The shape and structure of the “electronic Jihad” has long remained a mystery. However, the recent arrest of three second generation Muslim immigrants in Austria has revealed additional details about how the organizers of the “electronic Jihad” operate, communicate, and relate to al-Qaeda core leadership.
Arrest of a Propaganda Master
On September 12, 2007, Austrian Interior Minister Günther Platter announced the arrest of three second-generation Muslim immigrants. One of those arrested is 21-year-old Austrian citizen of Egyptian descent Mohammed Mahmoud (source). Officials believe Mahmoud to be the ringleader of the German-language “franchise” of the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) (Previous Report).
Mahmoud and his co-conspirators are believed to have created and administered at least two German-language Jihadist websites under the brand name of the GIMF (Previous Report) and are also thought to be the producer and distributors of the Caliphate Voice Channel (Previous Report), as well as a propaganda video released in March 2007 that threatened attacks on Germany and Austria if those countries did not withdrawal their troops from Afghanistan.
In a related event, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested Said Namouh, a 34-year Canadian citizen and immigrant from Morocco, for conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack (source). According to Colonel Rudolf Gollia, a spokesman for the Austrian Interior Ministry, “there was a link between the three people arrested on the 12th of September in Vienna and the man arrested in Canada.” It is unclear what Nahmouh’s role in the GIMF was, but it is know that the GIMF has previously maintained English-language sites and published English language propaganda on other al-Qaeda affiliated websites.
Understanding the GIMF
While the propaganda published by the Global Islamic Media Front was easy to observe, it was until recently much more difficult to understand how the group operated, communicated and how it was connected to al-Qaeda core leadership. The recent arrests in Austria and Canada offer some insight into the GIMF.
Online and Offline Relationships
The arrests demonstrate that although members of the GIMF may be geographically distributed in different countries, they do have an established relationship with one another. Authorities claim that the Canadian suspect, Namouh, traveled to Austria to meet with the head of the German GIMF “franchise” Mahmoud. In addition to these face-to-face meetings members of the GIMF also communicated through a network of Jihadist websites and through other online technologies (source).
The Franchise Model
This relationship between Namouh and Mahmoud also likely reveals the structure of the GIMF. It appears that individual cells operate their local GIMF outposts as franchises and shape its global brand to fit the unique concern of Muslim extremists and other radicals living within the local GIMF cell’s country. For example, the March 2007 tape produced and distributed by Mahmoud explicitly threatened Germany and Austria and made specific mention of Austrian domestic political concerns such as the introduction of student fees. These “targeted” recruitment pitches were designed to recruit homegrown extremists to adopt al-Qaeda’s salafi jihadist ideology and potentially carry out acts of violence. In this sense, the local GIMF cells act as, “boots on the ground” in al-Qaeda’s “media jihad.”
Relationship to al-Qaeda
Finally, while it appears that al-Qaeda’s core leadership did not directly manage the GIMF, at least some GIMF members may have been trained in al-Qaeda-run camps. According to Austrian media reports, Mohammed Mahmoud, the leader of the German-language GIMF cell, attended a terrorist training camp (source). It is, however, important to note that the GIMF took pains to point out that although their goals were the same, it was not subservient to al-Qaeda. Members of the GIMF have previous stated, “The GIMF is an Islamic media source on the Internet. It is an ambassador for the mujahedeen (SP)…The GIMF belongs to no one. It is the property of all Muslims (source).”
Conclusions
The “franchise” structure of the GIMF demonstrates how al-Qaeda has served as a vanguard movement inspiring the spread of its ideology to disparate outposts of disenfranchised Muslims around the world. While the more serious threat may come from the re-constituted core of al-Qaeda leaders centered on the Afghan-Pakistan border, it is important to understand that the “franchise” model of homegrown cells and the media Jihad still present a potent long-term threat.
