Power and Influence Behind Bars

THE video recording showed a group of men gathered in the main room of a house. They were paying close attention to an instructor expounding on a subject. Armchairs, sofas and tables had been shifted against the room's walls, billowing with white and green curtains. There were at least 30 men in the room. As the lecture went on, the instructor as well as the trainees could be seen holding folio-sized sheets of white paper.

One of the trainees said the recording showed people engaging in tadrib. In hardline Islamic circles, the Arabic term means warfare training. The trainee pointed out that the instructor had referred to his urban warfare training as a method in amaliyah, or charity. For them, terror attacks are holy war tactics against unbelievers.

February 2, 2016