Al-Qa'ida Fighters On Attacks Against Americans Part II

Al-Qa'ida's website [1] posted a video featuring the "last will and testament" of several of the May 12, 2003 Riyadh suicide bombers. According to the site, the wills were recorded two weeks before the attack, on April 29, 2003. Transcripts of the wills were also posted.

The video is divided into six parts. The first part [2] includes excerpts from past speeches by Osama bin Laden, songs of Jihad and incitement, and narration by Sheikh Abu Omar Muhammad Al-Seif [3] : "It is incumbent upon all those capable of attacking the U.S. forces and their allies situated in the countries neighboring Iraq, from whose bases they go out to attack Iraq - to do so! These forces came in order to fight Islam and the Muslims, and did not come to seek peace. The call to sign agreements with them is like a call to sign agreements with the Jews in Palestine. Likewise, these agreements, which include establishing bases for attacking Iraq, are one of the deeds contradicting Islam, and the [Muslim] nation is not bound by them. The treacherous rulers cannot stop obligatory Jihad. Anyone who calls [for rebellion] against Allah must not be obeyed." The second part of the video [4] includes an audio recording of the bombing itself. On the recording, the suicide bombers can be head praying, and then, en route, crying "Allah Akbar!" and "Allah, expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula!" This section ends with the sound of gunshots. The third [5] and fourth [6] parts of the video include the wills, and the fifth [7] and sixth [8] include the bombers' messages to various recipients. The following are excerpts from the bombers messages:

The Squad Commander: 'The Jihad Warriors and The Shahids Marched On the Path They Have Cushioned With Body Parts, Irrigated With Blood, And Paved With Skulls'

Squad Commander Muhammad bin Shazzaf Al-Shahri, also known as Abu Tareq Al-Asswad, said in his video:

"Brothers in Islam, Jihad is one of the commandments of Islam and a solid pillar of this religion… Jihad, which has earned the label of 'the peak of Islam,' is the sign of the glory and grace of Islam and of the Muslims, and no Muslim doubts that Jihad for the sake of Allah is one of the greatest commandments of our religion, a commandment that has preserved the existence, the glory, and the honor of the [Muslim] nation. Similarly, it is no secret to any intelligent Muslims that one of the reasons for the defeat of the nation and its loss today is the disappearance of the banner of Jihad for the sake of Allah…

"The governments and regimes ruling the Muslim countries today are nothing more than examples of clear and overt collaboration with the enemies of the religion of Allah, in order to remove the religious law of Allah from the Muslims. These governments based their regimes and their laws on dissociation from all the values and principles of religious law – except for one regime, the regime of the Al-Sa'ud tribe, which continues to mislead the people and claim that it loves the wisdom and clerics of the religion, and loves to serve the religion… This is a false claim and an act of deceit directed at the servants of Allah. This claim, as well as the clerics of the regime who abandoned the nation and betrayed their religion, helped them [the Al-Sa'ud family] solidify their regime.

"See the Americans and the other polytheists going about the land of the two holy places [i.e. Saudi Arabia] as if it were one of their states. See their bases everywhere, their fighter planes, their tanks, their air defenses, their central command on the land of Muhammad, and as if nothing happened, when we ask about it, [we are] told: They have come to serve us.

"The Emir Sultan appears on television and says: 'There is no presence of the American forces in our land, and rumors and news regarding the presence of American forces are groundless.'

"When you come to the clerics, they tell you: 'The pact of protection applies to them, and they must not be harmed.' How does a pact of protection apply to them, oh servants of Allah? They came with their weapons, their tanks, their planes, and their destroyers…

"To those who lose sleep over Jihad, and who make efforts to silence our rifles, we say: 'Our Jihad will continue, if Allah wills it, and our finger is on the trigger.' If Allah wills it, we will not stop fighting them ceaselessly. Our fighting is the fighting of one whose heart longs to meet his God. Can one who hopes to meet his God fear death? Can one for whom one of two good things – victory or Shahada [i.e. martyrdom] – await him fear battle?…

"What we are doing today is a deed against the enemies of Allah, the Americans, and the others in the land of the two holy places, and it is in compliance with Allah and with the call of his messenger [Muhammad], who said: 'Expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula.' It is support for our oppressed brothers everywhere. Oh Americans, wait for us. We have brought slaughter upon you.

"This deed is a gift to the procession of light… in which the Jihad warriors and the Shahids marched, on the path they have cushioned with body parts, irrigated with blood, and paved with skulls…

"I have looked over the list of the Shahids and of their history, and I was most regretful to find among them not a single cleric from among the clerics of the Islamic nation whose books fill the libraries. I found not a single preacher from among the preachers who have filled the world with their cassettes in which they spoke of the reward of Jihad and its status in the eyes of Allah. In my mind arose many questions for which I have found no answers. Why do the clerics, the sheikhs, and the preachers not aspire to gain the reward of Jihad and the status of Shahids next to Allah? Don't they need this reward and status? Or does their role end with the spoken word or the written letter? Allah will call them tomorrow to account for this [on the Day of Judgment]…

"To the dogs of the country, why do you help the tyrants against your brothers? Is it for a fistful of money that you tail the Muslims and torture the Mujahideen? Cling to Allah. Stop harming us. Otherwise – and I swear by Allah, Who helped my 19 brothers overcome the Americans in their own homes – you will encounter on our part only the sword and the head of the spear…

"I pray to Allah to make me and my brothers like those who kill their enemies and humiliate the enemies of the religion, the Americans and the others, and to support our Jihad warrior brothers in the land of Muhammad. Wait for us, oh Americans, we have brought slaughter upon you…"

Son Of A Saudi Officer: 'We Promise That We Will Not Let You Live Safely'

Another will was that of Hazem Al-Kashmiri, also known as Abu Umar Al-Ta'ifi, who is the son of retired top Saudi internal security officer, General Muhammad Said Abdallah Al-Kashmiri:

"…Oh youth of Islam, the Crusaders have deployed their bases throughout the Arabian Peninsula, from which the Prophet ordered us to expel them, saying, 'Expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula' and also 'Two religions will not meet on the Arabian Peninsula [meaning only Islam will prevail].'

"I address my message to [the sons of] the Islamic nation and say to them: I swear by Allah that the Jews and the Christians will not leave the Arabian Peninsula unless by Jihad, as the ancients expelled them. Do not denigrate yourselves and do not underestimate your abilities. Grasp your weapon and kill the Jews and the Christians wherever they are to be found. You are the offspring of the companions of the Prophets… who broke the noses of the Jews and the Christians, and stepped with their feet on the kings of Persia and Byzantium…

"This deed [i.e. the Riyadh bombing] we grant as a gift to our brothers in the prisons and everywhere, and to them we say: Know that the victory of Allah is nigh and that it is His promise to those who act with great forbearance. Our military martyrdom operations will not stop, Allah willing, in order to elevate the word of Allah…

"[I have a] message to the American soldiers [in English]: For the American soldiers we say: You have to know that your government had become a big evil, killing innocent people, destroying homes, stealing our money, and holding our sons in jail. We promise that we will not let you live safely, and you will not see from us anything else just bombs, fire, destroying homes, cutting your heads. Our Mujahideen is coming to you, very soon, to let you see what you didn't see before."

The Third Bomber: 'We Sacrifice Our Blood For Our Religion, Our Religion Is The Religion Of Peace'

Another member of the group, Muhammad bin Abd Al-Wahhab Al-Maqit, also known as Abu Tamim, said in his recorded message:

"…My first message I address to the Al-Thaqalein[i.e. human beings and Djinns]… I call to you [to join] the religion of Islam. It is a mighty religion that calls for grace… Those who came and invaded the lands of Islam set treacherous agents among our people [as rulers] and claimed that they represent us and speak in our name. And they help them and give them all the military, financial, and media support they need, in addition to intelligence and other information. This sight recurs in all the Muslim lands…

"We sacrifice our blood for our religion. Our religion is the religion of peace, of submission to Allah, the one and only, but at the same time it is the religion of might and power. We have not submitted and we will not submit to anyone who attacks us, and if we are attacked or if any Muslim is attacked in the East or the West, we will respond in kind to the one who attacked us, measure for measure.

"I warn anyone who holds Muslims in captivity, whether in Cuba or anywhere else, that he will greatly regret it… When the Muslims talk, they do not lie, and you will yet see our deeds, and soon.

"Until the armies of heresy depart from the land of Islam, I warn you that there are lions waiting to fall upon you. The lions of Islam leave the Crusader and Jewish aggressors and their treacherous aides no time for thought or reconsideration in order to think how to defend themselves…

"A message to the West in their language, as best I could [in English]: I invite you to accept Islam by saying 'Ashhadu Anna La Ilaha Illa Allah Wa-Muhammad Rasul-ul-Allah' 'I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger.' …and you will be my brother in Islam, and it doesn't matter what your nationality and color [is]. After you accept Islam, if any enemy attack[s] you, I will do what I can, even if it costs my life to save you. We want from all Christian and Jewish to go out from our Islamic countries and release our brothers from jails, and stop killing Muslims, or we will kill you, as you are killing Muslims. We will continue in our fighting until we get what we want. The real Muslims, they mean what they say. Very soon, all the world will see what we will do. You will not enjoy your life, forever."

The Fourth Bomber: 'If Only I Had A Thousand Souls So I Could Sacrifice Them Cheaply For the Sake Of Allah and Kill With Each Soul A Thousand Thousand Americans... A Thousand Thousand Jews'

The fourth member of the squad, Ashraf bin Ibrahim bin Abd Al-Rahman Al-Sayyed, also known as Abu Tamim Al-Madani, said in his will:

"Let all know, near and far, let all the Muslims know, that we have done this deed for the sake of [the belief that] 'there is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His Prophet,' so that the Muslims will benefit from the Shari'a of Islam, and so that all the regimes that rule not according to the law of Allah, and all the regimes that rule by means of laws made by man, will be removed from them.

"I say to the Muslims: There is no government on the face of the earth that rules according to the Islamic Shari'a, as the [recently deceased Saudi] Sheikh Hamoud bin 'Uqalaa Al-Shu'eibi said, excluding the Taliban government in Afghanistan…

"I was greatly sorry for my [Muslim] nation when one of my relatives told me that the leading thinkers are claiming that Muslim Mujahideen were incapable of carrying out this deed, the Blessed Tuesday raid [September 11, 2003]. This low level of faith in Allah and in His victory hurt me greatly. The difference between us and them – and I refer to those who ruled out the possibility that those who carried out [the attack] were Mujahideen, saying that the matter was too complicated for the young men to carry out – the difference is that we have learned to recognize Allah and we refer to Him, and they refer only to their minds, and do not truly recognize Allah…

"We have seen how the wind is one of the soldiers of Allah, we have seen how Allah mobilizes the birds to serve the Muslims and the Mujahideen, and we have seen many of the [hidden] soldiers of Allah. If you want you can ask the Serbs and the Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina about the angels who fought in the ranks of the Mujahideen. It is not the Mujahideen who said this. It was the Serbian prisoners held by the Mujahideen who said this. Croatian television broadcast an interview with one of the Croatian or Serbian fighters who said: 'We saw men dressed in white three or four meters tall, and they fought us from horseback'…

"Our brother Sanan Al-Maki [codename for Khalid Almihdhar, one of the hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77 which crashed into the Pentagon on September 11], one of the men of Islam, was wanted by the CIA, but Allah blinded them from seeing him and he succeeded in entering [the U.S.] together with his brother, and thus the victory was within their house…"

After criticizing the Muslim clerics who support the Saudi regime, Al-Sayyed said: "Ultimately, I suggest to you to show the Muslims the essence of the UN organization and the religious validity of their rulers joining it, and the same for the [UN] Security Council and their joining the war against terror and its religious validity. If one of you criticizes any deed of the Mujahideen in any place, all I ask is that you show what you have done instead. For example, for those who criticize our Mujahideen brothers' entering Dagastan, I say to you: Let us see what you did, what you gave the Chechen people or the Dagastani people for decades, while they suffered the pain of death, captivity, and incarceration…

"To the [Saudi] internal security service personnel, I say: Know that the nature of your work is to serve the Americans by collecting information [for them], because those who benefit from the information are first and foremost the Americans. Your work is clear aid to the infidels against the Muslims, which is one of the ten deeds contradicting Islam, as mentioned by Sheikh Muhammad bin Abd Al-Wahhab…

"To my Mujahideen brothers... I call upon you to avenge the blood of Sheikh Omar Abd Al-Rahman and the blood of the Muslims in Palestine, Chechnya, Afghanistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, and in all lands and under all skies…

"[Here is my] message to the Mujahid Imam Osama bin Laden: …To the one we loved, to the one who taught us what belief is and what loyalty to the believers is and [also taught us] to disassociate ourselves from the infidels and how to act gently towards the believers and aggressively towards the infidels, to the one who taught us that sacrifices must be made for the sake of this religion… May Allah reward you. I call upon you to stand fast and not bend… By Allah, we fought together with Sayyaf and Rabbani, but they changed, and then we did not hesitate for a moment to fight them… And I will not forget the Emir of the believers, Mullah Muhammad Omar, Dr. Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Sheikh Suleiman Abu Gheith, and I say: Allah will reward you, and [you must] pay no attention to a few idiots who harm you…

"Finally, I call upon the Muslims: …If you are a military man, I call on you to kill the Americans, and not to protect them. Do not hesitate and you will receive your reward from Allah.

"If you are a pilot, you must, my brother, try to attack the aircraft carriers in the Gulf or attack any American settlement within the Arabian Peninsula or outside it.

"If you are in the internal security service, you must hide the Mujahideen … Do not let the Americans rejoice on the land of Muhammad…

"I apologize to my oppressed brothers everywhere. [Every man] has only one soul. By Allah, if only I had a thousand souls so that I could sacrifice them cheaply for the sake of Allah and kill with each soul a thousand thousand Americans, a thousand thousand tyrants, a thousand thousand Jews…"