In a message posted March 2, 2008 on the Islamist forum Al-Ikhlas (hosted by Piradius.net in Malaysia), a member calling himself "abumuslim22" urged his fellow forum members to engage in "media jihad," and provided advice and safety tips.
The following are excerpts from the posting: [1]
"… 1. Exercise patience, because each of the following stages takes time…
"2. Become a 'media mujahid'… Next to jihad on the battlefield, this is the most dangerous [type of] jihad, because you are new [to it] and inexperienced…
"A. Be careful, and do not trust people [you encounter] online under any circumstances…
"B. Do not associate yourself with [forum] members who post many replies… because:
"1. They may be seeking fame, and such [people] are unreliable;
"2. They may be spies... trying to gain the trust of the mujahideen.
"C. Do not try to interact with the [forum] administrator, [lest you become] like the Muslim scholars [who serve the Arab regimes].
"D. Do not succumb to temptation, [for] that is [what] the enemies of media jihad desire. For example, when those who engage in [media] jihad post a video on a video-sharing site, their enemies [often] post immoral [i.e. pornographic] videos and images on the site in order to divert the [attention of the forum] visitors, and make them forget the [jihad] video…
"E. Follow the news and the videos documenting [jihad operations], especially those produced by Al-Qaeda, such as [videos of] Al-Zawahiri, in which he explains things that are hidden from us - because [Al-Qaeda members] follow world [events] 24 hours a day, and know everything that goes on around them.
"3. Form a group. This is important because a group always starts with one person. However, if you cannot find another reliable person - be your own group.
"4. Find out where you can purchase weapons, especially small ones that can be easily concealed. Buy as many as you can, but not more! Keep [the weapons] hidden… Do not take them out [of their hiding place] under any circumstances, until it is time…
"5. Stay away from demonstrations… Know that demonstrations are held for one purpose only: in order to give citizens the feeling that they have done something significant, when [in fact] they haven't. The only exception is violent demonstrations, which provide an opportunity to use the weapon…
"7. Do not be too quick to judge people or things with which you are not familiar, the way some foolish people [judge] Al-Qaeda…
"8. Do not wait for a call from an Islamic group like Al-Qaeda… so you [can] begin to receive orders and act. Act on your own, starting today. Create a secret media jihad cell... which will be ready to become operational at any moment, and will be like a time bomb [concealed] in your home, [waiting to strike] the enemies of Allah.
"9. When the day comes on which you can set forth [and fight] for the sake of Allah, do not waste [even] a second. Seek to be among those who carry out martyrdom operations…"
(All links were live at time of writing.)
