The Importance and Unimportance of Al Qaeda Videos
There is an interesting debate ongoing over whether the mass media, and particularly Arab-language television, should broadcast and assign great importance to the videos of al Qaeda leaders, particularly Osama bin Laden, when they appear.
Do the broadcasts help create a mystique around a cult figure that inspires those who want to participate in the broader al Qaeda project, even on an ad hoc basis? Or are such broadcasts necessary for the general public to see and understand al Qaeda, to understand the enemy more clearly? Or both, and does it make any difference?
I think it is both, and that in the Internet age it matters little what is broadcast on air. Those who want to access the entire speech will be able to do so in a matter of hours, and can download and forward it with great speed and efficiency. If there are hidden messages to followers, keeping the broadcasts off the air are hardly likely to be a deterrent or keep the message from getting through.
Broadcasting bin Laden’s speeches, in whole or in part, are far less dangerous than the radical, hate-filled sermons that fill many mosques in London every week, as the Times of London documents.
There, preachers like Riyadh ul Haq spew their venom week after week, urging hatred for Jews and Christians, complete separation from the evils of the outside world, the need shed blood to defeat Israel.
In this time of darkness, “adhering to the fundamentals of Islam . . . is considered extremism and the struggle against oppression is called terrorism,” ul Haq said in a sermon last year. “Nobody should be able to tell us what moderation is and what extremism is. One man’s poison is another man’s medicine.”
This type of hate speech justifying violence, intolerance and the virtues of remaining entirely separate from the surrounding world while despising all who are different, is part of the radicalization process that is slowly but firmly taking root.
According to the Times of London investigation, “Riyadh ul Haq, who supports armed jihad and preaches contempt for Jews, Christians and Hindus, is in line to become the spiritual leader of the Deobandi sect in Britain. The ultra-conservative movement, which gave birth to the Taleban in Afghanistan, now runs more than 600 of Britain’s 1,350 mosques, according to a police report seen by The Times.”
So, in 600 mosques on any given Friday, across London, Muslim youth and others are hearing a message of hate and violence, from platforms they believe are filled with people speaking the truth about their faith.
Ul Haq’s books and tapes fill libraries, widely circulate on the internet and he is hailed as a true Islamic scholar.
Perhaps he is a scholar who is able to speak the truth as he sees it, including the necessity of the destruction of the West.
But regardless of the intellectual prowess demonstrated, that is a far more dangerous long-term effect than anything bin Laden or Zawahiri can say in one go every few months, much of it repetitious and out of date.
So, bin Laden is a new item, an unusual event, but the constant hatred and violence is an ongoing event on fronts around the world. That is what worries me.
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IMO, the broadcast of OBL’s message by e.g. FOX or CNN will convey the message that ‘fear sells’. I agree that it will not do as much for recruitment as it did before. But I recall OBL speaking through CNN in early October 2001 and the timing was such that a recruitment push was, IMO, the result. The plug was pulled on the Virginia Tech killer Cho after 24 hours. Why must we have to endure another message from OBL – we all know what the asshole looks like and what he is all about.
— Philip Henika Sep 7, 14:09 #
We live in a confused world where the media war is as big or bigger than the “real” war. It all comes down to a faith of some sort believing one side or the other or the route I try to take-neither.
I find the lyrics of OBL’s latest message or percieved message very intriguing, saying you can’t beat us, so join us. This is probably the most frightening message yet, it’s extremely clever and downright diabolical in my mind. So how does one fight terrorism, obscure your fear and do nothing or admit your fear and strike back with all we have?
— Frank Sep 7, 19:32 #
Like Philip, I have absolutely no interest in bin Laden and/or anything he has to say. He’s a wealthy, arrogant misfit – those ‘qualifications’ aren’t worthy of my time or attention. Islamic ideology is, in my view, the personification of all that is un-Godly; consequently, the world is currently caught up in the age-old battle of good vs. evil. As Doug has pointed out, the venom of this ideology – zero tolerance and conversion by conquest – is regularly spewed in supposed ‘houses of worship’ ... and not just in London. Fiery rhetoric inflames emotions and we all know that rationality is not a by-product. How to effectively alter a 1,400-year-old mindset? I haven’t the first clue. But I do know that Doug is correct in identifying the ongoing rabid froth coming out of the mouths of imams as the delivery method by which this blight on the civilized world is injected and spread. King David nailed it in Psalm 140: “Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men; protect me from men of violence, who devise evil plans in their hearts and stir up war every day.” NIV)
— Gigi Sep 8, 03:27 #
From the excerpts of the speech it looks like the fusion of jihadism and left wing activism is seamless and almost complete. The process was going on for some time, and now is almost completed.
Yesterday I have seen the movie “300” by Zack Snyder. It is a very good movie, professionally done, with couple of clear messages:
1. enemies are coming from the East, wearing scarfs
2. Persians are the leading nation among the enemies
3. one can’t make a deal with the enemy, the conflict can end only when one side is obliterated
This is much more powerful way to deliver the message than both, the AQ tapes and the messages from the politicians of the Free World.
DG
— Drazen Gemic Sep 8, 12:51 #
Hear, Here Doug; Bin Laden’s video is irrelevant; the real problem is the THOUSANDS of Salafiyyah Imams, every Friday, stretching from Fremont CA, to London to Cairo to Karachi to Mindanao, flush with Saudi petro-dollars, preaching hate and violence against Jews, Chritians, Hindus and all other “apostates”!
Bin Laden is irrelevant, except in Caliphate-wannabee-lala-land!
— Dale in Atlanta Sep 9, 01:17 #
Dale makes the key point. I hear the Jihad blogs are full of questions about why Bin laden fails to the address the failed Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia and Algerian Campaigns, where they have failed to achieve any of their objectives…..
Jihadis of the heart who fall for al Qaeda’s false fatwas are seeing that there leaders are really Bad Muslims.
...and the discernment of this truth is a very good thing….
— Shimron Sep 10, 15:44 #
Al Qaeda in Iraq is a monumental failure due to American special ops and intelligence. Perhaps this is why we haven’t heard from them for awhile and today, there were multiple arrests. I would add the efforts in SE Asia to your list i.e. the Philippines.
— Philip Henika Sep 13, 14:22 #