The Management of Savagery: The Most Critical Stage Through Which the Umma Will Pass Abu Bakr Naji Translated by William McCants Funding for this translation was provided by the John M. Olin Institute for Strategic Studies at Harvard University, and any use of this material must include a reference to the Institute. 23 May 2006[Translator’s Note: Numbers in brackets refer to the page number in the original text. My comments in brackets are meant to clarify obscure passages or allusions in the text. Generally, Naji’s parenthetical statements are set off by em-dashes, as they are in the original text, although sometimes I have put them in parentheses. When rendering some sentences, I have added phrases in parentheses to make them more readable in English. The differences between Naji’s parenthetical statements and my own additions will be very obvious. Finally, the reader will please excuse any infelicities in my translation of the text. I have not had the time to carefully check it against the Arabic original or to polish the English prose. Any feedback from readers will be most welcome. – W.M., May 2005][1] Introduction (3) Preface: The order that has governed the world since the Sykes-Picot era (5) The Illusion of power: The centrality of the superpowers as a function of their overwhelming military power and deceptive media halo (7) First Topic: Definition of “the management of savagery” and an overview of its historical precedents (11) Second Topic: The path for establishing an Islamic state. (15) Third Topic: The most important principles and policies for implementing the plan of action and achieving, in general, the goals of the stage of “the power of vexation and exhaustion”; and, in particular, the goals of the stage of “the management of savagery.” (by the permission of God) (23) Section One: Mastery of the art of management (23) Section Two: Who leads, who manages, and who authorizes the fundamental administrative decisions? (25) Section Three: Using the time-tested principles of military combat (28) Section Four: Using violence (31) Section Five: Achieving power (34) Section Six: Properly understanding the rules of the political game of our opponents and their fellow travelers, and striking a balance between confrontation and cooperation in accordance with sharia politics (37) Section Seven: Polarization (46) Section Eight: The rules of affiliation (50) Section Nine: Mastering the security dimension: Surveillance and infiltrating adversaries and opponents of every kind (52) Section Ten: Mastering education within the movement just as it was in the first age of Islam (54) Fourth Topic: The most important problems and obstacles that we will face, and ways of dealing with them (62) (1) The problem of the decreasing number of true believers (62)(2) The problem of the lack of administrative cadres (63) (3) The problem of loyalty to elements in the preceding administration (65) (4) The problem of infiltration and spies (67) (5) The problem of secession or sudden about-face of individuals, groups, or regions who completely change their loyalty (How do we make sense of it and how do we deal with it?) (68) (6) The problem of excessive zeal and the problems that accompany it (71) Fifth Topic: Conclusion: Are there other solutions that are easier than this solution? (73) First Article: The battle of patience (81) Second Article: The struggle between the human soul and the Sunna of God in missionary activities (86) Third Article: Our men and enemy soldiers under fire (90) [2] Fourth Article: Universal laws adhered to by the elect and others (95) Fifth Article: Our method is a mercy to all beings (101) Sixth Article: Crisis of terms…"benefit" and "harm" as examples (106) Seventh Article: Polarization and wealth (110)[3] Introduction Praise be to God and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of God, his family, his Companions, and whomever aided him. In a previous essay, I wrote about the substantive preparations undertaken by that group of Islamic activists whom I consider to be carrying out the command of God in this age – that group which, with God’s permission, will be granted victory. The essay touched on the program that the group advocates for extricating the Umma from the degradation that afflicts it, so that the Umma may once again steer humanity toward the path of divine guidance and salvation. The essay compared this program with the programs that have been advocated by other groups of Islamic activists and that have confused the Islamic youth. Yes, many of the youth chose this or that path on the basis of compatibility with their work, whims, and recreational activities. However, some have been confused by the multiplicity of plans for the solution of a matter which, at the very least, the authoritative Islamic texts have (already) decided in the eyes of the well-known (people). Among the things pertaining to the subject referred to (above) is, briefly : [Naji begins a long quote from an article he had previously written] Of all the currents of the Islamic movement, only five of them have written programs. After setting aside the current of propagation and proselytizing [al-tablīgh wa al-da`wa], the current of the salafism of purification and education [salafiyyat al-tasfiya wa al-tarbiyya] (Sufi salafism), the current of the salafism of those in authority [salafiyyat wulāt al-amr] and others, we will find that there are five currents which are laid out in written programs and which lend (themselves) to discussion on account of their practical reality. These five currents are: (1) The current of jihadi salafism [al-salafiyya al-jihādiyya]. (2) The current of Sahwa salafism [salafiyyat al-sahwa] which Shaykh Salman al-`Awda and Shaykh Safar al-Hawali represent. (3) The current of the Brethren (the archetypal movement…the international organization). (4) The current of the Brethren of Turabi. (5) The current of popular jihad (like the Hamas movement and the Moro Liberation Front, and others). As for the program of Sahwa salafism, particularly in its latest form (the establishment of institutions), it resembles the program of the Brethren movement (the international organization) to a large extent; perhaps it is comparable in some parts of its program. However, I will clarify (by the permission of God) that it cannot go beyond its first stages until after the passage of