Al-Qaeda leader targets 'near enemy'

Since the leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, was killed on May 2, much analysis has appeared speculating on potential changes to the organization and its leadership. This article aims to answer the basic question of in which direction core al-Qaeda (based along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border) will go in the post-Bin Laden era according to the ideology of its remaining leaders.

These figures include Egyptian jihadi Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri, who will probably emerge as the undeclared leader, as al-Qaeda members considers themselves not an organization, but rather "vanguards" of the jihadi movement. As al-Qaeda ideologue Abdul Majid Abdul Majid put it: "Al-Qaeda is no longer just a hierarchal organization on specific names, but has become a jihadi mission held by all mujahideen of the umma ." <1>

Some indication of al-Zawahiri's emerging role can be found in his eulogy for Bin Laden which was released on jihadi websites on June 8. <2> In the message, entitled "The Noble Knight Alighted," al-Zawhiri announced the renewal of al-Qaeda's Bai'a (oath of allegiance) to the Amir al-Mu'mineen (Commander of the Faithful) Taliban leader Mullah Omar, indicating that al-Zawahiri has the authority to do so on behalf of those "vanguards".

In order to assess the future behavior of al-Qaeda this article will examine the ideology of three members of al-Qaeda's Shura council in addition to al-Zawahiri: Abu Yahya al-Libi (aka Hassan Muhammad Qaid), Abu Abdulrahman Attiya al-Libi (aka Jamal Ibrahim Shtelwi al-Misrati) and Abdul Majid Abdul Majid. A fourth shura member, Abu Khalil al-Madani, is not included in this analysis due to a lack of information about his views.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/MF17Df01.html