Salafia Jihadia
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Salafia Jihadia ( ar, السلفية الجهادية ') is a
Salafi jihadist Salafi jihadism or jihadist-Salafism is a transnational, hybrid religious-political ideology based on the Sunni sect of Islamism, seeking to establish a global caliphate, characterized by the advocacy for "physical" (military) jihadist and Sa ...
militant group based in
Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
and
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
with links to
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
. The group is associated with the
Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group The Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group, known by the French acronym GICM (''Groupe Islamique Combattant Marocain''), is a Salafi jihadist terrorist organisation affiliated with Al-Qaeda. The GICM is one of several North African terrorist franchise ...
(GICM), and in addition to a series of religiously sanctioned extrajudicial killings, it was notably responsible for the
2003 Casablanca bombings The 2003 Casablanca bombings were a series of suicide bombings on May 16, 2003, in Casablanca, Morocco. The attacks were the deadliest terrorist attacks in the country's history. Forty-five people were killed in the attacks (33 victims and 12 ...
, in which twelve suicide bombers killed 33 people and injured over 100. Salafia Jihadia has variously been described as a movement or loose network of groups, or as a generic term applied by Moroccan authorities for militant Salafi activists.


History

Salafia Jihadia was formed in the early 1990s by
Mujahideen ''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
veterans of the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War was a protracted armed conflict fought in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. It saw extensive fighting between the Soviet Union and the Afghan mujahideen (alongside smaller groups of anti-Soviet ...
. The group was formed in opposition to the Arab states, including Morocco, that had joined the coalition against Iraq in the
Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...
. Along with the
Takfir wal-Hijra ''Takfir wal-Hijra'' ( ar, تكفير والهجرة, translation: "Excommunication and Exodus", alternatively "excommunication and emigration" or "anathema and exile"), was the popular name given to a radical Islamist group ''Jama'at al-Muslim ...
group, Salafia Jihadia was eventually responsible for around 300 murders in Morocco as punishment for "non-Islamic behaviour." The group has been associated with the Moroccan Islamic Combatant Group (GICM). It also had links to the former Algerian
Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat The Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat ( ar, الجماعة السلفية للدعوة والقتال), known by the French acronym GSPC ('), was an Algerian terrorist faction in the Algerian Civil War founded in 1998 by Hassan Hattab, a ...
(GSPC) and the
Libyan Islamic Fighting Group The Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), also known as ''Al-Jama'a al-Islamiyyah al-Muqatilah bi-Libya'' ( ar, الجماعة الإسلامية المقاتلة بليبيا), was an armed Islamist group. Militants participated in the 2011 Liby ...
(LIFG). By 2002 the group had begun establishing ties with al-Qaeda, and had 400 known members. In 2002 members of the group were among those arrested as part of an al-Qaeda plot to attack Western shipping in the
Strait of Gibraltar The Strait of Gibraltar ( ar, مضيق جبل طارق, Maḍīq Jabal Ṭāriq; es, Estrecho de Gibraltar, Archaic: Pillars of Hercules), also known as the Straits of Gibraltar, is a narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Medi ...
with a speedboat manned by suicide bombers. In July 2003, in a trial unrelated to the Casablanca bombings, ten members of the group were sentenced to death, and eight others to life imprisonment. In February 2004, two cells in
Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
and
Meknes Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th c ...
were dismantled, with 37 people arrested after explosives and weapons were discovered during raids. A Salafia Jihadia network operating in several Moroccan towns, including
Mohammedia Mohammedia ( ar, المحمدية, al-muḥammadiyya; ber, ⴼⴹⴰⵍⴰ, Fḍala), known until 1960 as Fedala, is a port city on the west coast of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat in the region of Casablanca-Settat. It hosts the most imp ...
near Casablanca was unravelled by security forces in March 2005. In December 2006, Spanish authorities announced that a cell of eleven people, ten Spanish citizens and one Moroccan associated with Salafia Jihadia had been dismantled. According to Spanish anti-terrorism judge
Baltasar Garzón Baltasar Garzón Real (; born 26 October 1955) is a former Spanish judge. Garzón formerly served on Spain's central criminal court, the ''Audiencia Nacional'', and was the examining magistrate of the ''Juzgado Central de Instrucción No. 5'', ...
, members of jihadist cells in northern Morocco speak Spanish fluently and can easily slip in and out of Spain due to the short distance. After a decade of operating in secret, the group began to publicly appear in Morocco alongside 20 February Movement demonstrations as part of the
Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...
in 2011. In 2012, Morocco's King Mohammed pardoned several members and ideological leaders of the group, including
Omar al-Haddouchi Omar al-Haddouchi ( ar, عمر الحدوشي) is a Moroccan Islamic scholar who is among the leaders of the Salafi movement in Morocco. Education Al-Haddouchi was born in Al Hoceima Morocco in 1970, and began studying and at a young age with ...
,
Hassan Kettani Ḥassan al-Kettani ( ar, حسن الكتاني; born 16 August 1972 in Salé) is a Muslim scholar and former political prisoner from Morocco. Imprisoned for alleged connections to the 2003 Casablanca bombings, Kettani was pardoned by Mohammed VI ...
and . The pardons came after the Islamist
Justice and Development Party Justice and Development Party may refer to several political parties, the best-known ones being: * Justice and Development Party (Morocco) * Justice and Development Party (Turkey) Justice and Development Party may also refer to: * Justice and Dev ...
had won the elections and become the ruling party in the country following the Arab Spring, and after pressure from human rights organisations. After the release of several radical Salafis, some ideological leaders of the group toned down their criticism of the king; in 2014 this began to cause a split in the movement as some members instead joined the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
(ISIL), which was rejected by others.


Organisation and ideology

Salafia Jihadia is said to function as a network of several loosely affiliated Salafist groups and cells, including groups such as al Hijra Wattakfir, Attakfir Bidum Hijra, Assirat al Mustaqim, Ansar al Islam and Moroccan Afghans. The spiritual leader and founder of the group is , former imam of the
Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg Al-Quds Mosque Hamburg (Arabic: , meaning "Jerusalem", or Masjid Taiba ) was a mosque in Hamburg, Germany between 1993 and 2010 when it was shut down by German security officials. The mosque was known for preaching a radical form of Sunni Islam. ...
(which was shut down by German authorities in 2010). Fizazi was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to 30 years imprisonment for his radical statements and connection to the Casablanca bombings. Salafia Jihadia has since spawned a wider ideological movement out of
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and the Gulf states.


Casablanca bombings

On 16 May 2003, twelve suicide bombers from the Salafia Jihadia cell Al-Sirat Al-Musqatim ("The Correct Path") were responsible for four coordinated bombing attacks targeting Westerners and Jews in Casablanca, which killed 33 people (plus all twelve suicide bombers) and injured over 100. In the aftermath of the bombings, up to more than 2,000 individuals were prosecuted in Morocco in a wide-scale crackdown on Islamists and criminals. The Moroccan Justice Ministry subsequently claimed that Salafia Jihadia had 699 activists in the country. Some of the suicide bombers who failed to detonate their vests were captured by police. Three of the failed bombers and another person, all members of Salafia Jihadia, were sentenced to death in August 2003. In September, a court in
Kenitra Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou River, Sebou river, has a popul ...
gave 27 people, also all members of Salafia Jihadia sentences ranging from six months to 15 years for their involvement in the attacks. As part of the crackdown after the Casablanca bombings, a court in
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
in September 2003 sentenced a Frenchman, Robert Richard Antoine Pierre (aka Abu Abderrahmane) and three other members of Salafia Jihadia to life, while 22 others were given sentences ranging from 10 to 30 years imprisonment. Accused of plotting attacks in
Tangier Tangier ( ; ; ar, طنجة, Ṭanja) is a city in northwestern Morocco. It is on the Moroccan coast at the western entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, where the Mediterranean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Spartel. The town is the cap ...
, Pierre was stated to have founded the Salafia Jihadia cell Al-Oussoud Khalidine ("Timeless Lions"), which had sent recruits for training in Afghanistan. At least sixteen members of the group were identified, many of whom fled to Spain via
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
, while eight were arrested in Morocco. In November 2007, a trial was opened against 51 people arrested across several cities suspected of involvement with the Casablanca bombings, who were mainly associated with Salafia Jihadia. Others convicted as part of the attacks were members of GICM. Salafia Jihadia is also thought to have had connections to and been involved in the
2004 Madrid train bombings The 2004 Madrid train bombings (also known in Spain as 11M) were a series of coordinated, nearly simultaneous bombings against the Cercanías Madrid, Cercanías commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, on the morning of 11 March 2004—three days ...
that killed 191 people and wounded over 2,000. One of the terrorists convicted for the bombings,
Jamal Zougam Jamal Zougam ( 5 October 1973) is one of six men implicated in the 2004 Madrid train bombings. He was detained on 13 March 2004, accused of multiple counts of murder, attempted murder, stealing a vehicle, belonging to a terrorist organisation an ...
, was known to the intelligence services of several countries for his links to a complex international jihadist network that included Salafia Jihadia. Zougam was also implicated by some of the failed suicide bombers who had been captured in the Casablanca bombings.


References

{{reflist, 30em Paramilitary organisations based in Spain Salafi Jihadist groups Qutbist organisations Groups affiliated with al-Qaeda Islamism in Morocco Terrorism in Morocco Rebel groups in Morocco Islamic terrorism in Morocco Islamic terrorism in Spain Islamic organisations based in Spain