Interview with DR. AYMAN AL ZAWAAHRI
translation by Azzam Publications


In the name of Allah, the Bestower of Mercy, the Merciful.
The following is an interview of Dr. Ayman al-Zawaahiri.  He is a Qualified Pediatrician and one of the leaders of current Afghan Jihad.  He is on the most-wanted list of the American government.  This interview took place September 2002 at an undisclosed location.

Q1: In the name of Allah, the Bestower of Mercy, the Merciful.  At the end of first year of the American attack on Afghanistan, what are your evaluations of what has happened and your view of future activities?

A1: In the name of Allah, the Bestower of Mercy, the Merciful. All Praise is for Allah, and may Prayers and Peace of Allah be upon the Messenger of Allah and upon his family, Companions, and those who follow him.

In regard to our evaluation of that which has occurred so far; before all else, it is imperative that we acknowledge the victory achieved by the Muslims against the Crusader forces, in New York and Washington.  It was a clear success, which was more damaging to the Empire of Evil, than the heaviest blow ever sustained by the enemies of Islam. The bleeding continues even today and only Allah knows how long it will continue for. 

If the only fruit of these attacks were to demonstrate to the Mujahid Muslim youth the importance of the few, it would be enough.  This small group, in numbers and equipment, were able to inflict immense slaughter on the greatest idol worshipped today, despite its power and arrogance.

As for the American attack on Afghanistan: the first thing any analyst notes is that the campaign, after one year, has not achieved its goals.

The regime that the American forces have imposed in Kabul is an inadequate and feeble government. It is unable to defend itself and is dependent on American air strikes.  It is a government that can't even provide security to its president, who doesn't even trust his Afghan countrymen!  He is therefore forced to use the American army as his bodyguards.  American forces are themselves unable to carry out operations outside Kabul except by relying on mercenaries and bandits.  At the same time, Americans have made clear they do not trust these merchanaries and bandits.

The matter is not limited to the feebleness of the Kabul government alone. American forces themselves have become embroiled in a guerilla war, in the same rugged mountains of Afghanistan, which exhausted and defeated the Soviet Union before them. The Russians were greater in number and better equipped than the Americans.  They relied on a powerful centralized government based on communist ideology.   But in spite of that, they still suffered a terrible defeat.
 
And then the Americans themselves acknowledge that al-Qaida and Taliban still exist and that they still pose a threat.  They also admit that they enjoy wide popular support in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

By the Grace of Allah, neither America nor its allies have been able to harm the leadership of al-Qaida and Taliban, including Mulla Muhammad Umar and Shaykh Usama bin Ladin, may Allah protect them all.  They are both in good health, along with all of the sincere Mujahideen, directing the battle against the American Crusader assault on Afghanistan.

This assault in its entirety relies on the treachery of the Pakistani regime.  It has supplied information, bases, and facilities to the American forces. The regime is facing widespread resentment with an uncertain future, and may fall at any time.

America despite the enforced policy of media blackout is unable to hide their continual losses, like the failure of their frequent operations in pursuit of what they call the "remnants" of al-Qaida and Taliban.  But the biggest piece of evidence that the Crusade against Afghanistan has thus far, by the Grace of Allah, failed to achieve its objectives, is what Rumsfield announced.  He states that American forces must remain in Afghanistan for a number of years and that victory is still a long way off.  As for the Mujahideen, they are present and active, by the Grace of Allah.

While the security of America outside Afghanistan is still as threatened as it was before 11th of September.  America admits that they are expecting an attack against them at any time - Allah willing.
 
That is our evaluation of what has happened. As for our picture of what we intend to do: with Allah's Help and Support, we will continue both inside and outside Afghanistan on the path of Jihad and resisting American arrogance and conceitedness.

Q2: You have connected what is occurring in Palestine with the work that you have carried out.  How is it possible that you are serving the Palestinian cause through your conflict with America?

A2: First of all, we must acknowledge that Israel continues to perpetrate crimes against the Muslims as it has done for more than 50 years.  It is America who is the ringleader of these criminals, and it is clear that there is no life for Israel without America's backing.  Israel is a developed American military base in the heart of the Islamic world and in one of its most sacred places. So America must pay the price for its oppressive and brutal policy toward the Muslims, especially in Palestine.
 
America does not understand the language of ethics and principles. Neither America nor the American people shall be persuaded to stop supporting Israel, unless that support, becomes a source of danger for the interests and security of America. It is obligatory upon us to deprive America of security until we experience this very security, ourselves, in Palestine and the lands of Islam.

Q3: Some accuse you of causing harm to be inflicted on the Muslims, such as the current campaign of persecution and pursuit of the Muslims and the constraints on Islamic organizations. What is your opinion of these claims?

A3: Firstly, the implication of this doubt is that we must remain enslaved and subjugated, following America and Israel, because every time we decide to resist, they will strike, torture, surround, and persecute us.

Secondly, the doubters and the hesitant throughout history, have thrown this doubt in the face of every free man who has set about resisting oppression. The Quran recorded this when it mentions the statement of the infidels to the Prophet (peace be upon him),

“If we follow the guidance with you, we would be snatched away from our land.” (28:57)

Thirdly, Jihad by necessity entails hardship, expense, and sacrifice. Allah says,

“Had it been a near gain (booty in front of them) and an easy journey, they would have followed you, but the distance was long for them; and they would swear by Allah, “If we only could, we would certainly have come forth with you.”  They destroy their own selves, and Allah knows that they are liars.”  (9:42)

Al-Mutanabbi summarized this matter when he said in his poem:

Were it not for the hardship, all the people would rule
Generosity becomes poor, the brave are killed

Fourthly, he who makes these claims is trying to ignore the reality of how the Muslims have suffered the worst and most serious disasters, for more than a century. Their lands are occupied either by foreign forces, or through political influence. Their resources are deemed lawful and plundered. They are deprived of free will. Their rights are thrown away and stolen. Their sanctuaries are surrounded and taken over. The ruling regimes in their countries are corrupt and submissive to the foreign enemy. So what harm, after all this harm, are they crying over? What they call harm is the requirement of glory and the tax of honor, as al-Mutanabbi said
Burden of harm and the view of its perpetrator
Diseases are used to cure the body
Humiliated are the ones who envy the lifestyle of cowards
Perhaps this lifestyle is lighter than the lifestyle of the Pigeon
Whoever is weak then cowardliness is facilitated for him
The wounded die as a result of the pain

Q4: Some of those who are affiliated with the Islamic Call claim that resisting America militarily is impossible, and that the solution is through dialogue and attempting to convince it, of our rights.  Also they claim that the present stage is the stage of ‘preparation’ and not the time for battle. What is your view?

A4: One is not amazed by the falsehood of such claims, but one is amazed that they continue to be repeated, even after the entire world witnessed the great events in Afghanistan.  Here in Afghanistan, the course of history changed, when the Soviet Union, the largest land-based military force in the world, was dashed to pieces on the boulders of the Afghan Jihad.  The Afghan nomads, villagers and their young comrades from the Arab and Islamic world, who destroyed the empire of the Soviet tyrant, were, Praise be to Allah, not affected by these opinions.  For if they had, then the Soviet forces would today be in the Arabian Peninsula.
It is only by the blessings of Allah that the Islamic resistance in Palestine was not affected by such thought.  Otherwise, Israeli tanks would today be in Medina, Cairo, and Damascus in realization of the goal of Greater Israel.

These claims feign ignorance of the significant power of love of death, for Allah's Cause.  It was the Mujahideen's desire for martyrdom that was the unique advantage, which resulted in the stealthy raids on New York and Washington - by the Grace of Allah.  Nineteen Mujahideen who desired death were able to inflict damage upon America, such as it had never before witnessed in its history.  This effective force is also apparent in the battle between Islam and Disbelief, currently taking place in Palestine.  Israel sustains hundreds of killed and injured yearly, as a result of the martyrdom operations.

These claims provide the greatest service to the American propaganda, in actively discouraging the Muslims.  It keeps them in a state of impotence, paralysis, and submission to the American and Zionist tyranny. If we have reached this state of inability, then let us act according to the saying of the poet:

If there was no escape from death,
Then due to incapability you will die as a coward

As for the saying of those who sit back from Jihad that the period is one of ‘preparation’ not battle, there is a simple reply.  It is to say to them that the unassuming men who destroyed the Soviet Union by the Grace of Allah, did not go - Praise be to Allah - through this ‘preparation’ at all!

Then we ask them, do you not know that Palestine has been occupied for more than eighty years? Do you not know that the Islamic Caliphate fell at about the same time? Do you not know that the Islamic world has been under Western influence for more than a century? What was your ‘preparation’ during those long decades?
 
Then we also ask them, until when do we wait for you to finish ‘preparing’? Another hundred years?

Then we further ask ourselves, what is the actual effort that you have put forward while your hairs turned grey in humiliation.  What ‘preparation’ has been made for fighting the enemies of Islam?  Or is your share from the ‘preparation’ to defame and slander the Mujahideen? Or is it making the Muslim Nation despair of Jihad and making peace with the oppressive sinful Rulers?  Is this your Jihad in your opinion?

In reality, the most knowledgeable people regarding the requirements of the ‘preparation’ and war are the people of Jihad.  These are the people who are implementing it practically.  This is because in this field of Jihad, they are the people of Ijtihaad (Islamic Jurisprudence reasoning), which makes them the foremost people to give Islamic rulings (fatwa’s).  They are the scholars who are practically living the realities of these current affairs, and this makes them most suitable for fatwa’s (Islamic ruling’s), as proven by the great Scholar of Islam, Ibn Taymiyah, may Allah have mercy on him, in his book (Fatawa Kubra).

While some of these people have taken this ‘preparation’, which is in reality a way to gather militarily force and consolidate it’s strength, to something that has become a hindrance to the way of Jihad.

The continual attacks on the American system, has finally pulled the Biggest Satan to the arena of Jihad.  This is after it had remained hidden for a long time behind it’s various agents.  Once in the arena of war, it will start feeling it’s own losses.  Then it will start paying the price for it’s support of Israel and it’s agents in our own countries.

Our weapon in this battle is patience (sabr), perseverance (Musaabara) and reliance upon Allah (Tawakkul) in our fight against America.  By the permission of Allah, this war will continue until the bleeding of America will result in it’s collapse.
If America possesses advanced weapons of mass destruction and well-equipped armies, than it should know that we possess, what they cannot.  The love of death in the path of Allah.
 
American weapons as we have witnessed by our own eyes in Tora Bora and Shahiekoot, hides their shameful cowardliness.  It is the love of death in the path of Allah, that is the weapon that will annihilate this evil empire of America, by the permission of Allah.  The Mujahid youth will compete with each other to die in the path of Allah, to destroy the ‘myth’ of ‘Great’ America, by the permission of Allah.  It is this ‘Great’ America that has been built from oppression, arrogance and deviation from the methodology that Allah is pleased with.  

Q5:  American journalism and the White House have claimed that al-Qaida and Taleban are preparing for fresh attacks against America and the current government in Kabul.  What is the authenticity of such claims?

A5:  By the Praise of Allah, the work of Jihad by al-Qaida and Talibaan and the rest of the truthful Mujahideen has not stopped, against the invading Crusaders in Afghanistan.
 
Indeed America itself has admitted that it is enforcing a ‘media blackout’, with regards to the news from Afghanistan generally, and specifically with regards to their excesses against what they call ‘Terrorism’.  Every week, America and its deputies face fresh losses in their forces and equipment.  It seems that America are only now understanding the warnings of the English and Russia.  As now, Tommy Franks and Rumsfield become more familiar to the problems they face, they’re understanding will increase.
Another benefit of this Islamic resistance is how the Campaign of the American Crusaders has exposed the emptiness of American values.  All of the claims of ‘freedom of thought’, ‘freedom of speech’, human rights, justice and equality, collapsed in front of all, in the face of this Islamic resistance.  America lies barefaced to everybody in what it relates about the news of Afghanistan.  Everybody remembers the blatant lies of the American Defense Minister in his statements during the battles of Tora Bora.  He claimed the killing of 200 al-Qaida fighters and the siege of nearly 1000 fighters.  Despite the strength of American forces, mobilization of the army of Hypocrites (Northern Alliance) and roadblocks, it was not able to take even one prisoner from them!  Except after the treachery of Pakistani tribes, once Mujahideen had crossed into Pakistan.  America was then forced to announce the complete successful evacuation of Al-Qaeda fighters, which occurred largely due to the failure of the Americans.  The eva Regarding Shaieekoot, the Deceitful Defense Minister claimed that his forces had killed 800 Al-Qaeda fighters.  He remained persistent in his promise to the world press, day after day, regarding the battle. Then suddenly, the world is surprised, when he pulls back his troops, frightened from the battle.  Later, he was only able to present four bodies to the press.  He claimed that only eight of his forces had been killed, while in reality the enemy dead was about fifty.
 
The Whole World is witness to the Guantanamo Bay masquerade and the comedy of the hundred’s detained, without any charge or court hearing in America.  The Whole World is hearing and seeing, how the American Government is suppressing it’s media, with regards to what it relates about the Mujahideen.  All that is viewed must have governmental approval.  The fall of American values and principles will inevitably be followed by its downfall as a country and a superpower.

Q6: In your opinion, what are the real incentives of the new American campaign against Iraq?  What are the expected results from it?  What are the claimed reasons that America has put forward to justify its campaign?

A6:  The campaign against Iraq has aims that go beyond Iraq into the Arab Islamic World.  It’s first aim is to destroy any effective military force in the proximity of Israel.

It’s second aim is to consolidate the supremacy of Israel with weapons of mass destruction in the region without any rival.  This is to ensure that subjugation of the Arabic Islamic countries is completely, to the wishes and greed of Israel.  America without any shyness aids the refusal of Israel, to commit itself to any agreement, that will terminate it’s weapons of mass destruction.  This is in a time when it is considered a crime, not to be forgiven, to aid any nation in the region with the possession of such weapons.  Even if it is only doubtful that they actually possess it, it will necessitate it’s invasion and occupation.  As well as the destruction of it’s army, essential installations and infrastructure.  Therefore the attack on Iraq is expected to extend to Iran and Pakistan and destroy it’s programmes relating to nuclear weapons.
 
It’s third and biggest aim is to split the Arab world into smaller states that are incapable of protecting themselves.  The whole incursion is being executed to protect the security of Israel.  Iraq will be divided into three: North Kurdish state, Middle Sunni state and a South Shia state.  As for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, American Congress has concluded that it should be split into several states.  The Eastern Area, which contains the majority of oil wells, should be under direct American control.  Egypt will be divided into a Coptic state and a Muslim state.  While Sudan will be split into at least two states. A south Christian Negro state and a north Arab Muslim state.  Syria will also be divided into several states.

These are the underlying aims for the attack on Iraq that have appeared in many of the American journalistic analyses.  The American press has also indicated that the current American administration prefers enforcing democracy upon the Arabic Islamic world rather than the current system.

It is these foolish shortsighted politics that will lead to an explosive situation in the region.  America will be entangled in wars, it’s end point only Allah knows.  So perhaps this is the end of the American empire of evil.
 
It is also not possible for us to mention the planned layout of the new Arab order, except that we implore the Muslim nation to act immediately.  It must act with whatever ability it has, to stop this Satanic plots.  The situation is critical.  The aim is to destroy us as the Muslim Nation.  Therefore, O Muslims! Come forward and act before there comes a day, when regret will not benefit.  Before you wake up with the sounds of Israeli tanks, surrounding your houses, villages and cities, as they surrounded your brothers in Palestine.

Q7: Finally what is your message to your Enemies and to your Friends?

A7:   Firstly our enemies.  America and it’s deputies should know that their crimes will not go unpunished!
We advise them to make a hasty retreat from Palestine, Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan and the rest of the Muslim states, before they lose everything!  Some messages have already been sent to the deputies of America, so that they may restrain themselves in getting entangled in this Crusader assault.  The Mujahid Youth has already sent messages to Germany and France.  However, if these doses are not enough, we are prepared with the help of Allah to inject further doses.

As for America itself, it should expect to be treated the same way it has acted.  It will have to pay the price for it’s betrayal of the Mujahideen when they left Konduz.  It should expect to be treated similarly to the bombing of the Mujahideen, after their betrayal in Kalajangi (Mazar-e-Sharif). It should expect to be treated in a similar way to the killing of more than one thousand prisoners.  Prisoners crammed in containers, died due to suffocation and lack of water, while they were transported to Sheberghan Prison.  It should expect the destruction the like of which it caused innocent villagers in Torag, Paheer, Arab-beg and Khost.  It should expect the like of destruction that it caused on to the Mosques in Khost.  It should expect to meet the same destruction that the Jews used, to destroy the houses of Palestinians, with their occupants inside. It should expect to meet the same destruction that the Jews used to kill Muhammad Ad-Durro and his companions.
  
Then at that moment, will the American People curse Bush and his administration, the living of them and the dead.  The settlement of this overburdened account will then indeed be heavy.  We will also aim to continue, by the permission of Allah, the destruction of the American Economy.

As for our message to our friends, then we should know, that if we want to live with respect, than we must be willing to die with honor.
  
We are pleased to give the glad tidings to the Muslim nation that the Islamic resistance in Afghanistan is continuing and escalating by the Grace of Allah.  Also America and its deputies are facing successive losses.  Afghanistan is known for its rugged mountainous terrain.  It’s people are well known for their patience (sabr), steadfastness (jalad) and refusal to accept humiliation.  These factors make this the ideal place to bleed America and teach it a similar lesson, that the Soviet Union has been taught.  The defeated Soviet Union fled from Afghanistan, turning their back only to face their own political break-up and intellectual collapse.  This is the fate that awaits America in Afghanistan, by the permission of Allah.  So it is upon the Muslim nation to support the Jihad in Afghanistan with all that it can.   This is our best opportunity to make the most from annihilating America. So let every Muslim carry his responsibility and not hesitate, not even for a moment, in supporting the Mujahideen with allTherefore O Muslims in every land! Do not delay in the Jihad against America and its deputies.  Cut off trade with them! Kill their soldiers! Destroy their interests! Ambush them whenever possible! Have full trust in the victory of Allah and know that America has no power against you, if you unite as one body in it’s face!

Allah says in the Quran:
“O you who believe! Shall I guide you, to a trade that will save you from a painful torment?  That you believe in Allah and His Messenger and that you strive hard and fight in the cause of Allah with your wealth and your lives; that will be better for you, if you but know.
 
(If you do so) He will forgive you your sins, and admit you into Gardens under which rivers flow, and pleasant dwellings in Eden (Paradise); that is indeed the great success.

And also (He will give you) another (blessing) which you love, - help from Allah (against your enemies) and a near victory.  And give glad tidings to the Believers.”   (61:10-13)

And the end of our call is that the Praise is for Allah the Lord of the Worlds, (Greeting in Paradise-see 10:10)
And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Master, Muhammad and upon his Family and Companions