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5 - Debating Salafis: Lewis Atiyat Allah and the jihad obligation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2009

Madawi Al-Rasheed
Affiliation:
University of London
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Summary

LEWIS ATIYAT ALLAH: They will write books about me.

ABU YASIR: Why? What is your achievement?

LEWIS ATIYAT ALLAH: Nothing apartfrom proving that you have achieved nothing.

ABU YASIR: What have you got to say now?

LEWIS ATIYAT ALLAH: Whatever says any Lewis Atiyat Allah to another. More practical and logical proofs justifying the jihad option and thebankruptcy of your Strategies.

Lewis Atiyat Allah, Min buraydah ila manhatin, p. 23

Lewis Atiyat Allah is a Saudi intellectual and Islamist activist, who has taken refuge in the bulletin and discussion forums of the internet because his message is today subject to censorship. He is also an al-Qaʾida supporter who has been forced to go underground. Lewis came to prominence under this pseudonym after 11 September, an event that precipitated a substantial schism within the Saudi Salafi scene. Since then, Lewis's articles, commentaries on current events and evaluations of the Saudi regime have appeared in several well-known Saudi internet websites and discussion boards. Lewis also had his own website, which was closed down by the hosting company for security reasons. It is more than likely that the virtual Lewis is currently known by his real name in the real world; he may well be a public figure. However, for fear of persecution and arrest in the country where helives, he chose an unusual pseudonym: a Christian first name, followed by a Muslim surname.

We can only speculate on why this character chose a rather unusual nom de plume.

Type
Chapter
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Contesting the Saudi State
Islamic Voices from a New Generation
, pp. 175 - 210
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2006

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