The Islamic State in a number of its media releases has time and again been intended to undermine the Al-Qaeda’s ideological legitimacy with the jihadist’ ranks.
In a lengthy video released on April 29, the Islamic State in Yemen titled “A Documentary Shedding Light on Al-Qaeda Organization’s Deviation Following What Is Known as the Arab Spring,” the latest onslaught is aimed at delegitimizing the doctrines of Ayman al-Zawahiri led militant group and all of Al-Qaeda regional affiliates.
The Islamic State central province (wilayah) in this video has accused Al-Qaeda of betraying its own Salafi-jihadist ideology during the so-called Arab uprisings in 2011 and 2012.
The video broadly criticizes Al-Qaeda’s emir, Ayman al-Zawahiri and the top leadership of the group. Al-Qaeda has been criticized of taking a lenient approach during the 2011 and 2012 Arab Spring.
The video incorporate several screenshots of Ayman al-Zawahiri’s General Guidelines for Jihad, published in 2013. The narrator in his passage highlights Al-Qaeda’s alleged deviancy in his leadership. The video also highlights complaints by current and former AQAP fighters against Al-Qaeda top leadership. The highlights further indicate that AQAP under the leadership of al-Zawahiri has suffered huge losses including the loss of a number of its top leaders.
Apart from criticizing al-Zawahiri, the narrator alleges that AQAP has failed to implement sharia. The narrator highlighted this as a reason of some of AQAP’s members defecting to the Islamic State faction, Yemeni wilayah.
These criticisms clearly are aimed at portraying Islamic State as a superior organization besides luring AQAP fighters within its fold. Islamic State, be its propaganda or strategy, it aims at poaching more fighters from AQAP’s ranks.
Islamic State alleges that Al-Qaeda’s branches are working with the ‘apostates’. AQAP is not the only Al-Qaeda affiliate that has not been criticized in this video. The narrator points out of weak policies by fronted by Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).
The Islamic State’s Abu Yusuf al-Qurayshi claims in a part in the video that Al-Qaeda branch especially the one operating in Mali, are allies of the ‘apostates’ and cooperated with them during takeover of Mali in 2012. Abu Yusuf al-Qurayshi also criticized AQIM’s emir, Abu Musab Abdel Wadoud (a.k.a. Abdulmalek Droukdel). Also, the Islamic State is keen to selectively use Wadoud’s and Gadahn’s words against Al-Qaeda, making it seem as if the group has abandoned the fight against regional governments.
The new video repeats that accusation once again that al-Zawahiri led Al-Qaeda has severally worked with parties everywhere from eastern Syria to Libya to oppose the Islamic State.
Its noteworthy that Islamic State has an institutional hatred for their arch-rival Al-Qaeda. By the way its media apparatus is emphasizing these claims against Al-Qaeda outrightly shows that the Islamic State, despite suffering significant setbacks especially in Middle East is out to sow discord within Al-Qaeda’s ranks and subsequently poach fighters and commanders who do not approve of Ayman al-Zawahiri’s leadership style and ideologies.
