Ansar al Sharia Egypt, an extremist group headed by an al Qaeda-allied jihadist, has called on Muslims to pray for a jihadist victory in Mali and to "[q]uickly offer material and moral support for the Muslim Mali people." The group's statement, which was authored by an Egyptian Salafist named Jalaluddin Abu al Fotouh and released online in late January, was translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.
Al Fotouh argues that France's "real motives" for the war, which is "supported by Crusader Europe and tyrannical America and the rest of the forces of evil against the Muslims in Mali," are to prevent the implementation of sharia law. This is a common argument advanced by Salafi Jihadists in the wake of France's intervention.
"The forces of evil and disbelief cannot be silent about the establishment of a real Islamic State that is committed to the Qur'an and the Sunnah [traditions of the Prophet Muhammad], especially regarding its foreign relations with the countries of the world," Al Fotouh claims, according to SITE's translation. "They want Mali to be subordinate, servile, and weak and frail so as to be able to loot its resources and steal its wealth."
In a separate entry on Ansar al Sharia Egypt's Facebook page earlier in January, the group threatened France by re-posting an image of the Eiffel Tower being attacked. The graphic was originally produced on another jihadist web site. An Air France airliner can be seen approaching the tower from the left.
The Long War Journal captured a screen shot of the image, which is reproduced at the beginning of this article.
The Arabic text of the image, which can be seen at the top of this article, reads: "France, beware! We are able to carry this out and it would not be the first time." According to a translation obtained by The Long War Journal, Ansar al Sharia Egypt added a caption to its Facebook post that reads, "Is France unaware of who it is fighting?"
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/02/ansar_al_sharia_egyp_1.php
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