In Their Own Words

THE ARTS CHILD POLICY CIVIL JUSTICE EDUCATION ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT HEALTH AND HEALTH CARE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS NATIONAL SECURITY POPULATION AND AGING PUBLIC SAFETY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY SUBSTANCE ABUSE TERRORISM AND HOMELAND SECURITY TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE WORKFORCE AND WORKPLACE This PDF document was made available from www.rand.org as a public service of the RAND Corporation. Jump down to document6 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. Support RAND Purchase this document Browse Books & Publications Make a charitable contribution For More Information Visit RAND at www.rand.org Learn more about the RAND Corporation View document details Limited Electronic Distribution Rights This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law as indicated in a notice appearing later in this work. This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non-commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This product is part of the RAND Corporation monograph series. RAND monographs present major research findings that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND monographs undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. in their own words Vo i c e s o f J i h a d c o m p i l a t i o n a n d c o m m e n t a r y D av i d A a r o n Approved for public release; distribution unlimited C O R P O R AT I O N This book results from the RAND Corporation`s continuing program of self-initiated research. Support for such research is provided, in part, by donors and by the independent research and development provisions of RAND`s contracts for the operation of its U.S. Department of Defense federally funded research and development centers. The project was conducted in conjunction with the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy, part of International Programs at the RAND Corporation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Aaron, David, 1938- In their own words : voices of Jihad : compilation and commentary / David Aaron. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-8330-4402-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Jihad. 2. War—Religious aspects—Islam. 3. Islamic fundamentalism. I. Title. BP182.A17 2008 363.325092`2—dc22 2008002086 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization providing objective analysis and effective solutions that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors around the world. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. R® is a registered trademark. © Copyright 2008 RAND Corporation All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from RAND. Published 2008 by the RAND Corporation 1776 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1200 South Hayes Street, Arlington, VA 22202-5050 4570 Fifth Avenue, Suite 600, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-2665 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Email: order@rand.org Preface It must be stated at the outset that this book is not about Islam as it is practiced in its many varieties in Muslim communities throughout the world. It is not about Islamic fundamentalism or the various Islamist political movements. Rather, it is about a small group among the 1.2 billion Muslims on earth that carries out and promotes terrorism in the name of Islam. Respecting the difference is crucial if the terrorists are to be defeated. This can sometimes be difficult, because parts of the terrorists’ messages resonate with the perceptions and experience of many Muslims. Nonethe-less, the distinction is crucial, and the first step in making it is to listen to what the terrorists are actually saying. Their statements are often more appalling and more profoundly revealing than the accounts in many of the books that have been writ-ten about jihadi terrorism. This book offers unfiltered access to a broad range of the stories, rationales, ideas, and arguments of jihadi terrorists and those who support them. It presents a selected compendium of the actual words of jihadis expressing their views on virtually every subject relevant to their cause. A minimum of introduc-tory and contextual material is provided, so that the reader may experience the full impact of what they are saying—to each other and to the world. It is hoped that this will provide greater insights into the motives, plans, and participants in jihadi terror-ism, as well as the nature of the threat they pose. Further material is available at the RAND Voices of Jihad Database at http://www.rand.org/research_areas/terrorism/ database/. This book should be of interest to both students and researchers and to informed readers seeking a deeper understanding of jihadi terrorism. It may require more of the reader than other works on the subject, because it does not try to explain what is being said, nor does it speculate on why; rather, the jihadis speak for themselves. This book results from the RAND Corporation’s continuing program of self-initiated research. Support for such research is provided, in part, by donors and by the independent research and development provisions of RAND’s contracts for the operation of its U.S. Department of Defense federally funded research and develop-ment centers. This project was conducted in conjunction with the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy. The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy, part of Interna- iii ... - tailieumienphi.vn