On July 18, 2011, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) media wing Al-Malahem released the sixth issue of the English-language jihadi magazine, Inspire.
Note to government and media – for a copy of the full issue of Inspire 6, please send an email to [email protected] with "Inspire 6" in the subject line.
The following is an overview:
The content and tone of the issue betray the great setback Al-Qaeda has recently suffered as a result of the successful nonviolent uprisings in the Arab world and the killing of Osama bin Laden. The uprisings have proven the efficacy of nonviolent protest in toppling dictatorial regimes, which Al-Qaeda has long claimed could be achieved only through jihad. Bin Laden's successful evasion of justice since the 9/11 attacks was a symbol of Al-Qaeda's defiance to U.S. might, such that his loss was considerable to the organization's morale. Moreover, the circumstances of his death – namely that he was killed in his bed alongside his wives and family, in a safe residence surrounded by Pakistani military camps, rather than in the battlefields of jihad – posed a major problem to the mujahideen on the jihad fronts. In consequence, the current issue of Inspire reflects Al-Qaeda's ongoing effort to portray bin Laden's death as a case of heroic martyrdom, as manifest in a communiqué by AQAP and in the issue's feature article by American jihadi Samir Khan.
In the magazine's Q & A section, Inspire's editors responded to charges that the uprisings in the Arab world had proven that Al-Qaeda was irrelevant to the Muslim masses. They countered by stating that the protestors' demands were, in fact, perfectly in line with Al-Qaeda's own ideology. They said the Arab masses wanted shari'a law, rather than democracy, and that their demands were "in actuality calls for basic rights and freedoms that the shari'a provides; [they don't] have much to do with democracy per se."
Another prominent feature of the latest issue of Inspire was its tamer tone in its threats against the West, and particularly the U.S. The issue did, however, contain two additional installments in its "Open Source Jihad" series, which aims at instructing Muslims in the West in how to carry out attacks using readily available materials such as acetone for bomb-making. This is a recurring theme in Al-Qaeda's address to Muslim communities in the West, which has been reflected in various Inspire issues, casting the responsibility of jihad on individuals in Muslim communities in the West.
It is particularly noteworthy that the issue contained no interviews or articles by Anwar Al-'Awlaki, AQAP's senior ideologue, who was the key writer in previous issues of Inspire, though the issue did provide previously unreleased photos of Al-'Awlaki, depicting him as rugged jihad warrior. AQAP also reported that Al-'Awlaki managed to escape from a drone attack that targeted him, and quoted him as saying after the attack that "it looks like someone was a bit angry with us this evening." Moreover, bin Laden's replacement as Al-Qaeda's commander, Ayman Al-Zawahairi, was mentioned only briefly and did not contribute any content to the issue. Also absent from the issue was Al-Qaeda's American spokesman, Adam Gadahn.
Following are the issue's main contents:
- A letter from Inspire's editor, Yahya Ibrahim, apologizing for the delay in the issue's publication. Ibrahim laments the death of bin Laden and wishes Ayman Al-Zawahairi success in his task as Al-Qaeda commander.
- A communiqué from AQAP eulogizing the death of bin Laden, including no threats.
- A Q&A section, focusing on the uprisings in the Arab world.
- Obituaries praising as martyrs various AQAP members who died in action, which comprised the bulk of the issue.
- A feature article by Samir Khan glorifying bin Laden as the epitome of the mujahid warrior and praising him for standing up to the U.S. and spearheading today's jihad movement. Khan said that bin Laden's assassination would not go unanswered and that the West could expect nothing but misery for its role in his death. Dealing with the problems created for the mujahideen by the circumstances of bin Laden's killing, Khan stated that "bin Laden did not die in his bed."
- An "Open Source Jihad" section, which provides illustrated guides on weapons use and bomb making. As noted, the section focuses on attacks using materials that can be obtained in local stores.
- The issue also contains the English translation of a recorded message by Osama bin Laden, "An Address to the Revolutionaries", which was released after his death, as well as previously published articles by Al-Qaeda leaders Abu Yahya Al-Libi, 'Attiyat Allah 'Abd Al-Rahman, and Abu Mus'ab Al-Suri.
- A section titled "Inspire Reactions," containing references to the magazine in leading media outlets. In addition to reports by CNN, The New York Times, and The Guardian, the section also cites MEMRI's coverage of Inspire's fifth issue.
