The Al Qaeda Manual (continued)

UK/BM-75 TRANSLATION

ELEVENTH LESSON
ESPIONAGE


(1) INFORMATION-GATHERING USING OPEN METHODS

Definition of Espionage [5]:

It is the covert search for and examination of the enemy's news and information for the purpose of using them when a plan is devised. In [the book titled 1 "Nile AI-Aoutar wa Fath Al-Bari,"[it is said that] the spy is called an eye because his work is through his eyes, or because of his excessive and preoccupation with observation, as if all his being is an eye.

[5 ]For details, refer to The Spying Journal: Religious Duty and Human Necessity.

Espionage in the era of the prophet -Allah bless and keep him- and his honored companions: The prophet -Allah bless and keep him -used informants in most of his attacks. As Abou Soufian's caravan, that was coming from Damascus, was approaching, the prophet -Allah bless and keep him -wanted to know the caravan's destination. While the prophet was in Madina, he sent Talha Ibn Obaidallah and Said Ibn Zeid to the Damascus route to gather information about the caravan. On their way back to Madina, and at the conclusion of the Badr battle, they met the prophet -Allah bless and keep him -in Terban, as he was descending from Badr to take Madina. [Though ]they did not participate in the battle, they nevertheless got their share of the [spoils].

In his attacks, the prophet -Allah bless and keep him -would find out the enemy's intention. In the Hodaibiya [battle] days, though he did not want war, he exercised caution by sending a special 40-man reconnaissance group, headed by A'kkasha Ibn Mohsen Al-Azda. One of that group forerunners found a man who led them to the enemy's livestock. They captured 200 camels from that livestock and brought them to Madina.

The prophet -Allah bless and keep him - had local informants in Mecca who told him everything, big and small, that might harm the Muslims’ welfare. Among those [enemies] were his uncle Al- Abbas Ibn Abd Al-Mutlib, and Bashir Ibn Soufian Al-Atki. Al- Khulafa Arrashidun [Mohammed's successors] advised their commanders about the importance of using scouts and informants to learn the enemy’s secrets. Abou Bakr Al-Siddik -may Allah be pleased with him - said to his commander Amro Ibn AI-A'ss -may Allah be pleased with him -,"Send your informants to bring you Abou Obeida's news. If he is victorious over his enemy, then you fight those that are in Palestine. If he needs soldiers, then dispatch one battalion after another for him.''
Omar Ibn Al-Khattab -may Allah be pleased with him -advised his commander Saad Ibn Abou Wakkas -may Allah be pleased with him -saying, “If you step foot on your enemies’ land, get spies for them. Choose those whom you count on for their truthfulness and advice, whether Arabs or inhabitants of that land. Liars' accounts would not benefit you, even if some of them were true; the deceiver is a spy against you and not for you. "Khaled Ibn Al-Walid -may Allah be pleased with him -used to take informants and spies with him in each of his wars against the Christian Orthodox. He chose them carefully and treated them well.

Principle of Moslems Spying on their Enemies: Spying on the enemy is permitted and it may even be a duty in the case of war between Moslems and others. Winning the battle is dependent on knowing the enemy's secrets, movements, and plans. The prophet -Allah bless and keep him - used that method. He would send spies and informants. Perhaps, he - Allah bless and keep him - even went himself as in the major Badr attack. AI-Khulafa Arrashidun [Mohammed's successors ]also ordered it [spying ] . Since Islam is superior to all human conditions and earthly religions, it permits spying for itself but not for others. Majestic Allah says, “Not equal are the companions of the fire and the companions of the garden, “and the prophet says, "Islam is supreme and there is nothing above it. "Islam, therefore, fights so the word of Allah can become supreme. Others fight for worldly gains and lowly and inferior goals.

An Important Question: How can a Muslim spy live among enemies if he maintains his Islamic characteristics? How can he perform his duties to Allah and not want to appear Muslim?

Concerning the issue of clothing and appearance (appearance of true religion), Ibn Taimia - may Allah have mercy on him - said, "If a Muslim is in a combat or godless area, he is not obligated to have a different appearance from [those around him ].The [Muslim] man may prefer or even be obligated to look like them, provided his action brings a religious benefit of preaching to them, learning their secrets and informing Muslims, preventing their harm, or some other beneficial goal."
Resembling the polytheist in religious appearance is a kind of "necessity permits the forbidden” even though they [forbidden acts] are basically prohibited. As for the visible duties, like fasting and praying, he can fast by using any justification not to eat with them [polytheist]. As for prayer, the book (Al-Manhaj Al-Haraki Lissira Al-Nabawiya)quotes Al-Bakhari that "he [the Moslem ]may combine the noon and afternoon [prayers], sunset and evening [prayers]. That is based on the fact that the prophet -Allah bless and keep him -combined [prayers] in Madina without fear or hesitation."

Though scholars have disagreed about the interpretation of that tradition, it is possible - though Allah knows best -that the Moslem spy combines [prayers ].It is noted, however, that it is forbidden to do the unlawful, such as drinking wine or fornicating. There is nothing that permits those [6].

[6] Al-Morabitoun Magazine, Issue No. 6


Guidelines for Beating and Killing Hostages:

Religious scholars have permitted beating. They use a tradition explained in Imam Mosallem's manuscript, who quotes Thabit Ibn Ans that Allah's prophet -Allah bless and keep him -sought counsel when he was informed about Abou Soufian's arrival. Abou Bakr and Omar spoke, yet he [the prophet] did not listen. Saad Ibn Ibada said, "Do you want us, O Allah's prophet, who controls my life? If you order us to subdue the camel we would do it, or beat and follow them to Al-Ghimad lakes (5-day trip beyond Mecca),we would do it, too. “The prophet -Allah bless and keep him - called on the people, who then descended on Badr. They were met by Kureish camels carrying water. Among their takers was a young black [slave] man belonging to the Al-Hajjaj clan. They took him [as hostage]. The companions of the prophet - Allah bless and keep him - started asking him about Abou Sofian and his companions. He first said, "I know nothing about Abou Soufian but I know about Abou Jahl, Atba, Sheiba, and Omaya Ibn Khalaf. "But when they beat him he said, “O yes, I will tell you. This is the news of Abou Soufian...”Meanwhile, the prophet - Allah bless and keep him -, who was praying, started to depart saying, "Strike him if he tells you the truth and release him if he lies. "Then he said, "That is the death of someone [the hostage]. "He said that in the presence of his companions and while moving his hand on the ground.

In this tradition, we find permission to interrogate the hostage for the purpose of obtaining information. It is permitted to strike the nonbeliever who has no covenant until he reveals the news, information, and secrets of his people.
The religious scholars have also permitted the killing of a hostage if he insists on withholding information from Moslems. They permitted his killing so that he would not inform his people of what he learned about the Muslim condition, number, and secrets. In the Honein attack, after one of the spies learned about the Muslims kindness and weakness then fled, the prophet -Allah bless and keep him - permitted [shedding] his blood and said, "Find and kill him. "Salma Ibn Al-Akwaa followed, caught, and killed him.

The scholars have also permitted the exchange of hostages for money, services, and expertise, as well as secrets of the enemy’s army, plans, and numbers. After the Badr attack, the prophet - Allah bless and keep him - showed favor to some hostages, like the poet Abou Izza, by exchanging most of them for money. The rest were released for providing services and expertise to the Muslims'.

[7 ]Abdullah Ali Al-Salama:Military Espionage in Islam,pp. 253-258.

Importance of Information:

	1.		Based on the enemy's up-to-date information, his capabilities, and plans, the Organization's command can design good-quality and secure plans.
	2.		Information about the enemy's intention provides early warning signs for the command, which in turn makes appropriate preparation and thwarts the enemy's opportunity.
	3.		Information benefits the Organization's command by providing information about the enemy's strengths and weaknesses.
	4.		Information benefits the Organization's command by providing information about movements of the enemy and his members.

Information requirements include: Newness, Trustworthiness, Forthcoming, security, and confirmation.

General Mahmoud Sheet Khattab said, “The nation that wants to achieve victory over its enemy must know that enemy very well. It also must know the site of the battle in detail. Those who fight an enemy that they do not know, do not win because a successful military plan must be built on clear and trustworthy information. The commander who fights an enemy and does not know his strength (number and materiel)is blind and destined to fail and fall.''


Information Sources: Any organization that desires to raise the flag of Islam high and proud, must gather as much information as possible about the enemy. Information has two sources:

	1.		Public Source: Using this public source openly and without resorting to illegal means, it is possible to gather at least 80% of information about the enemy. The percentage varies depending on the government's policy on freedom of the press and publication. It is possible to gather information through newspapers, magazines, books, periodicals, official publications, and enemy broadcasts. Attention should also be given to the opinion, comments, and jokes of common people. Truman, a past American President, said, "We attribute our great advance to our press, because it gives America's enemies the capability of learning what we have not officially publicized about our plans and even our establishments.” In 1954, Allan Dulles [PH], Director of American Intelligence [CIA] ,said, "I am ready to pay any amount of money to obtain information about the Soviet Union, even as little as what the Soviet Union obtains by simply reading American newspapers." The one gathering public information should be a regular person (trained college graduate) who examines primary sources of information published by the enemy (newspapers, magazines, radio, TV, etc.). He should search for information directly related to the topic in question. The one gathering information with this public method is not exposed to any danger whatsoever. Any brother can gather information from those aforementioned sources. We cannot label that brother a "Moslem Spy” because he does not make any effort to obtain unpublished and covert information.
	2.		Secret Sources: It is possible, through these secret and dangerous methods, to obtain the 20% of information that is considered secret. The most important of these sources are:
			A. Individuals who are recruited as either volunteers or because of other motives B. Recording and monitoring C. Photography D. Interrogation E. Documents: By burglary or recruitment of personnel F. Drugging G. Surveillance, spying, and observation

	A.		Newspapers, Magazines, and Official and Party Publications:
			In order to gather enemy information, the Military Organization can use means such as magazines, publications, periodicals, and official printed matter. Through these means, it is possible to learn about major government events and about the news, meetings, and travel of Presidents, ministers, and commanders. Information may be:   1. Names and photographs of important government personalities, police commanders, and security leaders.     2. Published meetings. Through these, one can learn about major decisions and topics being discussed.     3. Future meeting plans.     4. Present and future enemy capabilities through current photographs of projects and strategic sites or through meetings with top officials.     5. Beneficial news about the enemy's diplomacy and its present and future plans.     6. Tourism news and the arrival times of foreign tourist groups.     7. Advertisements about apartments for rent, vacant positions, or anything else that is useful.     8. Advertisements about new and used car lots. These may be used in assassination, kidnapping, and overthrowing the government.     9. Learning the enemy position on current Islamic issues (veil, beard, dedication, Jihad,...).

	B.		Radio and Television:
The Military organization can use these important public sources to gather information all day and night. The importance of these means is explained below.       1. Visual and audible news help the Organization to determine its present and future plans.         2. Interviews may help to identify the government policy and its general directives.         3. Spotting the appearance of those who occupy high positions.         4. Learning the prevailing information diplomacy and its position on contemporary issues.         5. Learning about the interior of important government places and establishments during their opening ceremonies or through advertisements.