Kuwaiti Sheikh: Scholars and Preachers Entice Naive Youth to Join Illegitimate Jihad

In the first part of the article, Al-Tawil wrote: "...Many fathers and mothers are pleased that their children strengthen their faith, cling to their religion, and go to mosque... They hope [that getting close to] Allah will improve their children, and that their children will demonstrate good religious conduct. However, at mosques, schools, and colleges, there are people who 'kidnap' their children and corrupt their beliefs and their character in the name of religion and strengthening the faith! These people might start by [teaching] our sons to read and memorize the Koran, [but later] they take them on long summer trips or winter camps, during which they strongly influence them with the aim of convincing them of what they call a 'jihad program.' Later, parents are surprised [to find] that their child has gone to some unknown place, and subsequently they receive the painful news that he has been arrested. [Sometimes] the worst tragedy of all befalls them: [they find out that] their child was killed in a suicide operation, or was somehow used as a human shield, or that he sacrificed himself by stepping on a buried mine, or [suffered] some other similar tragedy like those we hear about every so often.

"[Here is] a painful and heart-wrenching story: I received a letter from a young woman not yet 20. She said that a young man, two years her elder, had proposed to her when he was still just beginning to strengthen his faith. After he married her, but before the marriage was consummated, he met some young men at the mosque and went with them to see a professor at a shari'a college in Kuwait. [The professor] persuaded him to join them on a summer trip to Al-Medina, during which he would memorize the Koran, in part or in its entirety. [The young man] agreed, and it appears that at this time they all rallied to the task of convincing him [to join] the jihad program. Ultimately, the young woman was amazed [to discover] that her husband had gone to Afghanistan or Iraq. He was never heard from again, and she does not know whether [to hope] he is alive and await his return, or [to consider him] dead and weep for him. She said his mother is elderly and has a heart condition, and that her own father has been pressuring her to divorce [the man] in light of his behavior. The young woman is confused and helpless, and only Allah can give her strength.

"Another tragic story: I received a call from a father who asked to meet with me. When he came to see me at the mosque, I noticed he showed signs of sorrow. And when he began to speak and I heard the story of his son, I understood the reason for the pain on his face. He said his 19-year-old son... had met several young men at the mosque, and was influenced by what they said. He would come home and speak at length about jihad, expressing his desire [to join it]. He said some sheikhs had ruled that he must [go forth and wage] jihad. [His parents] were later bewildered when he disappeared. And several days after that, they received a phone call from Iraq informing them that their son had been martyred..."

The Methods of Recruitment

"Dear fathers and mothers, do you know how they persuade your children, how they play with their minds and lead them to rebel against you? Many perhaps do not know. Therefore, I will tell you their methods, so that you may be vigilant and may [protect] your children before you lose them...:

1. "Some lecturer, or theoretician, puts on a pleasant air and a permanent smile, and earns several academic degrees in order to draw students to him.

2. "He invites students and [other] young men to visit him at the mosque, outside of official office hours.

3. "He focuses on a [limited] number of students in order to handpick those he believes are suited to the jihad program.

4. "He refers to them by names that prepare them for [self-]sacrifice, such as 'God's beloved,' 'the chosen ones,' 'memorizers of the Koran,' 'jihad fighters,' and so on.

5. "He explains to them the merits of jihad, its power and importance, quoting relevant [Koranic] verses and hadiths...

6. "He frequently explains the ummah's situation, how neglect of jihad or its relinquishment have led to its weaknesses and loss of honor.

7. "He frequently discusses the deeds of ummah's enemies... how they have acted in violence, caused bloodshed, conquered, desecrated, degraded the Muslims, and plundered the riches of their lands.

8. "[These lecturers and theoretician] use powerfully persuasive pictures and videos showing severed limbs and the defilement of things holy to Muslims.

9. "They show compile[d] video clips of jihad operations – rocket launchings, or [attacks with] small arms and heavy weapons, accompanied by fervent jihadi hymns and cries of 'Allah is great!' and 'There is no God but Allah!'

10. "They target a specific age group, between 15 and 20, with a preference for single young men who have no obligations to wives or children.

11. "They set conditions that enable them to reject anyone they suspect has come to investigate them or spy on them, or to leak information. For example, they require a personal interview before [a candidate] can travel with them or join a military [training] camp or a summer camp, and require [candidates] to memorize five portions of the Koran, and [set] other similar conditions. [These conditions] serve them as pretexts to reject unsuitable candidates: they explain that [the person] did not pass the personal interview or memorize five portions of the Koran.

12. "They cause [these students] to look down upon scholars and preachers who disagree with their path or ideology.

13. "They convince them that the religious scholars are out of touch with reality, that they [choose to] keep silent or are silenced [by others], or that [because] it is not in their interest to talk about jihad they insinuate to others to speak in their name.

14. "They persuade them that the leaders and governments have given up on jihad and withdrawn from it, or that they do not believe in it in the first place and do not recognize it or its merits, but rather denounce it and regard it as worthless, and fight against it and its people, being satisfied with jihad against their own people and with the exploitation of [their own people].

15. "[They tell their disciples that although] they are [officially] obligated to request their parents' or guardians' approval, it is not a condition for carrying out jihad – for anyone who wages jihad, his jihad is irreproachable. Failure to [get parents' or guardians' approval] may at the very worst be considered a sin. But it is well known that a shahid is pardoned from [the moment he sheds] the first drop of his blood – [so] if he has not asked his parents' permission, or if they have forbidden him [to wage jihad], it does him no harm.

16. "They collect donations in amazing and various ways, competing to the point where some of them say, implicitly or explicitly, that the crises facing the ummah are of great avail, since people donate more in times of crisis than they do before or after a crisis.

17. "They post their notices and posters in the mosques without asking permission. And no one supervises [this], despite the fact that their activity is not connected with the Ministry of Religious Endowments, which, if it wanted to, could file a complaint against their charity work.

18. "They hold sports and horseback-riding activities in their camps, as well as military drills and guard duty, in order to prepare the young men for the fateful hour.

19. "They spread out in various locations, splitting up into cells and squads, so as to be harder to track.

20. "They invite famous people to the opening [ceremonies] of their camps, in order to attract as many young people as possible.

21. "They incorporate religious activities, shari'a studies, and memorization of the Koran and the Prophetic hadiths into their activity, in order to draw as many young people as possible.

"Dear reader, my brother, I have told you their methods so you will know to be wary of them, before they steal your son or brother or [some other] family member – for then you will no longer be able to get him back..."

Recruiters Posing as Saints Are the Greatest Danger

In the second part of the article, Al-Tawil wrote: "...[Previously, I expressed] my sense of obligation to elucidate to Muslims the danger posed by those [who recruit for jihad], even if they [do this] in the guise of strengthening the faith. Moreover, there may be some among them who [genuinely] consider themselves to be doing nothing but good. And this is where the danger lies and what makes the tragedy worse. For these people are not undisciplined heathens; rather, they pray and fast and read the Koran. But theirs are deviant methods and crooked ways. There are fanatics among them who would not follow the truth even if they saw it with their own eyes... [On the other hand,] some of them may [simply] be eccentrics or opportunists, while others join in order to collect donations."

Jihad – A Supreme Commandment That Has Been Distorted

"No Muslim with even the slightest knowledge of shari'a doubts the fact that jihad is one of the greatest virtues and the pinnacle of Islam, and that its merits and ideals are better known than those of many other Islamic customs... However, our argument with the proponents of false jihad is over the meaning of the term 'jihad'...:

"Against whom should jihad be waged?... Who is obligated to carry out jihad?... Is jihad a means or an end?... What is the law regarding jihad against a Muslim country that has attacked another Muslim country?... Is a jihad fighter allowed to commit suicide?... Are Muslims obligated to wage jihad against infidels who are significantly superior to [them] in strength, numbers, and equipment?...

"Dear reader, my brother, after these questions have been raised, you [surely] understand that war is no joke, but a grave and serious matter. It [can] involve loss of life, the squandering of money, the collapse of countries, the loss of honor, the dispersing of nations, and the spread of corruption – especially today, when weapons are made to destroy mountains and oceans, to wipe out everything. Unlike some people think, jihad is not [just] horseback riding, martial arts, morning sports, jihadi plays, a Palestinian headdress and a pair of Afghani pants. [Nor is it] disobeying one's parents, [practicing] takfir against leaders, blowing up Muslims, considering scholars fools, [joining] clandestine organizations and the secret Emirate, or collecting donations."

The Preachers of Jihad Are the First to Shirk It

"How dreadful is the jihad they preach! [As a matter of fact,] the preachers and ideologues of jihad are the first to shirk it. They sacrifice others, while distancing themselves and their children from it! [How dreadful is] their jihad, which is nothing but fantasies of the [morally] bankrupt. They have ruined the image of [our] religion and those who follow it, and never stop slandering others... They fear God the least and curse and slander the most. And what is more, there are those among them who beat and kill [people], and others who, if they could, would not hesitate for an instant to deal out death to anyone who disagrees with them over the jihad program...

"I know, dear reader, my brother, that many of the mosque [imams] and the lecturers in the colleges and universities do not adhere to these bad ideologies and deviant ways, and that we must not indiscriminately lay blame on all preachers. On the contrary, there are respectable people – preachers, lecturers, and teachers – who urge the youth to cling to the true faith and the Sunna, [and preach values of] respect for one's parents, the quest for knowledge, moral behavior and good manners, respect for religious scholars, and obedience to one's guardians. There is still good to be found in this ummah, and thank Allah that by his grace good deeds are done."

Jihad Must Not Be Left to the Ignorant or to Fervent Youth

At the end of the article, Al-Tawil answers some questions that may arise regarding his criticism of the jihad preachers and their followers:

"Regarding the question: Why do you condemn [these preachers] for [urging] jihad for Allah's sake? [My answer is that] I am not, Heaven forbid, condemning jihad as it is commanded by [our] faith. But jihad is a program subject to shari'a laws that cannot be definitively and comprehensively understood unless a consensus has been reached by all the leaders, religious scholars, and men of influence. [It must not be] left to the management of ignorant people or fervent youths, lest we be made to suffer for the tragedies caused by their poor policies and administration...

"Regarding the question: Do you have no compassion in your heart for them? My answer is: Of course, there is compassion in the heart of every Muslim for all [other] Muslims. And it is because of this compassion that we do not wish for their souls to be lost in vain. There is also compassion in our heart for the fathers and mothers who may lose their children at any moment in the name of the jihad program. Moreover, it is only fitting that we ask [the jihadist preachers] the same question: Do you have no compassion in your hearts for these young people and for their fathers and mothers?

"Regarding the question: Why do you ignore the contemptible things going on in all the other [summer] camps, focusing on [those belonging to] the brotherhood for the sake of Allah? Why do you not condemn those who go to commit adultery and drink wine? Why do you not condemn the camps [where there is] wine, drugs, and prostitution? Why do you not condemn the reckless young men who show off their cars and kill themselves and others? My answer is: 1) Who says we do not condemn immorality and licentiousness? Do you think we support [these sinners] and encourage them to sin, or that we are pleased with their deeds?... 3) Is disobeying one's parents not one of the most egregious sins of all? Certainly [it is], and therefore we are justified in cautioning against [the jihadists], as they call the youth to Iraq, and so on, without their parents' permission – with the excuse that parents' permission is an obligation but not a condition, and that [even jihad] waged without the parents' permission is irreproachable. But this, without question, constitutes disobeying [one's parents]. 4) Sins such as adultery, drinking wine, and frequenting prostitutes – everyone knows they are forbidden, even the sinners themselves. [But] this is not the case with those who preach false jihad, [who do not necessarily realize their deeds are forbidden]. 5) Many proselytizers, preachers, and fathers counsel sinners and rebuke them, while it is almost impossible to find anyone who reproaches those who support false jihad.

"Regarding the question: What is our children's alternative, so that we will have no need for those you have warned us against? My answer is: An alternative exists and is well known, thank God, as there are many young people who strengthen their faith, and [attend] activities, lessons, and lectures which leave them with no need to turn [to jihadi propaganda]..."