Introduction
In the spring of 2011, as Yemen reeled from political upheaval, a new Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) front group, Ansar Al-Shari'a ("Supporters of the Shari'a," henceforth AS) emerged in the country. The group had some success in battles with the Yemeni military, taking control of several towns and areas in southern Yemen, mainly in the Abyan governorate, where it named the city of Ja'ar the "Islamic Emirate of Waqar." In an effort to consolidate its hold on the areas under its rule, it has sought to ensure amin wa istiqrar (security and stability), and has publicized these efforts in a bid to win over the local population by reassuring it that the group is capable of governing, maintaining the peace, implementing justice, and so on.
As part of this campaign, AS has used its media arm, the Madad News Agency (MNA), to publicize its successes. Between late fall 2011 and June 2012, MNA produced 21 newsletters, each two to five pages in length, titled Taqrir Ikhbari ("News Report"), along with 14 video clips featuring the official MNA logo and letterhead. The content of the newsletters falls into two main categories: post-action jihad reports, including recognition of martyrs, and discussions of the various tactics employed by AS in its quest to win the hearts and minds of the Yemeni public.
The following report will present examples from MNA publications and media releases aimed at presenting AS's efforts to establish and maintain an "Islamic Emirate."
Madad News Agency logo
AS Claims Less Crime, Quicker Justice In Areas Under Its Control, Thanks To Successful Implementation Of Shari'a
In the framework of its self-proclaimed efforts to establish an Islamic state in Yemen, AS is implementing shari'a law in the areas it captures, which it asserts has resulted in a drop in crime and speedier trials and court action for citizens. The latter claim is aimed at underlining the contrast with the protracted, expensive, and corrupt nature of legal proceedings under the traditional Yemeni judicial system. For example, AS boasted that it had resolved a long-standing court dispute dating back to 1965 in just three sessions, with full repayment of the 50,000 Saudi riyals at issue.[1]
AS unloads food supplies in Ja'ar[2]
AS claims that its judges, who are not paid for their work, speedily handle and issue rulings in accordance with the Koran and the Sunna on a variety of cases, including "murder, divorce, alcohol consumption, inheritance, land disputes, and child abuse."[3] It also claims that following the initial success of its judicial system, more cases were filed with its shari'a council.
Describing the court system in November 2011, AS pointed out that in "36 days, the court reviewed 76 cases, resolving 56 of them and ruling on 19 of them."[4] Most of the cases were civil disputes, such as debt defaults or petty theft.
Additionally, in three separate cases, AS judges ruled that certain government taxes were not Islamic and exempted citizens from paying them. For instance, an MNA newsletter discussed the repeal of a tax on public transportation drivers: "A dispute was resolved between bus drivers and traffic enforcement officials over the taxing of bus drivers. The traffic enforcement officials were awarded a sum of money, however the tax was ruled to be in violation of shari'a law, and the tax was therefore repealed."[5] The newsletter also noted a similar case involving "fishermen and cement factory workers [who were] exempted from taxes imposed on them under the Saleh regime."[6]
According to MNA, AS judges ruled in two cases of tribal disputes; this invokes the theme of mujahideen as objective, pan-Islamic agents capable of transcending tribal differences and resolving disputes that would otherwise remain unsolved or deteriorate into conflict. It stated that in the first incident, "a dispute between two families went on for three years in the courts of the regime and in tribal courts, until it was ruled upon by AS's shari'a courts, which issued a [verdict in accordance] with shari'a law, resulting in a resolution between the two families."[7]
In the second incident, elders of the tribe of Al-Ja'adna asked the AS judicial committee to rule in a murder case, stating that they had "complete trust in the fairness of the shari'a ruling issued by AS, which is unaffected by bias or favoritism. Additionally, [AS's ruling will] avoid the disastrous consequences of tribal vengeance that the people of Abyan suffered under... the former Sana'a regime."[8]
In several articles, MNA highlighted how AS restored stolen goods to their rightful owners. One article noted: "A gang of thieves was captured in the region of Al-Masemer. Following an investigation, they confessed to the theft and revealed the location of the stolen goods. AS restored the stolen goods to their owners."[9] One MNA video clip shows AS bringing a stolen semitrailer truck back to its owner, and another shows it doing likewise with a stolen minibus.[10]
In another case, AS convicted three men of spying for the Saudi intelligence apparatuses, and sentenced them to public execution by shooting; the execution drew a large crowd. In an apparent attempt to make the execution look more look more official, AS had medical personnel on hand to pronounce the men dead. The alleged spies' confessions were posted online and distributed via CD to the execution spectators.[11] At least one other execution video attributed to AS can be found on YouTube, although it is not clear what crimes were committed by those put to death.[12]
Execution of alleged Saudi spies[13]
AS also made efforts to publicize its implementation of other elements of the shari'a, such as prohibiting "sorcery" and drug use and drug dealing. One report read: "In the city of Ja'ar, AS seized a sorcerer who had been practicing magic and sorcery for a long time... AS also recently flogged a man who had been using hashish, in front of the shari'a judiciary."[14]
An AS religious police vehicle in Ja'ar[15]
Provision Of Basic Services
Several MNA newsletters hailed AS's purported success in providing basic needs to the populations under its control, including water, electricity, and sanitation. The recurring theme of these reports was AS's success versus the 'Ali 'Abdallah Saleh regime's failure despite its allocation of funds for development – because corrupt officials had pocketed the funds.
For example, MNA praised AS for "undertaking a plan to bring electricity to the villages of Seyhan, Sakat, and 'Aisya, which are under the control of Ja'ar in Abyan governorate, after the village was long deprived of [electricity] contracts. This is part of a civil services program undertaken by AS in the city of Ja'ar and its surroundings. Most of the regions and state of Abyan were deprived of electricity in the era of the Saleh regime, although funds were allocated to bring electricity to this region. These funds and this plan were halted because of corrupt regime officials, and reform never came to this region..."[16]
"Laying water pipes in Waqar [Ja'ar]"[17]
MNA also praised AS efforts to distribute potable water and to improve sanitation in 'Azan: "AS undertook a plan in the Emirate of 'Azan to distribute free drinking water and services for collecting and transporting waste... A Madad correspondent noted that AS had designated a vehicle to distribute drinking water to the people and the mosques of the Emirate of 'Azan, who could not purify their own drinking water. The official in charge of this service is supplying it without receiving any payment... An official confirmed that collecting waste in the Emirate of 'Azan is a major goal, because this will help prevent the spread of illness and infectious disease..."[18]
AS members distributing dumpsters[19]
AS Praises Its Own Treatment Of Captive Yemeni Soldiers – In Contrast To Soldiers' Mistreatment Under The Sana'a' Government
One important aim of AS propaganda is legitimizing itself among Yemeni soldiers by highlighting its own competence and benevolence, contrasting this with the incompetence and maltreatment they suffer under the government and its senior military command. To this end, a number of MNA newsletters included captive soldiers' criticism of the military and its command.
"A group of Yemeni soldiers captured by Ansar Al-Shari'a" [20]
One captive Yemeni soldier discussed the average soldier's lack of combat readiness, attributing this to a lack of support and provisions from the central military command: "...An officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel fled the battlefield because he suffered defeat to the mujahideen before his eyes. There was a lack of logistical support and lack of sufficient protection for soldiers in their positions... AS learned about the negligence in the arming of soldiers there, and knew that Sana'a did not sufficiently resupply their ammunition for combat. A soldier is given only 30 rounds of ammunition every three months."[21]
MNA gave well-known journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad access to the captive soldiers, and in a discussion with him one captive praised AS's treatment of them, in contrast with Sana'a's mistreatment of its soldiers and of the mujahideen in its prisons: "Our morale is [characterized by] depression in a land not concerned with us, and plagued by internal divisions... We fought for the state, we preserved our honor... but the state ultimately failed to show any concern for us. As for AS, they look after us with great care, which is superior to how the government of Sana'a treats its prisoners."[22]
AS also made efforts to publicize and capitalize on its April 2012 capture and subsequent release of 73 Yemeni soldiers. The group presented the prisoner release, brokered by several tribal groups, as evidence of its humanitarianism, while highlighting its fair treatment of captives and its granting human rights groups and the International Red Cross access to the captive soldiers.[23] AS noted that it had fed and sheltered the prisoners and alleged that it had protected them from air raids by the Yemeni government, following Islamic protocol on treatment of prisoners.
AS added that during their captivity the soldiers were given educational lectures by AS leaders and "advised to atone for their efforts to secure victory for the Crusader Americans and their oppressive allies in the Sana'a regime."[24]
In the same newsletter, MNA reiterated its "praiseworthy" treatment of its prisoners, in contrast to the suffering to which the mujahideen are subjected in state prisons.
Enlisting Yemeni Clerics To Rally People To Join And Support AS
Speaking at the April 2012 release of prisoners, Sheikh 'Awad Banajar addressed the crowd, criticizing ulema who attack AS and praising the form of government it had established. He encouraged these ulema to visit Ja'ar and see the situation there for themselves, claiming that it resembled a return to the great era of the Prophet's Companions: "Our brothers, the ulema, perhaps do not truly understand what I saw and witnessed with my own eyes in this land: good young brothers who believe in and are applying the shari'a of Allah in their land. I saw with my own eyes their noble origins, and I saw the people, how they are trading at their markets, and their efforts to learn Islam. I said, Allah be praised, the golden period and the period of the Companions of the Prophets has returned."[25]
"Sheikh 'Awad Banajar"[26]
Banajar went on to encourage the tribes to stand alongside AS: "Do not give the Americans an opportunity to repeat in Yemen the experiment of the awakenings[27] in Iraq [and] to fight the mujahideen... Do you think [it is acceptable for] the tribes to stand with America against the mujahideen?! [Stand] with your brothers, the mujahideen..."[28]
He concluded by claiming that jihad in Yemen was an individual obligation (fard 'ayn), in light of the fact that the country had been invaded by the enemy.
Also speaking at the ceremony was Sheikh Ma'mun Hatem, who called on parents to send their children to join the ranks of mujahideen: "Do not believe the media organs, which propagate [the lie] that the mujahideen and AS are the enemies of religion... It is the Jews and Christians who are the old enemies undermining the stability of the entire world. They prohibit the people from [establishing] rule by Islamic shari'a and establishing religion, monotheism, jihad for the sake of Allah, and commitment to virtue...[29]
"Sheikh Ma'mun Hatem"[30]
"The warriors of Islam, and those wishing to be governed by the shari'a, call upon society to reconsider dealing with AS, which does [indeed] govern by shari'a rule. It strives to spread the shari'a, because this is what Allah commanded as a solution to the problems of society from which the Muslims are currently suffering."[31]
AS Uses Diverse Methods To Garner Popular Support
In addition to the more formal tactics discussed above, AS employs diverse methods for winning support from the Yemenis living under its control. For instance, mujahideen in Ja'ar planted trees on roadsides, distributed soccer balls to children, sponsored 'eid al-fitr festivals, and held screenings of jihadi films in the town square. AS also provides financial and moral support for widows, orphans, and victims of the ongoing conflict.
Members of an AS delegation told the mother of a child wounded in a drone attack that what had happened to the children was nothing new and had, in fact, been taking place for decades in Palestine, Iraq, and Afghanistan. They added: "The American Crusaders have been experimenting with the latest weapons, and this is one reason children are being born afflicted with deformities."[32]
Endnotes:
[1] Taqrir Ikhbari IV, November 2011.
[3] Taqrir Ikhbari XI, March 2012.
[4] Taqrir Ikhbari IV, November 2011.
[5] Taqrir Ikhbari IV, November 2011.
[6] Taqrir Ikhbari XI, March 2012.
[7] Taqrir Ikhbari V, November 2011.
[8] Taqrir Ikhbari VIII, December 2011.
[9] Taqrir Ikhbari V, November 2011.
[10] Ayn 'ala al-hadth I.
[13] Ayn 'ala al-hadth V.
[14] Taqrir Ikhbari IV, November 2011.
[15] Ayn 'ala al-hadth XV.
[16] Taqrir Ikhbari VIII, December 2011.
[17] Taqrir Ikhbari XIV, March 2012.
[18] Taqrir Ikhbari XI, December 2011.
[19] Taqrir Ikhbari XI, March 2012.
[20] Taqrir Ikhbari XIV, March 2012.
[21] Taqrir Ikhbari XVI, April 2012.
[22] Taqrir Ikhbari XVI, April 2012.
[24] Taqrir Ikhbari XVII, April 2012.
[25] Taqrir Ikhbari XVII, April 2012.
[26] Taqrir Ikhbari XVIII, April 2012.
[27] "Awakening" refers to the Al-Sahwa program in Iraq, under which the U.S. Military partnered with local Iraqi tribes to uproot Al-Qaeda.
[28] Taqrir Ikhbari XVII, April 2012.
[29] Taqrir Ikhbari XVII, April 2012.
[30] Taqrir Ikhbari XVIII, April 2012.
[31] Taqrir Ikhbari XVIII, April 2012.
[32] Taqrir Ikhbari XVII, April 2012
