From Shaykh ((Mahmud))/(TN: Report on) Senior shaykhs and other 
issues pertaining to the Arabian Peninsula 
 
(TN: In red lettering) This file contains messages from one of 
the trusted brothers who is a middleman for me in the Arabian 
Peninsula and is a religious student with ties to the senior 
shaykhs and clerics. 
 
My Dear Shaykh ((Abu 'Abd-al-Rahman)),  
 
Peace be upon you, and God's grace and his blessings.  I met 
with a group of well-known senior shaykhs who signed on to the 
recent Statement of Victory of the Sunnis in Iraq over the 
Safawis (TN: derogatory reference to the Shi'a-majority 
government).  I asked them their impressions of your latest 
statement and of the statement by the brothers in the Islamic 
State of Iraq (TN: ISI).  I also showed your message to them to 
all but one person, and I have begun building bridges with them.  
I met other people, as well, and showed them the statement. 
 
The senior shaykhs with whom I met included Shaykh 'Abd-al-
Rahman al-((Barrak)) (who was very moved by your message to 
him); Shaykh ((Abu Zafr)); Shaykh Sa'id Al ((Zu'ayr)); Shaykh 
Muhammad al-((Habdan)); Shaykh 'Abd-al-'Aziz al-((Jalil)); 
Shaykh Yusuf al-((Ahmad)); and Shaykh Muhammad al-((Farraj)) (I 
went to his home twice and prayed at his mosque, but it was 
unable to meet with him).   
 
They shared with me important information and their reflections 
on current events.  The most important thing of value pertained 
to Shaykh Abu Zafr; we agreed to meet together over several 
sessions to determine the structure of several reports about 
certain matters that must be brought to your attention after I 
return from the pilgrimage, God willing. 
 
There are many details that I will share with you regarding the 
statement about supporting the Sunnis in Iraq and the story 
behind it, as well as what precisely took place during the 
meeting, and who wrote it.  I will also tell you about who 
wanted to have a statement issued about the attacks against the 
ISI saying it's not a legitimate organization, etc. 
 
Page 2 
 
I have indeed begun writing the report and I've finished the 
main point in it and the beginning of it.  All that remains is 
writing the bulk of the details and drawing the connection 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HTbetween what was said by the various shaykhs.  I will begin 
wrapping up the report after my return from the pilgrimage, 
because I'm traveling tomorrow, God willing. 
 
There is an urgent piece of information that Shaykh Abu Zafr 
asked me to relay to you: He wants you to ask your friend, whom 
you will send to Abu Zafr, to stop demanding the report about 
the senior shaykhs in the Arabian Peninsula.  This is because 
the shaykh says that the courier that you use is good, and we 
consider him a good man, but he cannot be trusted with such 
secret information because he is weak when he is in custody.  
The shaykh asked around about him, and was told that when that 
brother was in jail, he gave up all the brothers' secrets in no 
time.  He cannot keep secrets, and with the slightest bit of 
pain, he gives up everything he has.  There may be someone in 
Medinah who could be called upon for a favor and the blessings 
of whose worthy prayers would be sought, but the person who told 
this story would not allow them to be spoken of.  So the shaykh 
doesn't mind if the brother comes, but he is not to be given any 
secret information of any importance.  Many casualties resulted 
from this brother having been in jail in the past, and from his 
many confessions and his having revealed the secret of our 
activity.  So ask him quit asking the shaykh for the report for 
the time being, because the shaykh is busy and doesn't have the 
time right now to write it, so he shouldn't keep insisting on 
it. 
 
In general, Shaykh Abu Zafr and I agreed that we will prepare 
the complete report about the senior shaykhs and then they 
shaykh will put the final touches on the main points.  I will 
then put it in its final wording.  The shaykh mentioned to me 
his position regarding your statement and the statement from the 
brothers in the ISI.  In general, the shaykh did not support 
their recommendation because they will be turned against you, 
particularly the statement from the brothers in the ISI, which 
included the general vouching that was at odds with your 
statement, in which you vouched for only two people who had no 
issues.   
 
Naturally, the shaykh knows my true name and my home address.  I 
agreed with him on a code word for communicating in the future.  
None of those senior shaykhs knows my alias, the one by which 
you know me.  I am very careful to make sure neither side knows 
the other name, be it my true name or my alias.  It's enough 
that each side knows one of the two, for reasons of security.  
There is currently no benefit in their knowing both names.  I 
also met with someone close to Shaykh 'Abdallah al-

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HT((Ghanayman)), who told me some new information about the 
shaykh. 
 
At any rate, I will begin the report about the response from the 
senior shaykh to your message and the news they're hearing.  
These meetings lasted several hours, so I will try to summarize 
what was said as best I can. 
 
(TN: new message) 
 
My Dear Shaykh Abu 'Abd-al-Rahman, 
 
Peace be upon you, and God's grace and his blessings.  May God 
accept your best works along with ours. 
 
(TN: in blue text) What is the brothers' assessment of Harith 
al-((Dari)) and the Association of Muslim Scholars? 
 
Page 3 
 
Thank you for your explanation about ((Fadl-al-Rahman)), the 
Politician and Ultimate Holy Warrior.  I met a good brother from 
Sarhad who is a close friend of Fadl-al-Rahman, and I was going 
to meet The Politician during the pilgrimage, but I ran out of 
time and wasn't able to meet him.  I was deceived by what I'd 
heard, and your explanation helped.  Praise be to God that I 
didn't meet him.  During the pilgrimage, I met two Shaykhs: 
Muhammad al-Hasan Ould al-((Dadu)) and Safr al-((Huwali)).  
These were quick meetings, not much more than greetings asking 
how things were, because circumstances weren't conducive to 
more.  The reason for meeting The Ultimate Holy Warrior was to 
ensure coordination so that some brothers I know could join the 
father's group, because I'd heard he had some ties to them.  He 
promised he would do that, but after winter.  I wanted to go 
through you to make them religious students, or just new 
brothers through him.  If you know any trusted brothers who 
could help them get there, that would be great.  There is a 
group of brothers that want to join with the brothers in 
Khorasan.  The best of them is a religious student in a European 
country who has wanted to join the brothers ever since things 
got more difficult for him in his country.  The last one, I know 
only from the network, because he is a deputy of the Amir (TN: 
senior leader) of the Worldwide Islamic Media Front.  Do you 
have a way to help in this matter for brothers with no 
experience? 
 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HTIs there a trusted brother from among the Mujahidin who can 
record tapes of the brothers in the Arabian Peninsula in his own 
voice?  They need to provide commentary to videos, but everyone 
is afraid to reveal his voice.  So is there anyone suitable for 
this on your end whose voice is suitable for commentary during 
films and whose accent is that of the peninsula region? 
 
I want to ask you a question about the veracity of what a very 
close friend of Shaykh Yusuf al-(('Ayiri)) told me.  He said 
that Shaykh Yusuf was expelled from al-Qa'ida, or to be more 
precise, that he was removed from al-Qa'ida leadership in the 
Arabian Peninsula after rejecting the bombings.  I was told he 
sent a secret letter of counsel to ((Abu 'Abdallah)) about the 
matter.  The decision to remove him was made by ((Sayf al-
'Adl)), and news was handed down via the Doctor.  Shaykh Yusuf's 
friend told me that this news reached him from Shaykh Yusuf via 
a middleman working between the two men.  Do you have any 
information about this?  He vehemently denied it. 
 
How true is what I hear from people aligned with religious 
students, who may be biased, that Shaykh Ayman al-((Zawahiri)) 
is the most influential man in the organization, and that Abu 
'Abdallah is like a puppet on his hand, and that Abu 'Abdallah 
has given authority to Zawahiri to run everything, though the 
former disagrees with some of Shaykh Ayman's behavior?  (This is 
what some of the enemies or hated families in the peninsula and 
elsewhere are saying).  This really has me agitated, and I don't 
accept it.  But I wanted to verify with you the role of Shaykh 
Ayman.  Has al-Qa'ida been tinged with his ideology and 
opinions, and is Abu 'Abdallah not the most influential man in 
the organization? 
 
Thank you so much for the explanation about the senior shaykhs.  
If you don't mind, I would like you to include among them Shaykh 
'Abd-al-Qadir (('Abd-al-'Aziz)) and Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-
((Maqdisi)).  I have been eager to ask you about this, because I 
recognize in you a balanced judgment of character, and I trust 
your opinion and think of you thus, though God is the ultimate 
judge, and my recommendation of you does not come before His. 
 
While I was on the pilgrimage, God deemed that I should meet two 
people: Muhamamd al-Hasan Ould al-Dadu and Safr al-Huwali, but 
they were quick meetings that consisted of little more than 
greetings and small talk about goings on.  I had wanted to meet 
a group of senior shaykhs during the pilgrimage, but I didn't 
get the chance.   
 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HTPage 4 
 
What is the truth in what is being said about Harith al-Dari 
having been targeted more than once by my brothers in the 
Mujahidin Shura Council?  Is this only between Harith al-Dari 
and myself? 
 
(TN: in red text) Very important explanation about the statement 
in support of the Sunnis in Iraq against the Safawis, for which 
I praised you: 
 
The statement was adopted by the senior shaykhs of al-Qasim, led 
by Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Ghanyman.  It was written in 
approximately ten pages that have been abridged to roughly four.  
The part about denouncing differences and arguments and the 
importance of closing ranks was written by Shaykh 'Abd-al-'Aziz 
al-Jalil, as he himself told me (this portion was supposed to 
appear in a separate statement, but because of the disagreement 
about the wording, they decided to add it to this statement).  
The statement was signed during the meeting that takes place 
every four months that included the most well-known of the 
peninsula's senior shaykhs.  70 senior shaykhs attended the 
meeting, where they were presented with the statement.  Only 38 
agreed to the statement; the rest refused to sign it for various 
reasons, including an objection to the wording or fears that it 
would lead to greater pressure on them, along with other 
reasons, despite the shared apprehensions regarding the State's 
fears about Iran's intentions.  The statement had included four 
lines containing an attack against the ISI, saying it was an 
illegitimate state, that sort of thing.  A group of the senior 
shaykhs, chief among them al-Barrak, were adamant that the lines 
be removed, and the rest of the shaykhs were forced to oblige 
their wishes because of the importance of the signatures from 
the dissenting group, especially that of al-Barrak. 
 
In truth, there was much talk from the shaykhs in these meetings 
because they lasted for so many hours.  I will give you a 
heavily abridged presentation of the finer points: 
 
The shaykhs with whom I met included: 
 
1. Shaykh 'Abd-al-Rahman al-Barrak 
2. Shaykh Sa'id Al Zu'ayr 
3. Shaykh Bashr al-((Bashr)) 
4. Shaykh Muhammad al-Habdan 
5. Shaykh Yusuf al-Ahmad 
6. Shaykh 'Abd-al-'Aziz al-Jalil 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HT7. Shaykh Muhammad al-Farraj (I wasn't able to meet with him; I 
prayed in his mosque and went to his home several times, but he 
wasn't there) 
 
They all welcomed further contact and each read the message, 
with the exception of one to whom I did not show the message or 
bring up its subject because the situation wasn't appropriate 
for it.  This is a positive indication, in addition to what al-
Jalil and al-Habdan both said about how happy they were with 
your statement and the statement from the brothers in the ISI. 
 
1. Al-Barrak: The shaykh was quite moved by the message and 
said, "May God keep you well, Brother 'Atiyah.  Really, you have 
lifted me above my home, and I am but a lowly worshipper."  He 
prayed for victory and ability for the ISI, which is being 
hounded by worshippers of the cross and their lackeys, and he 
said he will work on the matter of Shaykh  (('Umar)) as much as 
he can. 
 
Page 5 
 
2. Bashr al-Bashr: He was pleased with your message and appeared 
comfortable when he was dealing with me.  He said, "I would 
recommend that Shaykh 'Atiyah and the ISI not post a statement 
praising those men.  They will turn on you.  They are generally 
against you, as is a majority of the Senior Shaykhs in the 
Arabian Peninsula.  Shaykh (('Atiyatallah))'s statement is 
better because it praises al-Barrak and al-Ghanayman, unlike the 
other, more general one that praises those undeserving of 
praise."  I have a lot of important, secret information that the 
Shaykh will record, and which I will send to you, God willing.  
He will give me the main points, and I will take care of the 
wording.  He mentioned that there is a wicked campaign to have a 
statement issued against the ISI laying bare its practices, and 
saying that it is expanding its takfir and killings and that you 
issued a fatwa to the nation unilaterally announcing them to the 
State, etc.  However, this campaign met failure, praise be to 
God, as both he and Shaykh Sa'id bin Zu'ayr informed me.  
Several senior shaykhs in Riyadh are taking over developing the 
campaign, along with representatives of the factions in Riyadh.  
I will send you a report explaining this matter further, with 
exactly what was said, etc. 
 
Tell me everything you want me to relay to al-Bashr, because I'm 
going to go see him soon, God willing. 
 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HTThe two most watched people in Riyadh are al-Bashr and Abu Malik 
'Abdallah al-((Rays)).  The latter is the biggest supporter of 
the Jaysh al-Islami (TN: Islamic Army), and his opinion of al-
Qa'ida is well-known: Shaykh al-Bashr was assigned full time to 
secret work roughly a year ago. 
 
Shaykh al-Bashr told me that three senior shaykhs - 'Abdallah 
al-((Sa'd)), Yusuf al-Ahmad, and Muhammad al-Habdan - supported 
the Mujahidin, but he doesn't think they are able to be of much 
benefit to the Mujahidin at present in consultations, etc., 
because some of them are more concerned with accountability, 
denouncing vice in the marketplace and the media, and other such 
things. 
 
He mentioned that he met the Amir of the Jaysh al-Islami in Iraq 
on two occasions, and that he also met with a delegation from 
the Islamic Courts, whom me advised to crush the transitional 
government in Baidoa before Ethiopian support could arrive. 
 
Shaykh Bashr is with you, heart and soul, and he told me that he 
would inform me of any updates he had, which I will send to you. 
 
The name of Shaykh 'Abd-al-Rahman al-((Mahmud)) was recommended 
to me by al-Jalil, and Shaykh Bashr agreed to go see him.  He 
told me not to go to Abu Malik al-Rays because of his well-known 
position, which I had not known of. 
 
Meeting with one of al-Ghanayman's students: I met with a 
student of Shaykh 'Abdallah al-Ghanayman, and he told me that 
the shaykh was in good health and was one of those who had tried 
to hasten the dissenting statement.  The shaykh relies on the 
students close to him for help, as he is an elderly man and 
needs people to move him.  The biggest problem facing al-
Ghanayman is that his students aren't devoted to their shaykh.  
Otherwise, if this weren't the case, I would have seen something 
else, and the shaykh's signature would have been put on it.  The 
shaykh had promised himself that his books wouldn't be printed 
until after his death, but his students recommended to him that 
the books be printed, and all the money be sent to the 
Mujahidin.  The shaykh was really happy with this suggestion, 
and said that if the money was going to be sent to the 
Mujahidin, then he would recent his earlier position.  It is 
said that he had refused to welcome Shaykh Salih al-((Fawzan)) 
into his home, but I think that's unlikely.  But perhaps he 
didn't welcome him in the usual way, or not in a way suitable to 
man of al-Fawzan's notoriety, because Shaykh 'Abdallah thinks 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HTthat al-Fawzan has gotten more involved with the Sultans than is 
necessary.  On a sidenote, I asked one of Shaykh 
 
Page 6 
 
Salih al-Fawzan's students about the shaykh's relationship with 
the State, and he told me that the shaykh was terribly afraid of 
the Salul family.  I told him that was strange, and that the 
shaykh was a man of conviction, particularly when it comes to 
the Mujahidin and the Islamic groups, and to sticking to the 
Salafist path.  What he was saying about matters of jihad was 
completely unacceptable, and he was supposed to be a man who 
stood firm in confronting the Sultans.  The student said I was 
right, but the reality was that the shaykh was totally unable to 
confront the State. 
 
Perhaps I will have a private meeting with Shaykh 'Abdallah al-
Ghanayman, God willing, about matters, and maybe I'll also meet 
with students of Shaykh 'Ali al-((Khudayr)).  There is a famous 
quote from Shaykh Nasir al-(('Aql)), who is well-known for his 
knowledge of doctrine.  He said he didn't know anyone under the 
sun who knew more about Salafist doctrine than did Shaykh 
'Abdallah al-Ghanayman. 
 
3. Sa'id Al Zu'ayr: He prayed for Shaykh 'Umar, and he said to 
me, "Tell Shaykh 'Atiyah that the reason the brothers have 
stopped is the lack of a practical means on the horizon to 
achieve victory for the shaykh, and statements do no good."  The 
shaykh was advising consulting the senior shaykhs of the Arabian 
Peninsula because most of their hearts were not with the 
Mujahidin, and because those who are sitting should be sending 
their questions to the Mujahidin. 
 
It was strange when he told me a bit of information that differs 
from what I know.  He told me that there is a need for Mujahidin 
in Khorasan and Iraq, and that no one says there isn't a need 
except for the failures.  The shaykh told me there are 
representatives from Khorasan and Iraq that he meets with 
regularly. 
 
He also said that there are many religious students on the front 
lines in Iraq; Shaykh Bashr had mentioned this same point to me, 
and had advised that I doggedly peruse the volumes of fatwas and 
true believers. 
 
He said there are three pieces of advice that he thinks are very 
important for the brothers in the ISI: The first one is to be 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HTvery wary of newly-joined members.  No matter their status or 
capabilities, they must not be placed in leadership positions in 
the shura council, as there are many dangers lurking.  Victory 
lies ahead, so one must remain on the lookout for penetrations 
and be extremely wary of newcomers.  Benefit from them, but just 
don't put them on the shura council, for example. 
 
The second piece of advice is to remain eager to draw in the 
largest number possible of soldiers from other factions to the 
Promised State.  Honor their arrival and know that the base of 
jihadist groups wants what God has, and wants martyrdom.  These 
groups have no particular ambitions or special opinions.  So 
honor their arrival and the arrival of any of their commanders 
that come, so that we might not lose victory.  Whoever of the 
senior shaykhs of Riyadh tries plainly to ruin this will see 
their efforts met with failure, praise be to God. 
 
The third piece of advice is to not consult the senior shaykhs 
of the Arabian Peninsula.  There is no good in consulting them.  
They rest on your victory, and they let you down.  It is a 
sinister person who lowers the necks of the Mujahidin for 
someone sitting around to ride upon them.  Put the affairs of 
the Jaysh al-Islami in order now with Safr al-Huwali and Nasir 
al-'Umar, who got in trouble when their necks were lowered. 
 
4. 'Abd-al-'Aziz al-Jalil: He really responded when we started 
communicating, and he asked me a bunch of questions to be sure 
of me.  He prayed for Shaykh 'Umar and for Muslim prisoners, and 
he said that they had reached the stage in which they hope there 
will be a brother with whom they can meet to confirm some 
things, and so they can convey some things.  I was supposed to 
meet him in Muna, as well, but things didn't work out then, 
either. 
 
Page 7 
 
5. Muhammad al-Habdan: He responded when we started 
communicating and told me that he has an open channel with al-
Barrak at a moment's notice to stay in touch with him, and he is 
prepared to serve you as he is able. 
 
6. Yusuf al-Ahmad: He is the one person I didn't show your 
message to because circumstances didn't allow, and it wasn't a 
suitable time.  But I did ask him about the dissenting 
statement, and he told me some of the information I mentioned 
above, which I gathered from the senior shaykhs to better 
explain the issue of writing the statement. 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HT 
He said that there are representatives from some of the factions 
that attended the meeting, or more precisely some senior shaykhs 
who support well-known factions and have close contact with 
their representatives.  They told them some stories against the 
ISI, saying they did this and that, and that Abu Hamzah al-
((Muhajir)) is the problem and ((Zarqawi)) is heaven compared to 
him.  They said Abu Hamzah is much more bloodthirsty and more 
enthusiastic about takfir, is tyrannical in his dealings with 
others, and has no patience for anyone who disagrees with him, 
etc.  The stories say that they kill shaykhs and proselytizers 
who disagree with them, be they from different factions, 
brothers, or what have you.  Unfortunately, the ISI messenger 
did not come to respond.  On a separate note, Shaykh, the 
brothers have a representative and he went to several of the 
senior shaykhs like al-Barrak and al-Bashr.  But to the pro-ISI 
shaykhs, any word they say can be counted against them.  So the 
Jaysh al-Islami or the 1920's Revolutionary Brigades, etc., are 
not like the ISI.  The accusation of supporting al-Qa'ida is 
there. 
 
In order to better illustrate the position of some senior 
shaykhs who support jihad but oppose al-Qa'ida, I give you an 
article written by one such shaykh who follows this approach. 
May God help you as you read this; it will require effort and 
patience.  The words will raise your blood pressure and arouse 
your anger; in fact, a draft of the article before the final 
copy even included an unconfirmed accusation that takfir book 
used by the Taliban and Bin Laden was written by Zarqawi, and to 
which ((Abu Qatadah)) responded.  It was supposed to be 
published in Mufakkirat al-Islam, and they agreed to do so, but 
then they decided against publishing it before the Eid holiday, 
saying that the ISI would kill all the publication's 
correspondents if it published it (this is the essay that was 
called the Essay on the Family of Perversion). 
 
Shaykh 'Abd-al-'Aziz (('Abd-al-Latif)) was recommended by one of 
the brothers as a good person to visit. 
 
For your benefit, here are the links to the web pages of senior 
shaykhs mentioned in this secret report: 
 
Al-Barrak: 
 
<http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Scholar&iw_a=lessons&scholar_id=1

66> 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HTAl-Bashr 

<http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Scholar&iw_a=lessons&scholar_id=1
94> 

Muhammad al-Habdan 

<http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Scholar&iw_a=lessons&scholar_id=1

77> 

Page 8 

Sa'id al-Zu'ayr 

<http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Scholar&iw_a=lessons&scholar_id=1

06> 

Yusuf al-Ahmad 

<http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Scholar&iw_a=lessons&scholar_id=2
42> 

Al-Farraj 

<http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Scholar&iw_a=lessons&scholar_id=2

44> 

Your student and admirer in God. 

 
 
 
 
 
 

SOCOM-2012-0000014-HT