Shia "assassin" tradition: terrorism as a duty

Assassin Founder Sabah: Nothing is true, everything is permitted

Alphonse Karr: Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose

The news from Pakistan is that, as a result of the recent attempted assassination of Ms Bhutto, the government is battling militants based in the northwest, where it sent 2,500 troops into a remote valley Wednesday to combat followers of a militant cleric calling for Taliban-style rule. But the cleric, Maulana Fazlullah, appeared to be unruffled, and thousands of his supporters gathered to hear him speak just a few miles from where the soldiers were deployed.

Authorities have accused Fazlullah of links to Islamabad's radical Red Mosque, which was stormed by army commandos in July in an operation that left more than 100 people dead. That incident and the deployment of army reinforcements to Swat and the North Waziristan region touched off a wave of violence that has left more than 1,000 people dead.

I thought it would be interesting to look back into history to understand the culture of the "assassin," which is an Islamic tradition, originally Shia and based in Syria. You will see nothing has changed regarding the religion of peace and how it spreads power, sorry faith.

Click on the title to do to the lexicorient.com source.

Assassins
Arabic: hashshāshīn, plural of hashshāsh

Sect inside Shi'i Islam, more specifically the Nizari Isma'ilis, in the period from the 11th to the 13th century. Most significantly, the Assassins are famous for their fearless murders especially during the times of the Crusades.
There are many legends connected with the Assassins, and many are of dubious origin, more a result of medieval European story tellers' fantasy than facts (among these story tellers is Marco Polo). The main theme is that the Assassins performed their deeds under strong intoxication from hashish, resulting in their own deaths, but with the promise of immediate entry to paradise — a paradise that had been staged for them during their training at the Alamut, a paradise of sweet food and wine and beautiful and willing women.
These stories have never been confirmed by any investigations of contemporary Isma'ili sources, and there is good reason to believe that such a shortcoming is a clear indication that such stories are fabrications.
From the original sources, we learn that the Assassins changed the original Isma'ili doctrine, so that terrorism became a religious duty. Growing out from their centre in Kazvin, the Assassins built a number of strongholds all over Iran and Iraq.
The idea of a paradise constructed around Alamut was probably based upon the sayings of imam al-Kahir, where he talks about a Paradise that man has already entered. However, al-Kahir's paradise was meant as a spiritual one.
They had a system of terrorists as well as secret agents positioned in enemy camps and cities. The Assassins often worked closely with certain leaders of Muslim states, as their services were attractive: no one else was better able to kill important persons in enemy states. They were for long periods allied with the Christian crusaders, not because the Christians sympathized with them, but because they had common enemies.
One of the most important Muslim allies of the Assassins was the Seljuq ruler of Aleppo, Ridwan. Through this cooperation, they were able to establish themselves in the Syrian mountains, where several fortresses were erected. Without being recognized in the same way as other temporary states, the Assassins had in reality, their own state here. But the Assassins's influence over Aleppo came to be immense, and they effectively ruled the politics and economy of the city and its surroundings for a couple of decades.
Even Saladin came to treat the Assassins as allies, although he intended initially to eliminate them. The reason for this alliance, was that Saladin, following two assassination attempts, feared for his own life, and had more imminent enemies.
The Assassins were ranked according to intelligence, courage and trustworthiness. They underwent intense education as well as physical training.
When the Assassins were out on mission, they generally worked alone. Rarely did two or more of them work together. They dressed up as tradesmen or ascetic religious men, and spent a good deal of time in a city, in order to get well-acquainted with the houses and streets, as well as the daily routines of the future victim. The actual murder was performed with a dagger and in public, often inside the mosque on a Friday. By doing it all in public, the information about the deed was soon well known, and people were frightened. In general, the Assassin murderer himself was killed immediately thereafter by guards of the victim.

HISTORY
1071: Hassan-e Sabbah moves to Fatimid Egypt, as the Shi'i orientation in Islam is no longer tolerated in his native Persia.
1070's: A movement in opposition to the weak Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir is headed by the caliph's son, Nizar. Hassan joins the organization, and becomes central in planning how the caliphate shall be rejuvenated with Nizar as caliph.
1090's: Hassan captures the hill fortress Alamut near Kazvin in Iran, whereupon he forms the organization soon to be known as Assassins.
1092: The famous Seljuq vizier Nizam al-Mulk is murdered by an Assassin in Baghdad. He becomes their first victim.
1094: Al-Mustansir dies, and Hassan does not recognize the new caliph, al-Mustali. He and his followers transferred their allegiance to his brother Nizar. The followers of Hassan came to be at odds with the caliph in Baghdad too.
1113: Following the death of Aleppo's ruler, Ridwan, the Assassins are driven out of the city by the troops of Ibn al-Khashab.
1110's: The Assassins in Syria change their strategy, and start undercover to build cells in all cities around the region.
1123: Ibn al-Khashab is killed by an Assassin killer.
1124: Hassan dies in Alamut, but the organization lives on stronger than ever.
— The leading qadi Abu Saad al-Harawi is killed by an Assassin killer.
1126 November 26: Emir Porsuki of Aleppo and Mosul is killed by an Assassin killer.
1131 May: Buri, the atabeg of Damascus, is seriously wounded by two Assassins. He dies 13 months later.
12th century: The Assassins extend their activities into Syria, where they received much support from the local Shi'i minority as the Seljuq sultanate had captured this territory.
— The Assassins capture a group of castles in the Nusayriyya Mountains (modern Syria). The most important of these castles is the Masyaf, from where the "The Old Man of Mountain", Rashideddin Sinan, would come to rule practically independent from the main leaders of the Assassins.
1164: Hassan, the Assassin leader, declares that a new millennium had started, and that his followers were freed from the Sharia, thereby also Islam. He allowed all exesses, and had his followers turn their backs on Mecca while praying.
1173: The Assassins of Syria enter negotiations with the king of Jerusalem, with the aim of their converting to Christianity. But as the Assassins by now were numerous and often worked as peasants, paying high taxes to local Christian landlords, taxes that Christian peasants were exempted from, their conversion was strongly opposed. In this year the Assassin negotiators were murdered by Christian knights, resulting in the end of talks of conversion.
1175: Rashideddin's men make two attempts on the life of Saladin, the leader of the Ayyubids. The second time, the Assassin came so close that wounds were inflicted upon Saladin.
Early 13th century: The new Assassin leader, Jalal ad-Din retracts the expressing independence of Hassan, bringing the Assassins officially back to the fold of Mulims.
Å1256: Alamut fortress falls to the Mongols under the leadership of Hülegü. Before this happened, several other fortresses had been captured, and finally Alamut becomes weak and with little support.
1257: The Mongol warlord Hülegü attacks and destroys the fortress at Alamut. The Assassin library is completely destroyed, hence eradicating what would have been a crucial source of information about the Assassins.
Around 1260: Assassins seek support from the Christian Crusaders, offering to convert to Christianity, but this is refused by the Knights Templar.
Around 1265: The Assassin strongholds in Syria fall to the Mumluk sultan Baybars 1.

-----

Where are the Mongols when you need them?

Keep Your Eyes Open

Al Qaida operative working with Latino gang.
Pilfered nuclear material from McMaster University, Ontario.
Friend of poor Mr. Padilla.

[Hey, it could be just another scare tactic by the crazy right!]



This Man Leads Nuclear ‘9/11' Plan

NewsMax.com Wires
Friday, June 1, 2007

He is the most wanted man in America yet most Americans have never heard his name.

He has been described as the "Fixer" of the Sept. 11 attacks. Several captured al-Qaida operatives have revealed this is the same man who bin Laden has tapped to lead the terror group's diabolical scheme to detonate nuclear devices simultaneously in several U.S. cities.

Meet Adnan el-Shukrijumah, now believed to be operating within the U.S. – a man the FBI warns is likely armed and dangerous.

"But no one on planet earth is more of a threat to the lives and well-being of every man, woman, and child within the United States than ferret-faced Adnan."

That's the dire warning from Paul L. Williams, author of his just released book "The Day of Islam: The Annihilation of America and the Western World." [Editor's Note: Get Paul Williams' explosive "The Day of Islam" FREE — Click Here Now.]

According to Williams, Adnan has not only been charged by al-Qaida with orchestrating a nuclear attack – he may have already smuggled nuclear material into America.

The U.S. government is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture.

Ominously, Adnan "possesses the uncanny ability to blend into a crowd, to alter his looks, and to assume a multitude of identities," writes Williams, a seasoned investigative reporter and former FBI consultant.

"Few things about el-Shukrijumah indicate his radical Islamic orientation … He has been known to have a beer on occasion … to smoke an occasional Camel, and to carry rosary beads in his pocket …

"He is the proverbial Mr. Cellophane."

Adnan, 31, was born in Guyana, according to Williams, although the FBI believes he was born in Saudi Arabia. He spent his early years in New York City, where his father, a radical Muslim cleric, was the imam of a Brooklyn mosque known to serve as a recruiting station for al-Qaida.

In 1995, Adnan's family moved to Miramar, Fla., where Adnan's father became spiritual leader of a radical mosque. In Florida Adnan befriended Jose Padilla, who planned to detonate a dirty bomb in Manhattan, and Imran Mandhai, who was convicted of trying to blow up nuclear power plants in Florida.

Between 1996 and 2000, Adnan traveled extensively, spending time in Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Trinidad, Tobago and Guyana. He managed to collect passports from a number of countries, and began using at least five aliases.

Adnan also attended flight school in Florida and Oklahoma, along with Mohammad Atta and other 9/11 operatives, and became adept at piloting jets.

In April 2001, Williams disclosed, Adnan spent 10 days in Panama, where he reportedly met with al-Qaida officials to help plan the 9/11 attacks.

After the terrorist strikes, Adnan became a key figure in al-Qaida's plans to escalate its attacks on the U.S. Williams compiled evidence that Osama bin Laden designated him to arrange a simultaneous nuclear attack on seven U.S. cities – New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Boston and Las Vegas.

Williams believes Adnan then enrolled at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, site of a five-megawatt nuclear research reactor. Incredibly, Adnan was able to get a job as a guide at the reactor.

"Bit by bit, the al-Qaida operative allegedly managed to pilfer approximately 180 pounds of nuclear material from the university – enough to build several radiological bombs," Williams reports.

Adnan disappeared from the school in October 2003, several days before the nuclear material was reported missing.

Alerted about Adnan's plans by a captured high-ranking al-Qaida official, Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI director Robert Mueller issued a BOLO (be-on-the-lookout) alert for Adnan on March 21, 2004.

In the following months Adnan was spotted in Colorado, Pakistan, Honduras, Belize and Mexico.

In November 2004, another key al-Qaida operative was captured in Pakistan. He told interrogators that the terrorist group had arranged to smuggle nuclear supplies and tactical nuclear weapons into Mexico, then to transport them across the U.S. border with the aid of a Latino street gang. The gang was later identified as Mara Salvatrucha – a group Adnan at met with during his visit to Honduras.

"The gang has some form of presence in virtually every Hispanic community across the United States, and can offer al-Qaida unparalleled infiltration into any city in the country," according to a report from the Jamestown Foundation cited by Williams.

U.S. officials responded to the intelligence and began monitoring all heavy trucks crossing into the U.S. from Mexico, and Mexican officials vowed to keep close watch on flight schools and aviation facilities. Those precautions may have come to late, says Williams, who writes:

"A Piper PA Pawnee crop duster was stolen from Ejido Queretaro near Mexicali on November 1, 2004. The plane's tail number was XBCYP. The thieves, Mexican officials surmised, were either drug dealers or al-Qaida operatives, and clearly one was a highly trained pilot who met the description of Adnan el-Shukrijumah."