Page 1 of
2 Portrait of a jihadi
leader By Chris Heffelfinger
Hamid bin Abdallah al-Ali is an
influential Salafi cleric in Kuwait. He is
designated by the US government as a global
terrorism financier and supporter, yet his website
is registered in Vancouver, a city in the US state
of Washington.
Figures such as Hamid
al-Ali are critical to the education and doctrine
of Salafis - especially those who join the armed
resistance of the jihadist movement - yet they
often fall under the
radar
while they continue to radicalize thousands of
followers. Part of the reason behind the lack of
attention that clerics like Ali receive in the
West is the pronounced cultural differences
between opinion-makers in the United States and in
the Muslim world.
It would be hard to
imagine a leading public figure in the United
States composing lines of poetry, for example, in
response to a security or political development.
Yet among Arabs - true as well of Salafi-jihadis -
poetry remains a respected form of expression and
one lauded by the elite.
One of Ali's
poems, "These Lines Were Composed by the Sheikh
upon Hearing the News of Iran's Nuclear
Announcement", published on H-alAli.net on April
10, was read by more than 6,300 users. The poem
offered Ali's historical perspectives on Iran's
potential rise to power (in a fashion typical of
his strong position against Shi'ite Muslims).
However, the dense religious rhetoric typical of
Salafi clerics, more than anything, prevents the
West from understanding the message and importance
of these individuals.
As one of the
leading public Salafi personas in the Arab and
Muslim world, Ali frequently comments - and sways
Muslim opinion - on a variety of critical issues.
He is outspoken about Iraq and the direction in
which jihadist groups are moving the country; he
regularly calls for unity among Salafi and
jihadist groups; and he encourages the mujahideen
to adhere strictly to the doctrine of the
Salafiyya. His fatwas, articles and sermons
have been received by hundreds of thousands of
Arabic-speaking Muslims. Yet he is perhaps most
famous for his fatwa, issued in early 2001,
sanctioning suicide bombings - and specifically
the flying of aircraft into targets during such
operations. [1]
Ali's rise to
prominence Born in 1960, Ali is married
with five children. [2] He was a primary-education
teacher in Kuwait, where he taught Islamic
studies. He studied sharia (Islamic law) at the
Islamic University of Medina from 1979 until 1988,
receiving a master's degree in tafsir
(exegesis) and Koranic studies. This university,
along with Umm al-Qura' University in Mecca and
Imam Muhammad bin Sa'ud University in Riyadh, is
among the most prestigious Salafi educational
institutions in the world. The curriculum of these
universities provides the fundamentals of Salafi
doctrine, and easily transitions from the clerics
in US-allied Saudi Arabia to those like Hamid
al-Ali, who call for jihad against Americans as
well as any Arab governments who support US
"aggression".
After returning to Kuwait,
Ali served as a professor of Islamic studies at
Kuwait University for several years. He rose to
the position of general secretary of al-Harakat
al-Salafiyya fil-Kuwait (the Salafi Movement of
Kuwait) by 1991, a position he maintained until
1999. A controversy arose in late 1999 when the
Kuwaiti daily al-Siyassa was suspended for a week
after publishing comments from Ali critical of
Kuwait's relationship with the United States.
The tension with the emirate escalated
after he published fatwas declaring Kuwait
and other governments kuffar - disbelievers
and lawful targets for the mujahideen - for
supporting non-Islamic countries' aggression
against the Muslim world. After his arrest and a
suspended sentence, Ali was officially banned from
teaching or speaking in any institution under the
auspices of the Kuwaiti emir. Despite that, he has
since become an even more prolific writer and
speaker, well known in Kuwait and throughout the
Arab world. He has since also become one of the
leading voices of the jihadist movement.
Ali maintains his highly popular website
(H-alAli.net), on which he posts a wide array of
jihadist materials. His articles are also
distributed on jihadist forums such as
ElShouraa.ws, and Islamist websites such as
IslamToday.net. In his writings, he is most
concerned with the proper implementation of the
sharia, and the doctrine and program of the
Salafiyya being instilled on the new generation of
Muslims, as well as the mujahideen.
Ties to al-Qaeda and the global
mujahideen In January 2005, arrests by
Kuwaiti security forces uncovered a Kuwaiti
al-Qaeda cell planning attacks within the country.
The arrests also led to evidence that Ali had been
actively recruiting Kuwaiti youth for jihad in
Iraq and in his home country. [3] The US Treasury
Department also maintains that Ali provided funds
to
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