Category Archives: Translated News from the Middle East

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17 bin Laden documents / Combating Terrorism Center (CTC)

وثائق بن لادن

Seventeen of the of the 6,000 documents seized from the compound of Osama bin Laden in May 2011 were released May 3, 2012. The documents – provided by the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC), and totalling 175 pages in the original Arabic and 197 pages in the English translation:

* Original Arabic (.zip) باللغة العربية

* English Translations (.zip) باللغة الانجليزية

نشرت يوم الخميس، 3 أيار/مايو، 17 وثيقة من أصل آلاف الوثائق التي عثر عليها في مجمع أسامة بن لادن في أيار/مايو 2011، بعد يوم على الذكرى الأولى لمقتل زعيم القاعدة

وتصف الوثائق التي نشرها مركز مكافحة الارهاب، ويبلغ عددها 175 صفحة باللغة العربية و197 صفحة مترجمة إلى الانجليزية، آليات عمل التنظيم الداخلية ومنها خلافات داخلية ونصائح للجماعات المرتبطة بالتنظيم ومخاوف لقادة بارزين فيه

The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point website has provided the following summary:

This report is a study of 17 de-classified documents captured during the Abbottabad raid and released to the Combating Terrorism Center (CTC). They consist of electronic letters or draft letters, totaling 175 pages in the original Arabic and 197 pages in the English translation. The earliest is dated September 2006 and the latest April 2011. These internal al-Qa`ida communications were authored by several leaders, most prominently Usama bin Ladin. In contrast to his public statements that focused on the injustice of those he believed to be the “enemies” of Muslims, namely corrupt “apostate” Muslim rulers and their Western “overseers,” the focus of Bin Ladin’s private letters is Muslims’ suffering at the hands of his jihadi “brothers”. He is at pain advising them to abort domestic attacks that cause Muslim civilian casualties and focus on the United States, “our desired goal.” Bin Ladin’s frustration with regional jihadi groups and his seeming inability to exercise control over their actions and public statements is the most compelling story to be told on the basis of the 17 de-classified documents. “Letters from Abbottabad” is an initial exploration and contextualization of 17 documents that will be the grist for future academic debate and discussion.

 

The 17 documents totaled nearly 200 pages in their English translation. The earliest one is dated 2006. The latest is from 2011, according to the center. Here are the 17 documents and summaries, which were based on a CTC document that accompanied the release of the bin Laden letters.

Text of Document 1

Summary: Bin Laden asks for a lengthy version of Anwar al-Awlaqi’s resume.

Text of Document 2

Summary: American Qaida spokesman Adam Gadahn writes on a media strategy for the anniversary of 9/11.

Text of Document 3 

Summary: Bin Laden declines al-Shababa’s request for unity with al-Qaida.

Text of Document 4

Summary: This letter suggests that al-Qaida’s relationship with other terror groups was the subject of internal debate.

Text of Document 5

Summary: This letter is written by Mahmud al-Hasan (Atiyya) and criticizes the tactics of Pakistan’s Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Text of Document 6

Summary: Jaysh al-Islam and Atiyya write back and forth on financial matters and legal advice.

Text of Document 7

Summary: This letter is part of another that was not released to CTC, but the author is concerned about al-Qaida’s image. The author was also concerned that because the name al-Qaida lacks religious overtones, the U.S. is able to wage war against the group without offending all Muslims.

Text of Document 8

Summary: Bin Laden lays out his views of the Arab Spring. The letter is dated a week before the raid that killed him.

Text of Document 9

Summary: This letter is addressed to a legal scholar who is alarmed with the conduct of al-Qaida in Iraq.

Text of Document 10

Summary: Atiyya wrote this letter addressed to the sheik, possibly bin Laden. The letter addresses the release of jihadi “brothers” from Iran.

Text of Document 11

Summary: The CTC summary says this document shows al-Qaida’s editing process: An unknown editor (possibly bin Laden) marks up statements form Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Text of Document 12

Summary: This document has two letters that, according to CTC, “read very much like an intelligence assessment, designed to provide Atiyya with some perspective on al-Qaida generally and the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) more specifically.”

Text of Document 13

Summary: This letter focuses on issues in Afghanistan and Pakistan but also mentions the organization’s media plan for the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

Text of Document 14

Summary: The author of this letter, possibly bin Laden, Atiyya, or both of them, advises al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula to focus attacks on the U.S., not Yemen’s government.

Text of Document 15

Summary: This letter focuses on strategy and the need for the group to attack the United States.

Text of Document 16

Summary: This letter is critical of bin Laden and urges him to change al-Qaida’s policy. The author says that people are now repulsed by the term jihad.

Text of Document 17

Summary: This is a long letter written by bin Laden in which he discusses his concern over the mistakes that regional jihadi groups have made.

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RELATED:

Key Documents — Al Qaeda & Jihadi Movements Worldwide (volumes 1-50)

Reference Corporation’s on-going Al Qaeda & Jihadi Movements Worldwide (AQJM) reference series, in early 2011, in 50 volumes, has several built-in finding guides to assist researchers. One finding guide is the Key Documents list, a bibliography with extensive cross references and scope notes. However, Key Documents is a large document and cannot be reprinted in every new incremental set of AQJM reference books. For example, the Key Documents list in the cumulative index to the first twenty volumes of AQJM is over 120 pages long. AQJM for volumes 1-50 is 332 pages long.

To make Key Documents more useful, this downloadable Key Documents list is cumulative for all AQJM volumes and will always be current.

This Key Documents edition is a cumulative finding aid for AQJM volumes 1-50

World Book and Copyright Day Celebrations in Arab Countries

23 April is a symbolic date for world literature, since 23 April 1616 was the date of death of Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. 23 April is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.This year, Tunis lit the candle for UNESCO’s World Book Day.

The theme of this year’s book day is translation. Since 1979, UNESCO member states have logged more than 2 million translations in their translation index, which is available online.

Five days before the annual UNESCO-sponsored World Book and Copyright Day, hundreds of Tunisian readers took over iconic Habib Bourguiba Avenue with an event called “L’avenue taqra” or “The avenue reads.” Children and adults sat in cafes, on steps, and on the sidewalks to read a variety of books. As the day wore on, many held candles in order to continue reading into the night.

The invitation to the April 18th event in Tunis explained that everyone would bring their own books or magazines to cafés or other public places where they would sit and read silently together for an hour.”  Nas Décaméron, an artistic and literary group based at Ibn Khaldoun Cultural Centre in Tunis called for the initiative. It also organises a salon every week to discuss a world novel. The group’s Kamel Riyahi headed the “Read” initiative.  According to a 2010 Tunisian reading survey, more than 20% of respondents hadn’t read a book in their entire life and of those who did read, 60% read fewer than five books per year.

In Cairo, Shorouk Bookstores is offering the best WB & CD discount, at 20%, but other stores (BookSpot), chains (Alef), and government entities (GEBO) are also offering money-off deals. The Cervantes Institute in Dokki (Cairo) today offers readings of Cervantes’ “Don Quixote” in its original Spanish and in Arabic translation. The novel will be read continuously from noon until 7:45 pm.

In Sharjah or Dubai, the children’s reading festival opened today. Moroccans are going to read books before the parliament. The theme is: “Culture in the face of absurdity.” If you’re in Lebanon, Antoine Bookstore is having an exhibition of Spanish books and books about Spain in collaboration with Cervantes Institute in Downtown Beirut.

Libya’s Post-Revolution Press Boom

Despite scant funding and a lack of publishing expertise in the country,  media outlets in Libya  witness an unprecedented boom sparked by the  revolution. Before the revolution, the press was tightly controlled. In its 2010 press freedom index, Reporters Without Borders put Libya at 160th position out of 178 states. The media landscape, which has long been dominated by the government  Public Press Authority, now boasts more than 300 dailies and weeklies, with about 180 issued in Benghazi. Many new outlets receive funding from civil society, local councils and businessmen. The National Transitional Council (NTC) also provides assistance to journalists.

 

The Tripoli Post

ليبا اليوم – Libya alyoum

Libya: revolution, 17 February, 2011

Libyans Revolution

120px-Flag_of_Libya_(1951).svg

The Libyan League For Human Rights

liby

handar4Libyan Revolution Blogs, Tweets, etc.

handar4Revolutionary Situation in LibyaProf. Juan Cole @ University of Michigan

 

210px-Flag_of_Libya.svg Gaddafi’s flag

  • How To Spell Qaddafi/Gadhafi/Gaddafi/Qadhafi

    You may have noticed reading the news recently, that there is no agreed upon way to spell the name of the current Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi. The controversy is well illustrated by a May 1986 letter to Minnesota second graders; Gaddafi signed his name in English “Moammar El-Gadhafi.” The AP reported the event, “Second-Graders Get Letter From Khadafy.”

    Librarians are all too familiar with the profusion of guises in which the name of Libyan dictator Qaddafi may be encountered in the Latin alphabet.  (The Library of Congress Name Authority File (LCNAF) preferred form of entry — Qaddafi- lists 72 alternate spellings). For the rest of the public out there it’s still mystery that still requires explanation.

    In 2009, ABC News listed 112 different ways to spell Gaddafi, which have appeared in various news outlets. The leader’s name was even the topic of a 1981 Saturday Night Live sketch, offering the most creative spelling a one-way ticket to Tripoli.

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    The Definition Of Democracy According to

    Gaddafi“!!!

    [YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS UP!!]

    Qaddafi’s Arabic etymology of democracy:  ديمو كراسي

    Qaddafi gave a live interview with Al Jazeera in which he expounded on the meaning of the word “democracy.” According to him, the word “Democracy” is actually an Arabic word that means to sit in one’s chair, because apparently “cracy” is an Arabic plural that sounds like the word for chairs “karasy = كراسي” … and “demo” ديمو in Arabic means “to stay” or “to last a long time.”  The word “karasy” (cracy) in Arabic (pl.)  usually refers to the thrones or seats of power of ruling dictators, who tend to “sit on the chair” for life. Gaddafi, who has been on the chair himself since 1969, seems to understand that democracies are meant to be dictatorships, and vice-versa. “A system where you have a party, a president and a government is ridiculous,” he said.

    He ended the interview with the usual plug for his book, The Green Book (“all this is in The Green Book,” he concludes), a manifesto for government based on the “Third Universal Theory,” which proposes a solution to economic and social problems for humanity. If followed correctly, governments and societies would look much as Libya does.

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    Who is Muammar al-Gaddafi?

    AllGov.com

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    Fatwas, or religious edicts, Against Gaddafi

    bism

    Several moral figures, both inside and outside Libya, backed the pro-democracy protesters and the spreading rebellion against his regime.

    Libyan authorities arrested Islamic Scholar Al Sadeq Al Gheryani after he spoke to Al Jazeera Arabic program over the phone (Feb-20-11) … during which he issued a holy decree (FATWA, or, Islamic edict), saying that it was “everyone’s duty to get out on the streets and topple Gaddafi.”

    Libyan cleric issues fatwa against Gaddafi gift cash

    On Tuesday (March 1st), one of Libya’s most prominent religious scholars issued a fatwa against the 500 dinars now being handed out to every Libyan family. In his fatwa, Sheikh Al Sadeq Al Gheryani said the money was tantamount to accepting a bribe from the Kadhafi regime. Such a fatwa is likely to be implemented by his followers, who represent a large section of the Libyan people.

    This fatwa was endorsed later by Sheik Ali Mohammed al-Selabi, who is considered to be the most influential religious scholar among Libyans abroad.

    Refused an appeal from one of Colonel Gaddafi’s sons, Saadi el-Qaddafi, to issue a fatwa banning demonstrations against his father. “Saadi, Qaddafi’s son, asked me to say a word against the protests; I refused to back him because they were killing innocent people, killing old men and peaceful demonstrators.” The cleric issued a fatwa against Gaddafi instead, saying that “it’s a religious obligation” to fight oppressors and to provide medical and humanitarian help for the protesters.

    The Saudi cleric said that he refused to back the Libyan regime because of its “injustices against the Libyan people. That regime is not offering security and peace to the people but it is offering the opposite.”

    The Grand Imam of Al-Ahmed Al-Tayeb, head of al-Azhar University in Cairo, calls for the Libyan army to disobey orders Gaddafi.

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    handar4Seif Qadhafi’s PhD thesis from LSE

    A copy of the PhD thesis Seif al-Qadhafi, son of Muammar al-Qadhafi, filed in September 2007 at the London School of Economics (whose former chancellor, Tony Giddens, was an advisor to his father). It’s called “The Role Of Civil Society In The Democratisation Of Global Governance Institutions: From ‘Soft Power’ to Collective Decision-Making?” [See more about academics-turned-consultants, Anthony Giddens and Benjamin Barber, according to guardian.co.uk]

    **********However********

    A careful Wiki-study of Saif al-Gaddafi’s PhD thesis at the London School of Economics yields an astonishing amount of suspicious, non-cited similarities to other texts.

    **********

    As government security forces were reported to be firing into crowds of civilian protesters on Monday, and with Gaddafi Jr appearing on television to threaten a civil war in which the regime “will fight to the last minute, until the last bullet”, many of his erstwhile associates were questioning their friendships with him… More about this—

    handar4An inquiry into the LSE’s links with Libya and lessons to be learned (October 2011) This Report has been prepared by the Woolf Inquiry, an independent inquiry appointed by the Council of the LSE [London School of Economics] to establish the full facts of the LSE’s links with Libya.

    At the time Tony Blair was anxious to secure a rapprochement with the Libyan regime. The call from the Foreign Office to Professor Valpy FitzGerald, the head of Oxford’s Department of International Development, came in the spring of 2002. …    Continue reading Libya: revolution, 17 February, 2011

Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators

Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators

Scholars from the University of Chicago developed this teacher resource to provide an overview of Middle Eastern cultures and their contributions to the world.

Discover the great currents of continuity and change throughout Middle Eastern history…

This resource was written by many of the best scholars in the field of Middle Eastern studies and created in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities and three University of Chicago units, the Oriental Institute, the Center for Middle Eastern Studies, and the eCUIP Digital Library Project (a collaboration between the University of Chicago and the Chicago Public Schools to provide high-quality digital resources to the K—12 educational community using the content expertise of University of Chicago scholars, the development skills of the University Library’s Digital Library Development Center, and the experience of CPS educators).

The goal of Teaching the Middle East: A Resource for Educators is to provide teachers of Middle Eastern history and culture with a rich, reliable, and easily accessible resource that draws upon sound humanities scholarship to help build student understanding of Middle Eastern history and culture.

Drawing upon the unparalleled expertise of renowned scholars from the University of Chicago, the archaeological resources of a world-famous research facility and museum, and the inherent flexibility and strengths of the Internet…

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Online Maps of Current Interest