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intelligence. Assessment.
SECRET CSIS IA 2008-9/09 20080711

HUrah: not Just Getting Away from it All

Summary

Hijrah is a historical reference to the escape of the Prophet Muhammad from an assassination plot in 622 AD.

Some see hUrah as an obligation to leave non-Muslim countries and live under Islamic law.

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CAVEAT

This report is issued under the authority of the Director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service. It is provided for the information of the recipient and colleagues of the recipients department or agency who have the appropriate security clearance and may benefit from knowledge of its contents. Ibis report may be paraphrased and used in internal departmental or agency correspondence. Neither the report nor any of its contents should be disseminated outside the recipients department or agency without prior consultation with CS IS, The Director, CS[S, should be informed of any action taken by a department or agency based on its contents. This document constitutes a record which may be subject to mandatosy exemption under the Access to Information Act or Privacy Act. The information or intelligence may also be protected by the provisions of the canada Evidence Act. The information or intelligence must not be disclosed or used as evidence without prior consultation with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service.

Introduction

1. The concept of hUrah is of prime historical significance in Islam. Tied to the very creation of the faith, it has nevertheless been used as a precursor to carrying out jihad or terrorism. This brief discusses the notion of hUrah

What is HUrah? 2. Hrah (also spelled hjra) is an Arabic word that at its root includes the concept of leaving, emigrating, or getting away from someone or something. In an Islamic context, the Hzjrah refers to the flight by the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Medina hi 622 AD to avoid assassination at the hands of his enemies. Muhammad travelled north to Medina where he established a community of believers that eventually returned to Mecca and conquered the city for Islam. The islamic calendar dates from Muhammads departure from Mecca and is often called a hUn (same root as hUrah) calendar.

3. The concept of hUrah also includes the desire to flee from sin. As the Muslim empire began th to shrink in the 1 8 century, and former Muslim lands came under non-Muslim rule, the concept took on the added meaning of leaving a non-Muslim land for a Muslim one. This was in keeping with the belief that Muslims could not subject themselves to laws and rulers who were not Muslim themselves. Muslims with the economic wherewithal had an obligation to move to a Muslim th country. Ibn Taymiyyah, a 1 3 -century scholar quoted frequently by Islamist extremists, including Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden, noted that hfrah was obligatory for Muslims living in nonMuslim lands as they would otherwise be corrupted by their stay among the unbelievers.

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Hijrah and Jihad

4. The links between hjrah and jihad are also historical, Muhammads flight to Medina was a precursor for his jihad in the Arabian peninsula and subsequent conquest of Mecca. Many Muslim scholars, and all Islamist extremists, view jihad as an obligation for Muslims, and some claim that hjrah is also an obligation. Some have even elevatedjihad as one of the pillars of Islam (alongside faith, fasting, prayer, alms and the hajj), maintaining that jihad is second only to faith itself. Muhammad AI-Faraj, an Egyptian ideologue who inspired the assassins of President Sadat in 1981 referred to jihad as the forgotten obligation. Extremists encourage Muslims to travel to areas to defend Islam from its enemies (hence h/rah), noting that parental or spousal permission is not required, nor is a call from a qualified imam. It is worth noting that Muhammad himself argued that hUrah was no longer necessary once Muslims had returned to Mecca: extremists counter that the occupation of former Muslim lands by Westerners has resurrected the need for hUrah.
5. An early l9 -century Indian Islamist extremist viewed hijrah as a necessary condition for the establishment of an imamate (Muslim state) not under British rule in order to proclaimjihad against British colonial masters. The Egyptian terrorist group Takfir wa Hijra, created in the late 1960s, merged the concepts of h7rah and jihad. The groups founder, Shukri Mustafa, believed that Egyptian society was an apostate one as Egyptians were not rising up against their non-Muslim rulers. True Muslims, in his mind, had to exile themselves (hjrah) in the desert and practice complete isolation from those whom they had excommunicated (takflr). Once isolated, preparations for jihad could be made.

islamist Extremists and Hijrah 6. Islamist extremists have quoted Muhammad (one of the hadiths) to demonstrate the need for th century), hjrah in support of jihad. For instance, in the Book of Jihad (written in the 13 Muhammad is quoted saying that while hrah refers to the leaving behind of sins, the best use of hzjrah is in the context ofjihad. Abdallah Azzam, the founder of Al Qaeda, stated in his seminal work Joining the Caravan that hUrah was an obligation on Muslims in preparation forjihad. In a 2008 02 eulogy to the assassinated Al Qaeda commander Abu Laith Al Libi, an extremist on the Al-Ekhlass Web site noted that there should be no lack of effort in doing all that is possible to remove obstacles from the path of JJrah and Jihad. Another Al-Ekhlass posting in 2008 03 reminded Muslims to constantly seek to train for jihad and to remind himself of the obligation of HUrah and Jihad. The Yemeni extremist ideologue Anwar Al- Aulaqi has linked the concepts of hUrah and jihad, noting that both are i sabil Allah (on the path of, or for the sake of, Allah). One of his speeches is entitled Tolerance, HUrah and Jihad. Individuals posting to the Islamist extremism Web site At-Tibyan Publications often exchange views on hUrah, noting that it is an obligation on Muslims to travel to engage injihad. In 2003 07, Bin Laden stated that hzjrah and jihad were conditions for the creation of a true Islamic state and that those who did not understand the need for hijrah and jihad had not understood Muhammads mission.

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Implications 10. The concept of hzjrah is tied very closely to the origins of Islam and is viewed as a milestone in the history of the faith. The story of Muhammads escape from his enemies is seen as a divine intervention. Furthemore, the desire to live in a land under Islamic law is prized by many Muslims. It is thus necessary to consider carefully the use of the term, for fear of insulting Muslims.

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SECRET CSIS IA 2008-9/09 2008 07 11 11. The difference between h/rah as fleeing/emigrating and hjrah as support forjihad is somewhat analogous to that between Salafism and Islamist extremism. Salafists are fundamentalists who want to return to the Islam of the 71 century: Islamist extremists are Salafists with the same goal but who will impose their will through the use of violence. Muslims who seek to emigrate to the land of Islam see Western ways as corrupt and an abomination of Allahs will: extremists agree, but also see emigration as an obligation to travel in order to engage in j ihad.

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