Anwar al-Awlaki was an erudite figure who played a key role in spreading al-Qaeda ideology to people in the West, writes JASON BURKE
WITH THE death of Anwar al-Awlaki, a significant link in the evolving and complex networks that comprise modern Islamic militancy has been removed. Though his own importance within al-Qaeda can be exaggerated, the demise of the American Yemeni will nonetheless have significant consequences.
As befits someone whose primary role was as a propagandist, these will be primarily in the world of perceptions and ideology as much as in operations.
Awlaki has inspired and motivated a significant number of individuals. Many were from the West or were living in the West. A native English speaker, Awlaki’s videoed lectures and the magazine he was believed to be running – Inspire – have been cited by both militants and security services as critical in accelerating processes of radicalisation. They provided concise, contemporary and often convincing arguments for participation in radical violence in a language understood by huge numbers of people across the Islamic world as well as in the West. They allowed those without significant knowledge of the Islamic faith or the politics of the Middle East, without even a basic understanding of Arabic, to access the ideological and motivational resources of al-Qaeda thinking.
From Roshonara Choudhry, the young British student who stabbed a member of parliament who had supported the war in Iraq, through to Pakistani-born Faisal Shahzad, who narrowly failed to bomb New York’s Times Square in 2010, Awlaki’s output has been key in the process that turns those who are angry, adventurous, alienated or simply attracted by radical ideas into militants. His death is therefore an important blow to radical Islamic activism today.
Yet there are caveats to any celebration. Awlaki’s high profile did not necessarily reflect his importance within either al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula or al-Qaeda central.
He was not the leader of the affiliate group and Osama bin Laden, we know from documents seized in May, vetoed a proposal to promote him to that position. The operational figure in Yemen who most worries western intelligence is the clearly highly skilled and innovative bombmaker who is creating a variety of devices – such as the intercepted parcel bombs sent from the country to targets in the West – and who remains at large.
In many ways, the death of Awlaki condenses the key questions troubling all analysts of al-Qaeda today about the future evolution of the organisation.
The sheer number of senior Islamist militants killed in the last 18 months has had a massive impact on the group.
Not only has its leader gone but the upper ranks of the central leadership and of many of the affiliates have been “hollowed out”, in the words of one security official.
The ability of al-Qaeda or linked groups to launch a spectacular attack on the scale of 9/11 has been much reduced as a result. And the removal of Awlaki means the end of a stream of particularly effective propaganda. Though there are a handful of others within al-Qaeda and its affiliates who could take on the role of interpreting the message for non-Arabic speakers, none have Awlaki’s talent or apparent erudition.
But Awlaki’s primary role was that of an intermediary. He communicated the message and the ideology of extremist Islam. That message remains alive even if it has been rejected by the vast majority of Muslims. After a decade of polarising violent conflicts, its survival is now independent of the actions of individuals. The social movement of al-Qaeda, the cult of violent extremism, the subculture of jihad, has sufficient momentum to continue to be effective.
The educated Yemeni American who himself straddled the cultural gaps between the Middle East and the West and who turned to extremism will now join the ranks of al-Qaeda’s martyrs. He is thus likely to be an inspiration long after his death.
The phenomenon that was al-Qaeda may be more degraded, more fragmented, more chaotic than it has been for many years, but has repeatedly proved its tenacity. – ( Guardianservice)