The "Ansar Al-Islam in the Muslim Sahara" Group Declares Jihad Against the North African Regimes and Promises to Take Back Muslim Spain
On June 28, 2007, Islamist websites posted a communiqué (dated late April) announcing the establishment of "Ansar Al-Islam in the Muslim Sahara, Land of the Veiled Ones." In the communiqué, the group declares jihad on the North African regimes and the Polisario Front, with special attention dedicated to Morocco. They also promised to win back Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain), and offered words of encouragement to Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb. Included in the post is a link to an (undated) video, the end of which features an audio recording of Ansar Al-Islam's spokesman, who reiterates much the same messages as in the communiqué. The video also shows stills and clips of North African leaders meeting with Bush and Chirac.
The following are excerpts from the communiqué: "…The tyrannical government headed by Muhammad VI [of Morocco] has persisted in its tyranny in the arrest of our brothers, the preachers and sheikhs who cleave to Allah's religion, accusing them of terrorism, and in so doing [Muhammad VI] supports the tyrant of the age, America, and carries the Zionist-Crusader banner in order to please it and its lackeys…
"And what was our brothers' sin so that they should be imprisoned? Their sin was that they called to fight Allah's enemies the Jews and the Crusaders and to establish Allah's religion…
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"Our forefathers waged jihad in the Muslim Sahara, and in other Islamic lands, solely so that Allah's word would be supreme and in order to fortify truth and to do away with falsehood, and not in order to be ruled by a band of traitors who work to spread error and corruption and who lead the Muslim youth astray, taking them away from Allah's religion. We bring our Muslim nation good tidings of victory…as Allah has graced the youth of this world with understanding of the issue, and that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is Allah's Messenger… [and the youth are] abandoning their error and the appeals of the Polisario Front…
"We, Ansar Al-Islam in the Muslim Sahara, the Land of the Veiled Ones, officially declare our jihad against this government of [foreign] agents, with Muhammad VI at its head, and against all of the governments of [foreign] agents in the land of the Islamic Maghreb. We call on the Muslim youth in the land of the Islamic Maghreb, and on the Chinguettians [i.e. Mauritanians] in particular, to make ready and make preparations, and to know that their mission is to break these borders [between the nations of the Maghreb], which, if they have not already divided the Muslims, have dispersed them and weakened their might. This is what the Crusaders aimed for throughout the ages, and traitors from our lands took part in this and plundered the umma's resources.
"We say to our brothers in the Al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb: stay fast on your course, and you will not be harmed by those who forsook you or opposed you. Our cause is one cause, and we have the responsibility of unifying this umma, Allah willing, and establishing Allah's religion on his earth…
"We warn the soldiers of the tyrant and call on them to repent before it is too late; among our prime targets are those who serve in the army or in what is called in dialect 'the makhzen' [i.e. the government]… and in the 'royal guards' and the police… and we call on all Muslims to stay away from government buildings and troop concentrations or police stations, as they are a target for us. We ask Allah to help us avoid [spilling] the blood of Muslims…
"Our raids will not encompass just the Muslim Sahara, but will go beyond it… Al-Andalus [i.e. Muslim Spain] is before our eyes, and with Allah's help we will take back the land of Islam and what was plundered from our forefathers, no matter how long ago this takes…
"Ansar Al-Islam in the Muslim Sahara, the Land of the Veiled Ones…
"8 Rabi'a Al-Thani, 1428H [April 26, 2007]"
