Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 39

FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN JIHAD

according to Malik, there is only ever one center of
gravity: the soul of the enemy. The infidel foe must be
converted to Islam or crushed.
Lastly—and here we see the relevance of this book
to groups like al-Qaida and IS—since the only target
that matters in war is the soul of the infidel, Malik concludes that the most effective weapon in war is terror.
The enemy’s belief system must be utterly destroyed
and terror is the most effective way to do that. That is
why 9/11 was so important. It is the highly symbolic
suicide attacks, the crucifixions, the beheadings, the
pressure-cooker bombs at marathon events, and the
videos of immolations that will destroy the will of the
infidel to go on.
Lest anyone think The Quranic Concept of War was
the work of some radical and disenchanted fringe
Pakistani officer, it must be noted that the book has
a foreword by Gen. M. Zia-ul-Haq, chief of the army
staff and president of Pakistan. In the foreword, Zia is

(Photo by Muhammad ud-Deen, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)

American-born Anwar al-Awlaki served as an imam and Islamic lecturer in both the United States and Yemen. His influence continues
even after his death in 2011 by a U.S. drone strike. His sermons
continue to stoke jihadi-violence, including having inspired such
persons as Maj. Nidal Hassan and the Tsarnaev brothers.
MILITARY REVIEW  May-June 2016

clear, jihad in the cause of Allah “is not the exclusive
domain of the professional soldier,” echoing Azzam’s
fatwa in which a holy war was deemed an obligation of
all Muslim believers.
These above works by Qutb, Zawahiri, and Malik
have been found on high value targets, on jihadi
leaders, in every theater of conflict where a holy war is
being fought. The ideas of these strategic thinkers have
shaped the worldview and objectives of al-Qaida, IS,
and every jihadist terror group working today to recreate the Caliphate so Islam can reign supreme.
But when it comes to the threat of jihadi violence
here in America and the danger of American service
personnel and citizens becoming terrorists, there is one
more individual we must discuss.

Awlaki: Leave Infidel Land or Kill the
Infidel
Born in New Mexico in 1971 to Yemeni parents,
Anwar al-Awlaki would become the spiritual jihadi
leader for a whole new generation of terrorists. Labeled
“the bin Laden of the Internet,” Awlaki would train
in Islamic theology and become the imam of a Falls
Church mosque in Virginia before ending his days as
one of the most senior leaders of al-Qaida. He was
killed on the orders of the White House in a drone
strike in 2011.
Awlaki ’s significance, even after his death thanks to
the scores of videos and audio recordings he made, was
to bring his understanding of American culture and
society to the challenge of recruiting young Americans
to the cause of jihad, so making a holy war attractive to
a post-Afghan war generation.
This became especially important after the 9/11
attacks brought a robust American national security
response, which meant that another similar attack,
executed by Arabs from the Middle East traveling on
U.S. visas, would be much, much harder.
In fact, Awlaki’s hand, or his influence, can be found
behind:
The Fort Hood massacre, where he was in contact
with the killer Maj. Nidal Hasan
The attempted Times Square bombing by Faisal
Shahzad
The Christmas Day bomb plot by Umar Farouk
Abdulmutallab, and even
The Boston Marathon bombing

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