On November 17, 2009, Al-Qaeda's media wing Al-Sahab released an Urdu-language audio interview with Ustadh Ahmad Farooq, described as "Al-Qaeda's [official] in charge of the Da'wah and Media Department for Pakistan."
Al-Qaeda has recently invested much energy in translating its releases into Urdu, and Al-Sahab has likewise released Urdu- and Pashtu-language material from the Pakistani Taliban[1]; this, however, appears to be the first time that a native Urdu-speaker, presumably a Pakistani, has been appointed to a senior position in Al-Qaeda itself.
The 46-minute recording is labeled "Part 1" of the interview; according to an English-language transcript that was released together with the audio, the interview dates from Sha'ban 1430 / July 2009.
The point of the interview is to allow Ahmad Farooq to present Al-Qaeda in a favorable light to a Pakistani audience. In particular, the interview format affords Farooq a platform to answer objections that have been raised about Al-Qaeda and to justify its actions – for instance, he answers the charge that Al-Qaeda is to blame for the fall of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan. It is fairly late in the game to try to "introduce" Al-Qaeda to a Pakistani audience, but the appointment of Farooq as an Urdu-language spokesman is clearly an attempt to change perceptions and win over more Pakistanis.
Following are excerpts from the interview taken from the Al-Sahab transcript. The English has been lightly edited for clarity, and expressions appearing in Arabic script have been transliterated or translated, as appropriate:
"Jihad and Al-Qaeda Have...
The full text of this report is available to MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor Subscribers.
Subscription information is available at this link.
JTTM subscribers can visit this page to view the report.
