such lions."[6]

Canada-Based, Egyptian-Born Cleric Shares Death Announcement From Muhammad's Son

On February 13, Canada-based, Egyptian-born pro-Al-Qaeda jihadi cleric Tariq Abdelhaleem announced on Telegram the death of sheikh Muhammad Al-Zawahiri.[7] He reported the news from Facebook account "Ahmad Karam," which reportedly belongs to the son of the deceased, sheikh Muhammad Al-Zawahiri.[8]