Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi ( ) or more fully Abu Muhammad Aasim al-Maqdisi (‎أبو محمد عصام المقدسي) is the assumed name of Aasim Muhammad Tahir al-Barqawi (‎عصام محمد طاهر البرقاوي), a Salafi jihadi Islamist Jordanian - Palestinian writer. He is best known as the spiritual mentor of Jordanian mujahid Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , the initial leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq . However, an ideological and methodical split emerged between Maqdisi and Zarqawi in 2004 due to Zarqawi's takfeer proclamations towards the Shi'a populations in Iraq. Maqdisi opted for a more cautious approach towards targeted Shi'a killings, attempting to stop Zarqawi's radical ideological movement before Zarqawi's methods become counter-productive. The writings of Maqdisi still have a wide following; a study carried out by the Combating Terrorism Center of the United States Military Academy (USMA) concluded that Maqdisi "is the most influential living Jihadi Theorist" and that "by all measures, Maqdisi is the key contemporary ideologue in the Jihadi intellectual universe".The Tawhed jihadist website, which he owns, continues to operate; the USMA report describes it as "al-Qa`ida's main online library".

Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi ( ), or more fully Abu Muhammad Essam al-Maqdisi (‎أبو محمد عصام المقدسي), is the assumed name of Essam Muhammad Tahir al-Barqawi (‎عصام محمد طاهر البرقاوي), an Islamist Jordanian - Palestinian writer. A Qutubi jihadi ideologue, he has popularized many of the most common themes of radical Islam today, like the theological impetus given to the notion of Al Wala' Wal Bara' , being the first to declare the Saudi royal family to be apostates or considering democracy a religion, and thus who ever believes in it to be an apostate, but he's best known as the spiritual mentor of Jordanian jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , the initial leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq . However, an ideological and methodical split emerged between Maqdisi and Zarqawi in 2004 due to Zarqawi's takfeer proclamations towards the Shia populations in Iraq. Maqdisi opted for a more cautious approach towards targeted Shia killings, attempting to stop Zarqawi's radical ideological movement before Zarqawi's methods become counter-productive. The writings of Maqdisi still have a wide following; a study carried out by the Combating Terrorism Center of the United States Military Academy (USMA) concluded that Maqdisi "is the most influential living Jihadi Theorist" and that "by all measures, Maqdisi is the key contemporary ideologue in the Jihadi intellectual universe". The Tawhed jihadist website, which he owns, continues to operate; the USMA report describes it as "al-Qa`ida's main online library". A Quietist Jihadi: The Ideology and Influence of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi .

Jordanian-Palestinian Islamist writer Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi ( ), or more fully Abu Muhammad Essam al-Maqdisi ( ), is the assumed name of Essam Muhammad Tahir al-Barqawi ( ), an Islamist Jordanian - Palestinian writer. A Qutubi jihadi ideologue, he has popularized many of the most common themes of radical Islam today, like the theological impetus given to the notion of Al Wala' Wal Bara' , being the first to declare the Saudi royal family to be apostates or considering democracy a religion, and thus whoever believes in it to be an apostate, but he is best known as the spiritual mentor of Jordanian jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , the initial leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq . However, an ideological and methodical split emerged between Maqdisi and Zarqawi in 2004 due to Zarqawi's takfeer proclamations towards the Shia populations in Iraq. Maqdisi opted for a more cautious approach towards targeted Shia killings, attempting to stop Zarqawi's radical ideological movement before Zarqawi's methods become counter-productive. The writings of Maqdisi still have a wide following; a study carried out by the Combating Terrorism Center of the United States Military Academy (USMA) concluded that Maqdisi "is the most influential living Jihadi Theorist" and that "by all measures, Maqdisi is the key contemporary ideologue in the Jihadi intellectual universe". The Tawhed jihadist website, which he owns, continues to operate; the USMA report describes it as "al-Qa`ida's main online library". A Quietist Jihadi: The Ideology and Influence of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi .

Palestinian Islamist writer (born 1959) Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi , whose real name is Assem ibn Muhammad ibn Tahir al-Barqawi, is a Palestinian writer and Salafi Islamist scholar. Al-Maqdisi is known for popularizing several significant themes within radical Islam , including the theological concept of Al-Wala' wal-Bara' . He is regarded as one of the earliest public Islamists to openly denounce the Saudi royal family as apostates from Islam . Al-Maqdisi posits that democracy functions as a religion in its own right and has accused Muslim advocates of democracy of apostasy . Additionally, he is recognized as the mentor of Jordanian jihadist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , who served as the initial leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq . In 2004, a significant ideological and methodological divide emerged between al-Maqdisi and al-Zarqawi due to the latter's declaration of takfir against all Iraqi Shīʿites . Al-Maqdisi advocated for targeted killings of Shīʿites instead, to prevent al-Zarqawi's approach from becoming counterproductive. As of 2012, al-Maqdisi's writings maintained a wide following. A study by the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy (USMA) concluded that al-Maqdisi "is the most influential living jihadi theorist" and that "by all measures, Maqdisi is the key contemporary ideologue in the jihadi intellectual universe." The jihadist website Tawhed , which al-Maqdisi owned at the time, remained operational as, according to the USMA report, "al-Qa`ida [ sic ]'s main online library". A Quietist Jihadi: The Ideology and Influence of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi .