He pledged this in the process of pledging allegiance to Mullah Akhtar Mansour, the new Taliban top dog. But it raises yet again the ever-recurring question: why is it that those Muslims who are most concerned with Sharia and jihad are those who, according to all Western non-Muslim governing authorities, actually know nothing about Sharia and jihad and are not really properly implementing either?
No one ever answers that. “Al-Qaeda’s al-Zawahiri pledges allegiance to new Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour,” Indian Express, August 13, 2015:
Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri pledged the group’s allegiance to new Taliban chief Mullah Akhtar Mansour in an audio recording released today on jihadist websites.
“As emir of Al-Qaeda, I pledge to you our allegiance, following the path of Sheikh (Osama) bin Laden and his martyred brothers in their allegiance to Mullah Omar,” Zawahiri said, referring to the former Al-Qaeda leader and to the longtime Taliban chief whose death was confirmed last month.
The statement came amid a bitter struggle within the Taliban over Mansour’s leadership.
The recording was featured in a video that opens with images of bin Laden – who was killed by US special forces in Pakistan in 2011 – pledging allegiance to Omar.
The recording then plays over a picture of Zawahiri, who is believed to be in hiding in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region.
He says that the “Islamic emirate” established by the Taliban in Afghanistan was the “first legitimate emirate after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and there is no legitimate emirate in the world apart from it.”
That is, of course, a rejection of the Islamic State’s caliphate.
He pledged to Mansour to “implement sharia law” and to continue “jihad until every part of occupied Muslim land is free.”…
Jack Diamond says
Zawahiri, Yesterday’s Man. Muslims are voting with their feet and their bombs who is a legitimate emirate.
The Islamic State’s favorite theorist is al Qaeda’s Abu Musab Al-Suri (the Syrian), part of bin Laden’s inner circle, author of Call to Global Islamic Resistance, and then partner to Zarqawi and al Qaeda in Iraq, which morphed into ISIS. This has become the zeitgeist, not Zawahiri. Al-Suri not only called for a new strategy of waves of individual (lone wolf) attacks in the West, but for jihadis to carve out a Caliphate in the heart of the Middle East. Which has happened. And the Pakistan Taliban pledged allegiance to the Islamic State last year.
Zawahiri should be on Hollywood Squares, or the Al Jazeera equivalent. Which should then be droned.
Angemon says
Hmmm, I doubt that sits well with the caliph of the islamic state…
Westman says
But, but, but, how can this be? According to Allah and his Spokesman, the world will be peaceful and cooperative when everyone is Muslim.
Thought experiment: Based on current world Ummah behavior, If Muhammad returned today as a normal man, how long would he last before he was assassinated by the “real” Kakif of the “real” Kaliphate?
Jack Diamond says
You’d think so. Except this fitna is an insidious thing and it is worse than a slaughter. Allah’s Spokesman also predicted Islam would split in 73 sects, 72 of which would go to hell. Even those first 3 Muslim generations he said would be “the best of Muslims” had no problem killing one another (the caliphs didn’t die of old age or natural causes). The Caliph is the last one left standing.
Muhammad said Muslims were all brothers, but he also had little use for “bad Muslims” (hypocrites) and no use for apostates who had left Islam (whether they knew it or not). Muhammad had a rival mosque burned down. The wary Muslim must keep in mind Muhammad’s warnings: Hadith Abu Dawud Volume 3, Book 40, Number 4744
‘Arfajah told that he heard the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: Various corruptions will arise in my community, so strike with sword the one who tries to cause separation in the matter of Muslims when they are united, whoever he be.
Book 40, Number 4747
Narrated Abu Sa’id al-Khudri; Anas ibn Malik: The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: Soon there will appear disagreement and dissension in my people; there will be people who will be good in speech and bad in work. They recite the Qur’an, but it does not pass their collar-bones…Happy is the one who kills them and they kill him. They call to the book of Allah, but they have nothing to do with it. He who fights against them will be nearer to Allah than them (the rest of the people).”
Allah’s enemies are without and within. They can expect “harshness.” The heroes of Islam aren’t exactly Martin Luther Kings.
Khalid bin al-Walid “The Sword of Allah” was the favorite warrior of Muhammad and his successors. He slaughtered countless infidels and apostates. In striking terror into the hearts of the disbelievers–see if this sounds familiar–he raped the wife of the apostate Arab commander right on the battlefield, then cut off his head, then lit a fire and cooked his dinner
on the severed head. Ibn Kathir recounts in awe: “Khalid ate from it (Malik bin Nuwagra’s head) to terrify the apostate Arab tribes and others. And it is said that Malik’s hair created such a blaze that the meat was thoroughly cooked.” Stories of Khalid aren’t recounted in horror and shame but admiration, just as it is with the Islamic State. Because, like that rapist of the 12-year old Yazidi girl, it is a prayer to Allah, they are doing worship. You don’t expect peaceful and cooperative from such creatures then or now, the blood must keep flowing. Allah must continue to be fed victims. As the great Qur’anic scholar Omar Abdel Rahman once said “there is a whole Surah called ‘Spoils of War’. There is no Surah called ‘Peace!’ Jihad and killing are the head of Islam. If you take them out, you cut off the head of Islam.”
Linde Barrera says
To Jack Diamond- Thank you for your 10:02 pm, Aug 13, 2015 post. Very informative.
Westman says
Thanks for the informative response, Jack Diamond.
It seems we have 60 or so sects to go before the world-conquering sect arrives. Now if we could just get those false caliphates and sects to stop the killing and mahem….
Will the real Caliphate please stand up!
BC says
You have it precisely
Jack Diamond says
“jihad until every part of occupied Muslim land is free.”… which not only means any land ever once claimed by Islam it means the entire earth, said Muhammad “the whole earth has been declared unto me a mosque”–Sahih Muslim B004 N1062
mortimer says
“He pledged to Mansour to “implement sharia law” and to continue “jihad until every part of occupied Muslim land is free.”…
Note: Ayman al-Zawahiri used the last word (‘free’) in its Islamic ‘taqiyya’ sense…the word means ‘enslaved’ in normal, everyday English.
Arthur says
Obviously, using leading edge technology in the battle for ‘believers’ has given the Islamic State a clearly greater market share compared to old-fashioned Taliban. The Taliban will have to invest in some youtube, twitter, and facebook propaganda sooner or later if they want to stay in the game.
underbed cat says
So al queda wants to implement Sharia law. And according to John Guandolo, author of ‘Raising a Jihadi Generation”, pg 83, excellent book, “Islamic Law is real law. It is the basis for constitutions in Muslim nations around the world. “There is no Islamic Law that does not require jihad as “warfare against non-Muslims”. ” There has never been any other definition of “Jihad” in Islamic Law.” So it makes me wonder which terrorist group is not interested in this outcome. Which terrorist group is not Islamic that wants to live under Sharia law. Which terrorist group says they are Islamic but the shhh we can’t know this? Do they quote Islamic law by accident and not know it. The MB doesn’t even know who they are Islamic.. So how does this continue with lots of misinformation I guess. Sort of like watching reruns of ‘What’s My Line’ , in the end the truth comes out. Maybe.
BC says
It is my sincere hope that they will fight among themselves making it easier to destroy them.
Baucent says
Al Zawahiri has very little influence now in Jihadi circles. He requires protection from the Taliban, so pledging allegiance is probably required. Best bet is he is in the Tribal Region of NW Pakistan. One day a drone might get lucky, inshallah.