Al-Qaeda in Yemen

A real threat or media exaggeration?

Al-Qaeda, from their first terrorist attack until now, manages to increase the rift and the gap between Muslims and the West, increasing Islamophobia throughout the world. According to conspiracy theories, al-Qaeda has helped and is still helping the US interfere in the business of many other countries. Al-Qaeda served the US and gives it its new enemy, terror. Who is funding al-Qaeda, who does it serve, what is their real goal and what their relation to other entities? What is number of their fighting force? And how one can tell if a man is al-Qaeda member or sympathizer? All these questions do not have complete answers though some might have answers but not for certainty.

According to Dr. Saeed al-Jamhi, the author of Al-Qaeda Organization in Yemen, the tribal structure with all its social and cultural influence is something that al-Qaeda has relied on not just in Yemen but in every other place in which they are active. That’s why this socio-tribal structure has made it easy to spread the notion and thoughts of al-Qaeda, especially when there are injustices, and economic shakeups that can be used as justifications.

One of the most important things that one can easily notice is that al-Qaeda is found in places with any sort of a tribal code. In Afghanistan they are protected by tribes. In Iraq and now in Yemen al-Qaeda is not protected by the tribes, but has become part of them, as many among its leaders are of tribal origin. According to Abdul Elah Hider Shaea, a Yemeni journalist specializing in al-Qaeda, the tribal system in Yemen has helped al-Qaeda in their operations and spread in Yemen.

But another aspect in al-Qaeda recruiting methods is that many of the perpetrators of operations outside were recruited outside Yemen. A case in point is the Nigerian national Omar Farouk Abdulmuttalab who was recruited in the UK by al-Qaeda there.

To Shaea, al-Qaeda can be divided into two levels: the local and international. Locally, al-Qaeda is organized into divisions and decision making is implemented through a top-down system with their main leadership in Afghanistan.

The intellectual branch of al-Qaeda, which became known as the international jihad movement, rejects everything in the Western way of life and opposes Western control of international organizations. Their ultimate aim is to establish an Islamic Caliphate according to the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad and relies on jihad as its primary method.

The intellectual movement is broader than operational al-Qaeda, and many autonomous cells have developed from jihadism. Such jihadist organizations include Al-Bashaer, an organization established in Saudi Arabia in 2006, and the Jund al-Yaman Brigade, founded in Yemen in 2007. Al-Bashaer has withstood several attempts by Saudi armed forces to dismantle its structure, and the Brigade’s major operations include killing American and Belgian tourists and targeting residential compounds belonging to American oil companies in Sana’a.

The most important concern of al-Qaeda is the worldwide occupation of Muslim land which they see as humiliation of the Islamic nation, and no other issue can be tackled until Muslims establish independence and sovereignty.

In Yemen, a number of local observers have also resorted to various conspiracy theories. The General secretariat of the Nasserite Party in Yemen said that al-Qaeda is an American-made entity funded by Saudi Arabia and that the war that is happening now against al-Qaeda is a cover-up for the failure of the US in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somali and an American scheme for its project of the new Middle East to achieve the US and Western dominance.

Defining Terrorism
One repeated complication which arises when discussing al-Qaeda and related groups, is the term terrorism itself, and how different people and organizations define it. Yassin al-Mas’odi, head of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate said that there is still ambiguity in the definition of terrorism which has led many clans, groups, organizations and even states to exploit it and use it to suit their interests and goals. “Terrorism” is used for political gain, with the media squarely in mind.

The U.S. State Department defines terrorism as deliberate, politically motivated violence. The Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), a division of the U.S. Department of Defense, outlines four major Muslim political categories: fundamentalists, traditionalists, reformists, and secularists.

The SSI categorizes al-Qaeda as a fundamentalist group, since it rejects democracy, aims to implement an Islamic political system, and considers the West (particularly America) to be its enemy. For Steve Hoffman of Harvard University, al-Qaeda affiliates “think with the mentality of the seventh century and master the technology of today.” Here he is referring to the last two operations that were carried out by al-Qaeda in the attempt to assassinate Prince Naif and the attempt to blow up a Detroit-bound airplane by Nigerian Omar Farouk Abdulmuttalab.

In the literature of al-Qaeda, they believe that they can eradicate foreign countries and kick them out of the Arabian Peninsula. This for al-Qaeda will deprive the US and its allies of power sources and finally will lead to the downfall of Western domination.

On the other hand and from the jihadist viewpoint, in 1998 bin Laden defined al-Qaeda’s work as an international army that is leading the war against Jews and Westerners, whom he described as crusaders. “Al-Qaeda is the movement that will implement Allah’s doctrines on earth by saving the oppressed from injustice,” he said.

To be accepted as al-Qaeda member one should acknowledge bin Laden as an Emir.
Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, a senior financial advisor in al-Qaeda, characterized Al-Qaeda as a “group of Muslims aiming to implement God’s rule on earth and mobilize the energies of the nation toward that goal.” Abdel Aziz al-Muqrin, the former leader of AQAP, sought to differentiate al-Qaeda from other Islamist groups, saying that it is “a launching point for the establishment of a new Islamic state and a natural continuation of the historical movement of jihad, which avoided many of the mistakes that other Islamist groups committed.”

Why Yemen is important for al-Qaeda?
Yemen is known in the teachings and hadith of the profit Mohammed as a place that produced 12,000 fighters to fight for Allah, giving it a special religious significance for al-Qaeda.

Additionally, with its geography that includes mountains, valleys, desert, and coastline, Yemen is well-suited to guerilla fighting. Yemen’s largely bedouin population is known for carrying arms, offering hospitality to strangers and extending protection to guests—qualities that make the country appealing to al-Qaeda’s military section. Furthermore, al-Qaeda often finds a safe haven in countries where there are problems for the central government.

Al-Qaeda Objectives in Yemen
In the ideology of al-Qaeda, from the beginning of its establishment, it is important to get rid of current political states in the Arabian Peninsula to pave the way for the establishment of an Islamic rule. Their literature describes four armies that will head to the heart of Palestine: one army from Pakistan and Afghanistan, another from Iraq, one from Yemen, and the last from the Levant. AQAP is considered responsible for establishing the army that will be launched from Yemen.

Therefore, al-Qaeda sees liberating the Arabian Peninsula as a tactically necessary step to liberating Palestine. Nasser al-Wahaishi (aka, Abu Bassir) notes that in the early stages of the Islamic Da’wa, Muslims needed to remove infidels from the Arabian Peninsula before they could reclaim holy sites in Palestine. In addition, the United States and NATO use the Arabian Peninsula to launch campaigns in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia. Al-Qaeda believes the American, British and French presence in the Arabian Peninsula helps to protect Jews in Palestine against the threat of the mujahideen.

Joint American-Yemeni operations show that Yemen’s federal government is largely weak in the districts of Abyan, Shabwa and Arhab. Tellingly, in the confrontation between Sana’a and rebellious provinces, the Yemeni army shelled these districts from the air but did not attempt a ground invasion, fearing local resistance. Citizens in these regions do not recognize the authority of the national state, and reject its military presence. During the fall of 2009, residents of those areas displayed their resistance to the government by raiding government office buildings.

Although al-Qaeda openly draws upon tribal allegiance (in a 2004 speech, bin Laden addressed specific Yemeni tribes by name), its appeal is not limited to the tribal countryside of Yemen. The region with the strongest al-Qaeda presence is the urban capital of Sana’a and its surroundings.

Yemen’s domestic political and economic status has played an important role in the spread of AQAP. Although al-Qaeda’s rhetoric in Yemen still touches on international themes (i.e. the liberation of Palestine), compared to other branches, AQAP focuses less on worldwide jihad, and more on local issues. Yemen’s severe poverty has created a restless, desperate body of citizens. Armed conflict and murder are abundant in few areas in Yemen, and rule of law is barely present. Such a society is highly attractive to al-Qaeda, whose ideal recruits are young men looking for change and unafraid of death.

Organizational Authority of AQAP
The highest authority in AQAP is the consultative council led by Nasser al-Wahaishi (aka Abu Bassir). Members of the consultative council include non-Yemeni nationals, such as the vice chairman, Saeed al-Shahri (aka Abu Sufyan al-Azdi), a former detainee of Guantanamo. The other branches of AQAP include a media division with a television production unit, and a print publication division which issues a bi-monthly magazine called Sada al-Malahim (The Echo of the Epic Battles). The name of the media division refers to the battle that will take place when the four armies of al-Qaeda descend on Jerusalem. The print publication division also markets promotional materials, and oversees official statements and memos issued by other departments. Al-Qaeda’s marketing campaign in Yemen has been particularly successful, since the Yemeni media is fractured and weak.

According to Shaea, al-Qaeda harnesses popular support in Yemen by using mild, catchy slogans and tapping into local political discontent. AQAP rallies behind simple and sacred messages such as “Yemen, the land of al-Madad,” and “From Aden come 12,000 fighters.”

Concerning the funding of al-Qaeda, another source for their funding according to Ahmed al-Zurqa, an expert in Islamic groups, is drugs and weapons trafficking. «Like Afghanistan, al-Qaeda are located in borders areas and they are engaged in smuggling operations of weapons and drugs as one of the main sources of their funding,» said al-Zurqa.

The ultimate and the real driving force that led many to seek to join al-Qaeda is a feeling of humiliation. Al-Qaeda has recruited hundreds after what happened in Abu Ghraib prison. There is also the feeling of oppression in Palestine. After what happened in Yemen recently with the government attack on al-Qaeda camp in Abyan, it is likely that al-Qaeda’s ability to recruit has improved, in light of civilian deaths. Many among the citizens turn to al-Qaeda to seek revenge and blame US for supporting the government.

Finally, AQAP policy is to maintain the privacy of its members. Only the identities of the leader, the vice chairman, the military chief, legislative chief, and the media leader are public. However, the most dangerous and most important ones are still unknown. Islamic groups and other groups that adopt Islam as its main source of their activities are the most and strongest ones not just in Yemen but all over the Arab world and any threat to systems in any Arab country, Islamic groups can directly take over.

Now the new strategy of AQAP is to recruit young people between the age 15-17 brainwash them depending on things of their concern focusing on the things they are deprived of. There is a tendency of giving some money to these young targets to start their own projects in attempt to have their loyalty to al-Qaeda.

According to Shaea, there are many Muslims from Western countries that come to Yemen in order to study Arabic and Islam and he has talked to some of them. He said that it is not easy for any one to know if they are extremists. He once told one American reporter once that he can understands the level of these people if he talks to them. All of them will say that they are Salafis or Muslim brothers. “I could tell from talking to them if they have moved to another level and become al-Qaeda idealists. There are indicators that I can grasp in the tone of their talks, certain terms, references, ways of discussions. All have their ideologies Salfis, Muslim brothers, Sofis and al-Qaeda. Only a man who understands the thoughts and ideologies of all of these groups can tell. And this is what I claim to have,» said Shaea.

Concerning the difference between Western Muslims who are with al-Qaeda and Arabs of al-Qaeda, Shaea said that for non-Arab or Western Muslims who embraced Islam couple of years, the mystery in their conduct and thoughts is more. That›s why they seek knowledge about Islam in Yemen, Mauritania or KSA. «I have not engaged in a conversation with any of them because I can not speak good English. But if the language was no barrier if I talked to them I will know. Of course when you start talking with them they would say that they are Muslims and talk about ideas that all Muslims agree on. If we established trust I could tell if he has transferred to al-Qaeda or still in the level of a good Muslim,” said Shaea.

What help al-Qaeda in their recruitment scheme are a number of factors that are seen everyday in the Islamic world. One of these issues is the Palestinian Cause. When these issues are show in media, it creates an emotional effect on what Muslims are going through and al-Qaeda exploit this to recruit more people. Many foreigners embraced Islam through al-Qaeda.