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The Arabic term aṣ-Ṣaḥāba (Arabic: الصحابة‎, "the companions"; from the verb صَحِبَ, "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") refers to the companions, disciples, scribes and family of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. This form is definite plural; the indefinite singular is masculine ṣaḥābiyy, feminine ṣaḥābiyyah.

Later scholars accepted their testimony of the words and deeds of Muhammad, the occasions on which the Qur'an was revealed and various important matters of Islamic history and practice. The testimony of the companions, as it was passed down through chains of trusted narrators (isnads), was the basis of the developing Islamic tradition. From the traditions (hadith) of the life of Muhammad and his companions are drawn the Muslim way of life (sunnah), the code of conduct (sharia) it requires and the jurisprudence (fiqh) by which Muslim communities should be regulated. The two largest Islamic denominations, the Sunni and Shi'a, take different approaches in weighing the value of the companions' testimony, have different hadith collections and, as a result, have different constructed views about the Sahabah.

Definitions[link]

The most widespread definition of a companion is someone who saw Muhammad, believed in him and died a Muslim. Anyone who died after rejecting Islam and becoming an apostate is not considered a companion. Those that saw him but held off believing in him until after his passing are not considered Sahaba but Tabi`in. Shi'a Muslims make no distinction between these as regards their trustworthiness^[1]

However, scholars like Javed Ghamidi and Amin Ahsan Islahi state that not every individual who met or had accidentally seen Muhammad can be considered as a Companion. In their view, the Quran has outlined a high level of faith as one of the distinctive qualities of the Sahabah. Hence, they admit to this list only those individuals who had substantial contact with Muhammad, lived with him, and took part in his campaigns and efforts at proselytizing.^[2] This view has implications in Islamic law since narrations of Muhammad transmitted through the Sahabah acquire a greater status of authenticity.

Lists of prominent companions usually run to 50 or 60 names, being the people most closely associated with Muhammad. However, there were clearly many others who had some contact with Muhammad, and their names and biographies were recorded in religious reference texts such as Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi's (Muḥammad ibn Sa'd) early Kitāb at-Tabāqat al-Kabīr (The book of The Major Classes). The book entitled Istî’âb fî ma’rifat-il-Ashâb by Hafidh Yusuf bin Muhammad bin Qurtubi (death 1071) consists of 2,770 biographies of male and 381 biographies of female Sahaba. According to an observation in the book entitled Mawâhib-i-ladunniyya, an untold number of persons had already converted to Islam by the time Muhammad died. There were 10,000 by the time Mecca was conquered and 70,000 during the Battle of Tabouk in 630. Some Muslims assert that they were more than 200,000 in number: it is believed that 124,000 witnessed The Farewell Sermon Muhammad delivered after making his last pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.

Two important groups among the companions are called the Muhajirun or "exiles" - those who had faith in Muhammad when he began to preach in Mecca who fled with him when he was persecuted there - and the Ansar - people of Medina who welcomed Muhammad and his companions and stood as their protectors. Chapter (sura) 9 of the Qur'an ("Repentance" (at-Tawba)), verse (ayah) 100^[3] says;

"The vanguard - the first of those who forsook (their homes) and of those who gave them aid, and those who follow them in good deeds, &ndash well-pleased is God with them, as are they with Him: for them hath He prepared gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein for ever: that is the supreme felicity."^[4]

and continues;

(ayat 117); "God turned with favour to the Prophet, the Muhajirs, and the Ansar who followed him in a time of distress – after that the hearts of a part of them had nearly swerved but He turned to them..."

In the Qur'an[link]

Friendship[link]

In Islam there are three types of Sahabah:

1 As Sabiqoon Al Awaloon (Badriyans)[link]

The people who were Muslims at the time of Badar. They are further classified into two: 1. Muhajreen (Immigrants - from Mecca) 2. Ansar (Helpers - inhabitants of Madinah (previously known as Yathrib)) They are ideals for the other Muslims because they are "Whom God is pleased with" (Arabic: رضي الله عنه‎ raḍiyu l-Lāhu ‘anhu)see ch # 9 ver # 100

"Those who believed, and went into exile and fought for God's cause with their property and their persons, as well as those who sheltered and helped them,- these shall be friends, one of another."^[5]

"...and be not divided among yourselves; and remember with gratitude Allah's favour on you; for you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love^[6]

"those who are with him are strong against unbelievers but compassionate among themselves. You will see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer)...^[7]

2 Major Sahabah (Kubbar)[link]

The people who were Muslims before victory of Makkah and went into exile and fought for God's cause in most of the wars. They are also high in degree especially those who were present at Hudabiyah. They are also "Whom God is pleased with" (Arabic: رضي الله عنه‎ raḍiyu l-Lāhu ‘anhu)see ch # 48 ver # 18 to 29

3 As'habuttulaqa (Forgiven people)[link]

They were non-Muslim at the time of victory of Makkah; after that, they were forgiven by Muhammad, then they became Muslims. They are lower in degrees as compared to other two mentioned above. See ch # 57 ver # 10

Status[link]

According to Sunni scholars, Muslims of the past should be considered companions if they had any contact with Muhammad, and they were not liars or opposed to him and his teachings. If they saw him, heard him, or were in his presence even briefly, they are companions. All companions are assumed to be just (udul) unless they are proven otherwise; that is, Sunni scholars do not believe that companions would lie or fabricate hadith unless they are proven liars, untrustworthy or opposed to Islam.^[8] "Whom God is pleased with" (Arabic: رضي الله عنه‎ raḍiyu l-Lāhu ‘anhu) is usually mentioned by Sunnis after the names of the Sahaba.

Some Qur'anic references are important to Sunni Muslim views of the reverence due to all companions;^{[9][10][11][12][13][14]}

"and He has restrained the hands of men from you that it may be a sign for believers",^[15]

While sura 8 ("The Spoils" (al-Anfal)), ayat 74-5 reads:

"Those who believe and adopt exile and fight for the Faith in the cause of God, as well as those who give (them) asylum and aid, these are in very truth the believers: for them is the forgiveness of sins and a provision most generous.... And those who accept Faith subsequently, and adopt exile, and fight for the Faith in your company, they are of you.^[16]

In another place the Qur'an distinguishes between the community in honour:

... Not equal among you are those who spent (freely) and fought, before the Victory, (with those who did so later). Those are higher in rank than those who spent (freely) and fought afterwards. But to all has Allah promised a goodly (reward)...

—Qur'an Sura 57 (al-Hadid), ayah 10^[17]

It sometimes admonishes them, as when Aisha, daughter of the first Sunni caliph Abu Bakr and the wife of Muhammad, was accused of infidelity:

"Why did not the believers - men and women - when ye heard of the affair,- put the best construction on it in their own minds and say "this (charge) is an obvious lie"? .... Behold, you received it on your tongues and said out of your mouths things of which you had no knowledge, and ye thought it to be a light matter". (sura 24 ("The Light", an-Nur), ayat 11-20)^[18]

"And from among those who are round about you of the dwellers of the desert there are hypocrites, and from among the people of Medina (also); they are stubborn in hypocrisy; you do not know them; We know them; We will chastise them twice then shall they be turned back to a grievous chastisement."^[19]

In view of such admonitions Shias have different views on each Sahabi, depending on what he or she accomplished. They do not accept that the testimony of nearly all Sahaba is an authenticated part of the chain of narrators in a hadith and that not all the Sahaba were righteous just because they saw or were with Muhammad. Shias further argue that the righteousness of Sahaba can be assessed by their loyalty towards Muhammad's family after his death and they accept hadith from the Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, believing them to be cleansed from sin through their interpretation of the Quran Surah 33 Verse 33 and the hadith of the Cloak.

Muhammad's wives[link]

Part of a series on Islam Umm-al-Momineen Wives of Muhammad
Khadija bint Khuwaylid Sawda bint Zamʿa Aisha bint Abi Bakr Hafsa bint Umar Zaynab bint Khuzayma Hind bint Abi Umayya Zaynab bint Jahsh Juwayriyya bint al-Harith Rayhana bint Zayd Safiyya bint Huyayy Ramla bint Abi Sufyan Maria al-Qibtiyya Maymuna bint al-Harith

All of Muhammad's wives are called the "mothers" of the believers:

"The Prophet is closer to the Believers than their own selves, and his wives are their mothers. Blood-relations among each other have closer personal ties, in the Decree of Allah. Than (the Brotherhood of) Believers and Muhajirs: nevertheless do ye what is just to your closest friends: such is the writing in the Decree (of Allah)." ^[20]

Another verse states:

"O Consorts of the Prophet! ...God only wishes to remove all abomination from you, you members of the Family, and to make you pure and spotless."^[21]

Shias support their argument that one must discriminate between the virtues of the companions by verses relating to Muhammad's wives:

"O wives of the prophet! whoever of you commits an open indecency, the punishment shall be increased to her doubly; and this is easy to Allah. And whoever of you is obedient to Allah and His Messenger and does good, We will give to her her reward doubly, and We have prepared for her an honorable sustenance."^[22]

The injunction to regard them as mothers overrules this in Sunni thought, particularly as regards Aisha, who was the daughter of Abu Bakr.

Tradition[link]

Because the hadith were not properly written down until many years after the death of Muhammad, although there were many individual written copies, the isnads, or chains of transmission, always have several links. The first link is preferably a companion, who had direct contact with Muhammad. The companion then related the tradition to a Tabi‘un, the companion of the companion. Tabi‘un had no direct contact with Muhammad, but did have direct contact with the Ṣahāba. The tradition then would have been passed from the Tabi‘un to the Tābi‘ at-Tābi‘īn, the third link.

The second and third links in the chain of transmission were also of great interest to Muslim scholars, who treated of them in biographical dictionaries and evaluated them for bias and reliability. Shi'a and Sunni apply different metrics.

Regard for the companions is evident from the hadith:

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allah ibn Mas’ud that Muhammad said: "The best of the people are my generation, then those who come after them, then those who come after them."^[23]

Sunni Muslim scholars classified companions into many categories, based on a number of criteria. The hadith quoted above shows the rank of ṣaḥābah, tābi‘īn, and tābi‘ at-tābi‘īn. Al-Suyuti recognized eleven levels of companionship. Shia do not have a ranking system dependent on when the Sahabi embraced Islam but according to what they did during their life. If a Sahaba made Muhammad angry or questioned his decision several times then he is viewed as unrealiable. Shias consider that any hadith where Muhammad is claimed to have absolved all Sahaba from sin is a false report by those who opposed the Ahl al-Bayt.

The Shi'a believe that after the death of Muhammad, the majority of the sahabah turned aside from true Islam and deviated from Muhammad's family, instead electing the caliph by themselves at a place called Bani Saqeefa, they did this by a majority vote and elected Abu Bakr as the first Caliph. Although some of the sahabah repented later, only a few of the early Muslims held fast to Ali, whom Shi'a Muslims regard as the rightful successor to Muhammad. Shi'a scholars therefore deprecate hadith believed to have been transmitted through unjust companions, and place much more reliance on hadith believed to have been related by Muhammad's family members and companions who supported Ali. The Shi'a believe that Muhammad announced his succession during his lifetime at Dawat Zul Asheera then many times during his prophethood and finally at Ghadeer e Khum.

See also[link]

• List of Sahaba
• List of non-Arab Sahaba
• Muadh ibn Jabal
• Munzir ibn Sawa Al Tamimi — became Muslim, but not a Sahaba.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Ibn Sa'd al-Baghdadi, Muhammad – The book of The Major Classes, only partially translated into English; see Men of Medina and Women of Medina published by Ta-Ha Publishers, and first two volumes as published by Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi
• Wilferd Madelung – The Succession to Muhammad, Cambridge University Press, 1997
• Maxime Rodinson – Muhammad, 1961, as translated into English and published in 1980 by Pantheon Books
• William Montgomery Watt – Muhammad at Medina, Oxford University Press 1956

External links[link]

• Sahaba: Companions of the Prophet
• Male Companions of the Prophet
• Describes the Sunni perspective
• Describes the Shia perspective
• Innovation with regards to the Shari`i Penalty of Cursing Sahaba by "Sipah-e-Sahaba"
• Sermons of the Commander of the Faithful, Imam Ali b. Abi Talib, from Nahj al-Balaghah

Khalid Yasin
Khalid Yasin speaks on evolution in a public lecture.
Born	1946 (age 65–66) Harlem, New York, United States
Residence	Seattle, Washington
Nationality	American
Other names	Abu Muhammad, Abu Muhammad Khalid Yasin
Religion	Islam

Khalid Yasin (also known as Abu Muhammad^[1] and Abu Muhammad Khalid Yasin^[2]) (born in 1946) is an American convert from Christianity to Islam who lectures in the United Kingdom and elsewhere.^[1]Yasin lives in Manchester, England and has operated a "da'wah" organization which has had various names. It was dissolved in 2010.^[3]Yasin frequently travels overseas to spread his faith. He has called himself a "media-bedouin," remarking that the bedouins are willing to settle wherever there is "water and shelter".^[4] Yassin is outspoken about a variety of issues in his speeches and media appearences.

Background[link]

Yasin was born in Harlem, New York and raised in Brooklyn as a Christian along with nine siblings. Although not an orphan, he grew up in foster homes from the age of three, along with some of his siblings, until he was fifteen. He describes each foster home as having a different Christian denomination, so he covered a wide spectrum of Christianity. He was put up for adoption due to his family's financial state.^[1]

Yasin has described his youth in "the ghetto", where it was "Me and my two brothers Sam and Julius, against the world. We had nothing but converting and accepting Islam now we have everything". When first reading about Islam, he often used Encyclopedia Britannica as a reliable source on Islam and its concepts.^[4] Yasin felt the grief of African-American people, and he was especially influenced by the turbulent 1960's and figures like Malcolm X.^[4]

Yasin converted to Islam in 1965.^[5] He began his ministry as the "Amir" or leader of Jammat Ita'hadul Iqwa on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn (often referred to^{[by whom?]} as the McDonald's Mosque, due to its proximity to a McDonald's).

Yassin has been accused of espousing a radical form of Islam. "Channel Nine" in Australia described him as "a charismatic preacher who’s capturing the hearts and minds of young Australian Muslims with a radical mix of pleas for the understanding of terrorism, anti-Western conspiracy theories and radical homophobia.^[6] Rather differently, the Oman Tribute described him as a "learned scholar" who "regularly tours different countries debunking the misinformation about Islam".^[5]

Discussing his leisure time, Yassin said, "I’m a fairly avid horseman, I swim, martial arts, I box, I read quite a bit. Probably once every two years I visit Mecca and I cleanse myself spiritually by performing the Omrah or the Haj, and then daily I pray five times a day.":^[7]

Notable views[link]

During Yasin's stays in Australia in mid-2000, he received media attention regarding his views on Islam.

In a speech that Yasin delivered at Bankstown Town Hall in Sydney, Australia, as well as in a televised interview, seen as critical of Muslims befriending non-Muslims, Yasin said: "There's no such thing as a Muslim having a non-Muslim friend, so a non-Muslim could be your associate but they can't be a friend. They're not your friend because they don't understand your religious principles and they cannot because they don't understand your faith."^[8] He later contextualized his comment, explaining that Muslim people, including him, invariably have friends, neighbors and colleagues who are non-Muslims, but that does not mean that non-Muslims should influence Muslims' religious or moral decisions.^[4]

Yasin has lectured to students at universities as a guest speaker and on debate panels. He also addresses crowds at events aimed at young people. Yassin has made statements describing western civilization's academic tradition as difficult to reconcile with Islamic religious life: "University is a gateway for deviation,you forget your Islamic direction. Now you have become compromised through some kind of intellectuality."^[8][9]

Yasin was allegedly quoted by an Australian newspaper instructing a light beating as discipline for disobedient wives.^[8] Yasin denies ever saying this, and says that the Koran does not include any such instructions in its 6626 verses.^[4]

In Australia in 2005 Yasin was quoted as saying that: "The Koran gives a clear position regarding homosexuality lesbianism and bestiality. ... They are aberrations punishable by death. ... We can’t walk around society slandering them because there is legislation against doing that but we don’t have to like them we don’t have to promote them and we have the right to say that that’s a moral aberration.”^[6] In a 2010 documentary, Yasin said that "in the eyes of God everyone is equal, not the same, but equal" and that, "according to the principles of Islam", homosexuality is "a perversive behavior and a criminal behavior. But we need to be tolerant. We are citizens, we need to be tolerant".^[9]

Yasin believes that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is probably man-made and that the US Government is the likely culprit. He said that “missionaries from the World Health Organisation and Christian groups ... went into Africa and inoculated people for diphtheria, malaria, yellow fever and they put in the medicine the AIDS virus.”^[6][4]

Yasin accuses Israel of state terrorism. He refers to "an occupation of Palestinian land by the criminal state of Israel ... and they are still committing terrorism after 50 years".^[9]

Regarding capital punishment by some Muslim states, Yasin has said: "Then people can see, people without hands, people can see in public heads rolling down the street, people got [sic] their hands and feet from opposite sides chopped off and they see them crucified ... They see people put up against the pole and see them get lashed in public. They see it, and because they see it, it acts as a deterrent for them because they say I don't want that to happen to me". Yasin made these comments during an investigation for a British Channel 4 documentary, "Dispatches: Undercover Mosque", which investigated the intolerance and fundamentalism reportedly being spreading through Britain's mosques from the Saudi Arabian religious establishment closely linked to the Saudi Arabian government. Yasin responded that his comments should be considered in context and that he did not support or promote Saudi Arabian government religious rhetoric and that, in any event, capital punishment occurred in many countries. "The lecture," he stated, "was aimed at reforming the Muslim people, the Muslim society and the Muslim world … to be adjudicated by the Sovereign Islamic State" when one exists.^[10]

On September 7, 2003 Yasin appeared on Australian program Sunday Nights With John Cleary:^[7] On Islam's position in the West, Cleary asked Yasin, how he as a teacher dealt with Islam getting a very rough trot in the West today. To this Yasin answered that he saw two options, one for himself and one for other co-religionists. He spoke of the need to be tolerant and said Muslims need to personify with the core principles of the religion as then at least Muslims could not be held responsible for people taking a radical view of them. As a second thing he mentioned that he assesses people, who he speak to so to enable himself to correct any misconseptions about Islam from their perspective as that's what an educator does."^[7]

Discussing international governing bodies and the lack of them in Islam, Cleary asked where Sharia fits into that and Yasin replied; "Well the Sharia is the cement that keeps all the bricks together. The Sharia is the legislative element. The Sharia is the judicial element. This is where rules, this is where juristic decisions, this is where the courts, this is where law. And I mean if you don't have a people that is governed by Sharia, then you have a lawless people."^[7]

Denmark[link]

In 2010 Yasin lectured in Copenhagen at a Muslim youth project called "North Bronx" - From Gang Member two Conscious Muslim, with one of his credentials being the fact that Yasin is a former gang member from Harlem. His participation stirred political debate whether Yasin was a suitable role model for keeping youths out of gangs. The organizer of the event defended Yasin and stated that, "He has totally changed his position and entered the fight to prevent radicalization and crime".^[11][12]

Netherlands[link]

In 2009, Yasin travelled to the Netherlands and taught lectures on several occasions, including at the private Muslim university of Rotterdam. Several Dutch parties tried unsuccessfully to deny him access to the country. The most visible campaign against Yasin was led by right-wing politician Geert Wilders and his Party for Freedom.

On a Dutch-Muslim feature interview Yasin compared the controversial reaction he and Islam stirs to "someone walking in the dark, without knowing where they are going", and to people being afraid of things they are not familiar with.^[4]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shaykh Khalid Yasin's official website
• Khalid Yasin audio and video lectures

Anwar al-Awlaki أنور العولقي
Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in 2008
Born	Anwar bin Nasser bin Abdulla al-Aulaqi (1971-04-21)April 21, 1971[1][2] (UPI gives April 22.) Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.
Died	September 30, 2011(2011-09-30) (aged 40) al-Jawf Governorate, Yemen[3]
Cause of death	Killed by U.S. Hellfire missiles
Residence	Yemen
Ethnicity	Arab
Citizenship	U.S. and Yemen (dual)
Alma mater	Colorado State University (B.S.) San Diego State University (M.A.) George Washington University (Ph.D., incomplete)
Occupation	Lecturer, former imam
Organization	Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
Known for	Alleged senior Al-Qaeda recruiter and spokesman[4][5]
Influenced by	Sayyid Qutb
Influenced	Nawaf al-Hazmi Khalid al-Mihdhar Hani Hanjour Michael Finton Fort Hood shooter Christmas Day bomber Sharif Mobley Times Square bomber Roshonara Choudhry Mohamed Alessa Carlos Almonte Zachary Adam Chesser
Height	6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m)[6]
Weight	160 pounds (73 kg)[6]
Religion	Sunni Islam
Children	5[7]
Parents	Nasser al-Awlaki (father)
Relatives	Ali Muhammad Mujawar[citation needed]

Anwar al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi; Arabic: أنور العولقي‎ Anwar al-‘Awlaqī; April 21, 1971 – September 30, 2011) was an American^[8] and Yemeni imam who was an engineer and educator by training.^[9][10] According to U.S. government officials, he was a senior talent recruiter and motivator who was involved with planning operations for the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda.^{[2][6][11][12][13][14][15]} With a blog, a Facebook page, and many YouTube videos, the Saudi news station Al Arabiya described him as the "bin Laden of the Internet",^[16][17] though Bin Laden himself reportedly held Awlaki in low esteem.^[18] Many of his videos have subsequently been removed from YouTube after a request from the US Congress.^[19]

U.S. officials say that Al-Awlaki spoke with and preached to a number of al-Qaeda members and affiliates, including three of the 9/11 hijackers,^[20] alleged Fort Hood shooter Nidal Malik Hasan,^[21][22] and "Underwear Bomber" Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab;^[23][24][25] he was also allegedly involved in planning the latter's attack. The Yemeni government began trying him in absentia in November 2010, for plotting to kill foreigners and being a member of al-Qaeda, and a Yemenite judge ordered that he be captured "dead or alive".^[26][27]

According to U.S. officials, al-Awlaki was promoted to the rank of "regional commander" within al-Qaeda in 2009.^[28][29] He repeatedly called for jihad against the United States.^[30][31] In April 2010, American President Obama approved Al-Awlaki's targeted killing,^[32][33][34] an action unprecedented for an American citizen and an action unsuccessfully challenged by al-Awlaki's father and civil rights groups.^{[32][33][34][35]}

Al-Awlaki was believed to be in hiding in Southeast Yemen in the last years of his life.^[26] The U.S. deployed unmanned aircraft in Yemen to search for and kill him,^[36] firing at and failing to kill him at least once,^[37] before he was killed in an American drone attack in Yemen on September 30, 2011.^[38] Two weeks later Al-Awlaki's 16-year-old son, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, a U.S. citizen who was born in Denver, was also killed by a CIA-led drone strike in Yemen.^[39][40][41] Nasser al-Awlaki, the father of Anwar, made an audio recording condemning the killings of his son and grandson as senseless murders.^[42]

Early life[link]

Al-Awlaki's parents are from Yemen. His father, Nasser al-Aulaqi, was a Fulbright Scholar^[43] who earned a master's degree in agricultural economics at New Mexico State University in 1971, received a doctorate at the University of Nebraska, and worked at the University of Minnesota from 1975 to 1977.^[14][44] Nasser also served as Agriculture Minister and as President of Sana'a University, and is a prominent member of Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh's ruling party.^{[14][44][45][46]} Yemen's Prime Minister since March 2007, Ali Mohammed Mujur, is a relative of al-Awlaki.^[47]

Al-Awlaki was born in 1971 in the United States. In 1978, when he was seven years old, he and his family returned to Yemen.^[17][48] He then lived in Yemen for 11 years, and studied at Azal Modern School.^[49]

Al-Awlaki returned to the U.S state of Colorado in 1991 to attend college. He earned a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University (1994), where he was President of the Muslim Student Association.^[49] He attended the university on a foreign student visa and a government scholarship from Yemen, apparently by claiming to be born in that country, according to a former U.S. security agent.^[50] He spent a summer of his college years training with the Afghan mujahideen.^[17] Al-Awlaki also earned an M.A. in Education Leadership from San Diego State University. He worked on a Doctorate degree in Human Resource Development at George Washington University Graduate School of Education & Human Development from January to December 2001.^{[6][44][51][52][53][54][55][56]}

Islamic education[link]

Al-Awlaki's Islamic education was primarily informal, and consisted of intermittent months with various scholars, and reading and contemplating works by several prominent Islamic scholars.^[9] Some Muslim scholars said they did not understand al‑Awlaki's popularity, because while he spoke fluent English and could therefore reach a large non-Arabic-speaking audience, he lacked formal Islamic training and study.^[10]

Ideology[link]

Awlaki developed an animosity towards the U.S. and became a proponent of Takfiri and Jihadi thinking, while retaining Islamism, according to one research paper.^[57] While imprisoned in Yemen, al-Awlaki became influenced by the works of Sayyid Qutb, an originator of the contemporary "anti-Western Jihadist movement".^[58] He read 150–200 pages a day of Qutb's works, and described himself as "so immersed with the author I would feel Sayyid was with me in my cell speaking to me directly".^[58]

He was noted for attracting young men with his lectures, especially U.S.-based and UK-based Muslims.^[59][60] Terrorism consultant Evan Kohlmann referred to al-Awlaki "one of the principal jihadi luminaries for would-be homegrown terrorists. His fluency with English, his unabashed advocacy of jihad and mujahideen organizations, and his Web-savvy approach are a powerful combination." He called al-Awlaki's lecture "Constants on the Path of Jihad", which he says was based on a similar document written by al-Qaeda's founder, the "virtual bible for lone-wolf Muslim extremists".^[61] Philip Mudd, formerly of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center and the FBI's top intelligence adviser, called him "a magnetic character ... a powerful orator."^[49]

U.S. officials and some U.S. media sources called Al-Awlaki an Islamic fundamentalist and accused him of encouraging terrorism.^{[45][53][62][63]} Bin Laden himself, according to documents recovered from the The New York Times, held Al-Awlaki and his magazine Inspire in low esteem.^[18]

Later life, and alleged ties to terrorism[link]

In the United States; 1991–2002[link]

In 1993 as a college student in Colorado State's civil engineering program, al-Awlaki visited Afghanistan in the aftermath of the Soviet occupation. He found himself depressed by the country's poverty and hunger, and "wouldn't have gone with al-Qaeda," according to friends from Colorado State, who said he was nevertheless profoundly affected by the trip.^[60][64] At the time of his visit, much of Afghanistan was under the control of various Mujahideen factions; Mullah Mohammed Omar would not form the Taliban until 1994. When Awlaki returned to campus, he showed increased interest in politics and religion, and would quote from the prominent Palestinian scholar Abdullah Azzam, who provided theological justification for the Afghan jihad, and later influenced Osama bin Laden.^[49]

In 1994, Awlaki married a cousin from Yemen,^[49] and began service as the imam of the Denver Islamic Society, where he preached "eloquently against vice and sin" until 1996, when he was chastised for encouraging a Saudi student to fight in Chechnya against the Russians.^[49][65] He then served as imam of the Masjid Ar-Ribat al-Islami mosque at the edge of San Diego, California, from 1996–2000, where he had a following of 200–300 people^{[1][6][49][53][60][66]} While in San Diego Awlaki was known for the time he spent with youth, for his interest in fishing, for his discussions of travels with friends, and for a popular and lucrative series of lectures that he recorded.^[49]

9/11 hijacker
Nawaf al-Hazmi, for whom al-Awlaki was reportedly a spiritual adviser

In 1998 and 1999, he served as Vice President for the Charitable Society for Social Welfare (CSSW), later accused by the FBI of being "front organization to funnel money to terrorists".^[53][67] Though the FBI investigated Awlaki from June 1999 through March 2000 for possible links to Hamas, Bin Laden contact Ziyad Khaleel, and a visit by an associate of Omar Abdel Rahman,^[49] it never unearthed sufficient evidence for a criminal prosecution.^{[6][9][20][53][62][66][68]} U.S. officials would later allege that later hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, ultimately hijackers of American Airlines Flight 77, attended his sermons and even met personally with Awlaki; the 9/11 Commission Report suggested that the hijackers "reportedly respected [al-Awlaki] as a religious figure".^{[20][49][51][66]}

Awlaki told reporters that he resigned from leading the San Diego mosque "after an uneventful four years," and took a brief sabbatical, traveling overseas to various countries.^[69] When al-Awlaki returned to the U.S., he settled in January 2001 on the East Coast in the Washington Metropolitan Area. There, he served as imam at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque near Falls Church, Virginia, and was also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University,^{[6][51][53][70]} where he was hired by Esam Omeish.^[71][72] Omeish said in 2004 that he was convinced that al-Awlaki: "has no inclination or active involvement in any events or circumstances that have to do with terrorism".^[73] Fluent in English, known for giving eloquent talks on Islam, and with a mandate to attract young non-Arabic speakers, Awlaki "was the magic bullet", according to mosque spokesman Johari Abdul-Malik; "he had everything all in a box;"^[73] "he had an allure. He was charming."^[74] While in Washington, Awlaki's sermons were again allegedly attended by Al-Hazmi, and also by later 9/11 hijacker Hani Hanjour. Nidal Malik Hasan, now the primary suspect in the Fort Hood shooting, would visit when Awlaki presided over the funeral of Hassan's mother.^{[20][63][66][75][76]}

Although he hesitated to shake hands with women, he was accused of patronizing prostitutes.^[49] Al-Awlaki was arrested in San Diego in August 1996 and in April 1997 for soliciting prostitutes.^{[20][45][77][78]} In the first instance, he pled guilty to a lesser charge on condition of entering an AIDS education program, and paying $400 in fines and restitution.^[78] The second time, he pled guilty to soliciting a prostitute, and was sentenced to three years' probation, fined $240, and ordered to perform 12 days of community service.^[78][79]

When police investigating the 9/11 attacks raided the Hamburg, Germany, apartment of Ramzi bin al-Shibh (the "20th hijacker"), al-Awlaki's telephone number was found among bin al-Shibh's personal contact information.^[6][53] The FBI interviewed al-Awlaki four times in the eight days following the 9/11 attacks.^[1][49] One detective told the 9/11 Commission he believed al-Awlaki "was at the center of the 9/11 story". And an FBI agent said that "if anyone had knowledge of the plot, it would have been" him, since "someone had to be in the U.S. and keep the hijackers spiritually focused".^[49] One 9/11 Commission staff member said: "Do I think he played a role in helping the hijackers here, knowing they were up to something? Yes. Do I think he was sent here for that purpose? I have no evidence for it."^[49] A separate Congressional Joint Inquiry into the 9/11 attacks suspected that al-Awlaki might have been part of a support network for the hijackers, according to its director, Eleanor Hill.^[49] "In my view, he is more than a coincidental figure", said House Intelligence Committee member Representative Anna Eshoo (D-CA).^[78]

Shortly after the 9/11 attacks, Awlaki was sought as a media source for questions about Islam and the attacks who could speak English well. He was interviewed by National Geographic,^[80] The New York Times and other media. He condemned the attacks, stating "There is no way that the people who did this could be Muslim, and if they claim to be Muslim, then they have perverted their religion." He also pointed to U.S. foreign policy and that others might "say that Muslim land is now invaded by the U.S., there are U.S. soldiers stationed in Saudi Arabia and in the Gulf. And then, the state of Israel is an occupying force which is supported by the U.S." According to NPR, he presented an image as a moderate who could "bridge the gap between the United States and the worldwide community of Muslims"^[81] And the New York Times said he was "held up as a new generation of Muslim leader capable of merging East and West."^[82]

Writing on the IslamOnline.net website six days after the 9/11 attacks, al-Awlaki suggested that Israeli intelligence agents might have been responsible for the attacks, and that the FBI "went into the roster of the airplanes, and whoever has a Muslim or Arab name became the hijacker by default".^[53]

Months after the 9/11 attacks, as the U.S. Secretary of the Army was eager to have a presentation from a moderate Muslim as part of an outreach effort to ease tensions with Muslim-Americans, a Pentagon employee invited al-Awlaki to a luncheon in the Secretary's Office of General Counsel.^[83][84]

Al-Awlaki was the Congressional Muslim Staffer Association's first imam to conduct a prayer service at the U.S. Capitol in 2002.^[85][86] The prayers were for Muslim congressional staffers and officials for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).^[87] He is shown briefly in this capacity in the 2002 PBS documentary Legacy of a Prophet.^[88]

Weeks later, he posted an essay in Arabic titled "Why Muslims Love Death" on the Islam Today website, praising the Palestinian suicide bombers' fervor. Months later, at a videotaped lecture in a London mosque, he lauded them in English.^[20][53] By July 2002, he was under investigation for having been sent money by the subject of a U.S. Joint Terrorism Task Force investigation. His name was placed on an early version of what is now the federal terror watch list.^[6][20][89]

In June 2002, a Denver federal judge signed off on an arrest warrant for al-Awlaki for passport fraud.^[90] On October 9, the Denver U.S. Attorney's Office filed a motion to dismiss its complaint, and vacate the arrest warrant. It did so because prosecutors felt ultimately that they lacked evidence of a crime, according to U.S. Attorney Dave Gaouette, who authorized its withdrawal.^[2] While al-Awlaki had falsely listed Yemen as his place of birth on his 1990 application for a U.S. Social Security number, which he then used to obtain a passport in 1993, he later changed his place of birth information to Las Cruces, New Mexico.^[2][91] Prosecutors could not charge him, because a 10-year statute of limitations on lying to the Social Security Administration had expired.^[92] The motion was approved by a magistrate judge on October 10, and filed on October 11.^[6][20][93] As a result, agents were unable to arrest him when he arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in the U.S. on October 10, 2002, the day the judge signed the order rescinding his warrant.^[6][20][93]

According to an investigative report by Fox News, the arrest warrant for passport fraud was still in effect on the morning of Oct. 10, 2002, when FBI Agent Wade Ammerman ordered al-Awlaki's release. U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA) and several congressional committees are urging FBI Director Robert Mueller to provide an explanation about the bureau’s interactions with al-Awlaki, including why he was released from federal custody while there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest.^[94]

ABC News reported that the decision to cancel the arrest warrant outraged members of a Joint Terrorism Task Force in San Diego who were monitoring al-Awlaki, and wanted to "look at him under a microscope". But Gaouette said there had not been any objection to the warrant being rescinded during a meeting attended by Ray Fournier, the San Diego federal diplomatic security agent whose allegation had set in motion the effort to obtain a warrant.^[2] Gaouette opined that if al-Awlaki had been convicted, he would have faced about 6 months in custody.^[92] "The bizarre thing is if you put Yemen down (on the application), it would be harder to get a Social Security number than to say you are a native-born citizen of Las Cruces," Gaouette said.^[2] The New York Times noted, however, that al-Awlaki apparently did it so he could qualify for scholarship money given to foreign citizens.^[49] U.S. Congressman Frank R. Wolf (R-VA) wrote in May 2010 that it was his understanding that by doing so al-Awlaki fraudulently obtained more than $20,000 in scholarship funds reserved for foreign students, for which he was not eligible.^[95]

Al-Awlaki's return to the U.S. may have been connected to his return to Northern Virginia, where he visited radical Islamic cleric Ali al-Timimi, and asked about recruiting young Muslims for "violent jihad". Al-Timimi is now serving a life sentence for leading the Virginia Jihad Network, inciting Muslim followers to fight with the Taliban against the U.S.^[20][49][53]

In the United Kingdom; 2002–04[link]

Al-Awlaki left the U.S. before the end of 2002, because of a "climate of fear and intimidation" according to Imam Johari Abdul-Malik of the Dar al-Hijrah mosque.

Moving to the UK for several months, he gave talks to up to 200 youths at a time.^[96] He urged young Muslim followers: "The important lesson to learn here is never, ever trust a kuffar [non-Muslim]. Do not trust them! [They] are plotting to kill this religion. They're plotting night and day."^[49] "He was the main man who translated the jihad into English," said a student who attended his lectures in 2003.^[49]

He gave a series of lectures in December 2002 and January 2003 at the London Masjid al-Tawhid mosque, describing the rewards martyrs receive in paradise, and developing a following among ultraconservative young Muslims.^{[6][20][44][53][97]} He was a "distinguished guest" speaker at the U.K.'s Federation of Student Islamic Societies' (FOSIS) annual dinner in 2003.^[98] He began a grand lecture tour of Britain, from London to Aberdeen, as part of a campaign by the Muslim Association of Britain. He also lectured for the Islamic Forum Europe (IFE), based at the East London Mosque, and appeared at an event at the East London Mosque in which he told his audience: "A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim... he does not betray him, and he does not hand him over... You don't hand over a Muslim to the enemies."^[99]

In Britain's Parliament in 2003, Louise Ellman, MP for Liverpool Riverside, discussed the relationship between al-Awlaki and the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), a Muslim Brotherhood front organization founded by Kemal el-Helbawy, a senior member of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.^[100]

In Yemen; 2004–11[link]

Al-Awlaki returned to Yemen in early 2004, and lived in his ancestral village in the southern province of Shabwa with his wife and five children.^[20][53] He lectured at Iman University, headed by Abdul Majeed al-Zindani, who is on the UN 1267 Committee's list of individuals belonging to or associated with Al-Qaida.^[44][101] Some believe that the school's curriculum deals mostly, if not exclusively, with radical Islamic studies, and that it is an incubator of radicalism, and point to the fact that John Walker Lindh and others accused of terrorism are alumni.^{[44][102][103]} Al-Zindani denied having any influence over al-Awlaki, or that he had been his "direct teacher".^[104]

On August 31, 2006, al-Awlaki was one of a group of five people arrested on charges of kidnapping a Shiite teenager for ransom, and involvement in an al-Qaeda plot to kidnap a U.S. military attaché.^[14][74] Al-Awlaki blamed the U.S. for pressuring Yemeni authorities to arrest him. He was interviewed around September 2007 by two FBI agents with regard to the 9/11 attacks and other subjects, and John Negroponte, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence, told Yemeni officials he did not object to al-Awlaki's detention.^[49] His name was on a list of 100 prisoners whose release was sought by al-Qaeda-linked militants in Yemen.^[63] After 18 months in a Yemeni prison, he was released on December 12, 2007, following the intercession of his tribe, an indication by the U.S. that it did not insist on his incarceration, and—according to a Yemeni security official—because he said he repented.^{[45][49][63][74][105]} He moved to his family home in Saeed, a tiny hamlet in the rugged Shabwa mountains.^[74]

Former Guantanamo detainee Moazzam Begg's Cageprisoners organization campaigned for al-Awlaki when he was in prison in Yemen.^[106] Shortly after his release, Begg obtained an exclusive telephone interview with him.^[106][107] According to Begg, prior to his incarceration in Yemen al-Awlaki had condemned the 9/11 attacks.^[106]

In December 2008, al-Awlaki sent a communique to the Somalian terrorist group Al-Shabaab, congratulating them. He thanked them for "giving us a living example of how we as Muslims should proceed to change our situation. The ballot has failed us, but the bullet has not." In conclusion, he wrote: "if my circumstances would have allowed, I would not have hesitated in joining you and being a soldier in your ranks."^[108]

He provided al-Qaeda members in Yemen with the protection against the government of his powerful tribe, the Awlakis. The tribal code required it to protect those who seek refuge and assistance. This is an even greater imperative where the person is a member of the tribe, or a tribesman's friend. The tribe's motto is "We are the sparks of Hell; whomever interferes with us will be burned."^[110] Al-Awlaki also reportedly helped negotiate deals with leaders of other tribes.^[74][111]

Sought by Yemeni authorities with regard to an investigation into his al-Qaeda ties, al-Awlaki avoided detection by the authorities. According to his father, al-Awlaki disappeared in approximately March 2009. By December 2009, al-Awlaki was on the Yemen government's most-wanted list.^[112] He was believed to be hiding in Yemen's rugged Shabwa or Mareb regions, which are part of the so-called "triangle of evil" (known as such because it attracts al-Qaeda militants seeking refuge among local tribes that are unhappy with Yemen's central government).^[113]

Yemeni sources originally said al-Awlaki might have been killed in a pre-dawn air strike by Yemeni Air Force fighter jets on a meeting of senior al-Qaeda leaders at a hideout in Rafd, a remote mountain valley in eastern Shabwa, on December 24, 2009. But he survived.^[114] Pravda reported that the planes, using Saudi Arabian and U.S. intelligence aid, killed at least 30 al-Qaeda members from Yemen and abroad, and that an al-Awlaki house was "raided and demolished".^[115] On December 28 The Washington Post reported that U.S. and Yemeni officials said that al-Awlaki had attended the al-Qaeda meeting.^[116] Abdul Elah al-Shaya, a Yemeni journalist, said the former imam called him on December 28, and said that he was well, and had not attended the al-Qaeda meeting. Al-Shaya insisted that al-Awlaki was not tied to al-Qaeda, and declined to comment as to whether al-Awlaki had told him about any contacts he may have had with Abdulmutallab.^[117]

In March 2010, a tape featuring al-Awlaki was released in which he urged Muslims residing in the U.S. to attack their country of residence. In the video, he stated:

To the Muslims in America, I have this to say: How can your conscience allow you to live in peaceful coexistence with a nation that is responsible for the tyranny and crimes committed against your own brothers and sisters? I eventually came to the conclusion that jihad (holy struggle) against America is binding upon myself just as it is binding upon every other able Muslim.^[30][118]

In July 2010, a Seattle cartoonist was warned by the FBI of a death threat issued by al-Awlaki in the al-Qaeda magazine Inspire. Eight other cartoonists, journalists, and writers from Britain, Sweden and Denmark were also threatened with death. "The prophet is the pinnacle of Jihad", al-Awlaki wrote. "It is better to support the prophet by attacking those who slander him than it is to travel to land of Jihad like Iraq or Afghanistan."^[119]

Reaching out to the United Kingdom[link]

Despite being banned from entering the United Kingdom in 2006, al-Awlaki spoke on at least seven occasions at five different venues around Britain via video-link in 2007–09.^[120] The East London Mosque provoked the outrage of The Daily Telegraph by allowing Noor Pro Media Events to hold a conference on New Year's Day 2009, showing a videotaped lecture by al-Awlaki; former Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve expressed concern over al-Awlaki's involvement.^[121][122]

He also gave video-link talks in England to an Islamic student society at the University of Westminster in September 2008, an arts center in East London in April 2009 (after the Tower Hamlets council gave its approval), worshipers at the Al Huda Mosque in Bradford, and a dinner of the Cageprisoners organization in September 2008 at the Wandsworth Civic Centre in South London (at which he said: "We should make jihad for our brothers").^{[120][123][124]} On August 23, 2009, al-Awlaki was banned by local authorities in Kensington and Chelsea, London, from speaking at Kensington Town Hall via videolink to a fundraiser dinner for Guantanamo detainees promoted by Cageprisoners.^[123][125] His videos, which discuss his Islamist theories, have also been circulated across the United Kingdom, and until February 2010 hundreds of audio tapes of his sermons were available at the Tower Hamlets public libraries.^{[126][127][128][129]} In 2010 it was reported that the London-based Islam Channel had in 2009 carried advertisements for DVDs of al-Awlaki's sermons and for at least two events at which he was due to be the star speaker via video link.^[130]

Other connections[link]

Charles E. Allen, former U.S. Undersecretary for Homeland Security, in 2008 publicly warned that al-Awlaki was targeting Muslims with online lectures encouraging terrorist attacks

FBI agents had identified al-Awlaki as a known, important "senior recruiter for al Qaeda", and a spiritual motivator.^[63][131]

Al-Awlaki's name came up in a dozen terrorism plots in the U.S., UK, and Canada. The cases included suicide bombers in the 2005 London bombings, radical Islamic terrorists in the 2006 Toronto terrorism case, radical Islamic terrorists in the 2007 Fort Dix attack plot, the jihadist killer in the 2009 Little Rock military recruiting office shooting, and the 2010 Times Square bomber. In each case the suspects were devoted to al-Awlaki's message, which they listened to on laptops, audio clips, and CDs.^{[20][45][49][132]}

Al-Awlaki's recorded lectures were also an inspiration to Islamist fundamentalists who comprised at least six terror cells in the UK through 2009.^[96] Michael Finton (Talib Islam), who attempted in September 2009, to bomb the Federal Building and the adjacent offices of Congressman Aaron Schock in Springfield, Illinois, admired al-Awlaki and quoted him on his Myspace page.^[133] In addition to his website, al-Awlaki had a Facebook fan page^[134] with a substantial percentage of "fans" from the U.S., many of whom were high school students.^[9]

Al-Awlaki influenced several other extremists to join terrorist organizations overseas and to carry out terrorist attacks in their home countries. Mohamed Alessa and Carlos Almonte­, two American citizens from New Jersey who attempted to travel to Somalia in June 2010 to join Al Shabaab, the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group based there­—allegedly watched several al-Awlaki videos and sermons in which al-Awlaki warned of future attacks against Americans in the U.S. and abroad.^[135] Zachary Chesser (nicknamed Abu Talha al-Amrikee), another American citizen who was arrested for attempting to provide material support to Al Shabaab, also told federal authorities that he watched online videos featuring al-Awlaki and that he exchanged several e-mails with al-Awlaki.^[136][137] In July 2010, Paul Rockwood pleaded guilty to, and received an eight-year prison sentence for, assembling a hit list of 15 targets for assassination or bomb attacks within the U.S. of people who he felt had desecrated Islam.^[137] Rockwood admitted to having become a "strict adherent to the violent jihad-promoting ideology of cleric [Awlaki]", which "included a personal conviction that it was [Rockwood's] religious responsibility to exact revenge by death on anyone who desecrated Islam", and following al-Awlaki's ideology, "including devotion to [Awlaki's] violence-promoting works, Constants on the Path to Jihad and 44 Ways to Jihad".^[137]

In October 2008, Charles Allen, U.S. Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Intelligence and Analysis, warned that al-Awlaki "targets U.S. Muslims with radical online lectures encouraging terrorist attacks from his new home in Yemen."^[121][138] Responding to Allen, Al-Awlaki wrote on his website in December 2008: "I would challenge him to come up with just one such lecture where I encourage 'terrorist attacks'".^[139]

Fort Hood shooter[link]

Alleged Fort Hood shooter
Nidal Malik Hasan

Fort Hood shootings suspect Nidal Malik Hasan was investigated by the FBI after intelligence agencies intercepted at least 18 e-mails between him and al-Awlaki between December 2008 and June 2009.^[140] Even before the contents of the e-mails were revealed, terrorism expert Jarret Brachman said that Hasan's contacts with al-Awlaki should have raised "huge red flags". According to Brachman, al-Awlaki is a major influence on radical English-speaking jihadis internationally.^[141] The Wall Street Journal reported that "There is no indication Mr. Awlaki played a direct role in any of the attacks, and he has never been indicted in the U.S."^[110]

In one of the e-mails, Hasan wrote al-Awlaki: "I can't wait to join you [in the afterlife]". "It sounds like code words," said Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, a military analyst at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies. "That he's actually either offering himself up, or that he's already crossed that line in his own mind." Hasan also asked al-Awlaki when jihad is appropriate, and whether it is permissible if innocents are killed in a suicide attack.^[21] In the months before the attacks, Hasan increased his contacts with al-Awlaki to discuss how to transfer funds abroad without coming to the attention of law authorities.^[140]

A DC-based Joint Terrorism Task Force operating under the FBI was notified of the e-mails, and reviewed the information. Army employees were informed of the e-mails, but they didn't perceive any terrorist threat in Hasan's questions. Instead, they viewed them as general questions about spiritual guidance with regard to conflicts between Islam and military service, and judged them to be consistent with legitimate mental health research about Muslims in the armed services.^[142] The assessment was that there was not sufficient information for a larger investigation.^[143]

Charles Allen, no longer in government, said: "I find it difficult to understand why an Army major would be in repeated contact with an Islamic extremist like Anwar al-Awlaki, who preaches a hateful ideology directed at inciting violence against the United States and the West... It is hard to see how repeated contact would in any legitimate way further his research as a psychiatrist."^[144] And former CIA officer Bruce Riedel opined: "E-mailing a known al-Qaeda sympathizer should have set off alarm bells. Even if he was exchanging recipes, the bureau should have put out an alert."^[144]

Al-Awlaki had set up a website, with a blog on which he shared his views.^[144] On December 11, 2008, he condemned any Muslim who seeks a religious decree "that would allow him to serve in the armies of the disbelievers and fight against his brothers".^[144]

In "44 Ways to Support Jihad", another sermon posted on his blog in February 2009, al-Awlaki encouraged others to "fight jihad", and explained how to give money to the mujahideen or their families after they've died. Al-Awlaki's sermon also encouraged others to conduct weapons training, and raise children "on the love of Jihad".^[145] Also that month, he wrote: "I pray that Allah destroys America and all its allies."^[144] He wrote as well: "We will implement the rule of Allah on Earth by the tip of the sword, whether the masses like it or not."^[144] On July 14, he criticized armies of Muslim countries that assist the U.S. military, saying, "the blame should be placed on the soldier who is willing to follow orders ... who sells his religion for a few dollars."^[144] In a sermon on his blog on July 15, 2009, entitled "Fighting Against Government Armies in the Muslim World", al-Awlaki wrote, "Blessed are those who fight against [American soldiers], and blessed are those shuhada [martyrs] who are killed by them."^[145][146]

A fellow Muslim officer at Fort Hood said Hasan's eyes "lit up" when gushing about al-Awlaki's teachings.^[147] Some investigators believe that Hasan's contacts with al-Awlaki are what pushed him toward violence.^[148]

After the Fort Hood shooting, on his now temporarily inoperable website (apparently because some web hosting companies took it down),^[45] al-Awlaki praised Hasan's actions:

Nidal Hassan is a hero.... The U.S. is leading the war against terrorism, which in reality is a war against Islam..... Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the U.S. army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.

The fact that fighting against the U.S. army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right—­rather the duty­—to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims. The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.... May Allah grant our brother Nidal patience, perseverance, and steadfastness, and we ask Allah to accept from him his great heroic act. Ameen.^[149][150]

Yemeni journalist Abdulelah Hider Shaea interviewed al-Awlaki in November 2009.^[22] Al-Awlaki acknowledged his correspondence with Hasan. He said he "neither ordered nor pressured ... Hasan to harm Americans." Al-Awlaki said Hasan first e-mailed him December 17, 2008, introducing himself by writing: "Do you remember me? I used to pray with you at the Virginia mosque." Hasan said he had become a devout Muslim around the time al-Awlaki was preaching at Dar al-Hijrah, in 2001 and 2002, and al-Awlaki said 'Maybe Nidal was affected by one of my lectures.'" He added: "It was clear from his e-mails that Nidal trusted me. Nidal told me: 'I speak with you about issues that I never speak with anyone else.'" Al-Awlaki said Hasan arrived at his own conclusions regarding the acceptability of violence in Islam, and said he was not the one to initiate this. Shaea said, "Nidal was providing evidence to Anwar, not vice versa."^[22]

Asked whether Hasan mentioned Fort Hood as a target in his e-mails, Shaea declined to comment. However, al-Awlaki said the shooting was acceptable in Islam because it was a form of jihad, as the West began the hostilities with the Muslims.^[151] Al-Awlaki said he "blessed the act because it was against a military target. And the soldiers who were killed were ... those who were trained and prepared to go to Iraq and Afghanistan".^[22][152]

Al-Awlaki released a tape in March 2010, in which he said, in part:

To the American people ... Obama has promised that his administration will be one of transparency, but he has not fulfilled his promise. His administration tried to portray the operation of brother Nidal Hasan as an individual act of violence from an estranged individual. The administration practiced to control on the leak of information concerning the operation, in order to cushion the reaction of the American public.

Until this moment the administration is refusing to release the e-mails exchanged between myself and Nidal. And after the operation of our brother Umar Farouk, the initial comments coming from the administration were looking the same – another attempt at covering up the truth. But Al-Qaeda cut off Obama from deceiving the world again by issuing their statement claiming responsibility for the operation.^[153]

In addition to the point made by al-Awlaki himself about the failure to release his e-mails, despite wide press coverage of al-Awlaki's role as a spiritual guide to Hasan, and many previous anti-terrorism investigations dating back pre-9/11, al-Awlaki has not been placed on an FBI Most Wanted or other terror list, indicted for treason, or publicly named as a co-conspirator with Hasan. The U.S. government has been reluctant to classify the Fort Hood shooting as a terrorist incident, or identify Hasan's motive.

Christmas Day "Underwear Bomber"[link]

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the Northwest Airlines Flight 253 suspected bomber

Al-Awlaki and Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the suspected al-Qaeda attempted bomber of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on December 25, 2009, had contacts according to a number of sources. In January 2010, CNN reported that U.S. "security sources" said that there is concrete evidence that al-Awlaki was Abdulmutallab's recruiter and one of his trainers, and met with him prior to the attack.^[154] In February 2010, al-Awlaki admitted in an interview published in al-Jazeera that he taught and corresponded with Abdulmutallab, but denied having ordered the attack.^{[155][156][157]}

Representative Pete Hoekstra, the senior Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said officials in the Obama administration and officials with access to law enforcement information told him the suspect "had contact [with al-Awlaki]".^{[158][159][160]}

The Sunday Times established that Abdulmutallab first met al-Awlaki in 2005 in Yemen, while he was studying Arabic.^[161] During that time the suspect attended lectures by al-Awlaki.^[96] The two are also "thought to have met" in London, according to The Daily Mail.^[162]

NPR reported that according to unnamed U.S. intelligence officials he attended a sermon by al-Awlaki at the Finsbury Park Mosque.^[10][163] Khalid Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Barr, who resigned as trustee of the mosque, pointed to the NPR report in expressing "grave misgivings" with regard to the stewardship of the mosque.^[163][164] The Finsbury Park Mosque stated, however:

neither Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab nor Anwar al-Awlaki has ever been invited to attend NLCM since we took charge of the mosque in February 2005. We can be certain that neither man has been given a platform at the mosque in any form and in the case of Anwar al-Awlaki we can be confident that he would not have been able to enter the mosque without his presence being brought to our attention.^[165]

Abdulmutallab was also reported to have attended a talk by al-Awlaki at the East London Mosque, which al-Awlaki may have attended by video teleconference, according to CBS News, The Daily Telegraph, and The Sunday Telegraph.^{[120][166][167][168]} However, The Sunday Telegraph later removed the report from its website following a complaint by the East London Mosque, which stated that "Anwar Al Awlaki did not deliver any talks at the ELM between 2005 and 2008, which is when the newspaper had falsely alleged that Abdullmutallab had attended such talks".^[169]

Evidence collected during searches of flats connected to Abdulmutallab in London indicated that he was a "big fan" of al-Awlaki, as web traffic showed he followed al-Awlaki's blog and website.^[170]

The suspect was "on American security watch-lists because of his links with ... al-Awlaki", according to University of Oxford historian, and professor of international relations, Mark Almond.^[171]

The two were communicating in the months before the bombing attempt, reported CBS News, and CBS reported that sources said that al-Awlaki at a minimum was providing spiritual support.^[11] According to federal sources, over the year prior to the attack, Abdulmutallab intensified electronic communications with al-Awlaki.^[172] "Voice-to-voice communication" between the two was intercepted during the fall of 2009, and one government source said al-Awlaki "was in some way involved in facilitating [Abdulmutallab]'s transportation or trip through Yemen. It could be training, a host of things."^[173] NPR reported that intelligence officials it did not name suspect al-Awlaki may have directed Abdulmutallab to Yemen for al-Qaeda training.^[10]

Abdulmutallab told the FBI that al-Awlaki was one of his al-Qaeda trainers in remote camps in Yemen. And there were confirming "informed reports" that Abdulmutallab met with al-Awlaki during his final weeks of training and indoctrination prior to the attack.^[174][175] The Los Angeles Times reported that according to a U.S. intelligence official, intercepts and other information point to connections between the two:

Some of the information ... comes from Abdulmutallab, who ... said that he met with al-Awlaki and senior al-Qaeda members during an extended trip to Yemen this year, and that the cleric was involved in some elements of planning or preparing the attack and in providing religious justification for it. Other intelligence linking the two became apparent after the attempted bombing, including communications intercepted by the National Security Agency indicating that the cleric was meeting with "a Nigerian" in preparation for some kind of operation.^[25]

Yemen's Deputy Prime Minister for Defense and Security Affairs, Rashad Mohammed al-Alimi, said Yemeni investigators believe that in October 2009 the suspect traveled to Shabwa. There, he met with al-Qaeda members in a house built by al-Awlaki and used by al-Awlaki to hold theological sessions, and Abdulmutallab was trained there and equipped there with his explosives.^[176] A top Yemen government official said the two met with each other.^[177]

In January 2010, al-Awlaki acknowledged that he met and spoke with Abdulmutallab in Yemen in the fall of 2009. In an interview, al-Awlaki said: "Umar Farouk is one of my students; I had communications with him. And I support what he did." He also said: "I did not tell him to do this operation, but I support it," adding that he was proud of Abdulmutallab. Separately, al-Awlaki asked Yemen's conservative religious scholars to call for the killing of United States military and intelligence officials who assist Yemen's counter-terrorism program.^[178] Fox News reported in early February 2010 that Abdulmutallab told federal investigators that al-Awlaki directed him to carry out the bombing.^[179]

In his March 2010 tape, al-Awlaki also said:

To the American people ... nine years after 9/11, nine years of spending, and nine years of beefing up security you are still unsafe even in the holiest and most sacred of days to you, Christmas Day.... Our brother Umar Farouk has succeeded in breaking through the security systems that have cost the U.S. government alone over 40 billion dollars since 9/11.^[153]

In June 2010 Michael Leiter, the Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), said al-Awlaki had a "direct operational role" in the plot.^[180]

Sharif Mobley[link]

Alleged al-Qaeda member Sharif Mobley, who is charged with having killed a guard during a March 2010 escape attempt in Yemen, left his home in U.S state of New Jersey to seek out al-Awlaki, hoping that al-Awlaki would become his al-Qaeda mentor, according to senior U.S. security officials as reported by CNN.^[181] He was in contact with al-Awlaki, according to officials from the U.S. and Yemen, The New York Times reported.^[182] A Yemeni embassy spokesman in Washington, D.C., said he was not surprised by al-Awlaki's apparent links to Mobley, calling al-Awlaki: "a fixture in jihad 101".^[183]

Times Square bomber[link]

Faisal Shahzad, convicted of the attempted car bombing of Times Square in May 2010, told interrogators that he was "inspired by" al-Awlaki. Shahzad said he was moved to action, at least in part, by al-Awlaki's English-language writings calling for holy war against Western targets, and he was a "fan and follower" of al-Awlaki.^[184][185] On May 6, 2010 ABC News reported that unknown sources told them Shahzad made contact with al-Awlaki over the internet, a claim that could not be independently verified.^[186][187]

Stabbing of British former minister Stephen Timms[link]

After becoming radicalized by online sermons of al-Awlaki, Roshonara Choudhry stabbed British former Cabinet Minister Stephen Timms in May 2010. On November 4, 2010, she was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London to life imprisonment for attempted murder.^[188]

[edit] Seattle Weekly cartoonist death threat

In 2010, cartoonist Molly Norris at Seattle Weekly had to stop publishing, and at the suggestion of the FBI change her name, move, and go into hiding due to a Fatwā calling for her death issued by al-Awlaki, after Everybody Draw Mohammed Day.^{[189][190][191]} Al-Awlaki cursed her and eight other cartoonists, authors, and journalists who are Swedish, Dutch, and British citizens for "blasphemous caricatures" of the Prophet Muhammad, in the June 2010 issue of an English-language al-Qaeda magazine that calls itself Inspire, writing "The medicine prescribed by the Messenger of Allah is the execution of those involved" .^[192] Daniel Pipes observed in an article entitled "Dueling Fatwas", "Awlaki stands at an unprecedented crossroads of death declarations, with his targeting Norris even as the U.S. government targets him."^[193]