Transcript of Adam Gadahn’s ‘A Call to Arms’

gadahn-03072010.JPG

Adam Gadahn, al Qaeda’s American spokesman, from “A Call to Arms,” a videotape released in March 2010.

Below is the full transcript of Adam Gadahn’s latest tape, ” A Call to Arms.” Gadahn, al Qaeda’s American-born spokesman, is thought to have been captured in Karachi on March 7, but there is much controversy over the reports.

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan the Accursed. In the Name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful:

“O you who believe! Fight the unbelievers who are closest in proximity to you and let them find harshness in you; and know that Allah is with those who fear Him.” (9:123)

Muslim brothers everywhere, as-Salaamu ‘Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh [peace be upon you and the mercy of Allah and His blessings]. Wa B’ad:

The year 2009, the inaugural year of a new administration in Washington, ended in a truly miserable fashion for the Crusader West and its intelligence organs, who suffered a series of moral and material blows which culminated in the bloody deaths of at least 8 CIA operatives in a masterfully-planned and executed martyrdom operation inside their clandestine base in Afghanistan. This crushing blow came just a few days after the compromising of America’s supposedly airtight security in a valiant attempt by a heroic soldier of al-Qaida to bring down an American airliner over Detroit. But I would like here to take you back to an earlier event, one whose hero wasn’t a member of al-Qaida or any other Islamic group, but was in fact, a ranking officer of the United States Army, Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who, this past autumn, opened fire on a group of American soldiers preparing to deploy to Afghanistan deep within the army’s largest domestic base, Fort Hood, Texas. According to official army figures, at least 13 Crusaders were killed and more than 30 wounded in this surprise attack. Major Nidal Malik Hasan himself was shot, wounded and captured, and has had charges filed against him in a Crusader military court of inquisition in preparation for a summary show trial whose outcome is not in question.

America may let the thugs of Blackwater off the hook, and may give the depraved guards of Abu Ghraib and the homicidal gang-rapists of al-Miqdadiyah slaps on the wrist, but it goes without saying that such concessions don’t extend to defiant Muslim heroes like Major Nidal Malik Hasan. The fact is, the heroic Fort Hood operation opens up a host of new opportunities for discussion of the hypocrisy, hubris and less-than-wholesome aspects of the Western Crusader culture which bestows peace prizes on war presidents and condemns Christmas messages from captured American soldiers as cruel, even as it continues to torture and humiliate the Muslims and other prisoners in its own custody. However, in the interest of brevity, I will leave such topics for another day in favor of shining further light on the nature and motivations of the man behind this historic and trend-setting operation, our Mujahid brother Nidal Malik Hasan – Nahsabuhu Min as-Saaliheen wa La Nuzakeehi Ala Allah: We consider him to be a righteous man and we don’t purify him before Allah.

The Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan has shown us what one righteous Muslim with an assault rifle can do for his religion and brothers in faith, and has reminded us of how much pride and joy a single act of resistance and courage can instill in the hearts of Muslims everywhere. The Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan, by the grace of Allah and with a single 30-minute battle, singlehandedly brought the morale of the American military and public to its lowest point in years. The Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan, lightly armed but with a big heart, a strong will and a confident step, again brought into sharp focus the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of America, and again proved wrong those who claim America cannot be hit where it hurts. And most significantly, the Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan is a pioneer, a trailblazer and a role-model who has opened a door, lit a path and shown the way forward for every Muslim who finds himself among the unbelievers and yearns to discharge his duty to Allah and play a part in the defense of Islam and Muslims against the savage, heartless and bloody Zionist Crusader assault on our religion, sacred places and homelands.

Just as significant and just as deserving of contemplation and emulation as what the defiant Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan did is what he didn’t do. Courageous Brother Nidal didn’t give the orders of men priority over the orders of Allah, nor did he fear the wrath of men more than the wrath of Allah. Nahsabahu wa Allahu Haseebuh [We reckon him so and Allah is his Reckoner]. And defiant Brother Nidal didn’t make the youthful mistake he made in joining the American army an excuse for making the mistake of a lifetime and taking part in the fighting and killing of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq or anywhere else. This is why I believe that defiant Brother Nidal is the ideal role-model for every repentant Muslim in the armies of the unbelievers and apostate regimes who, like him, has come to the correct collusion that true Islam isn’t in a name or a set of rituals but in fact is in total submission and obedience to Allah and total disobedience to and disassociation from the unbelievers. When Brother Nidal was issued orders which conflicted with Islamic doctrine and values, he resisted them until the last bullet and thereby broke the mold of the mindlessly obedient soldier, a mold preferred and cultivated by the militaries of the world but totally rejected by Islam, which says loudly and clearly: La Ta’ata Li Makhlooqin Fi Ma’siyat al-Khaaliq – Obedience to a Created Being in Disobedience to the Creator is Impermissible.

Not only did defiant Brother Nidal break free of the influence of the unbelievers he had grown up and worked with and served under, he also broke free of the evil influence of the anti-Jihad, pro-Crusade Shaykhs and Muftis who attempt to legitimize the killing of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere using the flimsiest pretexts and excuses imaginable. Defiant Brother Nidal didn’t try to silence his conscience or justify obeying his commanders and remaining in the ranks of the unbelievers with those Shaykhs’ scandalous Fatwas which permit the impermissible, prohibit the obligatory and condone the murder of Muslims in the name of fighting terrorism, or in the name of protecting salary and position, or in the name of preserving the good reputation of American Muslims and dispelling any doubts about their patriotism and loyalty to America. Brother Nidal didn’t try to hide behind such ridiculous excuses because he knew that – however many famous signatures it might carry and whatever fancy title it might have – no Fatwa in this world can possibly justify breaking the clear, unambiguous and agreed-upon laws of the Shari’ah, like the law forbidding the killing of Muslims or the law ordering loyalty to the believers and disloyalty to the unbelievers, and he knew that on the day of Judgement, all the Ulama, Mullas, Muftis and Imams of this world put together would be incapable of saving him from divine retribution were he to have blindly followed their permissions and prohibitions in contravention of what he knew – in his heart of hearts and through honest research and careful study – to be Allah’s ruling and decree.

I believe that Brother Nidal realized that the insults, accusations, imprisonment, loneliness and other difficulties that one might face during or after one’s mission are insignificant when compared to the punishment Allah has threatened – in numerous places in the Quran and Hadeeth – for those who abandon compulsory Hijra and Jihad despite them having access to the necessary ways and means. But at the same time, I believe Brother Nidal realized that Islam neither calls for nor approves of hasty, reckless and poorly planned actions, and that’s why he acted with caution and took the necessary steps in order to avoid repeating the mistakes others have made in operational and procedural matters. For example, Brother Nidal didn’t – as far as we know – discuss his plans over government-monitored-and-controlled telephone and computer systems, nor did he confide his secrets to recent acquaintances – or even long-time acquaintances – whose professed loyalty to Islam and Muslims and apparent eagerness to defend their faith and brethren may or may not be as strong or as genuine as it appears. Brother Nidal wasn’t taken in by the provocateurs who infiltrate the Masjids and Muslim communities of America with hidden microphones in order to entrap Muslims eager to perform the duty of Jihad. And Brother Nidal didn’t unnecessarily raise his security profile or waste money better spent on the operation itself by traveling abroad to acquire skills and instructions which could easily be acquired at home, or indeed, deduced by using one’s own powers of logic and reasoning.

For example, the first thing many people often ask is: “What weapon should I use in my operation?” But the answer to this question – and it’s an important question – is not as difficult as it may seem. The Mujahid Brother Nidal Hasan used firearms in his assault on Fort Hood, but the fact is, today’s Mujahid is no longer limited to bullets and bombs when it comes to his choice of a weapon. As the blessed operations of September 11th showed, a little imagination and planning and a minimal budget can turn almost anything into a deadly, effective and convenient weapon which can take the enemy by surprise and deprive him of sleep for years on end.

Another important and often intimidating stage of preparation for any operation is the targeting phase. When the time came to pick his target, the Mujahid Brother Nidal chose carefully, looking for a target with which he was well acquainted, a target which was feasible and a target whose hitting would have a major impact on the enemy. In Brother Nidal’s case, these three important qualities came together in Fort Hood, but as you start to make your plans, you shouldn’t make the mistake of thinking that military bases are the only high-value targets in America and the West. On the contrary, there are countless other strategic places, institutions and installations which, by striking, the Muslim can do major damage to the Crusader West and further our global agenda and long-range strategic objectives.

We must look to further undermine the West’s already-struggling economies with carefully-timed-and-targeted attacks on symbols of capitalism which will again shake consumer confidence and stifle spending. We must keep in mind how even apparently unsuccessful attacks on Western mass transportation systems can bring major cities to a halt, cost the enemy billions and send his corporations into bankruptcy. We must erode our cowardly enemy’s will to fight by killing and capturing leading Crusaders and Zionists in government, industry and media who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk and are only interested in prosecuting their profitable wars as long as it’s other people who are in the line of fire and not them. We should look for targets which epitomize Western decadence, depravity, immorality and atheism, targets which the enemy and his mouthpieces will have trouble trying to pass off to the conservative Muslim majority as illegitimate targets full of innocent people. And finally, we mustn’t allow our lawless enemies to provoke us with their evil, sadistic and murderous crimes into crossing the boundaries laid down by Allah and His Prophet or doing anything which may have negative repercussions on the image of the Jihad and reputation of the Mujahideen.

We must always remember that our role models aren’t our enemies: our role models are the Prophet, His Companions and the righteous and God-fearing Mujahideen. We must always remember that we are different than the Zionists and Crusaders with whom we are locked in combat: We are not outlaws. We are not gangsters. We are not hypocrites. We are not barbarians. We are not opportunists and mercenaries. We are not enemies of freedom and civilization. We are not cowards who wage wars from behind the controls of pilotless aircraft. In other words, everything our enemies are, we are not, and everything we are, they are not. We are people of courage, honor, decency, chivalry and ethics who selflessly sacrifice themselves for the noblest cause on earth, and that is why every Muslim and every Mujahid must continue to take the high road and protect the moral high ground which we have fought so long and hard to secure.

My dear brothers in Islam: with America and 25 of its NATO allies beginning to deploy a further 37,000 occupation troops to Afghanistan, and with armed American drones now violating Islamic airspace and terrorizing Muslim populaces from Miran Shah to Mogadishu, and with the American war president and his rabid British poodle plotting fresh aggression against the Yemen, and with the United States consolidating its cruel treatment of our brothers in Islam at new or newly expanded Muslim-only concentration camps in Illinois, Bagram and elsewhere, it is rapidly becoming clear that this already hot global battle is about to get even hotter.

This is a war which knows no international borders and no single battleground, and that’s why I am calling on every honest and vigilant Muslim in the countries of the Zionist-Crusader alliance in general and America, Britain and Israel in particular to prepare to play his due role in responding to and repelling the aggression of the enemies of Islam. This is the golden, once in a lifetime opportunity to reap the rewards of Jihad and martyrdom we have been waiting for, so unsheathe your sharpened sword and rush to take your rightful place among defiant champions of Islam like Mir Aimal Kansi, Muhammad Bouyeri, Nidal Malik Hasan and many others like them: “Men who have been true to their covenant with Allah; of them some have been martyred and some are still waiting; but they have never changed in the least.” (33:23)

My Muslim brother: Jihad is neither the personal property nor the exclusive responsibility of any single group, organization or individual. Instead, it is the personal duty of every able-bodied Muslim on the face of this earth, until the last Muslim captive is freed and the last piece of occupied Islamic land is recovered and until Muslims live in safety and security in the benevolent shadow of the Islamic state. Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala has given you faculties of reason, judgement and choice within the guidelines of Islam, and it is for you – like your heroic Mujahid brother Nidal Hasan – to decide how, when and where you discharge this duty. But whatever you do, don’t wait for tomorrow to do what can be done today, and don’t wait for others to do what you can do yourself:”So fight (O Muhammad Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam) in Allah’s Cause – you are held responsible only for yourself – and rouse the believers. Allah will restrain the might of the unbelievers. And Allah is strongest in might and strongest in punishment.” (4:84)

Thank you for watching, and may Allah guide your steps. Wa as-Salaam ‘Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakaatuh.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Are you a dedicated reader of FDD's Long War Journal? Has our research benefitted you or your team over the years? Support our independent reporting and analysis today by considering a one-time or monthly donation. Thanks for reading! You can make a tax-deductible donation here.

3 Comments

  • jayc says:

    A little tongue in cheek observation here; I really love As Sahab’s props they use in their videos, particularly the AK-47 always propped up by the speaker. I used to laugh hard at the old video showing Bin Laden the great fighter, attempting to show the mujahideen what a great shot he was! You could tell he wasn’t a shooter by any stretch of the imagination.
    Anyway, I again laughed when I saw the assault rifle next to Gadahn. Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate if it were a bong?

  • TLA says:

    Jayc,
    The inevitable AK-47?
    I can’t help smirking at this either.
    Perhaps they should get themselves a Batmobile and Robin as accoutrements as well…. which would be a really good way of showing everyone that they’ve adapted to the post-9/11 means of insurgency.

  • Ormond Otvos says:

    What a fine essay in proof of the adage, religion poisons everything!

Iraq

Islamic state

Syria

Aqap

Al shabaab

Boko Haram

Isis