Al Qaeda Handbook
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A particular type of terrorist literature is the Al Qaeda Handbook. Allegedly written by Osama bin Laden's extremist group, Al Qaeda, it is an extensive manual for how to wage war. This handbook provides religious justifications and quotations from the Qur'an throughout. It was first seized by British authorities in a raid on an Al Qaeda cell in Manchester, England [1]. The handbook was controversially published on the US Department of Justices[2] website.
Contents |
[edit] Extracts
[edit] Mission
[edit] Main Mission
- The overthrow of the godless regimes and their replacement with an Islamic regime.
[edit] Other missions
- Gathering information about the enemy, the land, the installations, and the neighbors(sic).
- Kidnapping enemy personnel, documents, secrets, and arms.
- Assassinating enemy personnel as well as foreign tourists.
- Freeing the brothers who are captured by the enemy.
- Spreading rumors and writing statements that instigate people against the enemy.
- Blasting and destroying the places of amusement, immorality, and sin; not a vital target.
- Blasting and destroying the embassies and attacking vital economic centers.
- Blasting and destroying bridges leading into and out of the cities
One controversial passage states that "At the beginning of the trial ... the brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by state security before the judge. Complain of mistreatment while in prison." This passage is frequently cited by commentators to cast doubt on the claims by detainees in the "war on terror" that they were subjected to torture, or abuse. However, the same section of the manual also counsels its readers to do everything they possibly can to have a full medical examination prior to their interrogation. It explains to readers that the medical examination establishes a baseline that will enable them to prove that wounds inflicted on them during interrogation were not inflicted prior to their capture.
The handbook instructs commanders to make sure operatives, or "brothers," understand what to say if captured. "Prior to executing an operation, the commander should instruct his soldiers on what to say if they are captured," the document says. "He should explain that more than once in order to ensure that they have assimilated it. They should, in turn, explain it back to the commander." An example might have occurred in a Northern Virginia courtroom in February. Ahmed Omar Abul Ali, accused of planning to assassinate President Bush, made an appearance in U.S. District Court and promptly told the judge that he had been tortured in Saudi Arabia, including a claim that his back had been whipped. He is accused of meeting there with a senior al Qaeda leader. Days later, a U.S. attorney filed a court document saying physicians had examined Ali and "found no evidence of any physical mistreatment on the defendant's back or any other part of his body."
[edit] Owners
- Abu Hamza al Masri - Convicted of possession of a terrorist encyclopedia, among other charges, on February 7, 2006
[edit] References
- ^ BBC News website on Handbook seizure in Manchester
- ^ The Al Qaeda Handbook(US Dept of Justice Website
