Sunday, December 10, 2023
No Result
View All Result
  • Media
Support Us
Macdonald-Laurier Institute
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs
  • Projects
    • The Promised Land: The Israel-Hamas war and the future of the Jewish community in Canada
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs
  • Projects
    • The Promised Land: The Israel-Hamas war and the future of the Jewish community in Canada
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video
No Result
View All Result
Macdonald-Laurier Institute

Al Qaeda’s New Tabloid: “Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom”

July 2, 2010
in Foreign Policy Program, Latest News, Security studies / counterterrorism
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

Earlier this week, al Qaeda purportedly published its first English-language online magazine, Inspire, which promises to include instructions on how to build bombs in your kitchen along with interviews with and articles written by leading jihadi figures. While only three pages of the glossy, 60-odd page e-zine were actually made available – apparently the PDF file suffered technical difficulties on launch day, the result of a potential hack job by Western cyber sleuths – that was enough to send English-speaking media into a tizzy.

The Toronto Star, for instance, suggests Inspire “is bad news for western security services” and will be “a powerful online tool of recruitment”. The New York Times adds that the magazine’s goal “is to recruit disaffected Muslims in the United States, Canada, Britain and other English-speaking countries.” Wired writes that Inspire is a “sophisticated effort to engage the English-language” and is meant to give westerners “the tools to murder people.”  Britain’s Daily Mail posits that the magazine is an attempt by al Qaeda’s leadership “weakened by CIA drone airstrikes” to “broaden its reach inside the US.” And Foreign Policy, while describing the magazine as a “terrible” and “ridiculous … rag,” goes on to nonetheless suggest that “perhaps there are some idiots out there who will find it appealing.”

While all of this may be true, there isn’t much new in this latest propaganda stint. Al Qaeda and its ilk have been fighting for the hearts and minds of Muslims for years and terrorist magazines, do-it-yourself manuals, and video blogs are a dime a dozen.

For instance, Al Qaeda of the Arab Peninsula (AQAP), purportedly behind Inspire, has been publishing an Arabic-language magazine, Sada Al-Malahim, since 2008. English translations are available from NEFA and MEMRI.

Despite our best efforts, the Taliban also finds time to publish a monthly magazine, al-Somood, online and in print. It’s been doing so since 2006. In fact, freshly fired US General Stanley McChrystal graces the cover of a recent issue which includes articles ridiculing NATO’s recent offensive in Marjah, an operation Dalhousie Professor Frank Harvey rightly labels “a crucial test” of NATO’s strategy.

Or consider Somalia’s al Shabaab. An al Qaeda ally recently proscribed in Canada, it released a slick, English-language propaganda video last year that even includes a jihadi rap song. In the video, a young Caucasian, Abu Mansour al-Amriki (“the American”), extols the virtues of waging jihad in the Horn of Africa. The German Mujahideen Taliban has done the same with their own European and American recruits, releasing videos in a number of languages.

The reason Inspire has made such a splash with its inaugural release is based on the fact that it is likely to be the first al Qaeda publication many of us will have easy access to. For those not terribly inclined to visit terrorist websites, Inspire promises to be readily available. Indeed, for most of us, it’ll be the first time we flip through a jihadi journal that we can both read and understand.

Inspire is scary precisely because it’s accessible. It serves as a reminder that the war on terror marches on, that fanatical groups continue to seek ways to kill us, and that some of our compatriots find al Qaeda’s message attractive. But all of that was going on long before the magazine was patched together. You’re just reading it (again) for the first time.

Share this:
Tags: al Qaedapropagandaterrorism
Previous Post

Purdy Crawford named Honorary Chief of the Membertou First Nation

Next Post

Financial Post full of it…the Canadian Century, that is!

Related Posts

Marcus Kolga on Russian disinformation and Canada’s seal hunt: MLI in Parliament
Video

Marcus Kolga on Russian disinformation and Canada’s seal hunt: MLI in Parliament

December 8, 2023
The Dangerous rise in antisemitism in Canada that nobody is talking about: Shuvaloy Majumdar with Alex Pierson
Columns

The rise of campus antisemitism should come as no surprise: Eric Kaufmann in Unherd

December 8, 2023
The alarming collapse of Canadian diplomacy: Patrice Dutil for Inside Policy
Columns

Justin Trudeau’s existential problems with oil and gas: Jack Mintz in the Financial Post

December 8, 2023
Next Post

Financial Post full of it...the Canadian Century, that is!

Newsletter Signup

  Thank you for Signing Up
  Please correct the marked field(s) below.
Email Address  *
1,true,6,Contact Email,2
First Name *
1,true,1,First Name,2
Last Name *
1,true,1,Last Name,2
*
*Required Fields

Follow us on

Macdonald-Laurier Institute

323 Chapel Street, Suite #300
Ottawa, Ontario, K1N 7Z2 Canada

613.482.8327

info@macdonaldlaurier.ca
MLI directory

Support Us

Support the Macdonald-Laurier Institute to help ensure that Canada is one of the best governed countries in the world. Click below to learn more or become a sponsor.

Support Us

  • Inside Policy Magazine
  • Annual Reports
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy

© 2023 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Who Makes MLI Work
    • Tenth Anniversary
  • Experts
    • Experts Directory
    • In Memoriam
  • Issues
    • Domestic Policy
      • Agriculture and Agri-Food
      • Canada’s Political Tradition
      • Economic policy
      • Health Care
      • Innovation
      • Justice
      • Social issues
      • Telecoms
    • Energy Policy
      • Energy
      • Environment
    • Foreign Policy
      • Foreign Affairs
      • National Defence
      • National Security
    • Indigenous Affairs
  • Projects
    • The Promised Land: The Israel-Hamas war and the future of the Jewish community in Canada
    • The Great Energy Crisis
    • Centre for Advancing Canada’s Interests Abroad
    • Dragon at the Door
    • Canada and the Indo-Pacific Initiative
    • The Transatlantic Program
    • DisInfoWatch.org
    • Competition Policy in Canada
    • Speak for Ourselves
    • Justice Report Card
    • COVID Misery Index
      • Provincial COVID Misery Index
      • Beyond Lockdown
      • COVID and after: A mandate for recovery
    • Indigenous Prosperity at a Crossroads
      • Aboriginal Canada and Natural Resources
    • Past Projects
      • The Eavesdropping Dragon: Huawei
      • Talkin’ in the Free World with Mariam Memarsadeghi
      • An Intellectual Property Strategy for Canada
      • Munk Senior Fellows
      • A Mandate for Canada
      • Confederation Series
      • Fiscal Reform
      • The Canadian Century project
      • Fixing Canadian health care
      • Internal trade
      • From a mandate for change
      • Size of government in Canada
      • Straight Talk
      • Labour Market Report
      • Leading Economic Indicator
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Past Events
      • MLI Dinners
      • Great Canadian Debates
  • Latest News
  • Libraries
    • Inside Policy
    • Papers
    • Commentary
    • Columns
    • Books
    • Video

© 2023 Macdonald-Laurier Institute. All Rights reserved.