On June 12, 2013, the website of prominent Salafi-jihadi cleric Sheikh Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad ("The Pulpit of Monotheism and Jihad," henceforth MTJ)went offline, after the New Jersey-based company that hosted the website for the past three years, Interserver Inc of Secaucus, NJ, suspended its account.
The English version of the website has been down for several months.
Since 2003, MTJ has been the main online home for the global Salafi-jihadi movement, and hasplayed a key role in indoctrinating and guiding jihadis and terrorists. It began as the personal site of the leading Salafi-jihadi cleric Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, and evolved into one of the major online archives for jihadi materials, in both Arabic and English, publishing essays and books by jihadi scholars. Its shari'a committee regularly issued fatwas on various subjects. Some recent fatwas issued were on the permissibility of bombing European synagogues and churches,[1] sanctioning the killing of U.S. ambassadors, including Ambassador Chris Stevens,[2] and the importance of carrying out attacks in the West versus going to join the jihad in Syria,[3] and the permissibility of targeting infidel companies and kidnapping and killing tourists in Muslim countries.[4]
Since 2003, MTJ has been the main online home for the global Salafi-jihadi movement, and hasplayed a key role in indoctrinating and guiding jihadis and terrorists. It began as the personal site of the leading Salafi-jihadi cleric Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, and evolved into one of the major online archives for jihadi materials, in both Arabic and English, publishing essays and books by jihadi scholars. Its shari'a committee regularly issued fatwas on various subjects. Some recent fatwas issued were on the permissibility of bombing European synagogues and churches,[1] sanctioning the killing of U.S. ambassadors, including Ambassador Chris Stevens,[2] and the importance of carrying out attacks in the West versus going to join the jihad in Syria,[3] and the permissibility of targeting infidel companies and kidnapping and killing tourists in Muslim countries.[4]
MEMRI has done extensive research on the website, and has briefed U.S. authorities and Capitol Hill about it.[5]
Endnotes:
[1] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5272, Fatwa On Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad (MTJ) Discusses Permissibility Of Bombing European Synagogues, Churches, April 15, 2013.
[2] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 4963, Prominent Salafi-Jihadi Cleric Issues Fatwa Sanctioning Killing Of U.S. Ambassadors, Including Chris Stevens, September 20, 2012.
[3] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 5187, MTJ Fatwa: Attacks In The West Outweigh Jihad In Syria, February 15, 2013.
[4] MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3390, Fatwas Posted on the Website of Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi Permit Targeting Infidel Companies Such As Coca-Cola and McDonald's – and Kidnapping and Killing Tourists in Muslim Countries, November 19, 2010.
[5] For more on Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad, see: MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 3960, Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad – Major Jihadi Website Inciting Attacks on the U.S. – Hosted in NJ, July 1, 2011; MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 814, Minbar Al-Tawhid Wal-Jihad English-Language Site, Owned by Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, Peddles Violent Jihad to Non-Arabic Speaking Muslims in the West, March 19, 2012.
