Former al-Qaeda Spokesman Criticizes Violent Jihad



Abu Ghaith and Osama bin Laden
Former al-Qaeda spokesman, Abu Ghaith, has written a book which criticizes Osama bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, although he doesn't specifically name them.

In a book titled "Twenty Guidelines on the Path of Jihad", Abu Ghaith affirmed his rejection of jihadist work as "the project of one individual using the blood of others to act out what seems correct to him".

Jassem Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, also known as "Abu Youssef", is of Kuwaiti origin. The Kuwaiti government stripped him of citizenship in 2001, after he moved to Afghanistan and appeared alongside al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden as a spokesman for the organisation.

The book was published on the website of an Egyptian Islamist known as Mustafa Hamid, author of the "Mutarid" book series and a veteran "Arab mujahid" in Afghanistan. Hamid is a known critic of bin Laden.

Abu Ghaith's book contains 20 pieces of "advice" about "jihad work", but it never addresses al-Qaeda by name, despite the fact that its author was the organisation's spokesman in 2001. Abu Ghaith also does not mention bin Laden by name nor any other leader of the organisation. But much of the "advice" seems directed toward the leaders of al-Qaeda specifically, in addition to leaders of other groups that describe their work as "jihadist".

In his book, Abu Ghaith writes, "Jihad, as I have said repeatedly, is a mission of the Umma (Islamic nation) and should not be hijacked or monopolised. Those who think that jihad means carrying arms and fighting the enemy are mistaken. This would mean that the culture of killing and destruction is what drives us, not a culture of life and building."

Abu Ghaith said that it was a mistake to believe that jihadists should not be concerned with building the state and its institutions, spreading science and knowledge, and "securing a better life for all who live with Islam and in the Islamic state".

More Muslim leaders need to denounce violence.