Maj. Nidal Hasan, Fort Hood Shooter And Lone-Wolf Jihadi, Celebrated And Lionized By Terror Groups And Leaders – Al-Qaeda, AQAP, Taliban, IMU, And More – As Well As Top Online Jihadi Forums, Media Outlets

Introduction

The trial of Maj. Nidal Hasan, sole suspect in the November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting, is set to begin August 20, 2012; he is charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder.

The following report, which comprises documentation by the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor project, presents jihadi media interviews with Anwar Al-Awlaki, radical Yemeni-American sheikh and leader of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) who was killed in a drone strike on September 30, 2011, in which he discusses his relationship with Hasan and the Fort Hood shooting; reactions to the shooting from jihadi media outlets; recent remarks by online Al-Qaeda activists about the shooting as a model for future attacks; and reactions of other Al-Qaeda leaders: American Al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn, AQAP leaders, the Taliban, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), and other jihadi groups.

The shooting by Hasan threw Al-Qaeda leaders, its main media outlets, and its followers online into paroxysms of ecstasy; as a U.S. Army serviceman carrying out a lone-wolf attack against other U.S. servicemen, he has been lionized by prominent jihadis of all stripes. Al-Awlaki called him a "hero" and a "man of conscience"; American Al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn characterized him as a "pioneer, a trailblazer, and a role model"; Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and its leaders praised him as a "hero" and an "heroic fighter," and the Taliban called him "courageous." The attack itself was termed "heroic" by Al-Qaeda's American spokesman Adam Gadahn, Al-Awlaki, and others.

Al-Qaeda and jihadi groups worldwide are continuing to point to Hasan as a role model and the Fort Hood attack as a paradigm. Articles about Hasan have been turned into music videos, posted on YouTube and jihadi forums; his face is used for avatars for jihadis' Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and other social media accounts, and in media by the Al-Qaeda media company Al-Sahab and articles about him have been published in Inspire. In short, Maj. Nidal Hasan has become a jihadi legend.

Anwar Al-Awlaki On Maj. Nidal Hasan And The Fort Hood Attack

Al-Awlaki Article States Hasan Is His Student, Expresses Support For His Deeds – And Is Transformed By Online Jihadi Follower Into Jihadi Music Video

Four days after the Fort Hood attack, Al-Awlaki stated in an article he posted on his now-defunct website Anwar-alawlaki.com that Hasan was a "hero" and "a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. This is a contradiction that many Muslims brush aside and just pretend that it doesn't exist. Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties towards his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a U.S. soldier."

Justifying Hasan's attack, Al-Awlaki continued: "The U.S. is leading the war against terrorism, which in reality is a war against Islam. Its army is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest through its stooges. Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact, the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the U.S. army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal. The heroic act of brother Nidal also shows the dilemma of the Muslim American community..." Al-Awlaki concluded his posting by offering prayers for Hasan, "May Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance, and steadfastness, and we ask Allah to accept from him his great heroic act. Ameen."[1]

Anwar Al-Awlaki's article praising Nidal Hasan has been set to music and distributed via various jihadi websites and YouTube. One such video, titled "Sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki Exposes the Truth," posted on YouTube on February 4, 2010, was produced by YouTube user and London-based Islamist "dcfnfb," shows Al-Awlaki's words scrolling across the screen: "Nidal Hasan is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people... The fact that fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today the right – rather the duty – to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims... May Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance, and steadfastness, and we ask Allah to accept from his great heroic act. Amen."[2]

Al-Awlaki Tells Al-Jazeera About His Personal Relationship With Hasan

The month after the attack, in Sana'a, Yemen, Al-Awlaki told jihadi forum member Abdelela Haidar Shayie, in an interview posted December 23, 2009 on Al-Jazeera, that he had first been contacted by Hasan a year earlier. Almost as soon as the interview was posted, it was picked up by numerous jihadi forums, where members added their praise for both Al-Awlaki and Hasan. On the Al-Falluja forum, to which Abdelela Haidar Shayie belongs, members praised the latter and also asked Allah to heal Hasan and grant him patience.

Along with the interview, Al-Jazeera reported, "Before carrying out the operation, Major Nidal was in touch with Al-Awlaki, and asked him about the religious legitimacy of the [planned] operation and about his role as a Muslim in the American army." The article also quoted Hasan in his communication with Al-Awlaki: "You are the only Muslim Imam who lived in America and who understands Allah's words and knows well how to address people with a Western mentality.'..."

The following are excerpts from the Aljazeera.net interview with Al-'Awlaki:[3]

Question: "What is your connection with Nidal Hasan, and when did it begin?"

Answer: "Nidal Hasan prayed at my mosque when I was imam at the Dar Al-Hijra mosque."

Q: "When was your first meeting?"

A: "About nine years ago, when I was imam of the Dar Al-Hijra mosque in the capital Washington, a mosque which is one of the biggest Islamic centers in America."

Q: "[There are] reports that there was more than that."

A: "Brother Nidal used to contact me via email last year, until the middle of this year."

Q: "When did the correspondence with Nidal begin?"

A: "I got the first message from Nidal on December 17, 2008."

Q: "Who initiated the correspondence, you or him?"

A: "He initiated the correspondence with me."

Q: "What did the correspondence contain?"

A: "He was asking about killing American soldiers and officers. [He asked] whether this is a religiously legitimate act or not."

Q: "So he asked you that question about a year before the operation was carried out?"

A: "Yes. And I wondered how the American security agencies, who claim to be able to read car license plate numbers from space, everywhere in the world, I wondered how [they did not reveal this]."

Q: "What did Nidal want from you in his messages?"

A: "Naturally, as I told you, the first message was asking for an edict regarding the [possibility] of a Muslim soldier killing his colleagues who serve with him in the American army. In other messages, Nidal was clarifying his position regarding the killing of Israeli civilians. He was in support of this, and in his messages he mentioned the religious justifications for targeting the Jews with missiles. Then there were some messages in which he asked for a way through which he could transfer some funds to us [and by this] participate in charitable activities."

Q: "There are other indications to your connections with Nidal, one of which is that you blessed what he did three days after he did it."

A: "My support to the operation was because the operation that brother Nidal carried out was a courageous one, and I endeavored to explain my position regarding what happened because many Islamic organizations and preachers in the West condemned the operation. So it was necessary for me [to raise] a voice that is [myself] connected to the Muslims in America and the West, while at the same time is independent and explains the truth regarding what Nidal did, especially since the media tried to connect him to me from the very beginning."

Q: "Why did you bless Nidal Hasan's act?"

A: "Because Nidal's target was a military target inside America, and there is no question about this. Then, also, those members of the military [i.e. the victims] were not regular soldiers; rather they were prepared and preparing themselves to go to battle and to kill downtrodden Muslims and to commit crimes in Afghanistan...

"So how can I or any other preacher be silent after he hears that some of those who belong to the shari'a jurisprudence declare that Nidal's action was a crime? While there is an argument about operations in which non-combatants die, what religious argument do these religious people have when the target is absolutely military?"

Q: "How can you support what Nidal did, when he was betraying his American homeland?"

A: "It is more important that he not betray his religion. Serving in the American army in order to kill Muslims is betrayal of Islam, and the America of today is the Pharaoh of the past. It is the enemy of Islam, and a Muslim must not serve in the American army, except if he intends to go in the footsteps of our brother Nidal. Allegiance to Islam means allegiance to Allah, his messengers, and the believers, and not to a piece of soil that they call homeland. The allegiance of the American Muslim [must be] to his Muslim nation, and not to America. Brother Nidal proved that with his blessed operation, and Allah rewarded him the best of rewards."

Q: "Do you have a direct connection to the incident?"

A: "I did not recruit Nidal Hasan to this operation; the one who recruited him was America, with its crimes and injustice, and this is what America refuses to admit. America does not want to admit that what Nidal did, and what thousands of other Muslims do against America, is because of its unjust policies against the Islamic world. Nidal Hasan is a Muslim before he is an American, and he is also from Palestine, and he sees the oppression of the Jewish oppression of his people under American cover and support. True, I may have a role in his intellectual direction, but nothing beyond that, and I am not trying to absolve myself of what he did because I do not support it. No, but because I wish I had had the honor of having a bigger role in what happened than the role I really had."

Q: "You told me before about your correspondence with Nidal, and you gave me an original copy of it. Reading it, I found that he trusts you and respects you, and now you are telling me that [you have] no direct or strong relationship with him?"

A: "I told you about the correspondence, and I explained it, and I even gave you [those original copies], so that you can publish it, because the American administration forbade its publication. Why don't they want this correspondence out? What is the reason? [By banning it from publication] do they want to cover up their security failure, or is it because they do not want to admit that Nidal Hasan is a man of principles, and that he did what he did in the service of Islam? They want [the operation] to be viewed as individual, unexpected behavior, that has no connection to the conduct of the criminal American army."

Q: "Do you believe that Nidal will face the death penalty?"

A: "It is possible, and in any case we pray for him that Allah will direct him to the truth and to what is good."

Q: "What will you feel if he is executed?"

A: "I pray to Allah to receive him in the ranks of the martyrs, since when he did what he did, he was expecting to be a martyr, and if he is executed, good for him."

Another Al-Awlaki Interview On Hasan Posted On Leading Al-Qaeda Forum

On May 23, 2010, online jihadi forums released an interview with Al-Awlaki on Hasan and his support for him and the attack. The following are excerpts:[4]

Interviewer: "You are accused of involvement in 14 cases [of terror] in the U.S., Canada, and Britain. Is there any truth in these allegations, which have been spread by the media, and what are the reasons for this onslaught?"

Anwar Al-Awlaki: "This onslaught is because I am a Muslim who calls to Islam. They are accusing me of incitement. Nidal Hasan, Umar Farouk, and the other cases that you mentioned – the common denominator between them is incitement. Incitement to what? Incitement to jihad, and to the Islam revealed by Allah in the Koran and in the Sunna of His Prophet. That is the accusation."

Al-Awlaki stated explicitly in the interview, "Nidal Hasan is a student of mine, and I am proud of this. I am proud that there are people like Nidal Hasan among my students. What he did was a heroic act, a wonderful operation. I ask Allah to make him steadfast, to protect him, and to free him. I support what he did, and I call upon anyone who calls himself a Muslim, and serves in the U.S. army, to follow in the footsteps of Nidal Hasan."

He added: "I call upon [all] Muslims to follow in his footsteps, and to wage jihad by speech or by action. Nidal Hasan set a wonderful example, and I ask Allah to make it a beginning, and that many other Muslims will follow in his footsteps. How can we possibly oppose an operation like Nidal Hasan's?! He killed American soldiers on their way to Afghanistan and Iraq. Who could possibly oppose this? There is a consensus about this issue, not only among humans, but even among domesticated animals. If you push a cat into a corner, it makes its fur stand on end, and it bares its teeth and its claws in order to defend itself. Yet we say that a Muslim does not have the right to defend himself? Nidal Hasan is Palestinian in origin. He was defending his nation. We are dealing with an infidel country, America, which is at war with us. The image of ourselves that we want to convey to America is: Oh America, if you attack us, we will attack you, and if you kill us, we will kill you."

The interview ended with Al-Awlaki stating: "They shut down my website following Nidal Hasan's operation. I had posted an article of mine in support of what Nidal Hasan did, and so, they shut down my website. Then I read in the Washington Post that they were monitoring my communications. So I was forced to stop these communications. I left that region, and then the American air strikes took place. But it is not true that I am a fugitive. I move around among my tribesmen and in other parts of Yemen, because the people of Yemen hate the Americans, and support the people of truth and the oppressed. I move around among the Awlaki tribe, and I get support from wide sectors of the people in Yemen, whether in Abida, Daham, Waila, Hashed, Bakil, or Hawlan, whether in Hadhramawt, Abyan, Shabwa, Aden, or Sana'a.

"Nidal Hasan used to be an American Muslim, the way the U.S. wants them to be. Nidal Hasan used to pray, fast, and give zakat, but at the same time, he was a soldier in the U.S. army, whose loyalty lay with America. Then, as a result of America's crimes, he turned into a mujahid for the sake of Allah. From being an American soldier, Nidal Hasan turned into a mujahid who killed the soldiers with whom he served. If America"s crimes continue, we will see a new Nidal Hasan. There are also mujahideen from the West, or from America, in Afghanistan and in Iraq, and this phenomenon will grow, due to the Western and American crimes in the Islamic world. [...] If that small band of mujahideen have managed to defeat America, imagine what would happen if the Islamic nation rose up. America cannot withstand this Islamic nation. It is too weak. America's cunning is weaker than a spider web."

AQAP Video Includes AQAP Mufti Al-Rubaish Praising Hasan's "Heroic Slaughter" – Inspired By Al-Awlaki; Also Posthumous Message From Al-Awlaki

In December 2011, AQAP released a video dated November 2011 which included a posthumous message from Al-Awlaki, who was killed two months earlier.[5] Also appearing in the video was AQAP Mufti Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Rubaish, who discussed the relationship between Al-Awlaki and Nidal Hasan and how Al-Awlaki used his website to inspire and motivate his followers.

Al-Rubaish said of Al-Awlaki: "He continued to use fatwas that motivated to kill the Americans in their own grounds. As a result, the mujahid brother Nidal Hasan responded to that call – may Allah release him – who executed a heroic slaughter in Fort Hood military base, killing those soldiers who were preparing to go to Iraq."

Narrator: "And now, we present to you a recorded message that was taken from the archive of Sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki, may Allah have mercy on him. He delivered it lastly before he was killed. The message was forwarded to the American people, the Muslims in the West in general, and particularly in America."

Sheikh Anwar Al-Awlaki: "I would like to forward my message to the American people, also to the Muslims in the West in general, and particularly in America... Obama has promised that his administration will be one of transparency, but he has not fulfilled his promise. His administration tried to portray the operation of brother Nidal Hasan as an individual act of violence from an estranged individual. The administration practiced a control on the leak of information concerning the operation in order to cushion the reaction of the American public. Until this moment the administration is refusing to release the emails exchanged between myself and Nidal..."

Al-Awlaki concluded: "I, for one, was born in the U.S. and lived in the U.S. for 21 years. America was my home. I was a preacher of Islam, involved in non-violent Islamic activism. However, with the American invasion of Iraq and continued U.S. aggression against Muslims, I could not reconcile between living in the U.S. and being a Muslim, and I eventually came to the conclusion that my brothers in Al-Qaeda have already reached a few years earlier. I came to the conclusion that jihad against America is binding upon myself, just as it is binding on every other able Muslim...

"Nidal Hasan was not recruited by Al-Qaeda. Nidal Hasan was recruited by American crimes, and this is what America refuses to admit. America refuses to admit that its foreign policies are the reason behind a man like Nidal Hasan – born and raised in the U.S. – turning his guns against American soldiers. And the more crimes America commits, the more mujahideen will be recruited to fight against it...

"Hence my advice to you is this: you have two choices – either hijra or jihad. You either leave or you fight. You leave and live amongst Muslims, or you stay behind and follow the example of Nidal Hasan and others, who fulfilled their duty of fighting for Allah's cause. I specifically invite the youth to either fight in the West, or join their brothers on the fronts of jihad – Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. I invite them to join us in our new front, Yemen, the base from which the great jihad of the Arabian Peninsula will begin; the base from which the greatest army of Islam will march forth..."

Video By Al-Qaeda Media Company Al-Sahab Uses Image Of Hasan To Underline Call For One-Man Jihad Operations In The West

On June 3, 2011, jihadi websites posted a two-part video – the first part 55 minutes long and the second 45 minutes long – produced by Al-Qaeda's Al-Sahab media company and titled "Do Not Rely on Others, Take [the Task] Upon Yourself." The first part is devoted to the topic of al-jihad al-fardi ("individual jihad"), namely jihad operations performed by a single individual or by a small group. It features excerpts from old videos by Al-Qaeda leaders (including Osama bin Laden, Ayman Al-Zawahiri, Abu Yahya Al-Libi, Attiyat Allah Al-Libi, Anwar Al-Awlaki, and Adam Gadahn) who speak in praise of one-man operations and call upon Muslims in the West to carry them out. Interspersed with this is footage from Western media intended to illustrate the West's crimes against the Muslims. This video is another illustration of an emerging strategy, which became apparent in the second issue of Al-Qaeda's English-language online magazine Inspire, of relying on the Muslim communities in the West and laying the burden of jihad in the West on their shoulders. The image released within the video included Nidal Hasan.[6]

U.S.-Born Al-Qaeda Spokesman Adam Gadahn On Hasan

In March 2010 Video: "The Mujahid Brother Nidal Hasan Has Shown Us What One Righteous Muslim With An Assault Rifle Can Do For His Religion And Brothers In Faith... He Is A Pioneer, A Trailblazer, And A Role-Model Who Has... Shown The Way Forward For Every Muslim Who Finds Himself Among The Unbelievers"

Adam Gadahn, the American-born Al-Qaeda spokesman, has praised Hasan in multiple videos. In a March 7, 2010 video devoted entirely to Hasan, he stated:[7] "The year 2009, the inaugural year of a new administration in Washington, ended in a truly miserable fashion for the Crusader West and its intelligence organs, who suffered a series of moral and material blows which culminated in the bloody deaths of at least eight CIA operatives in a masterfully planned and executed martyrdom operation inside their clandestine base in Afghanistan. This crushing blow came just a few days after the compromising of America's supposedly airtight security, in a valiant attempt by a heroic soldier of Al-Qaeda to bring down an American airliner over Detroit.

"But I would like here to take you back to an earlier event, one whose hero wasn't a member of Al-Qaeda or any other Islamic group, but was in fact, a ranking officer of the United States Army, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who this past autumn opened fire on a group of American soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan, deep within the army's largest domestic base, Fort Hood, Texas. According to official army figures, at least 13 Crusaders were killed and more than 30 wounded in this surprise attack. Major Nidal Malik Hasan himself was shot, wounded and captured, and has had charges filed against him in a Crusader military court of inquisition, in preparation for a summary show trial whose outcome is not in question. [...]"

"The fact is, the heroic Fort Hood operation opens up a host of new opportunities for discussion of the hypocrisy, hubris, and less-than-wholesome aspects of the Western Crusader culture, which bestows peace prizes on war presidents and condemns Christmas messages from captured American soldiers as cruel – even as it continues to torture and humiliate the Muslims and other prisoners in its own custody. However, in the interest of brevity, I will leave such topics for another day in favor of shining further light on the nature and motivations of the man behind this historic and trend-setting operation, our mujahid brother Nidal Malik Hasan: we consider him to be a righteous man and we don't purify him before Allah."

"The mujahid brother Nidal Hasan has shown us what one righteous Muslim with an assault rifle can do for his religion and brothers in faith, and has reminded us of how much pride and joy a single act of resistance and courage can instill in the hearts of Muslims everywhere. The mujahid brother Nidal Hasan, by the grace of Allah and with a single 30-minute battle, singlehandedly brought the morale of the American military and public to its lowest point in years. The mujahid brother Nidal Hasan, lightly armed but with a big heart, a strong will, and a confident step, again brought into sharp focus the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of America, and again proved wrong those who claim America cannot be hit where it hurts. And most significantly, the mujahid brother Nidal Hasan is a pioneer, a trailblazer, and a role-model who has opened a door, lit a path and shown the way forward for every Muslim who finds himself among the unbelievers and yearns to discharge his duty to Allah and play a part in the defense of Islam and Muslims against the savage, heartless, and bloody Zionist Crusader assault on our religion, sacred places, and homelands."

"Just as significant and just as deserving of contemplation and emulation as what the defiant mujahid brother Nidal Hasan did, is what he didn't do. Courageous Brother Nidal didn't give the orders of men priority over the orders of Allah, nor did he fear the wrath of men more than the wrath of Allah. [We reckon him so and Allah is his Reckoner]. And defiant Brother Nidal didn't make the youthful mistake he made in joining the American army an excuse for making the mistake of a lifetime and taking part in the fighting and killing of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq or anywhere else. This is why I believe that defiant Brother Nidal is the ideal role model for every repentant Muslim in the armies of the unbelievers and apostate regimes who, like him, has come to the correct conclusion that true Islam isn't in a name or a set of rituals but in fact is in total submission and obedience to Allah and total disobedience to and disassociation from the unbelievers. When Brother Nidal was issued orders which conflicted with Islamic doctrine and values, he resisted them until the last bullet and thereby broke the mold of the mindlessly obedient soldier – a mold preferred and cultivated by the militaries of the world but totally rejected by Islam – which says loudly and clearly: 'Obedience to a Created Being in Disobedience to the Creator is Impermissible.'

"Not only did defiant Brother Nidal break free of the influence of the unbelievers he had grown up and worked with and served under, he also broke free of the evil influence of the anti-Jihad, pro-Crusade Sheikh and muftis, who attempt to legitimize the killing of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere using the flimsiest pretexts and excuses imaginable. Defiant Brother Nidal didn't try to silence his conscience, or justify obeying his commanders and remaining in the ranks of the unbelievers with those Sheikhs" scandalous Fatwas – which permit the impermissible, prohibit the obligatory and condone the murder of Muslims in the name of fighting terrorism – or in the name of protecting salary and position, or in the name of preserving the good reputation of American Muslims and dispelling any doubts about their patriotism and loyalty to America. Brother Nidal didn't try to hide behind such ridiculous excuses because he knew that – however many famous signatures it might carry and whatever fancy title it might have – no Fatwa in this world can possibly justify breaking the clear, unambiguous and agreed-upon laws of the Shari'ah - like the law forbidding the killing of Muslims or the law ordering loyalty to the believers and disloyalty to the unbelievers, and he knew that on the day of Judgment, all the Ulama, Mullas, Muftis and Imams of this world put together would be incapable of saving him from divine retribution, were he to have blindly followed their permissions and prohibitions in contravention of what he knew – in his heart of hearts and through honest research and careful study – to be Allah's ruling and decree.

"I believe that Brother Nidal realized that the insults, accusations, imprisonment, loneliness and other difficulties that one might face during or after one's mission, are insignificant when compared to the punishment Allah has threatened – in numerous places in the Koran and Hadith – for those who abandon compulsory Hijra and Jihad, despite them having access to the necessary ways and means. But at the same time, I believe Brother Nidal realized that Islam neither calls for nor approves of hasty, reckless and poorly planned actions, and that's why he acted with caution and took the necessary steps in order to avoid repeating the mistakes others have made in operational and procedural matters. For example, Brother Nidal didn't – as far as we know – discuss his plans over government-monitored and -controlled telephone and computer systems, nor did he confide his secrets to recent acquaintances, or even long-time acquaintances, whose professed loyalty to Islam and Muslims and apparent eagerness to defend their faith and brethren may or may not be as strong or as genuine as it appears. Brother Nidal wasn't taken in by the provocateurs who infiltrate the mosques and Muslim communities of America with hidden microphones, in order to entrap Muslims eager to perform the duty of Jihad. And Brother Nidal didn't unnecessarily raise his security profile or waste money better spent on the operation itself by traveling abroad to acquire skills and instructions which could easily be acquired at home, or indeed, deduced by using one's own powers of logic and reasoning.

"For example, the first thing many people often ask is: 'What weapon should I use in my operation?' But the answer to this question – and it's an important question – is not as difficult as it may seem. The mujahid Brother Nidal Hasan used firearms in his assault on Fort Hood, but the fact is, today's mujahid is no longer limited to bullets and bombs when it comes to his choice of a weapon. As the blessed operations of September 11 showed, a little imagination and planning and a minimal budget can turn almost anything into a deadly, effective and convenient weapon which can take the enemy by surprise and deprive him of sleep for years on end.

"Another important and often intimidating stage of preparation for any operation is the targeting phase. When the time came to pick his target, the mujahid Brother Nidal chose carefully, looking for a target with which he was well acquainted, a target which was feasible, and a target whose hitting would have a major impact on the enemy. In Brother Nidal's case, these three important qualities came together in Fort Hood, but as you start to make your plans, you shouldn't make the mistake of thinking that military bases are the only high-value targets in America and the West. On the contrary, there are countless other strategic places, institutions and installations which, by striking, the Muslim can do major damage to the Crusader West and further our global agenda and long-range strategic objectives. [...]

"My Muslim brother – Jihad is neither the personal property nor the exclusive responsibility of any single group, organization or individual. Instead, it is the personal duty of every able-bodied Muslim on the face of this earth, until the last Muslim captive is freed and the last piece of occupied Islamic land is recovered, and until Muslims live in safety and security in the benevolent shadow of the Islamic state. Allah has given you faculties of reason, judgment, and choice within the guidelines of Islam, and it is for you – like your heroic mujahid brother Nidal Hasan – to decide how, when and where you discharge this duty. But whatever you do, don't wait for tomorrow to do what can be done today, and don't wait for others to do what you can do yourself."

Gadahn In Video To Obama: Hasan "Was [Once] One Of Yours"; Even Without Al-Qaeda, "There Would Still Be Hundreds Of Millions Of Muslims Ready And Willing To Fight You"

In a June 10, 2010 video to President Barack Obama, Adam Gadahn released another video praising Nidal Hasan, "Major Nidal Malik Hasan isn't a member of Al-Qaeda, Barack, nor of any other Islamic group for that matter. In fact, once upon a time, he was one of yours. The thousands of other Muslims in America eager to perform the duty of defensive Jihad also aren't members of Al-Qaeda. And you know what, Barack? Al-Qaeda hasn't been around forever, and even actual members of Al-Qaeda weren't born as members. No, Barack, this organization and those like it came into being for a reason and as a reaction, and those who are members joined up for a reason and as a reaction. In other words, Barack, even if you were to succeed in eliminating Al-Qaeda, or even if we were to imagine a world without Al-Qaeda in the first place, there would still be hundreds of millions of Muslims ready and willing to fight you, whether individually or under the Jihadi banner and name of their choosing, so long as you insist on depriving the Muslims of their rights and ignoring their legitimate demands." [8]

AQAP Commander Fahd Al-Quso On "Heroic Fighter Nidal Hasan"

On May 26, 2010, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) released a 55-minute video that included new statements by senior Al-Qaeda operative Fahd Al-Quso, who is under U.S. indictment for his alleged role in the USS Cole bombing. This was the first time that Al-Quso, who was wanted by the FBI, Interpol, and the U.S. State Department until he was killed in a May 2012 U.S. airstrike in Yemen, appeared in an AQAP production, and he referred to Nidal Hasan.

He said: "It is legitimate to fight against the Americans. Wherever they are found, we will fight them. We will destroy their warships that are anchored off our coasts, like we destroyed the [USS] Cole. We will kill their intelligence agents, like [CIA Khost bomber] Humam [Al-Balawi] did... We will pulverize their embassies and consulates, like we did in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, and like what occurred in Jeddah and Karachi.... What is more, we will take the battle to their own soil and we will launch first strikes. We will kill their soldiers in their secure bases, as did the heroic fighter Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood, may Allah free him. Likewise, their airplanes are a legitimate target for us."[9]

AQAP Deputy Emir Abu Sufyan Praises Hasan's "Great Heroic Act"

The second issue of Inspire, the English-language magazine of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), which was published on October 11, 2010, includes an interview with AQAP deputy commander Said Al-Shihri (also known as Abu Sufyan). Asked "What is your advice to the Muslims in the West?" he responded: "[...] The operations of our brothers, Nidal Hasan and Umar Al-Farouk, may Allah grant them steadfastness, are great heroic acts so whoever may add himself to this great list should do so and we ask Allah to grant them success. And all praise is due to Allah." [10]

AQAP Emir Nasir Al-Wahishi: The Hero Nidal Hasan

In a February 2010 article in the AQAP media company Al-Malahim's magazine Sada Al-Malahim, AQAP Emir Nasir Al-Wahishi - offered his organization's assistance to individuals wishing to carry out terror attacks like Hasan's: "The method of individual jihad represented by the hero Nidal Hasan is one of the methods of jihad today, and the Islamic nation needs to revive its use... The individual operation is more difficult to detect [and] can be executed more quickly, and it is easier thereby to penetrate [the defenses of] the enemy. The individual operation is organized and planned by the jihad group, which then enlists the appropriate individual to carry it out, [or else] it can be through direction, guidance, and coordination with the individual, as was the case with the operation of the mujahid brother Nidal Hasan, may Allah preserve him.

"As for America and the West, this is our message to you: Our efforts will never stop – rather, they will continue. We have long lists of martyrdom-seekers. The mujahideen, praise be to Allah, are gaining in power and determination, and we will continue our battle with you until Allah judges between us and you. [Koran 7:128:] The world is Allah's and he bequeaths it to whomsoever He wills among His servants, and the [good] ending is for the pious. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds."[11]

AQAP Statement On "The Hero Mujahid Brother Nidal Hasan"

On December 28, 2009 Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula released a statement titled "The Operation of Brother Mujahid Umar Farouk the Nigerian in Response to the American Attack in Yemen" on the jihadist website Shumukh Al-Islam, which referred to Hasan and claimed responsibility for the attempted Christmas Day terrorist attack on a plane over Detroit. It read: "We call upon every Muslim that is devoted to his religion and his belief to get the polytheists out of the Arabian peninsula, by killing every crusader who works in the embassies or in other facilities, and to declare a total war on every crusader in the peninsula of Muhammad, Allah's prayer and peace be upon him and upon his family, on land, sea, and air. And we call upon every soldier who works in the crusader armies and the collaborating governments to repent to Allah and to follow the hero mujahid brother Nidal Hasan, and to kill every crusader with all means of killing that are available to him, in support of Allah's religion and in order to raise his word on Earth."[12]

In Summer 2010 Issue Of Inspire: Hasan As Role Model

An article in Issue I, Summer 2010 of the Al-Qaeda English-language magazine Inspire, "The Operation Of 'Umar Faruq Al-Nigiri In Response To The American Aggression On Yemen," calls on "every soldier working in the crusader armies and puppet governments to repent to Allah and follow the example of the heroic mujahid brother Nidal Hasan; to stand up and kill all the crusaders by all means available to him, supporting the religion of Allah and to make the word of Allah most supreme on earth."

The issue also includes an interview with AQAP leader Sheikh Abu Basir in which he is asked "What is your advice to the Muslims in the West?" and in his reply mentions Hasan as someone whose actions should be imitated.

Inspire editor Yahya Ibrahim also praised Hasan in his article "The West Should Ban The Niqab Covering Its Real Face," writing, "Within a short span of time there was Fort Hood, the operation of 'Umar Al-Faruq, the attempt against the Swedish cartoonist and finally Times Square. There is no reason to believe that such attacks would abate."

The well-known article in this issue of the magazine, "How To Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom" by "Al-Qaeda Chef" also refers to Hasan as a "hero" and an "icon": "My Muslim brother, who wants to support the religion of Allah: do not make too many calculations and forecasting of the results and consequences. It is true that Umar Al-Faruq and his brothers Nidal Hasan and Shahzad were imprisoned, but they have become heroes and icons that are examples to be followed."

October 2010 Issue Of Inspire On Hasan's "Great Heroic Act"

In the second issue of Inspire, published in October 2010, AQAP Deputy Emir Abu Sufyan again praised Hasan in an interview, and, in an article titled "I Am Proud To Be A Traitor To America," Al-Awlaki protégé Samir Khan explained that America should not be surprised by Hasan's actions. He wrote: "America, take a hint for one: maybe you did something. It should then come as no surprise that the Muslims in your midst – like Nidal Hasan, Faisal Shahzad, and others – became traitors of your state due to your conduct."

Also in the same issue, Inspire editor Yahya Ibrahim referred to Hasan and his "great heroic act" in his "Tips For Our Brothers In The United Snakes Of America": "The Firearm Operation: Nidal Hasan and Abdul Hakim mujahid Muhammad. It's the least suspicious if you already own a firearm. For this choose the best location. A random bit at a crowded restaurant in Washington DC at lunch hour for example might end up knocking out a few government employees. Targeting such employees is paramount and the location would also give the operation additional media attention... The operations of our brothers, Nidal Hasan and Umar al-Farouk, may Allah grant them steadfastness, are great heroic acts so whoever may add himself to this great list should do so and we ask Allah to grant them success. And all praise is due to Allah."

May 2012 Issue Of Inspire: The Assassin Can "Become A Nidal Hasan That Is Invisible To The Public And Enemy Eye"

On May 2, 2012, Issues VIII and IX of Inspire were released; Issue IX included an article by Uthman Ibn Al-Ightiyal naming the seven best qualities of a good assassin to bring "victory" to Islam" and pointing to Hasan as an example: "These are some of the outstanding qualities of the urbanite assassin. There are different types of assassin roles available, however the role detailed here is meant specifically for those individuals who want to partake in a jihad that they intend to repeat through a series of operations until martyrdom. An individual [assassin] of any type can benefit from these aforementioned qualities. If the assassin can carry out his operations in this manner, then he will become a Nidal Hassan that is invisible to the public and enemy eye. The operations would be carried out on a consistent basis, shaking up the entire nation and making her deteriorate from within. That is just for one person; how about if 10 or 20 Muslims took up this praiseworthy assignment in America alone, each of them not connected to one another?"[13]

Al-Shumoukh Forum To Jihadi Website Readers In U.S.: Follow In Hasan's Footsteps

A document dated May 2010, styled as a letter "from Osama bin Laden to Obama" issued by the Righteous Da'wa Research Foundation and posted by "Shamikh Muharrid" on the jihadi forum Al-Shumoukh and other jihadi websites, including Al-Fallujah, included photos with Hasan. The document stressed to the readers of these jihadi websites residing in the U.S. that any of them is capable of carrying out an attack against targets on U.S. soil.

The document stated: "The average Muslim does not need to go to Afghanistan or Pakistan in order to attend training camps and learn how to fight the American enemy. Likewise, he does not need to be an expert or professional in making bombs and explosives to attack the U.S., as a bomb can easily be made using readily available materials such as nitrate, fertilizers that are sold in stores, agricultural materials, and a few canisters of gas and benzene. Anyone can obtain these materials and make a bomb. Anyone can learn how to do it by searching the Internet and watching videos that explain how to make bombs from readily available materials – and then plant it in a pre-planned location, and detonate it with a remote device or a cellular phone, without leaving any traces behind him. Anyone can obtain a firearm and open fire on a military base or an FBI or police headquarters, or on [the Capitol building], the Pentagon, the White House, or any other place. This can be done by a man, woman, child, student, teacher, university professor, doctor, lawyer, or anyone [else]."[14]

Ansar Al-Mujahideen Communiqué Congratulates "Role Model" Hasan: "The Actions Of Nidal Malik Hasan Were Not Contrary To The Religion Of Islam"

On November 24, 2009, the moderators of the English-language section of the Ansar Al-Mujahideen forum – the most popular salafi-jihadi forum in English – issued a communiqué praising Hasan. (The main Arabic-language section of Ansar Al-Mujahideen is an important second-tier jihadi forum.)[15] The communiqué aimed in particular to defend Hasan's actions against the condemnations that have been voiced by Muslim associations in the U.S.:

"We issue this statement in support of the actions of brother Nidal Malik Hasan; as a congratulations for his brave and heroic deed, as well as the jealousness he displayed for the pains suffered by the Muslim Ummah [nation] as a result of the modern Zionist-Christian Crusades against it. May Allah reward you brother Nidal. We ask Allah to accept this great feat of yours and make you an example for others to follow. [...]

"The actions of Nidal Malik Hasan were not contrary to the religion of Islam, rather they are encouraged by it, for no covenant exists between Muslims in the U.S. and the U.S. government and army. If there was initially some covenant, that covenant is now void due to the various crimes the United States has committed to break it, from them engaging in war with the Muslims, imprisoning Muslims, and by the rape and abuse of Muslim men and women to name a few.

"If one does hold the opinion that the covenant stands, they in no way are to condemn Nidal Malik Hasan or his actions, as there are legitimate scholars and opinions which state otherwise. Rather, all Muslims are to regard him as a brother and mujahid who risked his life in avenging the weak and oppressed Muslims around the world, who based his actions on valid and legitimate texts and opinions of scholars. Even if he had not based his actions on valid opinions and indeed was mistaken, the most which would be said that he made a mistake, and that the sin of the infidels was much worse than his mistake, as Allah said in the Koran [2:217]: 'They ask you concerning fighting in the Sacred Months. Say, 'Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with Allah is to prevent humankind from following the Way of Allah, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and to drive out its inhabitants, and fitna is worse than killing...' This was revealed in regards to a group of Muslims who killed some polytheists of Makkah [Mecca] during the sacred months in which fighting was forbidden. [The famous exegete] Al-Qurtubi said: 'mujahid [an earlier exegete] and others said that the word fitna here means disbelief, meaning, 'your disbelief is worse than our killing them.' The majority said, 'The meaning of fitna here is putting Muslims through trials which may turn them away from Islam and be destroyed,' and that this is a greater crime than their killing in the forbidden months'. If one reads and ponders over the event mentioned, they will find many benefits indeed.

"We warn all Muslims, both individuals and organizations, to fear Allah in the views they hold and statements they make in regards to the validity of Nidal's actions, the character of our brother, and the correct Islamic views in relation to matters of this sort. They must be very careful that they do not knowingly or unknowingly fall into disbelief and apostasy.

"In conclusion, we again congratulate all Muslims, especially those in the United States, and especially our heroic brother Nidal Malik Hasan, for indeed he has raised our heads and made us proud. He realized the truth about the 'war on terror', and waged his own war on terror. When he realized the sin of being in the army, and when he came to know he may be sent overseas to fight Muslims, he instead chose to fight those who truly deserved to be fought. He risked his life to show that the Muslim Ummah [nation] is one Ummah indeed, and that Muslims must target their enemies wherever they may be, even in their own lands. We hope other 'Muslims' in the US army repent from their apostasy and take him as a role model, instilling fear in the enemies of Allah and taking them by surprise wherever they may be.

"And our final prayer is: All praise be to Allah, the Lord of all that exists."

Online Jihadi Figure "Al-Cubi" Calls For More Attacks Like Fort Hood

On February 10, 2012, Shumoukh Al-Islam jihadi forum member "Abu Asma' Al-Cubi" ("the Cuban") posted an article on the forum detailing how Muslims living in the West, particularly in the U.S., can aid the global jihadi movement and can weaken the U.S. from within.[16] In it, he called the November 2009 attack by Fort Hood shooter Maj. Nidal Hasan a model for lone wolf attacks inside the U.S., and added that such attacks are entirely possible despite the U.S.'s alleged intelligence superiority.

Expressing his amazement at the absence of attacks in the U.S. by Muslims in retaliation for the killing of top Al-Qaeda figures such as Anwar Al-Awlaki and 'Atiyyat Allah Al-Libi, Al-Cubi explains that this stems from U.S. Muslims' "psychological impotence," lack of religious knowledge, and preoccupation with the concerns of daily life. Then, to help spur them to carry out such attacks, he sets out some guidelines for them, concluding with scenarios for possible attacks within the U.S.: spreading chaos countrywide via protests and vandalism; committing arson in forests and at factories, companies, buildings, and military bases; and more mass murders like Hasan's. About this last scenario, Al-Cubi adds: "The mujahid can carry weapons, enter public places where there are Christians, and [simply] kill."

Taliban Praise Fort Hood Shooting, "Courageous Nidal Hasan"

The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the Taliban's shadow government, issued a statement on the Fort Hood shooting in Urdu on November 9, 2009, titled " The Texas attack, a proof of the American military's hatred of war," was published on one of the websites of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

"At the Fort Hood military base in the American state of Texas, a Muslim military officer and his two military colleagues have rained bullets on American forces, killing 13 soldiers and wounding 31. As a result of this, extreme panic and sorrow have been born in the halls of the American military....

"According to sources, the courageous attacker of Texas is Nidal Hasan of Palestinian origin, who is a specialist of psychological diseases in the American military, who had been medically examining and treating those soldiers during the past few years that had returned from the wars of Iraq and Afghanistan. According to eyewitnesses, Nidal Hasan first uttered the slogan of Takbeer [greatness of god, or the Allah-o-Akbar] and then three colleagues unhesitatingly fired bullets. Nidal is now wounded and his situation is out of danger. After this incident, the American military closed this Fort and transferred the residents nearby to different places.

"About the reasons for this incident and attack, some Western commentators and media organizations are saying that, this American soldier (Nidal Hasan) may have committed this attack due to the pressure and disease which is existent among the American troops due to the wars of Afghanistan and Iraq and is in a state of quickly spreading [and] because of which the majority of American forces are not ready to jump into these wars. However, some commentators consider the [reasons for the] Texas attack nearer to the above reasons but [they also consider this] incident to be of a different and special type; it's possible that it [pressure and disease] is among the American troops due to their atrocities and terror, air attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, unsympathetic treatments [of prisoners] in jails and different types of atrocities, which the American troops have committed; [it may be due to] their hatred and reaction which in the current times is in enough supply in the American military camps.

"As a result of the illegitimate and illegal eight-year-old fighting against the oppressed civilians of Iraq and Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of oppressed people have been martyred, made handicapped and forced to leave their homes by the American military which pushed thousands of American troops into the mouth of death in these wars; and more [soldiers] than the dead were made handicapped and deprived of [a] peaceful life. Ultimately because of these difficulties and misfortunes, human compassion and conscience were born in the hearts of the American forces, [forcing them to ask themselves] why are they and others dying by burning in the flames of an unknown war; this point must be running in their minds, that in pursuit of what interests has the U.S. launched attacks on people far away from their continent and killing them mercilessly for revenge?

"The recent attack on the military base in the American state of Texas presents the proof of the matter that if the oppressor American rulers" current policies are continued, until the sacred lands of Afghanistan and Iraq are liberated from their un-pious and heinous touch, it is possible that other incidents and attacks like the Texas incident may occur in the Pentagon and other important American military centers; then the husbands of human conscience and compassion may embark on principled revolt and reaction."[17]

Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) Praises Lone-Wolf Attackers, "Honorable Mujahid Nidal Hasan"

On March 9, 2012, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan's (IMU) media company Jundullah Studios released an audio message from its German spokesman, Yassin Chouka, also known as Abu Ibrahim Al-Almani, in which he praised noted "lone-wolf" attackers and called upon Muslims living in the West to emulate them. Abu Ibrahim is a wanted international terrorist wanted by the U.S. under Executive Order 13324. In the message, titled "Yes, We Are Terrorists!" Abu Ibrahim vowed to kill all those serving Obama's interests, and proudly identified himself and like-minded members of the global jihad movement as terrorists, taking pride in their terrorization of the West in the decade since 9/11. He encouraged Muslims living in the West to carry out attacks against "the infidels," as there was no religious justification for living in their lands other than carrying out such actions.[18]

Abu Ibrahim praised Frankfurt airport shooter Arid Uka, saying that the mujahideen "are proud of him" for "carrying out the first attack on German soil": "The mujahid Arid killed American soldiers, and there is no question that his deed was justified. His action resembles that of the honorable mujahid Nidal Hassan. Both killed soldiers on their way to kill our brothers and sisters... An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth..."

"Today, the infidels have armed themselves and stepped up security [measures] because they love life as we love death. Therefore, taking part in actions such as those of Nidal Hassan and Arid Uka is no child's play. Dear brothers, if you do not have the ability to kill the infidels, then hurt their economy, ruin their buildings – such as clubs, discotheques, shopping malls, and restaurants... Be creative... Most importantly, your actions must be done for Islam."

Now-Defunct NY Jihadi Group Revolution Muslim: "Nidal Hasan: An Officer And A Gentleman"

On the day of the Fort Hood attack, CNN posted an interview and video of Revolution Muslim; in it, leading member Younes Abdullah Mohammed defined U.S. troops, as well the victims of 9/11, as "legitimate targets – until America changes its nature in the international arena." Shortly after the attack, the Revolution Muslim website posted a message: "Nidal Hasan M.D., An officer and a gentleman, was injured while partaking in a preemptive attack. Get Well Soon Major Nidal, We Love You."[19]

*Steven Stalinsky is Executive Director of The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).