Via Long War Journal:
Omar Hammami, the American terrorist who has served as a Shabaab military commander, propagandist, recruiter, and fundraiser, has released a statement advocating for jihadists to declare a global Islamic caliphate.
Hammani’s statement was posted on May 25 in four parts [part 1, 2, 3, and 4] by a jihadist known as “somalimuhajirwarrior,” or “foreign Somali warrior,” on a YouTube website. The lecture is titled “In Defense of the Khilaafa: The Next Stage.”
The release of the lecture took place just one week after Hammami, who is known as Abu Mansour al Amriki, published part 1 of autobiography, where he recounted his life in the US, his path to jihad, and his time with the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia. The autobiography refuted the rumors that he was executed early last month by Shabaab for releasing a video in which he claimed his life was in danger. Shabaab quickly denied Hammami was in danger.
In the lecture released on May 25, Hammami said that the establishment of the global caliphate is critical to prevent the West from dividing and conquering the disparate jihadist movements and defeating them individually. He cites a RAND study from 2006 that said al Qaeda’s ideology is its center of gravity, and suggested methods for causing the jihadists a strategic defeat.
The conclusions of the RAND report are “absolutely correct,” Hammami said, according to a transcript of his statement provided by the SITE Intelligence Group.
“So to bring the point home, it’s obvious to all that after the death of the Prophet. . . this monumental collective action of establishing [monotheism] on the earth can only truly be done properly through the vehicle known as the [Caliphate],” he said. “This means that the Muslims worldwide must unite under the leadership of one Muslim leader called the Khalifa [Caliph]. This then is the reality of the ideology of al Qaeda and al Qaeda, the ideology of the global jihadists, and the ideology of every truly sincere Muslim. This is also the ideology that truly scares the pants and socks off the [disbelievers].