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Interesting piece from the WSJ 3/29/2004.
PAGE ONE
TRAIN OF THOUGHT
?1970s: Takfir wal Hijra ideology developed in Egypt by Ahmed Mustaph Chawqui
?Oct. 6, 1981: Soldiers who are secret members of the Takfir wal Hijra sect kill Egyptian President Sadat
?1980s: Ideology spreads from Egypt to jihad fighters in Pakistan and Afghanistan
?Early 1990s: Ideology spreads from Afghanistan to Algeria, Sudan, Morocco and Tunisia
?Late 1990s: Ideology spreads to Europe including Spain, U.K., Germany, France and Belgium
?2001-2004: Abu Musab Zarqawi builds terror organization based on Takfir ideology
New Breed of Islamic Warrior Is Emerging
Evidence in Madrid Attack Points to Takfiris,
Who Use Immigration as a Weapon
By KEITH JOHNSON and DAVID CRAWFORD
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 29, 2004; Page A16
Evidence in the Madrid train bombings points to the participation of a new breed of Islamic holy warrior, unfettered by many of the religious and ideological constraints that defined Islamic terrorism in the past.
These Islamist warriors -- schooled in the North African doctrine known as Takfir wal Hijra and trained by Afghan veterans of al Qaeda -- think, recruit and operate differently from traditional Islamist networks. For Europe, that makes the threat particularly acute. The Takfir movement is strongest in Morocco and Algeria, the primary sources of Muslim immigration to Western Europe. Takfiri theorists openly advocate using immigration as a Trojan horse to expand jihad, or holy war.
Investigators have yet to pin definite blame for the Madrid attacks on any one group. Attention has focused on the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group as well as several other al Qaeda splinter groups. Moroccan officials say the leading suspect in the Madrid bombings, Tangier-born Jamal Zougam, is Takfiri.
Friday, German prosecutors said police in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, raided an apartment used briefly last October by one of the suspects arrested last week in Spain. The 28-year-old Moroccan had applied to live and study in Germany but was turned down. Spanish police on Saturday also found a safe house outside Madrid where they believe the backpack bombs were prepared; fingerprints from two jailed suspects, including Mr. Zougam, were found in the house.
Many elements common to the suspects in custody for the Madrid bombings so far, investigators say, bear hallmarks of the ultrafundamentalist Takfiris or their close cousins, the Algerian-based Salafists. These include the use of petty crime and drug trafficking to raise funds, the recruitment of women, and operatives who adopt a Western lifestyle to keep a low profile. The virulent brand of Takfiri Islam makes all-out armed jihad an obligation for all true believers; even apostate fellow Muslims are fair game.
Some previous al Qaeda attacks also have borne Takfiri signs: Mohammed Atta, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers, is believed by some European investigators to have been a follower of the Takfiri creed. He and several others of the so-called Hamburg cell that organized the attacks on the U.S. led a typical clean-shaven Takfiri lifestyle in the West and moved around undetected for years. Now, the Takfiri ideas are spreading throughout North Africa and into Europe, merged into a deadly combination with leadership by trained mujahedeen, or holy warriors. Some youths are being taught that the ultra-radical Takfiri strain is the only true Islam.
As Osama bin Laden's control over terror networks has been disrupted, new radicals operate at the fringes of his movement. Many of his core beliefs, especially his anti-American animus, are being superceded by broader interpretations of global jihad. Instead of just apostate Muslim regimes or U.S. interests, jihad is being expanded to include virtually everyone outside the sect. That leads many antiterror specialists to say the Madrid bombings may represent a change for Islamic terrorism. "This is al Qaeda 2.0," says Jonathan Schanzer, a terrorism specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Immigration is a key way to extend the radical ideas into Western Europe. One Takfiri scholar, Abu Basir, wrote in 2001 that "jihad and immigration go together...the one cannot be achieved without the other."
Fifteen of the 18 suspects jailed for the Madrid bombings come from cities in northern Morocco that have become front-line recruitment centers for the ultrafundamentalist message. One senior Moroccan official says "every country with an Arab or Muslim immigrant population now faces this problem" of potential sleeper cells. Mr. Zougam, the leading suspect in the Madrid bombings, was influenced by Mohamed al-Fazizi, a Moroccan preacher who encouraged Muslim youths to join the jihad and kill all nonbelievers. Mr. Zougam's half-brother, also arrested in connection with the attacks, told police he shied away from his clean-shaven, discotheque-visiting brother because Mr. Zougam was ultrareligious.
Unlike previous generations of radical Islamists, who attracted police attention by their long beards, public proselytizing and orthodox postures, the newer generation of holy warrior blends in better. They are encouraged to lead a double life in the ultimate pursuit of jihad, according a German intelligence report.
"Outwardly they pretend to lead a modern lifestyle," says terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp. "But deep inside they adhere to a pure medieval strain of Islam." Many Takfiris shave their beards and avoid mosques for security reasons. "Recruits conceal their true beliefs until the time is right," Dr. Ranstorp says.
Takfiris also indulge in petty crime, credit-card fraud and drug dealing to finance their activities, according to a German intelligence report. The Madrid bombers bartered 55 pounds of hashish for the explosive they used to kill 189 people, according to Spanish news reports. Suspects arrested in Spain were also involved in stealing phones and falsifying phone cards, Spanish police said.
Groups inspired by the Takfiris also show a willingness to recruit women for armed jihad. Most Islamist groups, which adhere to strict Quranic interpretations, shun involvement of women. Naima Oulad, a Moroccan woman, was jailed last week on suspicion she played a supporting role in the Madrid attacks. Ms. Oulad is the first woman jailed after more than 60 arrests related to Islamic terrorism in Spain in the past three years.
Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, the alleged head of al Qaeda's Spanish cell who was jailed in late 2001 on charges of aiding the Sept. 11 hijackers, asked for an audience with Spanish investigators days after the Madrid bombings. "The only group that could have done such an atrocity is Takfir wal Hijra," he told investigating magistrate Baltasar Garzon, according to Mr. Yarkas's lawyer. Mr. Garzon has investigated ties between Spanish al Qaeda cells, including Mr. Yarkas, and Takfiris on at least two occasions in the past three years, according to court documents.
Takfiri ideology originated in a similarly named sect in Egypt in the 1970s and burst into notoriety with the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. The doctrine spread during the Afghan war in the 1980s and was brought back to North Africa by veteran mujahedeen who preached to young people.
Although Takfiris espouse a hard-line interpretation of Islam, the ideology is popular because it encourages followers to reconfirm their faith by breaking its own rules. That flexibility, coupled with their seemingly deeper integration into Western life, makes it harder for police to detect them. It also gives Takfiris an ability to choose soft, civilian targets that will have the biggest political impact in each country. The Madrid attacks came just three days before national elections and helped lead to an upset victory for the Socialists, who want to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq.
Moroccan and European investigators say Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian, runs a terrorist organization according to Takfir principles. U.S. officials suspect Mr. Zarqawi is behind many of the attacks on coalition troops in Iraq. Spanish investigators are reviewing evidence linking Mr. Zarqawi to the March 11 Madrid bombings; one of Mr. Zougam's contacts in Norway, Mullah Krekar, has worked closely with Mr. Zarqawi, according to Spanish court documents.
PAGE ONE
TRAIN OF THOUGHT
?1970s: Takfir wal Hijra ideology developed in Egypt by Ahmed Mustaph Chawqui
?Oct. 6, 1981: Soldiers who are secret members of the Takfir wal Hijra sect kill Egyptian President Sadat
?1980s: Ideology spreads from Egypt to jihad fighters in Pakistan and Afghanistan
?Early 1990s: Ideology spreads from Afghanistan to Algeria, Sudan, Morocco and Tunisia
?Late 1990s: Ideology spreads to Europe including Spain, U.K., Germany, France and Belgium
?2001-2004: Abu Musab Zarqawi builds terror organization based on Takfir ideology
New Breed of Islamic Warrior Is Emerging
Evidence in Madrid Attack Points to Takfiris,
Who Use Immigration as a Weapon
By KEITH JOHNSON and DAVID CRAWFORD
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 29, 2004; Page A16
Evidence in the Madrid train bombings points to the participation of a new breed of Islamic holy warrior, unfettered by many of the religious and ideological constraints that defined Islamic terrorism in the past.
These Islamist warriors -- schooled in the North African doctrine known as Takfir wal Hijra and trained by Afghan veterans of al Qaeda -- think, recruit and operate differently from traditional Islamist networks. For Europe, that makes the threat particularly acute. The Takfir movement is strongest in Morocco and Algeria, the primary sources of Muslim immigration to Western Europe. Takfiri theorists openly advocate using immigration as a Trojan horse to expand jihad, or holy war.
Investigators have yet to pin definite blame for the Madrid attacks on any one group. Attention has focused on the Moroccan Islamic Combat Group as well as several other al Qaeda splinter groups. Moroccan officials say the leading suspect in the Madrid bombings, Tangier-born Jamal Zougam, is Takfiri.
Friday, German prosecutors said police in Darmstadt, near Frankfurt, raided an apartment used briefly last October by one of the suspects arrested last week in Spain. The 28-year-old Moroccan had applied to live and study in Germany but was turned down. Spanish police on Saturday also found a safe house outside Madrid where they believe the backpack bombs were prepared; fingerprints from two jailed suspects, including Mr. Zougam, were found in the house.
Many elements common to the suspects in custody for the Madrid bombings so far, investigators say, bear hallmarks of the ultrafundamentalist Takfiris or their close cousins, the Algerian-based Salafists. These include the use of petty crime and drug trafficking to raise funds, the recruitment of women, and operatives who adopt a Western lifestyle to keep a low profile. The virulent brand of Takfiri Islam makes all-out armed jihad an obligation for all true believers; even apostate fellow Muslims are fair game.
Some previous al Qaeda attacks also have borne Takfiri signs: Mohammed Atta, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers, is believed by some European investigators to have been a follower of the Takfiri creed. He and several others of the so-called Hamburg cell that organized the attacks on the U.S. led a typical clean-shaven Takfiri lifestyle in the West and moved around undetected for years. Now, the Takfiri ideas are spreading throughout North Africa and into Europe, merged into a deadly combination with leadership by trained mujahedeen, or holy warriors. Some youths are being taught that the ultra-radical Takfiri strain is the only true Islam.
As Osama bin Laden's control over terror networks has been disrupted, new radicals operate at the fringes of his movement. Many of his core beliefs, especially his anti-American animus, are being superceded by broader interpretations of global jihad. Instead of just apostate Muslim regimes or U.S. interests, jihad is being expanded to include virtually everyone outside the sect. That leads many antiterror specialists to say the Madrid bombings may represent a change for Islamic terrorism. "This is al Qaeda 2.0," says Jonathan Schanzer, a terrorism specialist at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
Immigration is a key way to extend the radical ideas into Western Europe. One Takfiri scholar, Abu Basir, wrote in 2001 that "jihad and immigration go together...the one cannot be achieved without the other."
Fifteen of the 18 suspects jailed for the Madrid bombings come from cities in northern Morocco that have become front-line recruitment centers for the ultrafundamentalist message. One senior Moroccan official says "every country with an Arab or Muslim immigrant population now faces this problem" of potential sleeper cells. Mr. Zougam, the leading suspect in the Madrid bombings, was influenced by Mohamed al-Fazizi, a Moroccan preacher who encouraged Muslim youths to join the jihad and kill all nonbelievers. Mr. Zougam's half-brother, also arrested in connection with the attacks, told police he shied away from his clean-shaven, discotheque-visiting brother because Mr. Zougam was ultrareligious.
Unlike previous generations of radical Islamists, who attracted police attention by their long beards, public proselytizing and orthodox postures, the newer generation of holy warrior blends in better. They are encouraged to lead a double life in the ultimate pursuit of jihad, according a German intelligence report.
"Outwardly they pretend to lead a modern lifestyle," says terrorism expert Magnus Ranstorp. "But deep inside they adhere to a pure medieval strain of Islam." Many Takfiris shave their beards and avoid mosques for security reasons. "Recruits conceal their true beliefs until the time is right," Dr. Ranstorp says.
Takfiris also indulge in petty crime, credit-card fraud and drug dealing to finance their activities, according to a German intelligence report. The Madrid bombers bartered 55 pounds of hashish for the explosive they used to kill 189 people, according to Spanish news reports. Suspects arrested in Spain were also involved in stealing phones and falsifying phone cards, Spanish police said.
Groups inspired by the Takfiris also show a willingness to recruit women for armed jihad. Most Islamist groups, which adhere to strict Quranic interpretations, shun involvement of women. Naima Oulad, a Moroccan woman, was jailed last week on suspicion she played a supporting role in the Madrid attacks. Ms. Oulad is the first woman jailed after more than 60 arrests related to Islamic terrorism in Spain in the past three years.
Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, the alleged head of al Qaeda's Spanish cell who was jailed in late 2001 on charges of aiding the Sept. 11 hijackers, asked for an audience with Spanish investigators days after the Madrid bombings. "The only group that could have done such an atrocity is Takfir wal Hijra," he told investigating magistrate Baltasar Garzon, according to Mr. Yarkas's lawyer. Mr. Garzon has investigated ties between Spanish al Qaeda cells, including Mr. Yarkas, and Takfiris on at least two occasions in the past three years, according to court documents.
Takfiri ideology originated in a similarly named sect in Egypt in the 1970s and burst into notoriety with the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1981. The doctrine spread during the Afghan war in the 1980s and was brought back to North Africa by veteran mujahedeen who preached to young people.
Although Takfiris espouse a hard-line interpretation of Islam, the ideology is popular because it encourages followers to reconfirm their faith by breaking its own rules. That flexibility, coupled with their seemingly deeper integration into Western life, makes it harder for police to detect them. It also gives Takfiris an ability to choose soft, civilian targets that will have the biggest political impact in each country. The Madrid attacks came just three days before national elections and helped lead to an upset victory for the Socialists, who want to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq.
Moroccan and European investigators say Abu Musab Zarqawi, a Jordanian, runs a terrorist organization according to Takfir principles. U.S. officials suspect Mr. Zarqawi is behind many of the attacks on coalition troops in Iraq. Spanish investigators are reviewing evidence linking Mr. Zarqawi to the March 11 Madrid bombings; one of Mr. Zougam's contacts in Norway, Mullah Krekar, has worked closely with Mr. Zarqawi, according to Spanish court documents.
is good 