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Editor | Unknown; former editor Samir Khan [1] |
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Categories | Propaganda |
First issue | July 2010 |
Country | Yemen |
Language | English |
Inspire is an English-language online magazine published by the organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). The magazine is one of the many ways AQAP uses the Internet to reach its audience. Numerous international and domestic extremists motivated by radical interpretations of Islam have been influenced by the magazine and, in some cases, used its bomb-making instructions in their attempts to carry out attacks. [2] The magazine is an important brand-building tool, not just of AQAP, but of all al-Qaeda branches, franchises and affiliates. [3]
The magazine is aimed at young British and American readers and provided translated messages from Osama bin Laden. The first issue appeared in July 2010. [4] [5] Various articles in the second issue encouraged terror attacks on U.S. soil, suggesting that followers open fire at a Washington, D.C. restaurant or use a pickup truck to "mow down" pedestrians. [6]
The October 2010 issue included an article penned by Samir Khan, in which he wrote, "I am proud to be a traitor to America". [7] Samir Khan was killed on 30 September 2011, in the U.S. targeted killing Predator drone attack in Yemen. [8]
The magazine's aim is to inform and persuade a committed audience by distributing internal communications called "auto-propaganda" to strengthen morale, reduce dissent, or justify and legitimize an attack or controversial doctrine. It was also used to target an uncommitted audience to eventually win sympathy and support. Therefore, AQAP has the ability to represent themselves and their actions exactly as they wish. The controlled message is unfettered from the scrutiny of the local and international media. [9]
Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution described the magazine as "clearly intended for the aspiring jihadist in the U.S. or U.K. who may be the next Fort Hood murderer or Times Square bomber". [10] It was described by Michelle Shephard, author of Guantanamo's Child , and a reporter for the Toronto Star , as being an extension of the online Arabic magazine Sada al-Malahim (Echo of the Battle). [11]
The magazine was thought to be the work of Anwar al-Awlaki, an English-speaking cleric and al-Qaeda leader based in Yemen. Awlaki was on the United States' "kill or capture list". [12] [13] [14] [15] An editorial by al-Awlaki, entitled May Our Souls Be Sacrificed For You appeared in the first issue. [16] In the article, al-Awlaki called for attacks against all those who had slandered the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, including all Western targets. [17]
The magazine stated that its title came from a verse in the Qur'an, "Inspire the believers to fight" [18] and described itself as "A special gift to the Islamic Nation". [11] The magazine was first "discovered" online by the SITE Institute. When the first issue of the magazine was initially released, a technical error prevented most of the magazine's pages from loading properly. [15]
The magazine encouraged its readers to submit their own material for publication: "We also call upon and encourage our readers to contribute by sending their articles, comments and suggestions to us." [16] The magazine's production users were able to use multiple third-party sources (photos, videos, etc.) to create content with ease. The use of mass media was also capable of doctoring content. The separation of form and content of the media and then the ability to "mash" content together with little effort had the ability to create persuasive presentations that would catch the attention of the intended audience. [19]
This sort of crowd-sourcing has been influential in motivating extremists. Mohamad Osman Muhammed, for example, who was implicated in a plot to bomb the Portland Christmas tree lighting ceremony in 2010, had previously been published in a different English-language magazine called Jihad Recollections. [20]
Declarations were made for Muslims to rise in defense of their Muhammad, families, justice, and the umma. AQAP propagated the U.S. bombing of Yemen and categorically targeting women and children. Thus they used this alleged targeting as justification of Omar al-Faruq's attack as retaliation. "Al-Qaeda says that violence is just retribution for Western injustices and that Islam authorizes this position." [21]
The articles inside Inspire were used to incite rage against non-believers and the West. The Recruiting pitch was based on the conspiracy theories and through the ideology of defensive jihad. The periodical explained what to expect in jihad and the theory of open front jihad and individual jihad. The arguments presented explained the difficulty of an open front engagement with American forces and the difficulty of traveling overseas to conduct jihad. Therefore, the solution for Muslims was individual obligatory (fard'ayn) jihad to attack while the Islamic nation was strategically weak.
[S]pontatenous [sic] operations performed by individuals and cells here and there over the whole world, without connections between them, have put the local and international intelligence apparatus in a state of confusion, as arresting the members of aborted cells does not influence the operational activities of others who are not connected with them. [22]
Inspire promoted "open source jihad". This shifted away from al-Qaeda's traditional terrorist attacks to simple attacks by individuals using common items for weapons. The Summer 2010 issue advised making a pressure cooker bomb using everyday materials ("How to make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom").
The Fall 2010 issue encouraged using one's car to "mow down" people in crowded places ("The ultimate mowing machine"). The Winter 2010 issue discussed how to blow up buildings. These provided individuals with simple ideas for terror attacks, without direct ties to al-Qaeda or its affiliates. It had become too great a threat to travel abroad and receive training in al-Qaeda training camps, and direct contact with al-Qaeda members endangered the member and the aspiring terrorist. Therefore AQAP's "open source jihad" promoted attacks without the support of a physical community. Marc Sageman, a leading expert in the field, described this phenomenon as "leaderless Jihad". [23] While he considered this threat as "self-limiting" and one that would quickly die out, the difficulties in stopping the lone wolf attackers were great.
"Open source jihad" emerged as a necessary tactic as al-Qaeda leadership steadily vanished in the ten years since 9/11. With leaders either dead or in jail, al-Qaeda had to consider new ways to attack its enemies. [24] Al-Qaeda first splintered into "franchises" by country or region, then further degenerated into solo operators, mostly of dubious capabilities. [25] Inspire became an important al-Qaeda brand tool for recruiting, informing, and motivating these open source jihadis.
Some scholars, such as Thomas Hegghammer (of the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment) and Jarret Brachman, argued that the magazine was an unexceptional example of jihadist online literature and did not deserve the media attention it received. [26] [27] Hegghammer wrote that "there is nothing particularly new or uniquely worrying" about the magazine's content, and its connection to AQAP is likely weak: "Without signals intelligence it is extremely difficult to determine the precise nature of the link between the editors and the AQAP leadership. Judging from the amount of recycled material in Inspire, I would be surprised if the AQAP connection is very strong." [26]
While the SITE Institute and at least one senior U.S. government official described Inspire as authentic, there was some speculation on jihadist websites and elsewhere that the magazine, due to its low quality, may have been a hoax. [28] This theory was advocated, in particular, by Max Fisher, a writer for The Atlantic . [29] Fisher listed five reasons to suspect the publication was a hoax. [29] According to Fisher, the portable document format (PDF) file that contained the first issue also contained a computer virus. Fisher noted that the magazine contained an article by Abu Mu'sab al-Suri, noting that al-Suri had been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay since 2005, and that whether he was actually tied to al-Qaeda remained unclear. The article attributed to al-Suri was the beginning of a series that appeared in the next 5 issues of Inspire. These excerpts were all copied from a translation of Abu Musab al-Suri's "The Global Islamic Resistance Call" which was published in a 2008 biography of him. [30]
Peter Bergen, the national security analyst for CNN, describing it as "a slick Web-based publication, heavy on photographs and graphics that, unusually for a jihadist organ, is written in colloquial English", on 31 March 2011 discussed the column of Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki, a leader of AQAP, in its fifth issue. [31]
Inspire is a unique terrorist publication in that it is very specific in the audience in which it targets instead of publishing general ideological arguments to all Muslims. Studies in terrorism [32] [33] have noted that most Islamic terrorist attacks on the West are perpetrated by well-educated men living in the West, with an average age of 26 years. [32] AQAP also is aware of this, and Inspire magazine targets this demographic.
One example is in the use of imagery and text in the operations of Abyan in the Fall 2010 edition. The images are of operations directed against Yemeni troops at checkpoints, base ambushes, explosions, and "cleaning the streets" (killing the enemy). The photos show images of actions performed by the mujahid against the murtad. The captions tell a story of victory for the holy warriors with few casualties. The images and text portray a story of invincibility and defeat of Yemen's Special Forces.
Al-Shamika (the high, elevated (feminine)) was a new fashion and lifestyle magazine for Muslim women and suicide bombers published online by al-Qaeda. [50] [51]
Possession of Inspire without reasonable excuse has been successfully prosecuted under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000. [52] Several people have been arrested and jailed for possessing the magazine, and copies have also been found in the possession of British terrorism suspects. One of the Operation Guava plotter's "key" assets were copies of Inspire. [53] Mohammed Abu Hasnath, 19, of east London, was arrested in October 2011 and sentenced in May 2012 to 14 months in jail for possessing several editions of Inspire. [54]
On 6 December 2012, Ruksana Begum, 22, of Islington, north London was sentenced to one year in prison after two editions of Inspire were found on a microSD card in her phone following an anti-terrorist raid in June of that year. Her brothers, Gurukanth Desai and Abdul Miah were sentenced to 12 and 16 years imprisonment respectively in February 2012 after pleading guilty to a plot to blow up the London Stock Exchange. Passing sentence, Mr Justice Fulford stated that Begum "is of good behaviour and a good Muslim" and there was nothing to suggest she was involved in terrorist activity. [55] He accepted that she gathered the material in an attempt to explore and understand the charges her brothers faced. After taking into account time spent on remand, Begum would be released in one month, after serving half her sentence. [56]
On 16 April 2013, an Australian man from Melbourne was arrested for possessing and collecting editions of the magazine on a USB drive. [57]
The magazine is not banned or necessarily illegal. In May 2013, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom told students during an event at Wichita State University that authorities monitor extremist groups' websites, including Inspire. [58]
Circa June 2010, [59] an MI6 and GCHQ cyberwarfare operation [60] [61] replaced Make a bomb in the Kitchen of your Mom by The AQ Chef with a web page of recipes for The Best Cupcakes in America written by Dulcy Israel, a staff editor [62] [63] at Entertainment Weekly , [64] produced by Main Street Cupcakes, [65] Hudson, Ohio, and published by The Ellen DeGeneres Show . MI6 and GCHQ also removed articles by Osama bin Laden, Ayman al-Zawahiri and an article, What to expect in Jihad. [66] [67] Al-Qaeda reissued the magazine two weeks later. [67] [68] [69] [70] [71]
Al-Qaeda is a pan-Islamist militant organization led by Sunni jihadists who self-identify as a vanguard spearheading a global Islamist revolution to unite the Muslim world under a supra-national Islamic caliphate. Its membership is mostly composed of Arabs but also includes people from other ethnic groups. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian, economic and military targets of the U.S. and its allies; such as the 1998 US embassy bombings, the USS Cole bombing, and the September 11 attacks.
In its war on terrorism in Yemen, the US government describes Yemen as "an important partner in the global war on terrorism". There have been attacks on civilian targets and tourists, and there was a cargo-plane bomb plot in 2010. Counter-terrorism operations have been conducted by the Yemeni police, the Yemeni military, and the United States Armed Forces.
Abu Musab al-Suri, born Mustafa bin Abd al-Qadir Setmariam Nasar, is a suspected Al-Qaeda member and writer best known for his 1,600-page book The Global Islamic Resistance Call. He is considered by many as 'the most articulate exponent of the modern jihad and its most sophisticated strategist'.
Anwar Nasser Abdulla al-Awlaki was an American-Yemeni lecturer and jihadist who was killed in 2011 in Yemen by a U.S. government drone strike ordered by President Barack Obama. Al-Awlaki became the first U.S. citizen to be targeted and killed by a drone strike from the U.S. government. U.S. government officials have claimed that al-Awlaki was a key organizer for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda.
Martyrdom videos are video recordings, generally from Islamist jihadists who are about to take part in a suicide attack and expect to die during their intended actions. They typically include a statement by the person preparing to be a martyr for their cause. They can be of amateur or professional quality and often incorporate text, music, and sentimental clips. The people in these videos typically sit or stand in front of a black Islamic flag, in their explosive-rigged vehicles, or media or other symbol of their allegiance. Suicide bombers considered themselves religiously justified by sharia and consider themselves to be shahid.
Fahd Mohammed Ahmed al-Quso, also known as Abu Huthaifah, Abu Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, Abu Al-Bara', Abu Hathayfah Al-Adani, Abu Huthaifah Al-Adani, Fahd Mohammed Ahmed Al-Awlaqi, Huthaifah Al-Yemeni, or Abu Huthaifah Al-Abu Al-Bara, was alleged to be a terrorist by American and Yemeni officials, and on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list. He was wanted by the FBI, Interpol, and the United States Department of State, which had offered 5 million dollars to anyone with information about him. He was killed by a US drone strike in Yemen on 6 May 2012.
The following is a list of attacks which have been carried out by Al-Qaeda.
Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, or AQAP is a Sunni Islamist militant organization which seeks to overthrow the Yemeni government and establish an Islamic emirate. Part of the al-Qaeda network, the group is based and primarily active in Yemen, while also conducting operations in Saudi Arabia. It is considered the most active of al-Qaeda's affiliates that emerged after the weakening of central leadership.
Ibrahim Hassan Tali al-Asiri was a citizen of Saudi Arabia suspected of being chief bomb-maker of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. He was reported to have been responsible for making the bombs used by his brother Abdullah al-Asiri in his suicide bombing, the 2009 Christmas Day bomb plot, the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot, and the May 8th 2012 Terror Plot.
The attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 occurred on December 25, 2009, aboard an Airbus A330 as it prepared to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport following a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam. Attributed to the terrorist organization al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the act was undertaken by 23-year-old Nigerian national Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab using chemical explosives sewn to his underwear. These circumstances, including the date, led to Abdulmutallab being commonly nicknamed either the "Underwear bomber" or "Christmas Day bomber" by American media outlets. It also could have been the worst plane crash in the history of Michigan beating out Northwest Airlines Flight 255.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber" or "Christmas Bomber", is a Nigerian terrorist who, at the age of 23, attempted to detonate plastic explosives hidden in his underwear while on board Northwest Airlines Flight 253, en route from Amsterdam to Detroit, Michigan, U.S. on 25 December 2009.
The Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen is an ongoing armed conflict between the Yemeni government, the United States and their allies, and al-Qaeda-affiliated groups in Yemen. It is a part of the Global War on Terror.
Anwar al-Awlaki was an American-Yemeni cleric killed in late 2011, who was identified in 2009 by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a known, important "senior recruiter for al Qaeda", and a spiritual motivator.
On October 29, 2010, two packages, each containing a bomb consisting of 300 to 400 grams (11–14 oz) of plastic explosives and a detonating mechanism, were found on separate cargo planes. The bombs were discovered as a result of intelligence received from Saudi Arabia's security chief. They were in transport from Yemen to the United States and were discovered at stopover locations: one at East Midlands Airport in the UK and one in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
At around 9:30 pm on September 11, 2001, George Tenet, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), told President George W. Bush and U.S. senior officials that the CIA's Counterterrorism Center had determined that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were responsible for the September 11 attacks. Two weeks after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation connected the hijackers to al-Qaeda, a militant Salafist Islamist multi-national organization. In a number of video, audio, interview and printed statements, senior members of al-Qaeda have also asserted responsibility for organizing the September 11 attacks.
Samir ibn Zafar Khan was a Saudi Arabian naturalized U.S. citizen, jihadist militant, and the editor and publisher of Inspire magazine, an English-language online magazine reported to be published by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). He was killed in a drone strike in Yemen together with Anwar al-Awlaki.
Islamic extremism in the United States comprises all forms of Islamic extremism occurring within the United States. Islamic extremism is an adherence to fundamentalist interpretations of Islam, potentially including the promotion of violence to achieve political goals. In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terror attacks, Islamic extremism became a prioritized national security concern of the U.S. government and a focus of many subsidiary security and law enforcement entities. Initially, the focus of concern was on foreign Islamic terrorist organizations, particularly al-Qaeda, but in the course of the years since the September 11 terror attacks, the focus has shifted more towards Islamic extremist radicalized individuals and jihadist networks within the United States.
On 21 May 2012, a suicide bomber attacked Yemeni soldiers hereasing for annual Unity Day military parade in Sana'a, Yemen. The attack, which unsuccessfully targeted Yemeni Defense Minister Mohammed Nasser Ahmed, killed at least 96 soldiers and wounded 222, making it one of the worst in Yemen's history. The bombing was claimed by al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula affiliate Ansar al-Sharia.
Al-Qaeda has five distinct phases in its development: its beginnings in the late 1980s, a "wilderness" period in 1990–1996, its "heyday" in 1996–2001, a network period from 2001 to 2005, and a period of fragmentation from 2005 to 2009.
Al-Malahem Media (AMM) is the media wing of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Located in Yemen, AMM uploads audio messages, online magazines and video series in Arabic, English, and French. AMM publishes multiple magazines, them being Sada al-Malahem and Inspire, as well as the "From the field" video series.
Al-Qaeda has opened a new front in war on the West, launching its own English-language Internet newspaper, which features articles such as "Make a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom"
What's to make of Al Qaeda's first foray into the English-language magazine publishing business? To a lot of folks here, including our publisher, it reads almost like an Onion parody.
The articles by Al-Suri in Inspire have actually been taken word for word and translated directly from Brynjar Lia's 2008 book about him, Architect of Global Jihad. In the book, Lia, a research professor at the Norwegian Defense Research Establishment, included an English translation of two key chapters from Al-Suri's The Global Islamic Resistance Call. All the articles are part of a series titled "The Jihadi Experiences [The Schools of Jihad]."
In addition, Ahmad admitted three counts of collecting information likely to be of use to a terrorist, including the al-Qaeda publication Inspire.
Code-named Operation Guava, the investigation was part of a long-term effort to disrupt a domestic network [...] Key among their possessions was Inspire magazine
Scope is the annual research magazine of New York University.
SeanNock
J. Wilson, "Operation Cupcake: British Spies Hack Al Qaeda's Magazine to Replace Bombs With Cupcakes