STORIES OF JIHAD FROM U.S. INTELLIGENCE

"The only ones who are spending the money and time translating Jihad
literature are the Western intelligence services," wrote Islamic radical
Anwar al-Awlaki, "and too bad, they would not be willing to share it with
you." ("Born in U.S., a Radical Cleric Inspires Terror" by Scott Shane,
New York Times, November 19).

In fact, a growing number of websites offer jihadist literature and
sermons in English.  But it is true that U.S. intelligence maintains a
prolific translation activity focused on Islamic extremist literature, and
that most of the resulting translations are not intended for public
distribution.

The DNI Open Source Center recently translated an Indonesian anthology of
four short stories about aspiring young jihadists entitled "Wind From
Paradise."  The stories describe how their protagonists came to take part
in jihadist campaigns in Afghanistan, Thailand, and Chechnya, and the
ensuing "martyrdom" that they or their fellows found there.

It is not a particularly rewarding collection, on any level-- esthetic,
theological or political.  But the narrators and their stories have
several characteristic features that may be worth pointing out.

Remarkably, their primary conflicts seem to be those of adolescence.
Their Islam is not concerned with the divine will as much as it is with
themselves and their own unruly passions.  ("I drowned all my feelings by
reading the Koran slowly," one says.  "So a feeling of happiness and
relief runs through my whole body," writes another.  "I also have the
feeling that the guilt that has plagued me all this time has now been
uprooted.")

But above all, the stories portray jihad as an appropriate, even noble
response to external oppression by the non-Muslim world.  ("The mujahidin
had to fight against the Christian United States, which wanted to control
and dominate Afghanistan."  The Western enemy mercilessly abuses
prisoners, "but no matter how cruelly they interrogated and tortured him,
[he] kept quiet.")

The logic of jihad is predicated on the victimization of Muslims by
infidel forces, the stories repeatedly insist.  ("So now he was defending
his Muslim brothers who had been so cruelly oppressed.")  The oppression
of Muslims by other Muslims is beyond the narrators' ken.  So is the
possibility of confronting oppression by non-violent political means,
except perhaps through the propagation of stories like these.

The translated stories have not been approved for public release.  Rather
improbably, their "authorized use is for national security purposes of the
United States Government only."  But a copy was obtained by Secrecy News.
See "Indonesia: Translation of Jihadist Book 'Wind From Paradise'," Open
Source Center, 1 March 2009:

From: IntelForum