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Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/world/middleeast/08islam.html
Gaza Group Shares Al-Qaeda's Agenda
[New York Times] Michael Slackman and Souad Mekhennet - The Army of Islam is one of three Palestinian groups who say they are holding captured Israeli soldier Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Marwan Shahadeh and Hasan Abu Hanieh, two Jordanian researchers with long-established contacts among jihadist adherents, say the Army of Islam represents the first time a Palestinian group has adopted the agenda of al-Qaeda, and that the group had been central in planning the operation. The researchers point to statements and videos posted by the Army of Islam on a website serving as a primary forum for al-Qaeda and like-minded groups. The group says it is not fighting "for a piece of land" but waging a religious war aimed at restoring a religious caliphate, or government, throughout the Muslim world. The researchers said that the group's logo and name indicated that it was attempting to transform the Palestinian militant movement into an operation akin to al-Qaeda. The logo is a symbol of a globe, a sword, and a Koran. There is nothing about Palestine.