A new training video from the Taliban bemoans the danger of cartoons, Superman and James Bond turning Afghan Muslims into American “sheep,” and warns the West that their jihad will extend to “your homes, your capitals, your countries.”
The “brilliant” video, in the words of the Taliban press release, was produced in Dari and English by Manba ul Jihad Studio, called a multimedia wing of the Taliban’s “Cultural Commission.”
“Enemies of Islam, Jews and Christians, NATO, the stooge governments in the Muslim lands… they have become depressed and exhausted and are faced with humiliation and troubles,” the narrator states. Even though the video was produced last month, footage shows Pope Benedict XVI when mentioning Christians.
The training camp, in a small valley surrounded by scrub-brush-covered hills, has a few dozen jihadists going through light weapons and hand-to-hand combat drills. The title of the video: “True Men.”
“Training means preparing Muslims to fight the disbelievers,” the narrator states. “It involves intellectual and physical preparations, understanding of war and military drills.”
“Enemies of Islam use billions of dollars, use TV channels, radio, Internet, magazines, gazettes, educational curriculums, dramas, theaters, films, introduces sports centers, establishes groups for music and dancing, promotes love affairs, alcohol, free-mixing, homosexuality and immorality,” the narrator adds, with the video showing a shelf full of Bailey’s Irish Cream for $13.49 as alcohol is mentioned.
The video showed clips of happy, modern Afghan youth at various social and sporting events and accused the government of steering them away from Islam, “trying to trap the Muslim youth in the dangers of immorality and futile activities” thus putting Muslims “under the subjugation of the invaders.”
The Taliban announcer said they made the video displaying their training activities in hopes that Muslim youth will join jihad.
An unidentified “student” of training camp says in perfect English that disbelievers — “kuffar” — must “accept Islam or get out of our countries — if not, we will defend our religion, we will defend our system, we will defend our brothers with the last drop of our blood inshallah.”
(Taliban video)
Audio is featured from a slain Taliban, Ustad Ahmad Zahir: “Terrorism means terrorizing. This is to cast horror and fear in the heart of the enemy. Terrorism is part of Islam and therefore whoever denies it is not from it … you must be prepared in order to cast horror in the heart of the enemies of Allah,” he said. “The word horror means that if you are armed, then our enemies will fear us.”
“America and its allies teach our children so-called peace in the very homes they live through cartoons and different other publishing materials … all the cartoons and spy movies that are published in America teach their children that they must have the upper hand in the world,” he continues. “You might have noticed that in their movies such as Superman and James Bond in which only one or few of their people kill or dominate many people.”
“All this indicates the perception that they are promoting to their children then how is it reasonable that America teach their children to dominate the world and that their culture must dominate, turning our children into sheep.”
Audio from the late leader of the Taliban’s Recruitment Council, Ustad Yasir, tells recruits: “Shoot them in their head. Behead the invading enemy in order to show them the power of the sword.”
Taliban recruits are shown shooting pink and green balloons for target practice and donning giant bunches of green leaves and green face paint for camouflage — which sticks out in the dry foothill setting.
(Taliban video)
As another recruit speaks directly to the camera addressing the “kuffar” in the West, jihadists behind him do things to look busy: somersaults, tossing rifles, etc.
“Are you scaring us with your airplanes? Are you scaring us with your drones? Are you scaring us with your bombs? … We are getting trained today in order to dominate Islam,” he says.
“We will follow you in your homes, in your capitals and in your countries. We have made our intentions and we are clearly seeing our goal that Islam will dominate. Today we are preparing, hoping that Islam will dominate.”
He boasted that the recruits who “answered the call” to jihad at the camp ranged from jihadists who studied at universities to “those who are lame.”
(Taliban video)
The affiliations of recruits and trainers at the camp was unclear. Al-Qaeda has been sharing their know-how and helping train the Taliban in an “increased relationship” this year, according to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
The White House does not consider the Taliban a terrorist group but an “armed insurgency.”
Join the conversation as a VIP Member