By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 17 July 2017

Usama bin Laden gave a speech lasting nearly an hour on 29 December 2007, entitled, “The Way to Foil the Conspiracies”. A translation of the speech is published below.

What makes the speech notable as a historical matter is that Bin Laden offers a thoroughgoing defence of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), and does so a year after the Zarqawists had declared their State and publicly severed relations with Al-Qaeda “Central” (AQC), ostensibly dissolving Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI). There are two interesting elements to this.

First, it is an indicator of what we now know: that covert relations between AQC and the Zarqawists were maintained after 2006, and the public claim of AQI’s dissolution was a deception operation intended to enable ISI to integrate more deeply into the Iraqi insurgency and tribes.

Second, it shows that in real-time AQC was reluctant to totally play along with this deception. The very fact of the speech is a rather broad hint that ISI was still (nominally) a branch of Al-Qaeda. This is intriguing because almost from the moment the Islamic State movement was adopted within the Al-Qaeda network in 2004, it had proven a deeply troublesome component: unresponsive to AQC strategic advice, except when it came to leaving Iran alone, and staining the Al-Qaeda brand with lurid atrocities. What the speech suggests is that Bin Laden viewed the benefits of Al-Qaeda being associated with ISI—its war against the Americans in the heart of Islamdom and, crucially, its State project—as outweighing the downsides of being blamed for its savage conduct.

That said, Bin Laden is clearly hedging his bets. Al-Qaeda had been notable up to this point for its lack of emphasis on Israel, not just as a target for terrorism but even in its propaganda, despite the issue being such an easy and reliable source of mobilisation in the Muslim world. The theology behind this was that Palestine is merely one part of “lost” Muslim land that must be recovered for the future Islamic caliphate. As such, Palestine is no more significant for jihadists than Spain, and to believe otherwise is idolatry. The Islamic State retains, and has hardened, in this view; as on so many things, Al-Qaeda has gone the other way and now regularly uses anti-Israel messaging. This speech by Bin Laden is at the beginning of Al-Qaeda playing the Palestine card. Bin Laden promises that Al-Qaeda’s purpose is the conquest of the whole of former Mandate Palestine “from the river to the sea” for Muslims, and that “supporting the mujahideen is also the Muslim community’s project for the liberation of all of Palestine”. The motivator for turning to this populist theme at this time was to counteract the damage done to Al-Qaeda’s standing by the Zarqawists’ conduct against Muslims.

A significant contextual aspect to the speech is that it was released just after the ISI defector, the former chief judge Abu Sulayman al-Utaybi, arrived in Pakistan to register his complaints about ISI’s leaders in person to Bin Laden and AQC. It is evident from Bin Laden’s speech—some of the specific pre-emptive arguments he makes in defence of ISI’s legitimacy directly contradict some of the charges Abu Sulayman makes—that he is very sceptical. Some in AQC considered Abu Sulayman plausible; others believed he was exaggerating, and some suspected he was an intelligence agent for one of the Arab governments. There is a dual irony to Bin Laden’s scepticism: it means he showed a discernment where many Western scholars would not in the years after 2007—many papers and books cite Abu Sulayman uncritically—and there is the irony at Al-Qaeda’s expense since the organisation would itself try to weaponise Abu Sulayman’s testimony in 2013 as part of its political warfare when relations with the Islamic State collapsed.

A final note: when Bin Laden mentions the horrific behaviour of the Shi’a militias in Iraq, abetted by their supporters among the Shi’a Islamists political elite, towards Sunni civilians, the glaring omission is Iran. These militias answered to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and the militia-allied “civilians” in Baghdad he mentions by name are all Iranian agents. But Bin Laden had maintained an alliance with the Iranian theocracy since the early 1990s and in this period was using Iranian territory to feed and facilitate the Al-Qaeda “affiliates” across the world, plus virtually his entire religious and military leadership was based in Tehran. Bin Laden’s private orders to the ISI leadership were not only not to physically attack Iran, but he banned them from verbal incitement against the clerical regime, too.

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The Way to Foil the Conspiracies

All praise is due to God; we praise Him, seek His help, and seek His forgiveness. We seek refuge in God from the evils of our souls and from the evil consequences of our deeds. Whomsoever God guides, none can misguide; and whomsoever He misguides, none can guide. I bear witness that there is no god but God, alone without partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and messenger.

To proceed:

To my precious Islamic umma in general, and to our steadfast, stationed people on the fronts and outposts of Iraq in particular; to the people of knowledge and virtue; to the leaders of the jihadist groups and the members of their shura councils; to the free and noble tribal shaykhs; and to my brothers the mujahideen: peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you.

This address of mine to you is about the conspiracies being woven by the Zionist-Crusader alliance, led by America in cooperation with its agents in the region, to steal the fruits of the blessed jihad in the land of the two rivers [Iraq], and about what is incumbent upon us to thwart these conspiracies.

It is not hidden from you that America has never ceased striving by all military and political means to establish its forces firmly in Iraq. When it realised its military incapacity, it increased its political and media activity to deceive the Muslims. Part of its plotting has been the attempt to seduce the tribes by buying their loyalties, in order to form councils of harm under the name of the “Awakenings” [al-Sahwat], as they claim. Yet many free and noble tribes refused to sell their deen or to tarnish their honour. I ask God to keep them firm upon the truth, to make them a support for the victory of Islam, and to bless them in themselves, their families, and their wealth. May God reward them with good.

Meanwhile, some weak-hearted individuals responded, among them the misguiding deviant Abd al-Sattar Abu Risha and some of his kin. These betrayed the faith and the umma, bringing upon themselves and their followers disgrace, scandal, and shame—a shame that will follow them forever unless they repent.

Indeed, the worst of traders are those who trade their deen and the deen of their followers, selling it for fleeting worldly gains. Yet they did not even enjoy it, for the lions of Islam hastened to punish them with killing—an appropriate recompense and a deterrent to others. Neither Bush nor his soldiers could protect them. Thus, they lost this world and the next, and that is the manifest loss.

I advise those who have strayed onto the path of misguidance to wash away this disbelief and shame with sincere repentance. God the Exalted said: “Except for those who repent thereafter and reform, for indeed, God is Forgiving and Merciful” [Qur’an 24:5].

Recruiting the hypocritical tribal leaders was one axis; another axis was America’s effort, through its agents in the region, to form a new government loyal to it, like the governments of the Gulf states, to replace the Maliki government. It would also be called a “Government of National Unity”—a name that appeals to many people, especially those weary of war. Therefore, Muslims must understand the reality of this government before welcoming it.

A Government of National Unity means that all sectors of the people meet together upon glorifying the homeland, in a way that supersedes their glorification of any sacred thing. That is, the homeland becomes supreme above all else—it is exalted and nothing is exalted above it. Thus, all sides meet halfway and agree to compromise. This means that Baathists and others must abandon some of their principles, and Muslims must abandon some of their deen.

The consequence of this is that the Muslim accepts the legislation of man alongside the legislation of God in matters of lawful and unlawful—and this participation constitutes major shirk [idolatry, polytheism], which expels one from the deen and condemns him to eternal damnation in the Fire—God’s refuge is sought.

In the name of the homeland and nationalism, the Gulf states supported America to invade Iraq, causing its people to suffer countless calamities—all this under the pretext that they were saving the homeland from being wiped off the map, while in reality they feared being wiped out themselves, not the homeland. Their former ally Saddam was indeed wiped out, but Iraq remained.

And in the name of the homeland and nationalism, the Crusaders today are also being entrenched in the land of the two rivers, by installing a puppet government loyal to America, one that pre-emptively signs agreements to allow major American bases to remain on Iraqi soil and gives America as much Iraqi oil as it desires through the oil law, in order to continue subjugating Iraq and imposing complete dominance over the rest of the region.

What is regrettable is that parties and groups associated with knowledge, da’wa, and jihad have participated in this great betrayal. This is the mixing of truth with falsehood. People have witnessed some of these leaders cooperating openly with the Americans, as did the leader of the so-called Islamic Party, who openly called for concluding long-term security agreements with America. Others have cooperated more subtly, through America’s agents in the region, especially the ruler of the land of the Haramayn.

It is impossible for Riyadh to welcome and support these leaders except on the condition that they accept a Government of National Unity. Let the intelligent take a lesson from what happened to the leadership of HAMAS, which squandered its deen and did not even secure its worldly interests when it obeyed the ruler of Riyadh and others by joining a national unity government and committing to unjust international agreements.

Will not the sincere among HAMAS rise up to correct its course?

Just as the rulers of Riyadh seduced the leaders of HAMAS, so too they seek to seduce the jihadist groups in Iraq. They turn a blind eye to some members of these groups so that they can move about securely in the Gulf states to obtain support—not officially, for this is what the groups refuse—but rather by passing the support under the guise of charitable donations from some unofficial scholars and preachers, many of whom in reality are men loyal to the state, working to implement its policy in Iraq by pulling the carpet out from under the feet of the sincere mujahideen.

The task of these scholars and preachers is to convince the leaders of these groups of the same previous condition: acceptance of a Government of National Unity, in addition to urging them to spread slanderous propaganda against the Islamic State of Iraq and to fight it if possible. This is one of the secrets behind the ferocious military and media campaign against it. One is greatly astonished at how these leaders have squandered the trust placed in them, choosing instead to place their hands into the hand of one of their fiercest enemies—the ruler of Riyadh—whose support and collusion with America in the invasion of Iraq has been firmly established.

Is it hidden today from the Muslim youth, let alone their scholars, shaykhs, and leaders of the mujahideen, that this ruler is the chief agent of America in the region, who has taken it upon himself to seduce and domesticate every free, noble, trustworthy man, dragging him onto the path of misguidance and deviation—the path he himself chose while in his ninth decade: the path of treason against the deen and the umma, and of submission to the will of the Zionist-Crusader alliance. Evil indeed is the path they have chosen. But will not the scholars and the trustworthy guides return to the path of guidance? That is what we hope for.

The proponents of this method justify their cooperation with the enemies of the umma—both the regional rulers and their agents—by the severe calamities that befell the Muslims at the hands of the Mahdi Army, the Badr Corps under the leadership of Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim, and the members of the Dawa Party within and outside the Maliki government.

I say: the crimes of these groups have indeed surpassed all bounds, and what they inflict upon the Muslims is beyond belief—yet it is a grim reality experienced firsthand by our brothers there in Iraq. These groups also have ambitions and objectives to expand their crimes beyond Iraq. Yet despite all of this, it is still possible, by God’s permission, to halt the crimes of these militias and their expansion by relying on God the Exalted, unifying the efforts of the mujahideen to fight against the invaders and their collaborators, and by the general Muslims supporting the mujahideen with everything they need.

The emir Ahmad al-Khalayleh, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi—may God have mercy on him—and his brothers were the first to raise the banner in exposing these criminals, fighting them, and halting their advance. Instead of supporting them, you betrayed them and discouraged the mujahideen from fighting these militias. You divided the struggle into two categories: fighting the Americans alone was deemed “honourable resistance,” while fighting the apostate militias, and the members of the army and police—who are the supporters and tools of America for occupying Iraq and killing its free people—was, according to you, “dishonourable resistance” from which you dissociate yourselves.

These are divisions that God has revealed no authority for. The Messenger of God fought his own relatives from Quraysh, and it is deen that sanctifies blood—not race or homeland. In this crooked methodology of yours, you are joined by dozens of your companions among the unofficial scholars and preachers loyal to the rulers in the land of the Haramayn and elsewhere. This has granted a great opportunity for these militias to persist in destroying the crops and offspring.

[Arabic poetry] You seek salvation but do not tread its paths … Verily, ships do not sail on dry land.

And if it was truly your concern about repelling the evil of these militias that pushed you to ally with the disbelievers and the apostate governments, then was it not obligatory upon you to frankly inform your brothers—who entrusted you and obeyed you to establish an Islamic state—that you had failed in fulfilling the agreed objective, and that you were now satisfied with a Government of National Unity, whose true nature is a State of Unified Paganism [Dawlat al-Wihda al-Wathaniyya]? In it, the supreme authority is not for God the Exalted, but for the homeland and its high priest.

I call upon those whose feet have slipped to fear God regarding themselves and their umma, and not to waste the fruits of the pure, noble blood that was shed for the establishment of the deen and the empowerment of the State of the Muslims, and to return to the truth—for returning to the truth is better than persisting in falsehood.

My brothers among the mujahideen: as for our duty to thwart these grave conspiracies—which aim to abort the jihad in Iraq and prevent the establishment of an Islamic State across the whole land of the two rivers, a state that would aid the Muslims everywhere and foil America’s plot to divide Iraq, serving as the first line of defence for our umma—I say, and I emphasise: One of the greatest obligations is the unification of the efforts of all sincere mujahideen, standing together as one rank, fighting so that the Word of God may be supreme, and striving earnestly to foil all of their conspiracies.

And it is beneficial here to recall a previous attempt to unify the leaders of the Afghan mujahideen, an attempt that carries important lessons related to our topic.

We undertook it with Shaykh Abdullah Azzam—may God have mercy on him—and after months of effort to achieve unity among them and to remove the obstacles that some of them claimed prevented unity, and after removing these obstacles, they would raise other obstacles, and so on, until we reached a conclusion that Shaykh Abdullah—may God have mercy on him—summed up with words indicating the difficulty of the task and the rulers’ attachment to leadership:

“Can the ruler of Riyadh give up his rule to the ruler of Jordan or vice versa for the sake of the unity of the umma?”

The brothers replied: “It is impossible.”

He said: “Likewise, Sayyaf will not give up to Rabbani or Hekmatyar, nor will they yield to each other.”

One of the mujahideen, a man of great age and status with long experience living among people, had a very harsh opinion of these leaders. At the time, we recoiled from the severity of his statements about them. I will try to convey to you some of what he said and its essence: “These leaders are merchants who care about their leadership and their personal interests are prioritized over the cause.”

At that time, we did not believe his words about them, which delayed our correct understanding of individuals and events—and it is not hidden what great harm results from that. But as the days passed and events unfolded, matters began to become clear, and his words about some of them were proven true. Indeed, events confirmed things we could never have imagined in those days due to our youth and lack of experience.

Today, all of you know that the Northern Alliance, under the leadership of Rabbani and Sayyaf, became supporters and allies of America against the mujahideen in Afghanistan. Likewise, today in Iraq, the Islamic Party and some fighting groups support America against the Muslims—and that is clear, open disbelief and blatant apostasy. There is no might nor power except with God the Most High, the Most Great.

It is obligatory upon the members of the Islamic Party and those fighting factions to disavow their leaders and correct the course of their parties and groups. If that is not possible, then they must separate from these hypocritical leaders and join the ranks of the sincere mujahideen in the land of the two rivers.

Previously, America exerted great efforts through the governments of Riyadh and Islamabad to convince the Afghan leaders to enter into a government of national unity—that is, alongside communists and secularists who came from the West. Riyadh utilized some of its unofficial scholars to facilitate penetration of the mujahideen’s ranks. These scholars were influential preachers who incited people to jihad and brought vast sums of money to the mujahideen leaders.

At the designated time, they demanded from the Afghan leaders that they unite with the communists and secularists under the title of a national unity state. At that point, their true nature became clear—they were scholars of evil and men of the taghut. They sabotaged the project of unity among the mujahideen leaders when they seduced one of them with huge sums of money and promised him support to become the president of Afghanistan. They did not fulfil their promises to him. Yet, for the sake of that promised presidential seat, he stalled the matter of unity for a long time, and it became clear to us in the end that he had mortgaged his decision to the head of Riyadh’s intelligence service, who personally came to Peshawar to oversee the matter, in cooperation with Pakistani intelligence. His emissaries to this leader were two well-known unofficial scholars.

Most of the leaders agreed under the pressure from Riyadh and Islamabad. At that time, efforts were made to spoil this matter, but the place does not allow for details here. And how similar the present night is to that past one. The Riyadh government continues to this day to play the same vile roles with many Islamic movement leaders and mujahideen commanders in our umma. Sufficient for us is God against them.

One of the reasons for the failure of previous attempts to unify the Afghan leaders was that the decision of unity was in their own hands, and it is difficult for many people to prioritize the interests of jihad and the umma if they themselves are part of the equation. Matters become confused for the commander or emir; he thinks that he and his party are the best suited to lead the general body of the mujahideen for the victory of the deen. Thus, he clings more tightly to his leadership and magnifies the faults of other leaders and parties while not seeing the faults of himself and his party.

In such a case, he becomes both the defendant and the judge, unable to rule against himself with the necessity of relinquishing leadership for the sake of another emir who could unify the majority of Muslims. Their condition in this calamity is like the kings and presidents in our lands.

Reflecting upon their objections and excuses, one finds they are not sufficient to delay the unity of ranks. Most revolve around secondary improvements to the leadership, but their insistence on these led to the loss of the essentials—especially deen, life, and honour. Thus, disbelief prevailed in Kabul, corruption dominated, the roads were cut off, blood was spilled, honour was violated, wealth was looted, and the wind of the mujahideen was lost. In truth, the upper hand in Kabul was with the former president Najib, while the party leaders deluded their followers that they were the rulers of Kabul and would establish Islamic law. Many members of their parties accepted these lies, but some of the sincere refused to sell their deen for a fleeting worldly gain, refused to silence the defining line between humans and cattle, and refused to be herded like a flock.

Thus, every brother among the mujahideen must reflect, use his reason and not suspend it, distinguish between good opinion of leaders and being wise and perceptive—measuring matters and men by the scale of Islam, and refraining from being a mere follower who follows leaders blindly without insight.

Those who remained with leaders like Sayyaf and Rabbani in Kabul, supporting them against Muslims after everything that happened—these supported the disbelievers against the Muslims, a nullifier of Islam, and it is no excuse for them that they had good opinion of their leaders. They must examine their hearts, disavow shirk and its people, and re-enter Islam anew.

How many people were led astray from the straight path due to their blind loyalty to their leaders and elders without guidance? Let them reflect on the saying of God the Exalted: “Our Lord, indeed we obeyed our leaders and our elders, and they led us astray from the [right] way” [33:67].

Among the lessons is that the brothers must not be deceived by the names of parties or their leaders. This Sayyaf, who was once among the most prominent leaders of the mujahideen, the talk of all ears and eyes, whose party was called the Islamic Union, yet he supported America against the Muslims—and that is clear, open disbelief.

And this Rabbani, whose party was the Islamic Society, his condition was the same. And this Ahmad Shah Massoud, who went to the Crusaders in Europe, offering himself openly to become an instrument to topple the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan—yet some deceivers claim he is a martyr.

Although some Afghan leaders stumbled, by the grace of God, others remained steadfast and were sincere and truthful—we reckon them so, and God is their reckoner. Among them were Shaykh Yunus Khalis—may God have mercy on him—and Shaykh Jalaluddin Haqqani—may God preserve him—both of whom issued fatwas declaring jihad obligatory against the American invasion of Afghanistan and participated in it.

And the whole world witnessed the truthfulness and steadfastness of the mujahid emir, Mullah Muhammad Omar, in fighting the global coalition of disbelief and refusing to betray his trust by abandoning the shari’a or handing over those who sought his protection among the Arab muhajirun. They were his brothers in deen, and he refused to betray them even if the emirate and his throne were lost. These are great stances that tell of great men—we reckon them so, and God is their reckoner, we do not purify anyone before God.

The difference between the stance of a believing ruler and the stances of the hypocritical rulers who allied with America in the global war against Islam is vast:

• The former sacrificed his kingdom for his deen,
• The latter sacrificed their deen for the sake of their kingdoms.

The difference between them is the difference between faith and disbelief. How vast, how vast is the gap between the stances of true believing men and the stances of the hypocrites who are mere shadows of men.

Some people might say that some of the jihad leaders in Afghanistan, whose feet slipped, had an early record of raising the banner of jihad against the Russians, and thus their slips should be forgiven. I say: there must be a distinction between a slip that deserves pardon for people of standing and dignity, and the commission of capital crimes for which the legal penalties must be enacted and from which no one is exempt. The woman who stole during the time of the Messenger of God had an early record in Islam and migration, yet the legal punishment was carried out upon her to safeguard the umma from the path of destruction. So reflect.

My mentioning of these leaders comes from this angle: they committed a nullifier among the nullifiers of Islam, namely assisting the disbelievers against the Muslims. The method of flattering the nobles and elders is widespread among many Muslims, and from here arises the misguidance of those who adopt this approach away from the straight path. As it has been said: “A wound festers after a time if the building is based on corruption.”

Thus, caution is necessary. Implementing the legal penalties is a religious duty by which the one who committed the offense is purified and the Muslim society is purified; otherwise, it is the path of destruction, as the Messenger of God said: “Indeed, the destruction of those before you was that when a noble person among them stole, they let him go, and when a weak person stole, they enforced the punishment upon him. By God, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, stole, I would cut off her hand.”

In summary, it is incumbent upon the mujahideen brothers, especially those in the shura councils, not to surrender to the excuses of group leaders for delaying unity and cohesion. For even if they have real excuses, they are insufficient to prevent unity and holding fast to the rope of God. It is not proper for people of reason and sound mind to insist on clinging to the branches when this leads to the loss of the roots, for then all is lost.

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyya—may God have mercy on him—said: “Whenever people abandon part of what God commanded them, enmity and hatred occur among them. When a people separate, they become corrupt and destroyed; when they unite, they are reformed and dominate, for unity is a mercy and division is a punishment.”

Thus, while you see parties, factions, and bodies that include senior shaykhs belonging to our umma being tempted and falling at the gates of the rulers of Najd, the delay of unity is among the causes of this. Some emirs might even have a hidden desire for leadership that is the real barrier. Therefore, we must not be loyal to men, parties, or groups but to the truth. Whoever adheres to it, we assist him; and if he commands us, we obey him. But if he deviates from the path, we correct him and command him to follow the truth, for the truth is worthier of being followed.

Whoever wants to take a role model should take one from those who have died, for the living are not safe from tribulation. Know the truth, and you will know its people. The truth is not known by men; rather, men are known by the truth.

Here it is fitting to mention the people of virtue who preceded in the matter of unity and cohesion and what they are worthy of. The Muslims were gladdened when a number of the emirs of the fighting groups for the sake of God, along with a number of the noble, steadfast tribal shaykhs, competed to unite the word under the banner of tawhid. They pledged allegiance to the virtuous shaykh Abu Umar al-Baghdadi as the emir over the Islamic State of Iraq.

The abdication of these emirs from leadership to hold fast to the rope of God together is an indication of their sincerity, fairness, and impartiality—and their detachment from personal ambitions and their keenness for the welfare of the Muslims—we reckon them so, and God is their reckoner. May God reward them with the best reward. Their gathering was a great, blessed step toward unifying other efforts to form the greater body of the Muslim community.

It has been heard among the Muslims that some brothers among the emirs and scholars in some jihadist groups felt grievance when the matter was decided without them, and the decision was concluded without their presence. I say: their feeling is not blameworthy, provided they did not become angry, because the difficult security situation made movement and communication among the brothers hard.

Know that your brothers mentioned that they had corresponded with you and waited for you for nearly two months so that the matter would not be decided without your presence, but it was not feasible for you to come.

Even among the best of the companions, some found grievance when the decision at the Day of Saqifa of Bani Sa’idah was made without consulting them—may God be pleased with them. However, Abu Bakr, Umar, Abu Ubayda, and those with them—may God be pleased with them all—were not motivated by a desire to monopolise authority or to wrong others. Rather, the circumstances and dangers that were present pushed them to hasten the matter without waiting for the broader consultation, fearing tribulation and division.

Those companions who initially found grievance did not delay long before pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr. The allegiance was never revoked. Reflect on this. The intended goal, and the one required by the shari’a, is that the Muslims hold fast to the rope of God and unite under one emir to establish the deen of God and give it victory. It is known that this matter must be hastened, for it is among the greatest obligations in the deen of God Almighty. God said: “And hold fast, all together, to the rope of God, and do not be divided” [3:103].

And how many states bear the name of Islam, yet it is clear to those of sound minds that they all lack the essential conditions of a true Islamic state. First among these is the implementation of the shari’a of God, let alone that most of them lack full sovereignty. All of them, without exception, have cooperated in one way or another with America in the global war on Islam—an act that nullifies Islam. Despite this, many people still treat them as if they are Islamic sovereign states, but such dealings are not valid under the shari’a for the reasons previously mentioned.

I also say: those who felt grievance due to not being consulted—if they have the drive and desire to unify the Muslims’ word—their grievance is not blameworthy, as mentioned. But if they state that “the time is not right” and thus delay the ruling of God and His Messenger year after year, then their grievance is unjustified, and they must not be waited for at the expense of delaying the matters of the deen.

However, due to people being raised away from the shade of the Islamic state, many have dulled in their sensitivity to the delay in its establishment. They must be advised. Despite the importance of consultation in the matter of leadership—and the clear, evident texts on it—and despite the well-known words of Umar (may God be pleased with him) regarding it, the matter of unity under one emir takes precedence if complete consultation cannot be achieved, just as happened at the Saqifa.

If leadership were not to be completed except after consulting all those concerned, Umar would not have pledged allegiance to Abu Bakr without full consultation, and Abu Bakr would not have accepted the allegiance, and the majority of the companions would not have proceeded to pledge allegiance to him.

If absolute empowerment were a condition for establishing an Islamic emirate today, then no Islamic state would ever arise, because with the overwhelming military superiority of the enemy, they could invade and overthrow any government—as we have seen in Afghanistan and the fall of the Ba’athist government in Iraq.

The fall of the state does not mean the end of the road, nor does it mean the fall of the Muslim community and its imam. Rather, jihad against the disbelievers must continue—as it continues in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia.

Whoever contemplates the state of the first Islamic State at the battles of Uhud and the Trench, when hearts reached the throats and the tribes stormed and besieged Medina, the first capital of Islam, and whoever reflects on how the Muslims were during the great apostasy after the death of the Messenger of God, will know that absolute empowerment is not a condition for the binding nature of the pledge to the imam or for the establishment of the Islamic State.

Thus, it is not valid to say to one who has been pledged allegiance to as the leader of an Islamic emirate: “We will neither listen to you nor obey you because the enemy can overthrow your government.”

And it is astonishing that some of those who raise such objections today live in the Gulf states, including Kuwait, yet we did not hear them say such things when the Baathists overthrew their government. Rather, their eloquent preacher would loudly declare: “We are with legitimacy,” meaning the rulers of Kuwait, the Al-Sabah family, who defied the law of God Almighty and who, even then, had little control over Kuwait.

My Muslim brothers, just as striving for the unification of the word under the banner of tawhid is one of the great obligations, likewise, abstaining from it is one of the greatest of major sins. For the deen will not be entirely for God, the paths will not be safe, tribulations will not be suppressed, security will not be established, the conspiracies will not be thwarted, and the conduct of many among the general populace who have joined the jihadist groups will not be disciplined—nor will many other major matters be properly established—except through the Muslims forming a single community and having an imam. Verily, God restrains by the sultan (authority) what He does not restrain by the Qur’an.

If one who separates himself from the community by even a handspan removes the bond of Islam from his neck, then how can it be permissible for a Muslim to delay the establishment of the community for an entire age, thereby causing hundreds of millions of Muslims to live under the dominion of idolatrous, tyrannical regimes? And that, by itself, is enough of a tribulation in the deen.

Indeed, the matter is grave, enormous, and critical and must not be delayed. Upon it depends the elevation of Islam, the victory of the Muslims in this world, and success and triumph in the Hereafter, by the permission of God the Exalted.

My Muslim brothers in Iraq: the call from the sincere has been repeated time and again over the years to the leaders of the mujahideen to gather together. Some gathered, and some refrained.

If the leaders of the jihadist groups and the members of their shura councils now move seriously to make up for what was missed and strive to unite all the mujahideen under one banner to fight the Crusaders and apostates, then this is the obligation. God has commanded us to unite and forbidden us from dividing. And here you see the global and local disbelievers, of all their sects and creeds, have united—and every day the wolf of tyranny devours the isolated sheep.

However, if it is not possible for all the leaders to unite in a single group under one leadership, then the obligation remains: that Muslims must join the group that most adheres to the truth and most characterises sincerity.

The Messenger of God said to Hudhayfa—may God be pleased with him—when he asked about such a time: “Stick to the community of the Muslims and their imam.” If that is not possible, then it becomes obligatory upon individual Muslims and mujahideen to strive to establish the Muslim community by pledging allegiance to the group that most adheres to the truth and is known for its sincerity. God the Exalted said: “O you who believe! Fear God and be with the truthful.” [9:119].

Whoever observes the global and local campaigns of disbelief sees that they primarily target the Islamic State of Iraq. America launches campaign after campaign, repeating assaults on a single city multiple times, with a continuous campaign for six months over all of Diyala, and likewise over Mosul and Salah al-Din. Campaigns come from the army, the National Guard, the police, and others from the Mahdi Army and the Hakim militias, not to mention the direct targeting of the Islamic State of Iraq by all neighbouring states without exception.

Added to that are the Sahwat of harm and the parties and groups of harm, led by the traitor Tariq al-Hashimi. And after all that, media campaigns distort the image of the Islamic State of Iraq—campaigns spearheaded by the rulers of Riyadh, their scholars, and their media.

I do not think that all these ferocious campaigns against the mujahideen of the Islamic State of Iraq are except because they are among the most committed to the truth and adherence to the methodology of the Messenger of God. As Warqah ibn Nawfal said to the Prophet: “No man ever came with what you have come with except that he was met with hostility.”

The emir Abu Umar and his brothers are not among those who barter their deen or accept half-solutions, nor do they meet the enemies halfway. Rather, they speak the truth openly, pleasing the Creator even if the creation is angered—they fear not the blame of any blamer in the cause of God—we reckon them so, and God is their reckoner.

They refuse to flatter any government among the capitals of the Muslim world without exception. They have refused to seek assistance from the polytheist rulers to support the deen because they are certain that this deen belongs to God, and He is its supporter through whomever He wills among His servants. God is not in need of us associating partners with Him to give victory to His deen.

It is impossible that the victory of the deen could come through taking the polytheist tyrants as allies. Their example in this is the hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, wherein he said: “O young man! I shall teach you some words: Be mindful of God and He will protect you. Be mindful of God and you will find Him before you. If you ask, ask of God. If you seek help, seek help from God. And know that if the nation were to gather to benefit you with something, they would not benefit you except with what God had written for you. And if they were to gather to harm you with something, they would not harm you except with what God had written against you. The pens have been lifted, and the pages have dried.” (Reported by Imam Ahmad)

If the leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq had placed their hands in the hands of any of the neighbouring states to gain backing and support, as some groups and parties did, the situation would have been different. Those groups have budgets of tens or even hundreds of millions, while these (the Islamic State) receive their sustenance from under the shadows of their spears—and that is the best sustenance if they but knew.

Those groups lost their decision-making power and independence because of the support of the states for them. As soon as America and its allies pressured the supporting state, the pressure would immediately transfer to the secretary-general of the party or the emir of the group. This was seen clearly in Lebanon: after all the bombastic speeches about pride, dignity, and the support of Palestine, and after challenging the whole world, they accepted UN Resolution 1701—the resolution of the atheist United Nations, the tool of America—which, at its core, allowed the Crusader armies to enter Lebanon.

Is it hidden from the people that these armies are but the other face of the American-Zionist alliance? Yet the secretary-general, Hasan Nasrallah, deceived the people and openly welcomed them, promising to facilitate their mission despite knowing that they came to protect the Jews and to close the borders against the sincere mujahideen.

The catastrophes came down in response to the wishes of the sponsoring states, those owners of the “noble and honourable” money that were spoken about earlier.

Then why are al-Sadat and Hussein bin Talal considered traitors when they accepted agreements that included closing the borders to the mujahideen fighting the Jews—and they are indeed traitors, no doubt—and yet, on the other hand, the Secretary General of the party is considered honourable when he accepted a similar decision?!

And how can people understand the party’s accusation against the majority in Lebanon that they are agents of America—and they are indeed, no doubt—and at the same time, Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim, who collaborated with America to invade Iraq and forbade people from fighting it, is described as a heroic martyr as stated by the Secretary General of the party?!

Is this not hypocrisy itself?

Another category among them: when the sponsoring and funding state exerts strong pressure on them, they impose an “open leave” on their army for six months, renewable! Has the world ever heard of an army taking leave while the enemy is sitting on the nation’s chest?! These are some of the affairs of those who mortgage their decisions into the hands of the funding states. And if we wanted to expand, the account would be long. But free Muslims, like the Emir Abu Umar al-Baghdadi and his brothers, would rather be brought forward to have their necks struck than to mortgage jihad in the path of God into the hand of any ruler or to become one hand with him against their umma.

And here is a matter: Many people do not know the biography of the emirs of the mujahideen in Iraq. I say: the reason for that is the circumstances of war and its security requirements.

However, I reckon that ignorance of the biographies of the mujahideen leaders in Iraq is a type of ignorance that does not harm, if they have been vouched for by trustworthy and upright men, like Emir Abu Umar. He was vouched for by the trustworthy and upright among the mujahideen: He was vouched for by Emir Abu Musab [al-Zarqawi]—may God have mercy on him—and the Minister of War, Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, whose patience and steadfastness under the bombardments over the peaks of the Hindu Kush bore witness for them. They are among those known by your brothers in Afghanistan—we reckon them as such and God is their reckoner and we do not ascribe purity to anyone before God.

Thus, refraining from pledging allegiance to an emir among the emirs of the mujahideen in Iraq after he has been vouched for by the trustworthy upright men, under the excuse of ignorance about his biography, leads to great evils, foremost among them: the obstruction of the establishment of the greater Muslim community under one Imam—and this is wrong.

In conclusion, I assure the Muslims generally, and our families in the neighbouring countries especially, that they will receive nothing from the mujahideen except all good, by God’s permission. We are your sons; we defend the deen of the umma just as we defend its sons. And when there are victims among the Muslims during operations against the Crusader disbelievers or their usurping agents, they are not intended. God knows that we are deeply grieved whenever any Muslim is harmed, and we bear responsibility for that, and we seek God’s forgiveness for it, and we hope that God will have mercy on them, admit them to His spacious Gardens, and compensate their families and loved ones with what is better.

You know that the enemy intentionally positions itself among the Muslims to use them as shields and human barriers. Here, I emphasise to my mujahideen brothers to beware of overstepping in the matter of tataruss [the medieval shari’a ruling allowing Muslims to use human shields] and to strive to ensure that their operations targeting the enemy are conducted according to the legal guidelines, as far as they can, without suspending jihad in the path of God.

Indeed, our enmity is with the agent rulers [al-hukkam al-umala]. These we do not reassure; rather, we strive to overthrow them and to before a shari’a court. How could we reassure them, when they have allied themselves with the enemies of the umma and committed the vilest acts against it? How could we reassure them, when they have associated man-made laws with the shari’a of God the Exalted? How could we reassure them, when the path to the broadest front for the liberation of Palestine passes through lands under their control? And I assure our family in Palestine especially that, by God’s permission, we will expand our jihad.

We do not, and will not, recognise the Sykes-Picot borders, nor the rulers placed by colonialism. By God, we have not forgotten you after the events of the eleventh [i.e., 9/11]—and how could one forget his own family?! But after those blessed raids which struck the head of global disbelief—the greatest ally of the Zionist Entity, America—we have been occupied in fighting it and its agents, especially in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Islamic Maghreb, and Somalia. If America and its agents are defeated in Iraq, by God’s permission, there will remain little or nothing to prevent the mujahideen’s battalions—one after another—from setting forth from Baghdad, Anbar, Mosul, Diyala, and Salah al-Din to restore Hattin once again, by God’s permission.

We will not recognise for the Jews a state, not even over a handspan of the land of Palestine, as all the Arab rulers did when they adopted the initiative of the ruler of Riyadh a few years ago. Nor were they content with committing that major disaster. The people recently saw the shepherd of the “surrendered” leading them in crowds to Annapolis, subjecting them to the same humiliation their ancestors once suffered from the Americans—not to be sold, but to sell.

And what are they selling? They are selling Jerusalem, and al-Aqsa, and the blood of the martyrs, and there is no might nor power except with God. May God give them what they deserve.

Thus, it became clear to the people who is loyal and who is the traitor, and who is moved by Zionist hands.

I still feel the wound of Jerusalem burning in my sides,

And the fire of its affliction blazing in my innards.

I did not betray God’s covenant when the nations betrayed it.

And likewise, we will not respect international agreements that recognise the Zionist Entity over the land of Palestine, as the leadership of HAMAS respects them, or as some leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood have declared. Rather, our jihad is for the liberation of all of Palestine from the river to the sea, by the permission of God, joining hands with the sincere mujahideen there from the ranks of HAMAS and other factions, those who denounced their leaders’ deviation from the truth.

Blood for blood, destruction for destruction, and I repeat the oath: “By God, we will support you even if we must crawl on our knees, or taste what Hamza ibn Abd al-Muttalib—may God be pleased with him—tasted.”

In conclusion, I remind my precious Islamic umma and say: O people, there are many lessons for you in what has passed, so cease from frivolity and play, listen, understand, awaken, and take heed. For the matter is great and serious. Where are you going? What are you waiting for? The flames have blazed, and there is little or nothing between you and what is intended for you. There is no salvation for us except by responding to God’s commands and avoiding His prohibitions. And among the greatest of His commands is that we strive in His path so that evident evil is broken and hidden evil is suppressed.

So fulfil your trusts, O slaves of God, and rise to perform your duties—especially now that your brothers in the battlefields of jihad have spared you most of the burden. You are threatened in everything you possess: your lives, your honour, your lands, and your wealth. And more important than all of that, you are threatened in your deen.

I protect my deen with my wealth, I do not squander it,

May God not bless wealth that comes after the loss of deen.

The matter is serious, not a jest. As has been said: “I was eaten the day the white bull was eaten.” Today it is Baghdad, tomorrow it will be Damascus, Amman, and Riyadh. So fear God as He should be feared, and do not fear the blame of any blamer for the sake of God. What your mujahideen sons require in terms of wealth for equipment and fighting in the path of God is little—something a single merchant among you could afford. By God’s permission, it would lead to the defeat of the head of global disbelief. Until when will you fear America and its agents? Is there not among you a single wise merchant who will free himself from submission and the chains of slavery, who will remember death and decay, and prepare provisions for the Day of Return?

He was born without wealth and will depart in that same state. So let him fear God and seek His reward. Let him dedicate what remains of his life and wealth to his Hereafter. Let him fulfil his needs secretly, following the example of our Prophet, who hid from the Quraysh in the cave and then migrated secretly to the Ansar—may God be pleased with them. Let him arrange his security matters and migrate if necessary, remembering the immense reward. Let him be a cause for the victory of the deen and the rescue of the umma of the Trustworthy One, Muhammad, in a time when enemies have gathered against it from every direction. What a treasure this is, and what an honour that God bestows upon him—just as He honoured Uthman—may God be pleased with him—who, alone, equipped the army of hardship against the Romans.

The Messenger of God said: “Nothing will harm Uthman after today, whatever he does. Nothing will harm ‘Uthman after today, whatever he does.” God the Exalted said: “And spend in the way of God, and do not throw yourselves with your own hands into destruction, and do good; indeed, God loves the doers of good” [2:195]. And He said: “Those among you who spent and fought before the victory are greater in degree than those who spent and fought afterwards. But to all, God has promised the best [reward], and God is Aware of what you do” [57:10]. And it has been said: “Emulate the noble, even if you are not like them / For emulation of the noble is success”.

Thus, supporting the sincere mujahideen—especially in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan, the Islamic Maghreb, and Somalia—is by God the project of the entire umma. It is the first line of defence against all its greedy enemies. It contains the rectification of their deen and worldly affairs, their honour and their safety. It provides security on all fronts: Yes, it provides your military security, your societal security, your food security, and your economic security. It preserves your oil and resources, and protects your wealth, which you are losing while it is in your own hands because of its unjust, oppressive attachment to the dollar.

Supporting the mujahideen is also the umma’s project for the liberation of all of Palestine, so that al-Aqsa may smile again, and the captive men and women may be freed, by the permission of God. “And on that day, the believers will rejoice in the victory of God” [30:4].

“God is over His affairs, but most people know not” [12:21].

Our final call is that all praise is due to God, Lord of the worlds.