FIRE FIRE JIHAD: T
he term ‘Fire/Forest Jihad’ has been bandied around for several years. It has its supporters and it has its naysayers. For those unfamiliar with the term, it refers to the use of fi re by terrorists against civilian targets. The theory that should be
considered is that by sitting fi res in wild land areas, tremendous resources – both fi nancial and physical – will be depleted from the target country. The term was originally coined by the Al-Ikhlas Islamic
Network in Nov 2007 and
Al-Jazeeratalk.net in Dec 2007. Both sites have been linked to Al Qaeda. Both have published information to their readers that say that the burning of trees, as a warfare method, is permitted in Islam and it quotes from the Qur’an to back it up. The sites say that the ‘benefi ts’ of the fi res are that they will cause casualties, hit tourist income, create timber shortages for domestic, industrial use and pharmaceuticals, and stretch emergency services. They preach that this type of warfare is permitted by Islam and supported by the Qur’an. As for impact, incidents that can be classed as Fire Jihad
cost the US alone hundreds of millions of dollars each year. In 2008 the cost totalled more than $952 million, in 2009 more than $107 million, in 2010 less than $40 million, and in 2011 more than $409 million. These costs were only for fi res that covered areas in excess of 40,000 acres, so the actual cost is truly much higher.
Israel and Australia Between 1988 and 1990 there were more than 300 forest fi res in Israel attributed to arson. The evidence overwhelmingly indicated that these were deliberate acts of political sabotage. Numerous Palestinian and Israeli Arabs arsonists were apprehended in the act of setting fi res, while others confessed to arson aſt er their arrest. So now we have proof that Fire Jihad
does exist, at least in the Middle East. It is no stretch to imagine it happening elsewhere in the world. Australia has suff ered numerous fi res
that could be considered Jihadi-inspired. In 2009 the country experienced one of its worst brushfi res in decades. Australia had been singled out as a target for ‘forest jihad’ by a group of Islamic extremists that was urging Muslims to deliberately light bushfi res as a weapon of terror. During the 2009 fi re 134 people lost their lives and thousands their homes.
Fire on the web Currently the internet is “ablaze” with claims of Fire Jihad instances. US intelligence channels in early 2009 identifi ed a website calling on Muslims in Australia, the US, Europe and Russia to “start forest fi res” claiming “scholars have justifi ed chopping down and burning the infi dels’ forests when they do the same to our lands.” A website carried the information posted by a group called the Al-Ikhlas Islamic Network. Creating a fi re in the name of Jihad
can be as simple as dropping a match in dry grass, and could also extend to the use of elaborate Improvised Incendiary Devices (IIDs). The Internet is loaded with information of this kind. At the recent fi re that devastated Colorado
Over 300 homes were lost in the Waldo Canon fi re. 24 CBNW 2013/02
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