The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock – among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.)
Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.
EXCLUSIVE: Report: Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis Threatens To Harm American Interests In Egypt Including KFC
On April 10, 2014, the London daily Al-Quds Al-Arabi reported that the Egyptian Salafi-Jihadi organization Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis threatened to harm American interests in Egypt such as branches of the fast food chain KFC, American companies, and the U.S. embassy in Cairo. The threat came in response to the U.S. administration's announcement that it had declared Ansar Bait Al-Maqdis a terrorist organization on April 8.
Harith Al-Nadhari
On April 7, 2014, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released an audio message by AQAP's cleric Harith Al-Nadhari, titled "The Believers Are Brothers." The message, inter alia, calls for unity among Muslims, especially among those who are in a state of infighting, and warns against Muslims killing fellow Muslims.
On April 4, 2014, Al-Qaeda media company Al-Sahab released an audio-recorded message by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman Al-Zawahiri in which he eulogizes Abu Khalid Al-Suri. Abu Khalid was Al-Zawahiri's representative in Syria and a founder of the Ahrar Al-Sham group who was reportedly killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in February 2014.
Jabhat Al-Nusra Breaks With Leading Jihadi Forum Shumoukh Al-Islam
Reflecting the global jihad movement's current crisis, Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN) announced that it is terminating all cooperation with the Shumoukh Al-Islam Network, a leading jihadi website. JN announced the break in an April 4, 2014 communiqué published on Al-Fida', another major jihadi forum, which is directly managed by Al-Qaeda.
JN justified the measure as a response to Shumoukh’s one-sided coverage of the intra-jihadi conflict in Syria, and its blatant support for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). JN inter alia accused Shumoukh of ignoring JN’s operations, and publishing repeated insults by Shumoukh forum members and administrators.
ISIS French Spokesman: 'Woe To The Infidels And The Apostates Facing The Islamic State (ISIS)'
Facebook picture of Abou Shaheed titled: "This one [bullet] is for the DCRI [French intelligence agency]"
Abou Shaheed, a French foreign fighter in Syria and ISIS member, has issued a new statement in French for the "French speaking ummah (Muslim nation)". The statement is a sequel to a previous audio, and elaborates on ISIS's position regarding the current strife with the Al-Qaeda approved Jabhat Al Nusra (JN). The message essentially asks the listener to join and support ISIS in its jihad against the Syrian regime as well as against all competing rebel groups, including JN, who are branded infidels and apostates.
New Salafi-jihadi Group Holds Military Parade In Derna, Libya
A new Salafi-jihadi group operating in the eastern Libyan city of Derna celebrated its establishment in a military-style parade through the city.
Members of the group, which calls itself Majlis Shoura Shabab Al-Islam (the Shoura Council of the Youth of Islam), rode through the city in a convoy consisting of dozens of 4*4 vehicles, many of which were laden with heavy machine guns. The group members, masked and clad in military fatigues, brandished rifles and RPGs, and waved black flags associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and the global jihad movement.
An image grab of the TTP's official website
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), a banned terrorist organization of the Pakistani Taliban which is currently engaged in peace negotiations with the government of Pakistan, has officially launched a full-fledged Urdu-language website promoting jihad through a series of videos, magazines, articles and fatwas (Islamic decrees).
It should be noted here that the Pakistani government has banned thousands of websites in recent years for different reasons, including YouTube and memri.org. However, the TTP's website, umarmedia.com, is accessible to readers in Pakistan. Umar Media is the TTP's publishing arm.
Jihad Fighters From The Caucasus Open School For Russian-Speaking Children In Syria
A group of Russian-speaking jihad fighters from the Caucasus recently opened a primary school in the city of Al-Raqqa. The group, known as the Abu Hanif group, belongs to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The school's opening was announced by Abu Hanif via its page on the Russian social media website VK (Vkontakte).
ISIS Runs 'School' For Children Of Caucasian Mujahideen In Syria
Following are excerpts from a report on a school run by ISIS for children of Caucasian mujahideen in Syria, which was posted on the Internet on March 28, 2014:
Click here to view this clip on MEMRI TV
Teacher in the school: "By the grace of Allah, this school was opened today to educate the children of the brothers who came from the Caucasus, from Russia. The fact that their families responded to the call of Jihad in Syria does not mean that their children's education should be neglected."
Madrassa students in Pakistan (image courtesy: unknown)
Pakistani madrassas (Islamic seminaries) based in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, as well as in other districts, are providing "active support" to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) to carry out terror attacks, according to a report prepared by the police.
Abu Dhar Azzam addresses mujahideen in Pakistan
In a Urdu-language jihadi video recently released on the Al-Fida jihadi forum, the anti-China Pakistan-based jihadi group Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP) stressed the need for jihad against China as necessary for the defense of the Ghazwa-e-Hind (the Battle of India), which was prophesied by Prophet Muhammad.
Slain commander Hakimullah Mehsud
The Pakistan-based militant group Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) has released a video eulogizing Hakimullah Mehsud, the slain emir of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, for his role in jihad and aiding the IMU in Pakistan.
In the 18-minute video, footage is produced of Mehsud answering questions and making a Pashtu-language statement in support of jihad, the IMU, and its fighters. The video is produced by Jundallah Studio, with Uzbek-language voiceover and Pashtu-language jihad songs.
Shahi Imam N.R. Barkati (image courtesy: Hindustantimes.com)
According to a recent Indian media report, Kolkata-based Islamic cleric Shahi Imam N.R. Barkati has urged secular political leaders to campaign against Hindu nationalist leader Narendra Modi of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the April-May parliamentary elections, warning of jihad if the next government imposes restrictions on Muslim personal law.
N. R. Barkati is known as Shahi Imam, or a mosque leader whose forefathers were appointed to the post by the king during Muslim rule in India. Shahi Imam Barkati is a mosque leader at the Tipu Sultan Shahi mosque in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta), the capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal. The mosque was built by Muslim king Tipu Sultan's son Ghulam Mohammed in 1805. Barkati's father was the Shahi Imam for 50 years, and he has been at the helm for 27 years.
Urdu Daily Report: Indian Intelligence Agencies Probing Revivalist Islamic Group Tablighi Jamaat
According to an Urdu-language daily, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) of India, the lead counter-terrorism investigating agency of India which has arrested several leaders of the Pakistan-backed terror organization "Indian Mujahideen" in recent months, is now investigating the Tablighi Jamaat.
Headquartered in Delhi, the Tablighi Jamaat is an Islamic revivalist puritan movement, whose branches in Pakistan were infiltrated in recent years by Al-Qaeda militants seeking to travel safely as part of the Jamaat's traveling preaching groups.
"The largest spiritual organization - Tablighi Jamaat - is now on the radar of police and NIA. [The] Agency says that nabbed Indian Mujahideen members have revealed during interrogation that Tablighi Jamaat organizes tours for them and informs them about the atrocities on the Muslims," according to the daily Roznama Khabrain.
