The softer side of Salafist jihad?

While al Qaeda central is castigating the Salafist Muslim Brotherhood for engaging in the political process, some of AQ’s Syrian franchises seem to have recognized the value of public relations campaigns that don’t exclusively feature threats, beatings, and assassination campaigns that include lopping off heads and arranging them in a semi-circle. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s recent “community gatherings,” replete with ice cream and tug of war, have been joined by the Al Nusrah Front’s attempt to restore electrical service in a Syrian town. From a release and translation by SITE Intelligence Group:

Continuing its focus on the benefits provided to Syrian Muslims by the al-Nusra Front, Himam News Agency released a video showing the group fixing an electrical transformer and restoring power to a town in Deir al-Zour governorate. The 4-minute video was posted on jihadist forums on July 27, 2013. A Himam News correspondent claimed that Syrian soldiers deliberately attack transformers in areas of battle in order to cut off electricity from the residents, and due to the importance of electricity, the al-Nusra Front took it upon itself to repair the damaged parts. Footage shows the repair and reinstallation of one such transformer.

Time will tell whether this impulse toward Hamas-style social welfare and politicking will extend beyond a few PR attempts, but I have my doubts. The practice of takfir (declaring any Muslim who does not follow originalist interpretation of the Koran an unbeliever) and al Qaeda’s core philosophy about what to do with such unbelievers make the group incompatible with the daily life of a majority of Sunni Muslims, even those in historically conservative and implacably sectarian populations. Thus, the extent to which al Qaeda can find long-term success at public relations somewhat mirrors the extent to which it is willing to violate its core principles.