Mahfouz Ould al-Walid

Mahfouz Ould al-Walid (Arabic: محفوظ ولد الوالد), kunya Abu Hafs al-Mauritani, is a Mauritanian Islamic scholar and poet previously associated with al-Qaeda. A veteran of the Soviet–Afghan War,[3] he served on al-Qaeda's Shura Council[4] and ran a religious school called the Institute of Islamic Studies in Kandahar, Afghanistan, from the late 1990s until the American invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.[5]

There are multiple individuals known as Abu Hafs.
Mahfouz Ould al-Walid
محفوظ ولد الوالد
BornJanuary 1, 1975[1]
NationalityMauritanian
Other namesAbu Hafs al-Mauritani
Khalid al-Shanqiti
Mafouz Walad al-Walid[2]
Known forIslamic scholar and poet affiliated with al-Qaeda until the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Along with Abu Walid al Masri, Saeed al-Masri and Saif al-Adel, al-Walid opposed the September 11 attacks two months prior to their execution.[6][7](p18)[8] Under interrogation, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said that al-Walid had opposed any large-scale attack against the United States and wrote bin Laden a stern letter warning against any such action, quoting the Quran.[6]

Al-Walid fled from Afghanistan to Iran after the American invasion and was held there under house arrest from 2003 until April 2012.[9][10] At that time, Iran extradited him to Mauritania, where he was held in prison until his release on July 7, 2012. He was released after renouncing his ties to al-Qaeda and condemning the September 11 attacks.[10][11]

Life

The publisher of the magazine Al-Talib (The Student), al-Walid wrote poetry that attracted the attention of Osama bin Laden, and was invited to give spiritual lectures to mujahideen at Afghan training camps.[3] Some time in late 2000 or early 2001, bin Laden was videotaped reciting al-Walid's poem "Thoughts Over al-Aqsa Intifadah".[12]

It was later suggested that he had traveled to Iraq in early 1998 in an attempt to meet with Saddam Hussein, but was turned away as the leader did not want to create problems for his country.[13]

Later in 1998, the United States learned al-Walid was staying in Room 13 at the Dana Hotel in Khartoum, and President Bill Clinton sought to have him killed or preferably renditioned to a friendly country for interrogation. When a plan was finally made to capture him using another country's officials, he had already left Sudan.[14][15]

In 1998, Germany began monitoring Mohamedou Ould Salahi's accounts, and it was noticed that al-Walid had asked him to spare some money twice, resulting in a DM8,000 transfer in December and one other situation in which he sent him money.[16] In January 1999, al-Walid telephoned Salahi using a monitored satellite phone he borrowed from Bin Laden.[17] He was initially labeled as being the same person as Slahi by the Office of Foreign Assets Control, who amended their list in June 2007 to distinguish the two people.[2][18] It was later suggested they were brothers-in-law, cousins or cousins-in-law.[17] The confusion seemed to stem from the fact that al-Walid's wife and Salahi's wife were sisters.

In mid-2000, al-Walid was approached by Ahmed al-Nami and Mushabib al-Hamlan who asked him about becoming suicide operatives.[19]

Ayman al-Zawahiri has credited al-Walid's book Islamic Action Between the Motives of Unit and the Advocates of Conflict as being one of the driving forces behind convincing al-Qaeda to merge with Egyptian Islamic Jihad in June 2001.[3]

"War on Terror"

It is believed that the American invasion of Afghanistan following the September 11 attacks by bin Laden actually drove al-Walid away from al-Qaeda and that he and a number of other discontent former members moved to the south to avoid connection with the ongoing fight.[7][20]

The United States accused him of entering Iraq again in an attempt to get Hussein to negotiate but stated that he was rebuffed on the same terms as his first visit.[13] He was reported killed twice, the second time following a January 8, 2002 airstrike in Zawar Kili, outside of Khost.[21][22]

When Shadi Abdellah was arrested in 2002, he cooperated with authorities, but suggested that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden were not as closely linked as previously believed, in large part because al-Zarqawi disagreed with many of the sentiments put forward by al-Walid for al-Qaeda.[23]

Zawahiri continues to speak positively of the role al-Walid played in encouraging Pan-Islamic peace and cooperation.[3]

Libyan Islamist Nomam Benotman also indicated in a letter to bin Laden that he, al-Walid, and Al Qaeda security official Abu Muhammad al-Zayat opposed the 9/11 attacks.[24]

In the 2008 Chilean book El Norte de Africa en la Intriga de al Qaeda, author Carlos Saldivia suggested that al-Walid was also involved in the 2003 Casablanca bombings.[25]

References
  1. https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/financial-sanctions/recent-actions/20070601a
  2. "OFAC Sanctions Matrix from BankersOnline.com". Office of Foreign Assets Control. October 3, 2001. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  3. al-Zawahiri, Ayman (March 2, 2008). A Treatise Exonerating the Nation of the Pen and the Sword from the Blemish of the Accusation of Weakness and Fatigue (PDF).
  4. "Former al-Qaeda mufti: I condemn ISIL attacks". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  5. Joscelyn, Thomas (April 10, 2011). "Al Qaeda fighter properly detained at Gitmo, court finds". Long War Journal. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  6. 9/11 Commission (July 22, 2004). "9/11 Commission Report" (PDF). pp. 251–252. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  7. Brown, Vahid (January 2, 2007). "Cracks in the Foundation: Leadership Schisms in al-Qa'ida from 1989-2006". Combating Terrorism Center. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  8. "Former Al-Qaeda leader interviewed on group's affairs, September attacks". BBC Monitoring Middle East. October 18, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  9. Windrem, Robert (June 24, 2005). "Al-Qaida finds safe haven in Iran". NBC News. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  10. Benson, Pam (July 10, 2012). "Osama bin Laden confidant released from prison". CNN Security Clearance. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  11. "Al Qaeda leader Abu Hafs al-Mauritani freed in Mauritania". CBS News. July 9, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2012.
  12. IntelCenter, "Know Thy Enemy", DVD Series, volume 28
  13. Senate Intelligence Committee, 109th Congress, "Senate Report of Pre-war Intelligence on Iraq", p. 73-75
  14. Miller, Judith (December 30, 2001). "A NATION CHALLENGED: THE RESPONSE; Planning for Terror but Failing to Act". New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2015. Al-Walid called by his kunya, Abu Hafs.
  15. Richard, Clarke (2004). Against All Enemies. Free Press. pp. 143–146. ISBN 978-0743260459.
  16. "From Germany to Guantanamo: The Career of Prisoner No. 760". Der Spiegel. 2008-10-09. Archived from the original on 2014-08-13. Retrieved 2014-08-29.
  17. Department of Defense, "Administrative Review Board Hearing for Mohamedou Ould Slahi", p. 184-216
  18. "Security Council committee approves amendment to identifying information of one individual on Consolidated List". United Nations. June 4, 2007. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  19. 9-11 Commission Final Report, July 22, 2004
  20. Finn, Peter (August 28, 2002). "Al Qaeda finds safety in Iran, say Arab spies / Leaders, fighters living in hotels, they say". SF Gate. Washington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  21. Shahzad, Syed Saleem (August 31, 2002). "Al-Qaeda Tales: The North African Connection". Asia Times. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  22. Vider, Manuel. "Understanding Terror", p. 15
  23. Bergen, Peter. "The Osama bin Laden I know", 2006. p. 359-422
  24. Tawil, Camille (September 23, 2010). "Noman Benotman criticises al-Qaeda in bin Laden letter". Magharebia. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  25. Saldivia, Carlos. "El Norte de Africa en la Intriga de Al Qaeda", 2008. p. 207.
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