Abu Qatada condemns ‘filthy’ Shias in new al-Qaeda magazine

From the Telegraph and the Daily Mail

Abu Qatada, the radical preacher who fought a decade-long battle to avoid deportation from Britain, has denounced “filthy” Shia Muslims in a propaganda article for al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria.

In this four-page missive, written in English, Abu Qatada predicts that Islam will “dominate every land” and the “state of the Jews” will “collapse by the Grace of Allah”. 

Stung by the sophistication of the online propaganda of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch has responded by launching its own glossy online magazine, known as “Al Risalah”. This consciously imitates the imagery of Isil, seeking to present al-Qaeda in Syria – known as Jabhat al-Nusra – as the true leader of the struggle to impose “Allah’s rule” on the world.

Along the way, the magazine aims some subtle digs at Isil – while implicitly conceding the latter’s success with attracting money and recruits. “Gold Plated Attraction” reads a full-page advert, adding: “So it looks like gold. It looks beautiful from the outside, but on the inside it is nothing.”

The target of the attack is made clear by the choice of photograph above these words: the face of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of Isil.

Yet Abu Qatada’s article shows that Jabhat al-Nusra shares Isil’s visceral hatred of all Shia Muslims. Referring to Shias by the derogatory terms “Rafidha” or “Rawafidh”, Abu Qatada writes that Allah “exposes our enemies from amongst the filthy Rawafidh, heretics, and their beloved friends from the amongst the polytheists”. 

Titled Victory Loves Preparation, the latest edition of Al Risalah is marketed as a guide to ‘preparing (jihadis) physically, mentally and spiritually’ to ‘attain victory over enemies and to be taken as martyrs on the battlefield.’ In a four-page article headlined The Markets Of Faith, Qatada takes on this theme by vowing to wipe every other religion around the world. He writes: ‘That’s why the coming of this Jihad is a Mercy from Allah. 

“If particular goals are fulfilled and victory is gained for Islam across the globe, it will dominate every land and the state of the Jews will soon after collapse by the Grace of Allah”.  

Qatada’s introduction as a columnist will be seen as a concerted effort to attract more recruits, particularly from Britain where he was held in prison for many years.