The 9/11 Handbook

Edited by

Hans G. Kippenberg [+–]

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

Tilman Seidensticker [+–]

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

The nineteen young attackers prepared for their action by spiritual means and this preparation is at the centre of the exercises of the Manual, while the military character of the attack on the economic, military and political centres of today’s “paganism” is merely tacitly presumed. Religious practices during the last night turn the young man into a warrior hero. A second stage addresses the perils at the airport. By recitations the “warrior” gets protection in a world dominated by the mighty technology of the “Western Civilization”. Finally, at the third stage in the plane, the perpetrator prays to become a martyr. By his readiness to die he gives a practical proof for the existence of a power superior to “Western Civilization”.

Though it is based on scholarly research, this book is written for a broader audience. It makes a document available that is crucial in understanding the attacks of 9/11. It addresses all the issues debated in public: Is the text a forgery? What is its content? Are suicidal attacks typical for Islam? Does Islam allow such kind of violence? How did the perpetrators perceive of the situation of Islam today? How did they justify the massacre? Were the attackers convicted Muslims? How did the theology of Usama bin Ladin affect the Manual and the attack? Is the “War on terror” an adequate response?

The book is of interest for scholars in Islamic and Religious Studies and other disciplines dealing with the issue of 9/11, for journalists and politicians and will serve as textbook in colleges and universities.

Prelims

Preface [+–] vii – viii

Hans G. Kippenberg,Tilman Seidensticker FREE

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

After the attack of 9/11, the FBI discovered at three different locations a document disclosing how the attackers of 9/11 conceived of their violence and prepared for it. The book contains the first scholarly edition of the Arabic text of the Manual of the Attackers of 9/11, along with an English translation and commentary, and studies concerning its context. The nineteen young attackers prepared for their action by spiritual means and this preparation is at the centre of the exercises of the Manual, while the military character of the attack on the economic, military and political centres of today’s “paganism” is merely tacitly presumed. Religious practices during the last night turn the young man into a warrior hero. A second stage addresses the perils at the airport. By recitations the “warrior” gets protection in a world dominated by the mighty technology of the “Western Civilization”. Finally, at the third stage in the plane, the perpetrator prays to become a martyr. By his readiness to die he gives a practical proof for the existence of a power superior to “Western Civilization”. Though it is based on scholarly research, this book is written for a broader audience. It makes a document available that is crucial in understanding the attacks of 9/11. It addresses all the issues debated in public: Is the text a forgery? What is its content? Are suicidal attacks typical for Islam? Does Islam allow such kind of violence? How did the perpetrators perceive of the situation of Islam today? How did they justify the massacre? Were the attackers convicted Muslims? How did the theology of Usama bin Ladin affect the Manual and the attack? Is the “War on terror” an adequate response? The book is of interest for scholars in Islamic and Religious Studies and other disciplines dealing with the issue of 9/11, for journalists and politicians and will serve as textbook in colleges and universities.

Chapter 1

BACKGROUND TO THE SPIRITUAL MANUAL: ITS DISCOVERY, INTERROGATION, AND DISREGARD [+–] 1 – 9

Hans G. Kippenberg £17.50

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

At a Press conference on 28 September 2001, the FBI distributed four pages of an Arabic document, and also published it on its website, where it can still be found today (see Fig. 1, next page). 1 The headline is spec- tacular: ‘Hijacking letter Found at three Locations’. Beneath the four pages of Arabic text spread out across the webpage, the FBI displays three photos, accompanied by information about the hijackers, their flights, and the places where the documents were found. The photo of Moham- med Atta links him with American Airlines flight 11 which crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center at 8:45. Underneath Atta’s photo is the statement: ‘Found in Atta’s suitcase’. The next photo shows Nawaf al-Hazmi. The commentary connects him with American Airlines flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon at 9:39. A line beneath his photo states that the document was ‘Found in Vehicle at Dulles Inter- national Airport’, Washington. Finally, a photo of the crash site of United Airlines flight 93 at Stony Creek Township is accompanied by the remark: ‘Found at Crime Scene’.

Chapter 2

TRANSLATION OF THE SPIRITUAL MANUAL [+–] 11 – 18

Hans G. Kippenberg,Tilman Seidensticker,Albrecht Fuess,Moez Khalfaoui £17.50

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

Philipps-Universität Marburg

University of Tuebingen

Translation of the Spiritual Manual

Chapter 3

THE INSTRUCTIONS GIVEN IN THE SPIRITUAL MANUAL AND THEIR PARTICULAR INTERPRETATION OF ISLAM [+–] 19 – 27

Tilman Seidensticker £17.50

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

As a first step, I will determine which types of instructions are given in the text and how much space is devoted to each of them. The distinction between non-religious and religious elements allows us to determine the extent to which we are entitled to speak of the text as a Spiritual Manual. Another distinction, namely that between external and internal behav- iour, will help us to understand better the specific character of the reli- gious instructions. In practice, a sorting of the various instructions into the four categories resulting from the combinations of these features will always involve a certain degree of arbitrariness, but the overall result is unlikely to change dramatically even if single cases were categorized differently.

Chapter 4

THE RELIGIOUS AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF SUICIDE ATTACKS IN THE NAME OF ISLAM [+–] 29 – 36

Tilman Seidensticker £17.50

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

On the following pages, I will attempt to show how this contradiction is dealt with, and which inter- pretation is attached to the concepts of jihad, martyrdom, suicide, and civilian status, both historically and in the present. I must first mention that in the presentation of the various positions, the worldview of a certain group of contemporary Muslims is left out of consideration: the silent minority of secularized, educated Muslims who do not refer exclu- sively to religious tradition when expressing their views and who do not regard everything as binding which others claim to be hallowed by the Koran and by Prophetic tradition. At present, this group has prominent exponents in several countries, but the general climate restricts them from expressing their views publicly.

Chapter 5

JIHAD AND CHANGING TIMES: THE POLITICAL THEOLOGY OF USAMA BIN LADIN AND HIS DECLARATIONS OF WAR [+–] 37 – 46

Thomas Scheffer £17.50

Goethe University Frankfurt

About Usama Bin Ladin and his politics

Chapter 6

DEFINING THE PRESENT SITUATION OF MUSLIMS AND RE-ENACTING THE PROPHET’S GHAZWAS [+–] 47 – 58

Hans G. Kippenberg £17.50

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

Knowing that the Spiritual Manual was in the hands and minds of the four attacking teams enables us to reconstruct how the attackers under- stood their action. In addressing this issue I would like to follow sociolo- gists who distinguish the motivations of an actor from the meaning of his/her action. Max Weber in particular emphasized the difference. According to Weber, ‘action (including intentional omission and acqui- escence) is always intelligible behaviour towards objects, behaviour whose “actual” or “intended” subjective meaning may be more or less clear to the actor, whether consciously noted or not’. Because any practical attitude towards the world is mediated by ‘meaning’, and because ‘meaning’ is often shaped by religious worldviews and ethics, ‘meaning’ is different from the personal motivation of the actor, although it is part of his subjective acting. To differentiate this type of meaning from personal motives, Weber coined the notion of ‘subjective meaning’. However, since the meaning of an action has to be recognized by others, an actor cannot invent it ad hoc but depends on a stock of available meanings applicable to action. Even if an actor is not able to explicate it, ‘meaning’ remains part of his/her social transactions and can be retrieved by tracing the historical genealogy of actions.

Chapter 7

THE SOCIAL MATRIX OF THE ATTACK [+–] 59 – 69

Hans G. Kippenberg £17.50

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

About the attack

Chapter 8

JIHAD HYMNS (NASHĪDS) AS A MEANS OF SELF-MOTIVATION IN THE HAMBURG GROUP [+–] 71 – 78

Tilman Seidensticker £17.50

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

Jihad Hymns

Chapter 9

THE ARABIC TEXT OF THE SPIRITUAL MANUAL [+–] 79 – 88

Tilman Seidensticker,Albrecht Fuess,Moez Khalfaoui £17.50

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

Philipps-Universität Marburg

University of Tuebingen

The Spiritual Manual

Notes

Endnotes [+–] 89 – 104

Tilman Seidensticker,Hans G. Kippenberg £17.50

University of Jena

Tilman Seidensticker is Professor in Arabic & Islamic Studies at the University of Jena.

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

Index

Index of Names [+–] 105 – 106

Hans G. Kippenberg FREE

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

Index of Subjects [+–] 107 – 111

Hans G. Kippenberg FREE

University of Erfurt

Hans G. Kippenberg is Professor in History & Theory of Religions at the Max-Weber-Kolleg, University of Erfurt.

Reviews

If the appeal of groups like al-Qa’ida is to be weakened, the nature of this appeal must be understood. The 9/11 Handbook contributes to such understanding.
Henry Munson, University of Maine, in Religion 39, 2009

The project is timely in a way that few academic projects are. The US War on Terror shows no sign of abating, and amid all the clamor for exit strategies from Afghanistan and Iraq, few have paid heed to the lessons that might be gleaned from 9/11, and particularly from the message of the actual hijackers. The existing English versions of the manual ar fragmentary and more schematic and suggestive than in depth or conclusive. The combination of two first class scholars – an historian of religion and an Arabist – who divide the task of presenting, then analyzing this critical text is as rare as it is welcome.
Bruce B. Lawrence, Nancy and Jeffrey Marcus Humanities Professor of Religion, Duke University, and author of Messages to the World: The Statements of Osama Bin Laden

Provide(s) a rich source especially for teaching.
Teemu Taira, University of Leeds, Temenos, Vol 44, No 2 (June 2009)

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Annotated Translation and Interpretation of the Attackers' Spiritual Manual

Hans G. Kippenberg [+–]

University of Erfurt

Tilman Seidensticker [+–]

University of Jena

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