The Caliph of Lisson Green
Muhammad al-Rifai was an unassuming figure who ended up as the nominal leader of the Muslim world. Opportunities to meet a caliph are pretty rare. Yet in London in the… Continue reading "The Caliph of Lisson Green"
Category: Foreign Fighters
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Into the heart of Jihadism
On the 26th-28th June clashes broke out between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and a faction led by the al-Qaeda affiliated Hurras al-Din (HaD). Although an informal agreement ended the violence… Continue reading "Into the heart of Jihadism"
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The Meaning of Jihad at the Frontline Club
To The Mountains: My Life in Jihad from Algeria to Afghanistan (Hurst) has so far received critical acclaim from a wide variety of people from Lawrence Wright to Yusuf Qaradawi.… Continue reading "The Meaning of Jihad at the Frontline Club"
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The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad- Book Review
The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad by Thomas Hegghammer is a biography on Abdallah Azzam and no doubt going to be the standard work on the… Continue reading "The Caravan: Abdallah Azzam and the Rise of Global Jihad- Book Review"
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Abdul Hakim Belhaj: Why I rejected bin Laden’s invitation to join al-Qaeda
“We need to do something!” the young Belhaj had said, brandishing the handgun. “What?” his university friend said puzzled. “I don’t know,” he replied. “What about when the bullets run… Continue reading "Abdul Hakim Belhaj: Why I rejected bin Laden’s invitation to join al-Qaeda"
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From Afghanistan to Abaaoud
Somewhere along the line Abdelhamid Abaaoud, not an educated man, conflated the myth of the Afghan Jihad with reality. This conflation had disastrous consequences. Abaaoud and his friends joined a… Continue reading "From Afghanistan to Abaaoud"
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When Abdullah Azzam met Ahmed Shah Massoud
Abstract Dr. Abdullah Azzam has been seen as the father of global jihad both by analysts and indeed al-Qaeda itself. Al-Qaeda and Jihadis of all varieties claim him to be… Continue reading "When Abdullah Azzam met Ahmed Shah Massoud"
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The Bosnian Jihad: An interview with Abu Abdel Aziz Barbaros
Abstract Here is an interview of Abu Abdel Aziz Barbaros or Barbarossa (named after his red beard and Khayreddine, the naval commander and greek privateer of the Ottoman empire). He… Continue reading "The Bosnian Jihad: An interview with Abu Abdel Aziz Barbaros"
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The Problem with Abu Bakr, Osama Bin Laden and Zarqawi: An explanation of Arabic names
Writing about and covering Muslim jihadi militancy for more than half a decade now, I realise that Westerners, analysts, journalists or otherwise find Arab names extremely difficult to grasp. One… Continue reading "The Problem with Abu Bakr, Osama Bin Laden and Zarqawi: An explanation of Arabic names"
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To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan
Description The Algerian Islamist Abdullah Anas, ‘perhaps the greatest warrior of the Afghan Arabs’, fought the Soviet Union for a decade. As one of the earliest Arabs to join… Continue reading "To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan"