Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 36

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As a result, there is no true Islamic state today,
only pretense and falsehood.
The answer is a return to Allah and the reestablishment of his sovereignty on Earth through the
re-creation of his theocratic Caliphate in a jihad.
For Qutb, being a Muslim was not a personal, theoretical, or individualistic exercise. One could only be a
true Muslim if you took part in eradicating the infidel
and all his influences, and taking an integral part in the
war that would bring the Islamic empire back.

personal goal to
bring down the
Cairo government, Zawahiri
would eventually be released
and end up in
Pakistan during
the anti-Soviet
jihad of the 1980s,
where he would
Zawahiri: One Superpower Down,
use his medical
One to Go
skills to heal the
Zawahiri, who now heads al-Qaida after the
mujahideen who
(Image courtesy of The Counter Jihad Report)
successful special operations mission in Abbottabad,
had been woundPakistan, that killed bin Laden, has also contributed
ed fighting the
Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner,
published by the London-based Asharq
significantly to the canon of jihadi strategy. More so, in
Russians.
al-Awsat, is Ayman al-Zawahiri’s book
fact, than his former boss.
In Pakistan,
describing his political and religious
An Egyptian surgeon born into a very promZawahiri would
world views. He explains what role a
inent Cairo family, Zawahiri was also a member
eventually meet
global jihadi movement should play in
the future, and that Muslims are responof the Muslim Brotherhood like Qutb, but would
bin Laden and
sible to conduct jihad.
later become one of the leaders of the terror group
be drawn deeper
Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Arrested and imprisoned by
into the world of the “Arab mujahideen”; Zawahiri
the Egyptian authorities for his extreme beliefs and
would become a member of the Arab Services Bureau
(the MAK in Arabic). After the head
of the MAK, Abdullah Azzam, was
killed in 1989 and bin Laden took
over the organization, the Saudi’s
puritanical Wahabbi-ideology would
begin to meld with Zawahiri’s Muslim
Brotherhood-influenced ideas, and
subsequently the MAK would transform into al-Qaida with Zawahiri as
bin Laden’s new deputy.
The renamed jihadi group was now
redefined as bin Laden and Zawahiri
gave it a global mission. Instead of focusing exclusively on one type of target,
foreign invaders on Muslim soil—or
un-Islamic apostate Arab leaders and
their governments in the Middle East—
The Base would do both, and most
importantly for America, al-Qaida
would now take the jihad into the “belly
(Photo courtesy of WIkipedia)
of the beast,” into the heart of infidel
Osama bin Laden (left) sits with his adviser and translator Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri (right)
lands. This move into “enemy territory”
during an interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir on 8 November 2011 in Kabul.
After bin Laden’s death, Zawahiri assumed the principal leadership role over al-Qaida.
would eventually result in al-Qaida
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May-June 2016  MILITARY REVIEW