[by Chipotle Mystery] Issue 3 of Hittin, an Urdu-language Jihadi journal, has been released. The issue includes:
- short reports on the Islamic State of Iraq and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
- a eulogy of Mullah Dadullah, a major Taliban commander who was killed in May of 2007
- several articles that refer to the Red Mosque incident
- a collection of quotes from notable jihadi figures (e.g. Mullah Omar, Usama bin Laden, and Zawahiri) that is presented as inspirational advice for leaders
- an article on “methods” for engaging in jihad by the “Center for the Islamic Studies”
It’s telling that although this issue was published recently, it focuses on events that occurred in the middle of 2007. There is also older material. For example, this issue has a fatwa issued by Mufti Nizamuddin Shamzai in 2001 that justifies attacks on American soldiers in Afghanistan (he had issued a similar fatwa against the Soviets following their invasion of Afghanistan in 1979). Shamzai was a Pashtun cleric from Karachi who has been lionized in Al-Qaeda videos and who was assassinated by unknown assailants in 2004. He issued this fatwa just prior to the collapse of the Taliban government.
Going back even further, there is also an “article” by Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti, a 15th century Egyptian polymath who wrote on a variety of subjects ranging from theology to history (he wrote an interesting history of the caliphs). The article attributed to him warns against getting entangled with governments, likely meant to warn readers against assisting the Pakistani government in its anti-militant clampdown.
The publication of Hittin has been sporadic, with the first two issues being published in 2007 (March 2007 and then May-July 2007 after the Red Mosque siege). Although the length of the magazine has increased over time, it remains an eclectic collection of material, much of it recycled from elsewhere. This fact, coupled with the magazine’s dated material, indicates that either Jihadi Urdu-language e-journals are still in their infancy or that there is limited personnel for preparing such journals. The fact that it had to be distributed on Arabic-language forums also tells us that Urdu jihadi forums (if there are any) don’t yet have the infrastructure or following to disseminate it. As for the breadth of the magazine’s distribution in hard copy, that remains a mystery.
Document (Arabic): 10-31-8-faloja-issue-3-of-hittin