Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim
Encyclopedia
Mohammad Hasan Khalil al-Hakim alias Abu Jihad al-Masri (
أبو جهاد المصري
) (born c. 1961, d. 2008) was purported by US authorities to operate in Iran
as the head of media and propaganda for al-Qaeda
, and "may also be the Chief of External Operations for al Qaeda". The name Abu Jihad is an informal or assumed name
meaning roughly "father of
the struggle
", and al-Masri simply means the Egyptian. He was killed in a US airstrike in Pakistan on October 31, 2008.
Al-Hakim seems to be the person who appeared in an August 2006 as-Sahab
(al-Qaeda) video to announce the merger of al-Qaeda with part of the Egyptian caliphist
group al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
. He is identified in that video as Muhammad Khalil Hasan al-Hukaymah (
محمد خليل حسن الحكايمة
) and more briefly as Muhammad Khalil al-Hukaymah (محمد خليل الحكايمة) and as Abu Jihad al-Masri. In that video al-Hukaymah is introduced by Ayman al-Zawahiri
, who is also Egyptian and who was the leader of the rival group al-Jihad al-Islami. The video claims that al-Hukaymah joined al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya in 1979 and was arrested in connection with the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat in 1981, and subsequently rearrested several times in various countries. Zawahiri claims in that video that Muhammad al-Islambouli (brother of assassin Khalid al-Islambouli
) had joined al-Qaeda with al-Hukaymah. Other al-Qaeda propaganda claims that al-Hukaymah worked with Refai Ahmed Taha
(former Gama'a leader and affiliate of al-Zawahiri), but that is uncorroborated.
Al-Hakim has authored several books and short pamphlets on the topic of jihad. Myth of Delusion, an analysis of the American intelligence community, was released in August 2006. In September of the same year, a short piece entitled Towards A New Strategy in Resisting the Occupier was posted to the defunct jihadist website www.althabeton.co.nr. This essay, while supporting continued large scale operations against Americans in Iraq and Israelis in Palestine, also encourages "individual jihads" involving only small groups or individuals using constant low-level violence to disrupt "occupying forces." Al-Hakim also stresses the need to consider public opinion in planning operations, discouraging beheadings or operations that can cause large scale casualties to innocent Muslims.
On 1 November 2008 AFP quoted an unnamed senior Pakistani intelligence source saying that al-Hakim was killed in the previous day's drone strike on a car in North Waziristan.
أبو جهاد المصري
) (born c. 1961, d. 2008) was purported by US authorities to operate in Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
as the head of media and propaganda for al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
, and "may also be the Chief of External Operations for al Qaeda". The name Abu Jihad is an informal or assumed name
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
meaning roughly "father of
Ab (Semitic)
Ab means "father" in most Semitic languages, sometimes extended to Abba or Aba.-Arabic:Ab , from a theoretical, abstract form ʼabawun is Arabic for "father"...
the struggle
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
", and al-Masri simply means the Egyptian. He was killed in a US airstrike in Pakistan on October 31, 2008.
Al-Hakim seems to be the person who appeared in an August 2006 as-Sahab
As-Sahab
The As-Sahab Foundation for Islamic Media Publication , is the media production house of al-Qaeda, used to relay the organization's views to the world...
(al-Qaeda) video to announce the merger of al-Qaeda with part of the Egyptian caliphist
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
group al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya
Al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya is an Egyptian Islamist movement, and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, European Union and Egyptian governments...
. He is identified in that video as Muhammad Khalil Hasan al-Hukaymah (
محمد خليل حسن الحكايمة
) and more briefly as Muhammad Khalil al-Hukaymah (محمد خليل الحكايمة) and as Abu Jihad al-Masri. In that video al-Hukaymah is introduced by Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ayman Mohammed Rabie al-Zawahiri is an Egyptian physician, Islamic theologian and current leader of al-Qaeda. He was previously the second and last "emir" of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, having succeeded Abbud al-Zumar in the latter role when Egyptian authorities sentenced al-Zumar to life...
, who is also Egyptian and who was the leader of the rival group al-Jihad al-Islami. The video claims that al-Hukaymah joined al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya in 1979 and was arrested in connection with the assassination of Egyptian president Anwar Al Sadat in 1981, and subsequently rearrested several times in various countries. Zawahiri claims in that video that Muhammad al-Islambouli (brother of assassin Khalid al-Islambouli
Khalid Islambouli
Khalid Ahmed Showky Al-Islambouli was an Egyptian army officer who planned and participated in the assassination of Egypt's third president, Anwar Sadat, during the annual 6th October victory parade on 6 October 1981...
) had joined al-Qaeda with al-Hukaymah. Other al-Qaeda propaganda claims that al-Hukaymah worked with Refai Ahmed Taha
Ahmed Refai Taha
The Egyptian Refa'i Ahmed Taha or Refa'i Ahmed Taha Musa or Ahmed Refa'i Taha, alias Abu Yasser al-Masri , is the former leader of a terrorist component of al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, having succeeded "The Blind Sheikh" Omar Abdel-Rahman in that role after the latter's arrest in 1993 and imprisonment...
(former Gama'a leader and affiliate of al-Zawahiri), but that is uncorroborated.
Al-Hakim has authored several books and short pamphlets on the topic of jihad. Myth of Delusion, an analysis of the American intelligence community, was released in August 2006. In September of the same year, a short piece entitled Towards A New Strategy in Resisting the Occupier was posted to the defunct jihadist website www.althabeton.co.nr. This essay, while supporting continued large scale operations against Americans in Iraq and Israelis in Palestine, also encourages "individual jihads" involving only small groups or individuals using constant low-level violence to disrupt "occupying forces." Al-Hakim also stresses the need to consider public opinion in planning operations, discouraging beheadings or operations that can cause large scale casualties to innocent Muslims.
On 1 November 2008 AFP quoted an unnamed senior Pakistani intelligence source saying that al-Hakim was killed in the previous day's drone strike on a car in North Waziristan.
Further reading
- Al‐Qa’ida’s Spymaster Analyzes the U.S. Intelligence Community by Brian Fishman, 6 November 2006; a brief military-academic study of al-Hukaymah's book The Myth of Delusion
- The Myth of DelusionThe Myth of DelusionAn al-Qaeda document released on the Internet and also distributed via a jihadi email list. This 152 page document, written in both English and Arabic, is an attempt at an analytical look at how the U.S. intelligence agencies – the CIA, NSA and FBI, as well as military and other governmental...