The following report is now a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Three lead articles in the January 2024 issue of Urdu-language journal Nawa-i-Ghazwa-e-Hind ("the Voice of the Battle of India"), which is published by Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), discuss issues concerning the Hamas-Israel war, the supposed animosity of Jews and Hindus toward Muslims, and America's role as Israel's protector. The magazine quotes slain Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden's statement calling for attacks against Americans worldwide.
A website that publishes Al-Qaeda-related content released Volume 17 Issue 1 of the journal on January 30, 2024 as a 111-page PDF document.[1]
A screenshot of the editorial in the journal
In the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack in Israel, AQIS also released a combined issue of Nawa-i-Ghazwa-e-Hind covering the two months Rabi-us-Sani and Jamadi-ul-Awwal, 1445, in the Hijri calendar, corresponding to the period October 16 to December 13, 2023, calling for a universal mobilization of Muslims to fight Israel. The combined issue stated: "Those who can get explosives or biological weapons, use them – those who can use knife or Kalashnikov, attack the unbelievers"; "The entire world is the battlefield... No Israeli, no American, no European and non-European Zionist is safe."[2]
The January 2024 edition carries an editorial titled "Who After All So Far Is Israel's Protector?" The editorial notes a spiritual experience of Muhammad, founder of Islam, after which he said: "I swear by the Being in whose control is my life. My extreme heartfelt longing is that I should be killed in the path of Allah, raised alive again and be killed again, raised alive again and be killed again, raised alive again and be killed again!"
The editorial advocates jihad in the path of Allah and explains the meaning of jihad "fi Sabeelillah [in the path of Allah]." To do this it quotes Muhammad as saying: "I swear by the Being in whose control is my life. If my leaving them to go on jihad, when I have no vehicle in which I could take them, would not sadden the hearts of Muslims, then I would not stop from joining even a small army leaving for war in the path of Allah."
After having clarified this point, the editorial turns its attention to fighting Israel. "The same beloved [Muhammad]... used to turn his face of light toward the mosque, toward the qibla [i.e., Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem]; the same first qibla has been occupied for more than 100 years by the unblessed [Jews] who have been fighting you since the beginning," it says.
It further says: "The same mosque where Prophet Muhammad led the prophets and messengers in prayer, the same place from which he journeyed to the seventh heaven... and met with the Lord of the worlds... and conversed with Him, the unblessed Jews are descrating the same Al-Aqsa Mosque! Prophet Muhammad taught the method for liberating it [i.e., through the means of jihad in the path of Allah]."
The editorial reminds Muslims that "the Rightly Guided Caliphs [i.e., the first four caliphs] liberated Bait-ul-Muqaddas [i.e., Jerusalem] by the swords inherited from Muhammad. When Bait-ul-Muqaddas once again fell under Christian control as a result of the Crusade wars, then following the practice of Prophet Muhammad, the monk of the night and rider of the day Salahuddin Aayyubi liberated Jerusalem from Christians."
It notes further: "In Bait-ul-Muqaddas, the battlefield of Hittin, situated in the north, is witness to this even today, and is also a reason for us, and is calling us once again: Is there someone possessing the understanding of religion like Salahuddin, someone having the dignity of Salahuddin?"
It is in this historical context that the editorial situates Hamas's October 7 attack. "This battle [Al-Aqsa Storm] is not only a battle for the liberation of Al-Aqsa, rather a battle for our freedom from the claws of the New World Order too. The first step in our freedom is our mental freedom, the freedom of our heart and mind and thought and vision. This is that freedom after which we will be able to know what duty is upon us by reasoning and by shari'a, and also which enemy it is essential to target as a first priority to bring down and break up the system whose vein is in the claws of the Jews," the editorial notes.
The journal's cover
"This system of the firangis [i.e., the British] is in the control of the Jews. And the strength of Israelis and existence in the Holy Land is dependent on the power of the today's new firangis (Americans). What is the relation between America, which is backing Israel, and Israel, which has surrounded the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and how to target them – the knight of the Ummah Osama bin Laden has discussed [it]," it says. According to this narration, bin Laden said that if someone becomes, just as a person can die whether you cut off their left or right ear, "similarly, America and Israel are two sides of the same coin."
According to the editorial, bin Laden further argued that "the Americans are spread all over the world and like the Jews their belief is not that they should remain in Palestine, even though they are supporters of Jews." The slain Al-Qaeda leader is quoted further as saying: "This war is in effect not the Americans' own war... neither in the occupied Palestine, nor in the Land of the Harmain [Saudi Arabia]... nor in the Arabian Peninsula, for a common American fighting at the personal level. However, for their rulers, there is one target and goal. But the common American is perplexed. And, the Americans' intersts are spread over the earth. So, it is easy to kill them. As much as we kill them and kill them soon, the morale of Muslims will rise. And Muslims will feel proud that Islam is powerful, that Islam can become supreme over these unbelievers. As good news, I can tell you that with the permission of Allah, soon attacks are to begin on the Jews. Look, a foreigner is recognizable and is weak. So, brothers! When you see a foreigner, whether he is Jew or American, then begin in the name of Allah!"
The editorial concludes: "The weapons and explosives which Israel has been raining on the Muslims of Palestine before and after Al-Aqsa Storm, are either American-made or have been purchased with American military aid. That lone hand was an American representative's which was raised in support of Israel at the United Nations [Security Council veto] to provide legal legitimacy for the massacre happening in Gaza."
The editorial ends with an Urdu-language couplet: "Who after all is Israel's protector till today / America raised this child of the British."
The journal includes a seven-page article titled "Pakistani Military In Defense Of Israel?" by Aamir Salim Khan, who is described as a "former officer of the Pakistan armed forces." This article was written after the November 2023 attacks on Israeli merchant ships by the Houthis. In this article, Khan asks: Why do unbelievers use Muslim armies against Muslims? "Its biggest advantage for unbelievers is that the enmity and hatred found in the Muslim Ummah against real infidels, the infidels escape it and achieve their goals. The second benefit is the economic saving by infidels. The work that an American soldier will do for 100 dollars, the same work a soldier of a local army does for ten dollars," he answers.
Noting that the Biden administration called for a multinational naval force in the wake of the Houthi attacks, the author observes: "It is clear that America is itself defending Israel and is including others also in this. Bear in mind that 'others' means the 'front-line ally' at number one." Jihadis and Islamists have criticized how, during the Global War on Terror, the U.S. designated Pakistan a major non-NATO ally.
Khan notes that except perhaps for the Panama Canal, the world's important sea routes pass through Muslim countries, and therefore the United States needs Muslim navies to be part of a multinational naval regime for support. He quotes, citing Axios news agency, an American official as explaining how Pakistan navy is supporting Israel: "The task force is not going to escort ships in the Red Sea, but the presence of more navy ships in the region will make it easier to respond to threats." The article refers to two task forces CTF-150 and CTF-151 under U.S. Central Command.
The author further explains Pakistan's role in these U.S.-led maritime task forces, stating: "These task forces, under America's dictatorship, are present in those regions so as that the merchant ships of their allies (Europe and Israel) be protected, and the Pakistan navy plays a leading role in this entire program [of naval task forces] and activities because the Pakistan navy has offered most services to such task forces. Pakistan is the leading country whose ships have been deployed for most of the times. Rather, the Pakistan navy also has the distinction that it has commanded the CTF-150 and CTF-151 most (12) times under the command of the Combined Maritime Force led by American admirals."
Toward the end of the article, the author asks why Pakistan's navy was deployed when Pakistan has no trade or other relations with Israel and as Houthi militias have made it clear that they will target only Israeli ships or those ships that are trading with Israel. The author of the article asks: "According to the [Pakistan] navy spokesman, our ships are being deployed so that they can protect Pakistani ships. So, do Pakistani ships pass through that region for trade with Israel?" He notes that Pakistan navy used to deploy weaker ships earlier, but this time "PNS Tughril" was deployed.
Addressing Pakistan navy personnel, the author implores them to find out the shari'a status of such deployments by the Pakistan navy. He asks whether they know that they are going in the defense of those Israeli, American, and European ships and tankers that are "involved in the massacre of our Muslim brothers in Gaza? Whether our duty is halal or haram? Do you not know that performing the duty under the command task force, you are defending the American, European, and Israeli naval ships?"
The former Pakistani military officer further reminds Pakistan navy officers: "Do you not see that America, with which you are on a common mission, with which you are doing naval exercises... is Israel's biggest supporter and assistant in the massacre of Muslims in Palestine?" He ends the article by urging Islamic religious scholars to offer leadership on this matter in light of shari'a.
A key article titled "The Islam-Enmity Of Jews And Hindus" is also included. It argues that both Hindus and Jews think of Akhand Bharat ("Greater India") and Grater Israel. The article also draws parallels between the Ram Temple in Indian town of Ayodhya and Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem, saying that Muslims are being targeted in both places.
One of the articles also discusses the graves of British soldiers in Pakistan and their role against Muslims during the colonial rule. The journal also carries a survey of columns from various newspapers, especially concerning Muslim issues in India and Pakistan. The magazine's last page has a short statement from AQIS emir Ustad Usama Mahmood, who quotes Osama bin Laden as saying that it is necessary to crush "the head of the serpent," i.e., America.
[1] Nawa-i-Ghazwa-e-Hind, January 30, 2024.
[2] MEMRI JTTM Report, Al-Qaeda In The Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) Publishes Special Issue Of Its Urdu-Language Journal 'Nawa-i-Ghazwa-e-Hind' On Hamas's October 7 Attack, Calls For Universal Mobilization Of Muslims: 'Those Who Can Get Explosives Or Biological Weapons, Use Them – Those Who Can Use Knife Or Kalashnikov, Attack The Unbelievers'; 'The Entire World Is The Battlefield... No Israeli, No American, No European And Non-European Zionist Is Safe', November 15, 2023.
