The Ansar and “the Journey of Truth”

2- The Value

By Akram Hijazi


(Translated by Umm Saad)

To place “The Journey” in its correct dimension, is something that requires a lot of effort directed towards unraveling it on terms of methodology with a great amount of accuracy so that its real value is revealed. As for why we are doing it, then it is for the simple fact that we see “The Journey” not a media effort or a historical or narrative relation. Nor is it simply a reality without a thesis in certain specific currents and decisive for its people, so unraveling it means making an effort to make its ******* compatible to the largest level of objectivity and at the same time placing it in what we think is its natural dimension and an attempt to find out what are the matters hidden behind it.


There is no doubt that the impact of the attack on the Jihadi project in Iraq can be examined very easily in the framework of the advancement of Al Qaeda and Taleban on the Afghani front. That’s why Ansar kept away from everything that spoils the pureness of this reality to make it the only theme in “The Journey” and nothing other than it. For “The Journey” segregated at the Head of War concerning the Jihadi project, like it segregated concerning its tools, mentioning it by the names. As for “the occupation is the solution and not the problem”, then this thesis is the reason for the affliction especially because there are Ahl As Sunnah in particular who have accepted it and on this basis the awakening squads and fronts and gangs were set up. It is very clear that Ansar wanted to stress on the central point of “the war on the Jihadi project and the mechanisms of penetrating it” and not on the problems of the project, for had they stopped, even a little, on the mistakes of the groups or its disputes, or on some of the opposing issues, or on some specific Jihadi personalities that are provoking difference, then such issues would find some who would employ and stress at it, at the expense of the main idea in “The Journey”, and as a result divert it from its goal that it was put up for.


So the matter has been specified very precisely and does not leave room for any sort of penetration or turn around concerning the truth, and everything that contradicts this are merely details and imprints that have no reality. Based on this, the one who wants to cause segregation will not find it except outside the topic. In this way we can easily say that stressing upon a certain matter is like an effective closure to the door of tumult and doubt, and a requirement of reality as the Ansar see it, without distorting or changing or melting or chasing out in the turbid water, and anything besides that means the loss of truth and derangement in it.


Uniqueness

And as per our knowledge and follow up we did not find any decisive assessment of the Jihadi project in Iraq from any Jihadi group as Ansar did, except some of the general statements released by Islamic State of Iraq, especially the one titled as “Hasaad As Sineen” or “The Harvest of years”. Besides, no readings based on accurate facts have been available from the sources, and whatever has been formerly written was based on analysis and ********s and releases and searches for similarities in the light of the incidents and statements and some witnesses from here and there. But an official historiography on the level of reality being released from a Jihadi group, taking care of the totality of the Jihadi project, is something that hasn’t happened before the release of “The Journey”, and this is what burdens the Ansar with a greater responsibility in the direction of what they are hiding of private information, that the Jihadi project in Iraq has passed through, of several decisive phases, whose results have appeared very quickly and is something that is not hidden from the watchers anymore.


Aim and goals


It is something that attracts attention that “The Journey” begins with a verse (Quran) of patience and steadfastness and that it is being addressed to- whosoever it reaches from the Muslims. So this means that it was not released for a particular group or to the people of Iraq nor to this nationality or another. So there is a difference between the goal of “The Journey” and the power it targets. Therefore what is it that justifies the release of “The Journey”? And which is the power being targeted more than the others?


As for why “The Journey” is a goal is because it took care of – answering some of the questions of the people about the Jihadi ground and because it is intended to reveal the background of the change and sudden difference that has appeared on the Jihad on the ground of dispute and because Ansar feel that it has become mandatory upon them to reveal the truth and clear the picture about the methodologies of Jihad and the conditions of the Mujahideen to:

1- To distinguish between the real picture and the imaginary one, or the real one and acquired, that has misguided many Muslims.

2- The spread mystery over many realities which most people do not know of.

3- To know the series of blueprints of the enemy from the happenings that were setup over the last 5 years of occupation.

4- To show the happenings that are built on these happenings.

And it is for sure that the Jihadi groups as a whole are targeted by the “The Journey”, instead, from the very beginning it is clear that there are no sides concerned with the issue of Iraq, interior or exterior as a person or group or organization or country or nation, except that “The Journey” targets it in one way or the other, for its the journey of truth, and truth is the king of all. But is there someone who is concerned with the truth from between the targeted more than those who gambled on the Jihadi project in Iraq or worked for it?


Of course, the answer is decisively no. So it is necessary to notice that “The Journey” targets with necessity 3 currents who are on a direct contact with the Jihadi project and they are:


- The world Jihadi project and its allies who will take a deep sigh (of relief) for gaining support for its pre****s in facing the enemies. So the “The Journey”, for this current, toppled all the assortments that aided in attacking the Jihadi project and removed all the doubts that the enemies attached to it against truth, and dropped all the stands and Fatawa and movements that targeted Al Qaeda with distortion and lies and inciting to fight it.


- The current of the enemies who allied to distortion and abusing and fishing for the mistakes and searching for holes, and these will be harmed acutely with the “The Journey” which will weaken their arguments. This current will face great difficulties in their task in spite that it will not nullify the source, what ever it be the level of its revealing.


- The neutral current, may it be from inside the Jihadi current or outside it, and those deceived concerning the matter of Jihad or have fallen into doubts or those who have hesitated to aid the Jihadi project. And “The Journey” will provide them with great opportunity to review themselves but they wont take a decisive stand before the passage of a period of time that will grant them time to wait for more distinction in power.

Importance

In this way the value of “The Journey” is in that it has come from the heart of the Jihadi project and not from outside it, and the important thing is that its source is a group that is counted as the oldest from between the Jihadi groups as a whole, and it is the first one that undertook the encounter on the basis of Hakimiyah even before the occupation of Iraq, and the purity of its flag has been testified to by the scholars who are undoubted in the ranks of the Ummah or the ranks of the Mujahideen, and this means that the group has a former Jihadi history and legality and Sharia so it is difficult for any other group to target it especially that as it has enjoyed authenticity and constancy and social acceptance between the Mujahideen and their supporters.


But the specialty of “The Journey” is that its coinage is free from the defensive face to the organization, and this has given importance to “The Journey” to an unprecedented level that has given Ansar the opportunity to present it as a reality and not a political analysis or discretion or an outlook, so whoever wants can take of it or leave it. And some might see that the story of Abu Vaeil and Abu Sajjad and the relation of Ansar with the group of Jihad and Islaah, is against the **** for it is a completely wrong assessment. So these matters, as per the “The Journey”, were a part of the attempts to contain the Jihadi project, before it took one of its sections (Sharii section- Ansar As Sunnah) giving it an organizational look, which has earlier been refused by the Ansar in several of its statements.

Authority

There is no doubt that the Aqeedah and Sharia authority is the only authority that dominates the ******* of “The Journey” from a to z. And it is a natural methodology for a Salafi Jihadi group that does not recognize any legal or national authority or any worldly philosophy. And at the heart of this framework, the Ansar adhered in “The Journey” with unprecedented neutrality and clarity and this means that any criticism that “The Journey” must face, should be from the authority or religion and based on it, no matter what point is raised from the beginning to the end of details.


As for methodologically then “The Journey” has framed it with very acute accuracy whereof the reader may notice great care in choosing the phrases and sentences and its enjoying frankness and reveal an accurate de******ion of the powers, understandings and expressions that point to the distinction between Jihad and Resistance from the type of this group or that segment, and I can almost bet that “The Journey”, at this level, has been rechecked 10’s of times both linguistically, methodologically and *******-wise before it was released to the public.

Power

The value of “The Journey” is that it took upon itself to declare openly what it saw as truths, as for the source of the truth, then they are Ansar themselves. And until now, we did not see any reactions from any Sunni power including all the Jihadi groups. There is no doubt that some will place the truthfulness of Ansar on trial, and we do not suppose that the history of the group, its truthfulness and its Jihad and such phrases will be an intercession for it before the enemies, but the important things that need to be noted for analysis are-


- The power of “The Journey” is prominent in the fact that Ansar did not face any defamation in the past 5 years from the Jihadi forces and Sunni ones like the ones Al Qaeda or Islamic State of Iraq faced from the rivals, whether they were correct or wrong, and so it is supposed that Ansar should not be enemies to anyone in the Jihadi row, and so there is no interest of Ansar in attacking this group or that. So the one who does not have criticism or grudge against the group then, there is no doubt that his mission to reply to the ******* of “The Journey” will be very difficult.


- Every attack on Ansar, on the background of “The Journey”, will lead to a greater exposure of the enemy and support for the statement of Al Qaeda that so long denied the accusations that were directed to it without finding anyone to justify its saying. So the “The Journey” of Ansar that did not come to mention Al Qaeda except in the con****ure of collusion on its fighting, in one way or the other, came acquitting it and justifying its statement both politically and methodology-wise, and this is what the supporters of Islamic State of Iraq welcomed, in spite that Al Qaeda or the Islamic state of Iraq is not safe from the criticism of the Ansar away from the topic of “The Journey”.


- It is impossible to believe that the group released a **** of 17 pages painting it with the color of journey and truth without expecting reactions especially because it considered it a small summary, and said in a plainspoken statement, “it is a must on us to clear what Allah has enabled us to at this stage” and this points that the group has in its hand what is enough to defend itself in the coming phases and censure the enemies if anyone tries to segregate it.


- Who read “The Journey” properly will notice that Ansar have planted, in its details of some issues, land mines I think, that the group is ready to blow if situation called for it. So what is largely assumed is that Ansar will not be looked upon after “The Journey” as a neutral group if its ******* is real and not just facts.