Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen, has released a trailer of an upcoming video it has produced, entitled What America & The West Do Not Expect. “The trailer, produced by AQAP’s media arm, Al-Malahem Media, heralded the re-launch of the group’s English-language Inspire magazine” and “depicted scenes of terrorist attacks in New York City, including suicide attacks on the city’s subway system and in Times Square, as well as plane hijackings.” “Al-Qaeda In The Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) Announces Re-Launch Of English-Language Inspire Magazine; Promotional Video Features Terrorist Attacks On New York City’s Times Square And Subway System,” MEMRI, December 26, 2023:
The video’s opening scenes juxtapose footage of Muslim pilgrims circling the Ka’aba in Mecca with dramatized images of an Israeli airstrike targeting Gazan children. An English-speaking narrator states: “Because we are one ummah and one body, our happiness is one and our sorrows are one.”
The video then displays images of American and Israeli flags, and depicts operatives conducting cyberattacks on the U.S. electrical grid, while the narrator intones: “Our enemy is one. And that is why we strive [to wage] jihad against this enemy, and to be empowered around the world.”…
…The trailer also threatens terrorist attacks on New York City. It depicts lone wolf operatives entering the city’s subway system, for example, and shows an explosion within an aircraft – suggesting a hijacking – as well as scenes of New York’s crowded Times Square.
The video also depicts operatives assembling improvised explosive devices and suicide vests; they are then shown detonating the explosives while wearing Palestinian keffiyehs. “We will be with you wherever you may be,” the narrator says in conclusion: “We will overcome obstacles together, step by step, in order to reach our goal and the correct equation.”
The Palestinians are the symbols of the unity of the ummah. Palestinian jihadis are the leading foot soldiers of the Islamic expansionist movement everywhere. It is the one jihadist cause that unites jihad groups across the board, as well as transcending the Sunni and Shia divide. Its mission has ignited at the UN, and its advances are being observed and felt all across the Western world, as is manifested by pro-Palestinian activists waving banners, hollering the death call to obliterate of Israel “from the River to the Sea,” and resorting to violence and intimidation, thereby casting terror into the hearts of disbelievers. Beware of anyone who claims that the Palestinian jihad against Israel has nothing to do with Islam. It has everything to do with Islam, and it is serving as a launching pad for the goal of a global caliphate.
According to the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point:
In the contemporary Islamist movement, the black flag with the shahada is used to evoke notions of jihad and of reestablishing the Islamic Caliphate.
The appearance of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque is also common in jihadist imagery. Muslims across sectarian lines share a reverence for both sites, though each also holds special significance for Palestinian groups (symbolizing Palestinian statehood). Its appearance in this context ties together the two theaters of jihad, Iraq and Israel/Palestine, a notion that is verbalized in the caption on the right: “bawwabat al-tahrir li-ard filastin” (“[The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) is] the gateway of liberation for the land of Palestine”). The text on the left again refers to the ISI, stating: “amal al-umma wa-majduha al-qadim” (“[ISI is] the hope of the umma [the Islamic nation] and its foremost pride”).
Dr Tawfik Hamid, an Egyptian-Amerian medical doctor and Chair for the Study of Islamic Radicalism at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, who was once a member of al-Gama’a al-Islamiyya, stated in my book: The Challenge of Modernizing Islam:
In the case of Israel, it hits Islamists at the core when a small country like Israel defeats them. Even with all the money they have, with all the oil they have and with some 200 million Muslims, they still can’t get rid of Israel. For them, it’s an issue of challenging their supremacy, and their feeling of supremacy is vital to their religion.
Particularly noteworthy in the MEMRI report about “What America & The West Do Not Expect” is how the trailer opens up by referencing jihad as a religious duty for Muslims:
Q… by displaying Quran 4:84,[2] which reads in part: “And fight in the way of Allah, you are not held responsible except for yourself […] And inspire the believers.”
That call is not isolated. Other Qur’an verses also inspire and incite the global jihadist movement:
“Warfare is commanded for you, even though it is odious for you, but it may happen that you hate something that is good for you, and it may happen that you love something that is bad for you. Allah knows, you do not know.” (2:216)
“Let those who sell the life of this world for the next fight in the way of Allah. Whoever fights in the way of Allah, whether he is killed or victorious, on him we will bestow a great reward.” (4:74)
“Those of the believers who sit still, other than those who have an injury, are not equal with those who wage jihad in the way of Allah with their wealth and lives. Allah has conferred on those who wage jihad with their wealth and lives a rank above the sedentary. Allah has promised good to each, but he has bestowed on those who wage jihad a great reward above that of the sedentary.” (4:95)
“O you who believe, when you meet those who disbelieve in battle, do not turn your backs on them. Whoever turns his back on them on that day, unless he is maneuvering for battle or intent on joining a company, he indeed has incurred wrath from Allah, and his dwelling place will be Gehenna, an evil destination.” (8:15-6)
“And fight them until persecution is no more, and religion is all for Allah.” (8:39)
“And the Jews say, Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say, The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the statements of those who disbelieved before. May Allah curse them. How perverse they are.” (9:30)
“O you who believe, shall I show you a transaction that will save you from a painful doom? You should believe in Allah and his messenger, and should wage jihad for the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives. That is better for you, if only you knew. He will forgive you your sins and bring you into gardens under which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of Eden. That is the supreme victory.” (61:10-12)
There are also many such calls in the Hadith, including this statement attributed to Muhammad:
“Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war… When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withhold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them… If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah’s help and fight them.” (Sahih Muslim 2922)
The many verses calling for violent jihad in the Qur’an and Hadith, with the end goal being a global Islamic caliphate. Those who misinform people by claiming that Islam is inherently a religion of peace do an incredible disservice to free societies. Jihad is religious war which led to the conquest of the Middle East, with the exception of the one free society, the tiny state of Israel. It is the one infidel country and is targeted for destruction, and only wants to be left alone to live in peace, but instead has been attacked by Islamic countries from the day of its birth.
The AQAP video, “What America & The West Do Not Expect,” reflects the emboldening of jihadists, who are preparing to strike while the iron while its hot, as Israel battles Hamas in Gaza.
Tony Rice says
The Islamists will overstep the mark soon with all their threats to the rest of the world and bring retribution down on their heads. . We ” infidels ” aren’t going to put up with threats and jihads forever.
puzzled says
While our enemies are playing 4 dimension Chess, joey biden is playing tiddleywinks.
islam is the very curse of SATAN.
Jack Reynolds says
The average IQ for YEMEN home of the Houthis is 62.86, barely high enough to tie your own shoe laces without supervision.
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EXTRACT
The Pentagon said on December 23 that an Iranian-launched drone struck an Israeli-affiliated merchant ship in the Indian Ocean.
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The critical truth here is that Iran has directly committed an act of war against what it believed was an Israeli target. While hardly comparable to Hamas’s barbarity, Hizbollah and Houthi attacks, or Iran’s own massive arms and intelligence support, Tehran has now crossed the line of armed hostilities. The West’s operating assumption should be to expect more of the same. Iran has, for example, recently threatened shutting down commercial shipping across the Mediterranean. It is Iranian belligerence driving potential escalation, not Western self-defence.
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The Biden administration, much of the media, and Iran’s propagandists will probably continue ignoring the reality of who is calling the shots in this conflict. But the evidence is growing inexorably that October 7 was intended to draw Jewish blood to implement Soleimani’s “ring of fire” strategy, with Iran pressing Israel on multiple fronts, directing operations via terrorists and state actors it has armed, trained, and financed.
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Only if Israel, America, Britain, and others show they possess the resolve and capability to impose significant costs on Iran, as punishment for its aggression, will they persuade the ayatollahs that proceeding further will bring them intolerable pain. Very likely, only direct military force, applied against critical targets inside Iran, will impose such costs, proving to Tehran it has miscalculated not only about Israel, but on President Biden and the West more generally. That is why the evidence of a direct Iranian attack on a commercial ship in the Indian Ocean is potentially so important.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-west-may-now-have-no-option-but-to-attack-iran/ar-AA1mafvS?cvid=1a5fa04249a94a30b277361847ffbf8b&ocid=winp2fptaskbarhover&ei=13&sc=shoreline
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࿗Infidel࿘ says
Oh, al Qaeda, we expect that all right. It’s just that half our population – Democrats – would be perfectly okay w/ it
The Istanbulian says
They won’t expect the destruction of Al aqsa & dome of the rock
Bummer
pfwag says
Common denominator? ISLAM and GD Muslims.