Gaza Salafists Take Fight To Syria

 

Exclusive: Gaza Salafists Take Fight To Syria

http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/03/gazans-syria-fighting.html

 

 

By: Asmaa al-Ghoul for Al-Monitor Palestine Pulse. Posted on March 13.

           

I managed to reach the house of one of the jihadist Salafist leaders in the

Gaza Strip. The Hamas-led Gaza government had imposed limitations on most

jihadist Salafist leaders following the Ibn Taymiya Mosque incidents in

Rafah at the end of 2009, when its security forces killed 28 jihadists after

their leader, Abdel Latif Moussa, declared the Islamic caliphate. Salafist

jihadism in the Gaza Strip is an international movement that promotes armed

jihad against the ruling Arab and foreign governments.

About This Article

Summary :

Asmaa al-Ghoul investigates claims that there are Palestinian jihadist

Salafist militants from Gaza fighting on the side of Jabhat al-Nusra in the

Syrian civil war.

 

The only way to reach the house of the leader, who was forbidden from

talking to the press, was by being disguised as a devout woman. Then I

revealed my identity as a journalist, after which the Salafist leader's

family kicked me out. However, he explained why the members of the movement

had moved to Syria to fight, saying, "They moved to Syria because the jihad

door in the Gaza Strip was closed, and the situation was not taken into

consideration, contrary to Syria, where it is open to jihad and to fighting

the enemy." He refused to define what he means by enemy, and he noted that

after he was locked up more than once in the aftermath of Ibn Taymiya Mosque

incident, he sought to live a simple life and to keep his jihad mission and

vocation as a member of the Salafist jihad between God and himself.

 

When asked if he is considering going to Syria himself, should he get the

chance, he replied, "I prefer to keep this to myself." Regarding the

movement's connection with al-Qaeda, the leader said that both organizations

share the same approach, which calls for unity and jihad in the name of God,

adding that only their names differ. Moreover, he said what differentiates

them from other Salafism movements is that they abide by the religion as a

whole, following the ideology of Sheikh Muhammad al-Maqdisi.

 

Despite his reluctance to talk or to disclose the number of militants from

Gaza in Syria, he ultimately provided some information about their presence

and efforts against the regime in Syria, independent of the Free Syrian

Army. The militants joined Jabhat al-Nusra, which was formed in 2011 in

Syria and was classified by the US as a terrorist organization.

 

On leaving the house of the Salafist leader, who insisted on remaining

anonymous, I was able to get an interview with the families of two Salafists

who had participated in the battle in Syria, and who were declared dead by

al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra on the Internet.

 

When I reached the house of the deceased Muhammad Qunayta, his brother

refused to talk to me, despite having earlier confirmed the meeting.

 

However, the women poured their hearts out to me, expressing their sorrow

for the sudden and tragic death of their son.

 

The sister of the deceased said, "Before he traveled, he was watching

several videos from Syria and bitterly crying for the souls of children,

women and wounded people. Then, he told us he was going to Turkey for trade

purposes. We found out later that he went to Syria to carry out a martyrdom

there." She added that her brother's conscience pushed him to fight in

Syria. In his last days, he used to repeat, "My conscience cannot rest with

all this injustice in Syria."

 

Qunayta's sister added that he was married with three kids. The family

watched the video of the "massive" funeral and burial of their son, who was

considered a leader and trainer, in Syria online.

 

A source close to the family told me that Qunayta was openly affiliated with

al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas. However, his membership was

suspended during the last period of his life, because he traveled to Syria

and joined the ranks of jihadists. Still, the movement handled his funeral

service, out of respect for his history.

 

I also spoke with Hamas' spokesperson, Sami Abou Zahri, over the phone.

Zahri emphasized that Hamas does not interfere in any Arab or Islamic

affairs. Although it stands by the Syrian people in fulfilling their will,

it does not consider itself part of the conflict.

 

When asked about the Salafist leader's accusation of Hamas closing the door

of jihad and oppressing members of Salafist Jihadism in the Gaza Strip, thus

pushing them to leave for Syria, Zahri replied, "Hamas limits its

confrontations to the Israeli occupation and considers the liberation of

Palestine its main mission. Those who claim that the doors to jihad are

closed are mistaken, and the last war on the Gaza Strip is the biggest proof

that they cannot be trusted. None of those members participated in the

confrontations with the Israeli occupation, whether during the last war or

the one before."

 

Zahri added that there are many Salafist groups in Gaza. If you visit the

jails or ask the human rights organizations, you will know that none of the

members are in prison. In fact, they are free to work in Gaza.

 

I was on my way to Rafah city, south of Gaza Strip, when the family of the

deceased Osama Ahmad Qashta canceled the interview, saying that the case was

too sensitive. However, Fahid Qashta, a relative who was also Osama's

friend, told me over the phone that Osama was not affiliated with any

Palestinian organization. Described as an extremely peaceful person, he

lived in Misrata in Libya, where he was a teacher. He was also married with

one child, called Abdel Ghani. However, circumstances pushed him to take

part in the jihad when the Libyan revolution broke out. He later stayed in

Gaza Strip for a while and visited his relatives.

 

Qashta added, "I did not notice any changes in his complexion, and his beard

was always shaved. However, in his last days, his beard appeared long in

some photos we took. Most of his family members have a long beard, though.

This does not necessarily mean that he became Salafist."

 

Qashta clarified that the martyr Osama returned to Libya, and then traveled

to Syria by land to participate in the jihad. Qashta expressed his anger

toward the claims spread on the Internet after his relative's death saying

that he was close to a Hamas leader. He denied any knowledge of Osama's

partisanship to Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria, which declared him dead over the

Internet.

 

In a coffee shop in Gaza, Muhammad Hijazi, an expert on Islamic and Salafist

groups, explained that Salafist jihadism is a global phenomenon, not a local

one. It moves from certain regions of tension to others. It moved from

Afghanistan to Iraq, then to Libya. He noted that its mission, at the

beginning of the '80s, was to fight the Soviet Union. However, after the

Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan, Salafist jihadism took its mission to

the socialist South Yemen. After the region fell to North Yemen, the

Salafist jihadists moved to Chechnya, Caucasia and Sudan, then to Algeria,

Iraq and Libya and now Syria.

 

Hijazi said the members are getting to Syria through Iraq and Turkey, since

the border is open. Many of them are currently involved in Jabhat al-Nusra.

Salafists in Jordan constitute around half of the total number of militants

in Syria, amounting approximately to 4,000 fighters and residing in rural

areas.

 

Moreover, he noted that they are financed by Gulf and Islamic charities,

especially in Saudi Arabia. The Wahhabi ideology intrinsically supports this

dogma, while some countries, like Qatar, are using Salafists for political

ends and jihadist purposes. Hijazi considered unofficial political oil money

to be the biggest sponsor for such movements.

 

Hijazi added that Salafists in Gaza are supported by an international

network of small associations, whose mission is to offer logistical support.

Those provide individuals with money and means to move to regions of

tension. Through them, Salafists get salaries, visas and tickets and are

directed to the conflict regions, where there is a political vacuum. The

associations make sure to help them move around easily, and often, the

countries that are the source of financing are aware of that. He said he

considered Syria a favorable environment, where this trend that opposes the

revolution's principles of liberalism can constantly grow, as long as money

and weapons are available.

 

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