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18 In applying this hierarchy of motivations to a group like al-Qaeda, it should be noted that terrorists have drawn a distinction between possession and use, at least theoretically. In 1998, for instance, Osama bin Laden said it was his Islamic duty to possess WMD as a means of deterrence. It has been assumed that if he wants such weapons, it is to use them; he has never explicitly stated that he will use them; such is assumed. Groups with a global aperture have a pronounced tendency to undertake a deliberate decision-making process to set precedent- setting events in motion, and as a result, they carefully study the consequences that their actions are likely to have on the world. Apocalyptic Jihad “It would be nice to think that, in the war against terror, our side, too, speaks of deep philosophical ideas—it would be nice to think that someone is arguing with the terrorists and with the readers of Sayyid Qutb. But here I have my worries. The followers of Qutb speak, in their wild fashion, of enormous human problems, and they urge one another to death and to murder. But the enemies of these people speak of what? The political leaders speak of United Nations resolutions, of unilateralism, of multilateralism, of weapons inspectors, of coercion and non-coercion. This is no answer to the terrorists. The terrorists speak insanely of deep things. The antiterrorists had better speak sanely of equally deep things. Presidents will not do this. Presidents will dispatch armies, or decline to dispatch armies, for better and for worse.” 16 Islam and the Bomb: Religious Justification For and Against Nuclear Weapons Paul Berman Sayyid Qutb, a devout Muslim who memorized the Quran by the time he was ten, was one of the deepest thinkers of all Sunni extremist philosophers. His ideas had a profound impact on Osama bin Laden and Ayman Zawahiri, and heavily influenced the theological and ideologi- cal underpinnings of the al-Qaeda movement. Qutb’s provocative historical analysis, based entirely on his reading of the Quran, concluded that man can be liberated from oppression and social injustice only through Islam; and that man can achieve his full potential only through submission to God through Islam. Qutb exhorted Muslims to jihad, to serve God through action, to fix what is wrong with the world. The Egyptian radical defined the higher purpose of militant Islam: “This religion is not mere- ly a declaration of the freedom of Arabs, nor is its message confined to Arabs. It addresses itself to the whole of mankind, and its sphere of work is the whole world.” 17 In an effort to determine the limits terrorists are willing to go, to achieve their aims, it is
worth pondering what Qutb, if he lived today, would make of al-Qaeda’s global jihad. In his prolific writings, Qutb described a utopian world that had resolved the contradictions of human nature and modern life, had harmonized the secular with the sacred, and existed to exalt God. To fulfill his vision, he advocated terrorist violence to overthrow the morally bankrupt global status quo. Would the “martyred” activist approve of nuclear holocaust as an instru- ment of fulfilling his vision of man’s higher purpose? In the shadow of Qutb’s thoughts, the religious basis for using weapons of mass destruction resonates deeply with some rejectionist Islamists, probably because these weapons offer the prospect of scaling otherwise insurmountable summits. For apocalyptic thinkers such as Osama bin Laden, Ayman Zawahiri and Aum Shinryko cult leader Shogo Asahara, nuclear weapons represent the enabling element in waging a struggle in which ordinary rules of con- duct do not apply. In such terms the religious pre-justification of WMD is required as part of a ritualistic process for introducing new rules into the conflict. Apocalyptic jihadists hope a nuclear attack would be seen by their constituency as a clear sign that “God is on our side”— victory is at hand. When nuclear weapons are sought in the name of a higher purpose, it is no longer possible to mask the intention to obtain and use them, even for the sake of preserving secrecy and an element of surprise for an attack. Shogo Asahara announced his intentions in advance by prophesying that nuclear weapons would spark an Armageddon that would destroy a cor- rupt world order. He settled on using chemical weapons only after all efforts to buy or build a nuclear bomb had failed. 18 The Japanese cult leader explained why using nuclear weapons would be morally cleansing: “…if the persons killed are scoundrels, or enmeshed in social systems so evil that their further existence in this life will result in even greater Karmic debt, then those who kill are doing their victims a kind of favor by enabling them to die early. Their early deaths would be a kind of mercy killing, allowing their souls to move to a higher level than they otherwise would have been allowed to achieve.” 19 For Osama bin Laden, one bomb would represent a symbolic and credible fulfillment of his promise to destroy the US economy. To that end, the al-Qaeda leader considered it a moral duty to pre-justify a mass casualty attack that will kill men, women and children indiscrimi- nately. Al-Qaeda’s serial warnings of impending attacks arise from the group’s obligation to give ample opportunity for the target audience to convert to Islam. The al-Qaeda leader makes this point clear in his ominous warning to all Americans in 2007. “I invite you to embrace Islam, for the greatest mistake one can make in this world and one which is uncor- rectable is to die without surrendering to Allah.” 20 Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs | Harvard Kennedy School 19
Page 1: Islam Islam and the Bomb Religious
Page 4 and 5: Belfer Center for Science and Inter
Page 6 and 7: AUTHOR’S NOTE Threats cannot be f
Page 8 and 9: CONTENTS Foreword 9 Living in an Ag
Page 10 and 11: 8 Islam and the Bomb: Religious Jus
Page 12 and 13: 10 ing nuclear weapons? Has a decis
Page 14 and 15: NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE 21 ST CENTUR
Page 16 and 17: 14 The Allure of Nuclear Weapons Th
Page 18 and 19: 16 Islam. They claim to represent t
Page 22 and 23: 20 The Court of Public Opinion “C
Page 24 and 25: THE QURAN AND WEAPONS OF MASS DESTR
Page 26 and 27: 24 The first Caliph (successor to t
Page 28 and 29: 26 both Saudi radical cleric Nasir
Page 30 and 31: AL-QAEDA’S RELIGIOUS JUSTIFICATIO
Page 32 and 33: 30 On that basis, and in compliance
Page 34 and 35: 32 ings of US and Saudi targets in
Page 36 and 37: 34 In November, 2007, Sayid Imam Ab
Page 38 and 39: 36 He offers a meticulously researc
Page 40 and 41: 38 Zawahiri’s Three Operational M
Page 42 and 43: 40 they have done good for their re
Page 44 and 45: 42 Because the document was written
Page 46 and 47: SUNNI VOICES REJECTION OF TERRORIST
Page 48 and 49: Chronology of Sunni Voices Against
Page 50 and 51: Reactions to the anti-WMD Fatwa Dr
Page 52 and 53: SHIA VOICES IRAN AND THE BOMB Follo
Page 54 and 55: 52 “The decree by Khamenei “pro
Page 56 and 57: 54 “From all I can see, it’s no
Page 58 and 59: president of the Kayhan chain of ne
Page 60 and 61: Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah-Yaz
Page 62 and 63: you can do whatever you want to def
Page 64 and 65: Comment: For additional information
Page 66 and 67: APPENDICES Appendix A - Background
Page 68 and 69: 66 Early Muslim scholars developed
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68 located in Yemen, Iraq, and part
Page 72 and 73:
70 Appendix B: Al-Qaeda Nuclear Pla
Page 74 and 75:
Appendix C: Events from 2003-2010 -
Page 76 and 77:
In his book “Cosmology and Human
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76 and hidden matters, the conseque
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78 pressed. Thus, this prohibition
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80 Appendix E: Sunni Biographies Dr
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82 despite our strong oppositions t
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84 to the United Nations. He presen
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86 losophy and in particular Sadra
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88 nied him food and drink until he
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90 Zawahiri: Page 5, 8, 25, 26, 50,
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92 “As everyone knows, whoever at
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94 fought with fire, and Khalid ibn
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96 Sa’id reported to us that al-L
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98 “The Prophet, may God bless hi
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100 and to refrain from them if the
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102 permissible, and one may setup
Page 106 and 107:
104 “Al-‘Ayni said in ‘Umdat
Page 108 and 109:
106 C. The third position on the is
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108 the prophet (may God bless him
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110 facilitate victory over them. T
Page 114 and 115:
112 “In this Hadith there is perm
Page 116 and 117:
114 The Imam al-Nawawi (may God hav
Page 118 and 119:
116 Referencing Al-Ayni Al-Fahd: Pa
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118 board with them. Malik said tha
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120 “They said that this is a gen
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122 that a tradition from the proph
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124 “Similarly, if an non-believe
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126 The second aspect: Muslim leade
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128 beginning of the verse, God giv
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130 book “Consensus on Matters of
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132 Ibn Qudamah also said: “Chapt
Page 136 and 137:
134 Referencing Muhammad Ibn Isma
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136 in the Name of God and in God
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138 Ibn Taymiyyah (may God have mer
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140 a martyr. Anyone undeserving of
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142 Zawahiri: Page 35, 80, 82, 83,
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144 Similar to this is what Muhamma
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146 ENDNOTES 1. Tzu, Sun. The Art o
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148 Times. 29 May 2003. http://www.
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150 115. Intelligence and Terrorism
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152 163. Gomaa, Ali. “Biography.
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154 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report wo
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156 Islam and the Bomb: Religious J
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