Al-Qaeda continues to preach jihad or holy war through an Urdu monthly magazine that is delivered to homes in cities across Pakistan by post, according to a media report on Monday.
The 200-page magazine, Hiteen, is named after the battlefield where Sultan Salahuddin Ayubi defeated the Crusaders and features articles that preach jihad and praise Osama bin Laden. The magazine was started in June last year, a month after bin Laden was killed in a US military raid in Abbottabad, The Express Tribune reported. Hiteen is being delivered to Deobandis, Ahl-e-Hadith and Barelvis sects to convert them to Al Qaeda's point of view, the report said.
The seventh edition, which was sent out last month, opens with the essay 'Matyrdom of Sheikh Osama bin Laden and the International Jihad Movement'. The magazine has the 'sayings' of Afghan Taliban commander Mullah Omar and some al-Qaeda leaders. There is also an interview with Sheikh Khalid Bin Abdul Rehman Al Husnain, who was once part of Kuwait's Ministry of Islamic Affairs and has now joined Al-Qaeda.
There is a 'fatwa' by Muhammad Waliullah Hussain of Jamiatul Uloomul Islami which declares that there is no bar on Muslims looting goods from NATO containers. An editorial said it is not true that the mission of the 'mujahideen' has been damaged by bin Laden's death. The mujahidden are still fighting with their full strength, it said. The editorial advised readers not to pay attention to 'false reports about mujahidden from the hypocritical media' and to continue the struggle.
The fight, the editorial said, will continue till the US is removed from Muslim countries and an Islamic Caliphate is established. An anonymous essay spoke of the need for another bin Laden who would fight non-Muslims and defend Muslims. The magazine thanked the many wings of al-Qaeda all over the world.
Hiteen does not carry the name of the editor and the only way to send feedback is through two email addresses. A police officer of the Counter-Terrorism Department in Lahore, speaking on condition of anonymity, said police had knowledge of the magazine and that copies of it were in their record. He said police would soon uncover who was responsible for publishing and circulating Hiteen.