Ahead of the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, Al-Sahab jihadist media institution – the official communication wing of the Al-Qaeda leadership – announced the launch of an audio series containing interviews with Sheikh Ayman al-Zawahiri, the leader of Al-Qaeda, regarding the “Islamic Spring”. In the first audio clip, which was published on September 9, 2015, al-Zawahiri explained his intention to discuss the achievements of the Arab Spring as an important development in the realization of the vision of jihadist groups, such as the overthrow of several tyrannical Arab regimes. However, he noted that this issue would be addressed in subsequent parts of the series while the first part would be dedicated to several points:
The launch of this series is important in and of itself as it points to the continued presence of a guiding hand among the mujahideen. Moreover, al-Zawahiri’s return to the media scene after a nearly one-year long absence was designed to curb the strengthening of the Islamic State, which took advantage of al-Zawahiri’s absence to spread propaganda to undermine the Al-Qaeda leadership and reinforce the leadership of the Islamic State. It will be interesting to see in the next parts of the series how al-Zawahiri will refer to the importance of the Arab Spring as a platform for the realization of the jihadist agenda.
[1] 9.9.15. https://al-fidaa.com/vb/showthread.php?t=113094