‘O Mujahideen in the West’: Interview with Hurras al-Tawheed

[Valin]

Jihadica

Tore Hamming

May 18, 2022

Within Jihadi propaganda, terrorism in the West against ‘the crusaders’ or ‘the infidels’ features prominently. The AQAP-produced magazine Inspire specialized in calling for action and advising al-Qaida supporters on how to attack in addition to providing religious justification. The latest issue of Inspire was published in summer 2017, and since then a string of new magazines and supporter organizations calling for terrorist attacks has emerged. One such example is the Wolves of Manhattan magazine that has so far published three issues. 

In February 2022, another new magazine started to be shared on encrypted platforms carrying the title ‘O Mujahideen in the West’. Until now, the group behind the magazine, Hurras al-Tawheed, has published six issues and a Ramadan special issue.

Initially, the magazine did not stand out for its calls for jihad in the West. What really caught my attention was how it positioned itself within the Jihadi current and its way of communicating. Although disseminated through well-known al-Qaida channels and praising al-Qaida pioneers, it made it explicit that its objective was to unify al-Qaida and Islamic State sympathizers in the West, to settle their internal differences and animosity to enable a unified covert military front threatening Western security. 

With regard to communication, its format and style of writing was short and concise, and the editor even explained why. Since it was addressed to the youth, it should not be long, dry and boring since no youth would ever read it. Instead, it should offer brief justifications for attacks and simple recipes for how to conduct them.

These emphases of the magazine were intriguing, and they prompted me to make contact with Hurras al-Tawheed, which agreed to an email interview telling me more about itself, its propaganda, and its raison d’être. I should add that Hurras al-Tawheed responded to every single one of my questions, providing long and seemingly honest answers.

Besides elaborating on the above issues, the interview offers exciting insights into al-Qaida’s online ecosystem, the state of Jihadi supporters in the West, and not least the origin and structure of Hurras al-Tawheed.

Below you find the entire interview.

(Snip)