Al-Zawahiri tries to stay relevant in face of Muslim discontent

25/04/2008

Algerian analysts say al-Qaeda number-two Ayman al-Zawahiri's second set of answers to questions about the terror group's activities in Algeria are far from reality. Algerians are skeptical of his attempt to characterise terrorists in Algeria as resistance groups fighting colonisation.

Said Jameh in Algiers and Jamel Arfaoui in Tunis contributed to this report for Magharebia – 25/04/08

[Getty Images] Algerian analysts say Ayman al-Zawahiri's description of al-Qaeda's objectives in Algeria as efforts to secure the lives and properties of citizens is far from reality.

Al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahiri used the internet on Tuesday (April 22nd) to resume answering questions allegedly left earlier by readers of extremist websites. Experts believe that the web "dialogue" by Osama bin Laden's deputy, however, is merely an attempt to stay relevant amid growing discontent among Muslims.

Many of the questions submitted to al-Zawahiri reportedly revolved around al-Qaeda's legal authority and the controversy over its attacks on Algerian and Iraqi civilians.

Asked about the targeting of civilians by alleged Algerian readers, Zawahiri continued to justify the attacks by al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. He characterised them as efforts to secure the lives and property of Algerian citizens and as jihad to liberate Algerians from "America, France and the children of France".

Algerian analysts say al-Zawahiri depicted a picture that was far from reality in Algeria.

Political analyst Ali Merdji said al-Qaeda's number two was trying, albeit unsuccessfully, to depict Algeria as an arena for fighting the Americans and French. The recording is an attempt to "introduce the bloodthirsty elements of al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb in a new way, i.e. resistance groups fighting colonisation in Algeria," Merdji said.

"This trick won't be bought by the Algerians who understand the criminal nature of the terrorist organisation, which has a long record of terrorist operations, especially as they are the first victims of that organisation's followers," he added.

Al-Qaeda has carried out eight suicide attacks in Algeria since April 11th, 2007, killing more than 100 civilians. According to Merdji, the toll over the last 16 years has convinced Algerians that violence will reap nothing but fear.

Even the families of many armed men no longer believe in armed action and have called instead for reconciliation, he noted.

Because security forces have dismantled and isolated a number of terrorist groups, many al-Qaeda supporters now live in squalid conditions, Algerian media recently reported. Cut off from resources and with reduced supplies, al-Qaeda Organisation in the Islamic Maghreb has been forced to ask for clothes, medications, food and money.

Al-Zawahiri's repeated calls to kill Americans and French in Algeria contradict the principles of Islam, a local imam told Magharebia.

"The texts of Islamic history show that Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) used to advise his companions during the wars not to hurt Christians and Jews, even by hints, and he advised them not to hurt monks in their places of worship," Abdelkrim said. If this was at the time of war, he asked, then how about the time of peace?

As to al-Zawahiri's motives for choosing the "dialogue via internet" option, Hamid Yassine, an expert in security affairs in Algeria, said the move was "an attempt to confirm that al-Qaeda has a media presence, and that it has the power and ability to make threats".

Such messages have become important "in the survival of the jihadist groups", he noted, adding that they have become increasingly dependent on the media to counter the severe blows they have been dealt, not just in Algeria but across the world.

"A message through a digital means can be recorded and circulated quickly and in secrecy without knowing its source, especially with the spread of the internet cafes," said Abdelkarim Hizaoui, a professor of media in the Institute of Journalism and News Sciences in Tunis.

According to an expert on extremist Islamic groups' use of the internet, "al-Zawahiri is now looking at the use of the internet as the best way through which he can avoid censorship." Ikbal Gharbi, a professor of Anthropology in the Institute of Sharia and Religious Principles, added, "In view of the high illiteracy rates in the Islamic world, the audio recording is considered an effective means to convey the message that can then be copied and sent via cell phones. To al-Zawahiri, the internet is the 21st century's blessing."

Al-Zawahiri might not find listeners in Tunisia, however, where the government imposes strict censorship on extremist websites.

"I don't think that any sane person would dare to access these websites," Mourad Ben Jannet told Magharebia at an internet café in Tunis. "I don't think that you would find anyone who tells you that he/she supports al Qaeda or that he/she admires Ben Laden or al-Zawahiri; it would be a highly risky thing to do. I also don't think that these names or figures have anyone who sympathizes with them or support their ideology."

Karim Hidri, meanwhile, refused to take part in the conversation, but said his father warned him more than once not to search for the websites of religious organizations, even if it was out of curiosity.