Online newspaper Inspire of Al Qaeda

Islamist terror group Al Qaeda has allegedly launched an online newspaper named 'Inspire' from Yemen. US national Shaikh Anwar Al Awlaki, the man who inspired the Fort Hood shooter, the Christmas Day attacker, and the Times Square bomber has been assigned as the editor of this newspaper. Al Qaeda's Yemen branch will be operating this newspaper. Muslim news media is continuing to give extensive coverage of this notorious project of the terrorist outfit.

On the magazine's cover, a shadowy militant lurks beneath a banner headline reading: "May our souls be sacrificed for you!"

At the heart of al-Qaeda's propaganda effort is Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical U.S.-born cleric now living in Yemen. Authorities say his online sermons, in English, have inspired several recent terrorist plots in the United States. Until now, al-Qaeda has relied on Arabic websites to carry its message. Now it appears to be capitalizing on its recent success recruiting inside the U.S. Using propaganda on the Internet, the terrorist group has been able to attract Americans such as Bryant Neal Vinas and Najibullah Zazi, two admitted al-Qaeda terrorists. Both were radicalized in New York and traveled to Pakistan to join the fight against the U.S. In a recent terrorism case in New Jersey, prosecutors say two U.S. citizens watched al-Awlaki's videos on their cell phones and took inspiration in his call for smaller, single acts of terrorism.

Meanwhile, Al Qaeda has started publicizing this newspaper in various Jihadist websites through a slick banner. The banner ad, over the caption "Soon," features a slide show touting the magazine's first issue: "A SPECIAL GIFT TO THE ISLAMIC NATION." "The first magazine issued by Al-Qaeda in the English language." "INSPIRE… and inspire the believers.'"

The magazine contains an exclusive interview with Shayk Abu Basir [Al-Qaeda's Arabian Peninsula faction leader]. Other features in the magazine; a "message to the people of Yemen" from Osama bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri; and a section on how to send and receive encrypted messages relating to terrorism.

"This Islamic Magazine is geared towards making the Muslim a mujahid in Allah's path," states a letter from the editor.

Inspire aims to recruit Muslims in the US, Canada, Britain and other English-speaking countries.

The magazine is only three pages long and carries a Trojan virus which has apparently corrupted the remaining of its 67 pages, the New York Times said.

The NY Times said the English "is crude and clunky, almost to the point of being laughable".

Headlines teased the tutorials for would-be terrorists, including instructions to "make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom", an article on "Mujahedeen 101" and a lesson in sending and receiving encrypted messages.

Like many new publications it has a vivid mix: news, features, celebrity opinion pieces and a smart digital-era commitment to interactivity – keeping in close touch with the readers. But for the casual browser of the internet, AL Qaeda's new English-language online magazine may prove a step or two beyond the pale.

Entitled Inspire, and designed for aspiring jihadist who cannot read Arabic, it offers tips on bomb-making and encryption for beginners as well as heavyweight Quranic commentary and crude propaganda.

Inspire appears to be the brainchild of Anwar al-Awlaki, a fugitive US-born radical preacher and key figure in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [Aqap], based in Yemen's remote tribal areas – and suggests a drive to recruit terrorists.

But the launch of its summer 2010 edition has so far been troubled. It advertised an article by Awlaki – "May our souls be sacrificed for you" – that failed to appear, as did all but the first three pages of the. The rest of a PDF file posted on friendly websites showed only garbled computer code.

The seemingly tongue-in-cheek nature of articles such as "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom" may indicate the magazine is an elaborate parody, suggests Atlantic associate editor Max Fisher.

"The web-based 'jihadist' community itself seems suspicious," he writes in an online article. "The report has received little attention on web forums, especially given its apparent importance."

Regardless, Mr. Williams says the spread of such electronic propaganda dilutes the significance of physical strikes against extremist groups overseas.

"You don't need a physical base to train and inspire people to carry out these types of bombings," he said. "You have a virtual base on the internet, a virtual al-Qaeda."

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Online newspaper Inspire of Al Qaeda

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