http://www.jamestown.org/terrorism/news/article.php?articleid=2369807
Stephen Ulph
In an interesting new development, the al-Qaeda network is making strides to present itself as a permanent cultural--as well as military--phenomenon. An October 7 posting on the al-Farouq jihadi forum (www.al-farouq.com) by Ahmad al-Wathiq bi-Llah, the 'deputy general emir' of the Global Islamic Media Front, announced what it referred to as an 'al-Qaeda University of Jihad Studies.' The accompanying statement explained that 'al-Qaeda is an organization, a state and a university, this is a fact which cannot be denied.' Readers, it noted, might be amused by the headline, but the writer simply refers them to the experience of al-Qaeda's origins in Afghanistan: 'it began with the Bureau of Services, the Bait al-Ansar and the al-Farouq Training Camp--until it reached the present stage.' The author then reflects on al-Qaeda's achievements made on the Internet, 'Since the events of the USS Cole and Manhattan, hundreds of Muslims from all corners of the world have joined this global jihadist university, studying all the sciences, rules and methods of jihad.' The method of enrollment may differ, as indeed the methods of instruction and application of training, 'but it is a tangible reality for the enemies of the Nation and the Faith; a de-centralized university without geographical borders, present in every place.'" [Snippet]
