EFL
It took only an hour or so after the direct broadcast of Saddam Husseins death sentence for the supporters of global Jihad to post in the main Jihadi-Salafi forum-Al-Hesbah-a well-reasoned fatwa if to regard him a Martyr (Shahid) in Jihadi-Salafi eyes.1 The fatwa by the Jihadi-Salafi Kuwaiti Sheikh Hamed al-Ali, has been probably written before the expected sentence. Sheikh Hamed al-Ali can be viewed today as the leading living scholar of the younger generation of Jihadi-Salafiyyah in Arabia, after the death and imprisonment of some of his Saudi colleagues. He is very popular within the "Jihadi virtual community" on the Internet, and his residency in Kuwait seems to provide him some more freedom. Despite his arrest for a short while two years ago, it seems that the Kuwaiti authorities do not limit his freedom of speech, as long as he does not attack them. Only last week Al-Ali was "crowned" by one of the leading clerics of the older generation of Jihadi-Salafis-Abu Basir al-Tartousi in London. On November 1st 2006, Al-Tartousi posted on the front page of his web site an extraordinary letter in support for Al-Ali.2 In the past year, Abu Basir has regained his senior position among Jihadi-Salafi circles, after a harsh criticism over him following his positions against the suicide operations in London in July 2005, and his hinted criticism over Zarqawis extremist Takfiri doctrines in Iraq. The killing of Zarqawi in June 2006, the takeover by Dr. Ayman Zawahiri of directing Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and the absence of leading imprisoned scholars such as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, Abu Qutadah, and the Saudi Suleiman al-`Alawan from the Jihadi scene, assisted Abu Basir to regain his senior position. The public "letter of decoration" to Hamed al-Ali is a kind of transferring "the torch" to the younger generation of Jihadi-Salafi clerics, whose fatwas are vital for Al-Qaeda and affiliated groups, and their supporters. Therefore, the present fatwa by Hamed al-Ali on Saddam Hussein should be regarded important, not only in reference to the Jihadi-Salafis, but also for the future relations between the various components of the Iraqi Sunni insurgency.
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Al-Alis fatwa reflects a forgiving attitude on one hand, and a change that took place in the Arab world on the background of the occupation of Iraq and the situation there, where stability, even a vicious one, was replaced by what is viewed by them a hopeless reality that might tear Iraq into at least three pieces. Among the first responses to the sentence we should also note that all the Islamic movements from the school of the Muslim Brotherhood condemned the sentence as well, including the less anti-American Hamas, and the Iraqi Brotherhood (the Iraqi Islamic Party), which supports the democratic process in Iraq. Al-Ali did not fully answer the question and left the Martyrdom issue to Allah to decide. However, he used a very softened tone that might sound to his Jihadi-Salafi followers as an opposition to the sentence, and a kind of defense on Saddam Hussein, who in his terms, acted according to the norms of the other Arab dictators, who were tools in the hands of the "Zionist-Crusader" plot against Islam and the Muslims.
But, the more important implications of this fatwa should be viewed on the background of the present Iraqi scene, especially among the Iraqi Sunnis. The fatwa sends a message to the non-Jihadi groups that take part in the Iraqi Sunni insurgency, that Al-Qaeda is open to cooperation with any Sunni element that is fighting the real enemy - the United States and the Shi`ah. Saddam Hussein the individual is not important and all the Jihadis can do is wishing him the mercy of Allah. He is not declared a Shahid but they do not oppose it if Allah accepts his repentance. However, he is not an enemy, an infidel, or a cruel dictator. He is just a victim of the global plot against the Muslims, who has already been punished in this world, unlike the other Arab rulers.
Just few weeks ago Al-Qaeda declared the foundation of a "Sunni Islamic independent State." For some reason, this declaration has not gained almost any notice in the Western media, which may view it as a pretentious episode. However, whoever carefully reads the Jihadi-Salafi forums in the last months, can see how keen are ALL the various Sunni Iraqi insurgent groups to use these Jihadi forums as a platform for their messages and indoctrination, regardless of their disputes, competition, or different original ideology. No matter how serious the "Islamic State" is, there seems to be a notion of more united strategy among the Sunni groups. The fatwa of Hamed al-Ali provides this notion a better chance from the side of the Jihadi-Salafis.
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