Military Maneuvers To Develop Our Armies or to Penetrate Them?!
(Translated)

Al-Rayah Newspaper - Issue 569 - 15/10/2025 CE
By: Ustadh Muhammad Abdullah

It has become common to hear about military exercises between Muslim and Western armies. The African Lion Exercise, held in Morocco from April to May 2025, is an annual joint exercise between the American and Moroccan armies. It began in 2004 and is considered the largest of its kind in Africa. This year’s edition involved more than 10,000 soldiers from over 50 countries, including seven NATO countries, and the Jewish entity.

Around the same time, Exercise Iniochos 2025 was held in Greece from March 31 to April 11, 2025. This is an annual air exercise run by Greece’s Hellenic Air Force, aimed at training participating air forces in joint air operations and conducting various missions in a realistic combat environment. This exercise saw the participation of Qatar and the UAE, along with the United States, the Jewish entity, France, Spain, Italy, India, and other countries.

Exercise Bright Star, held between Egypt and the United States, approximately every two years, was recently held from August 28 to September 10, 2025, with 44 countries participating, either officially or as observers. Some sources reported that the number of participating soldiers reached 8,000. Exercises included field training, airborne maneuvers, naval training, counterterrorism training, medical rescue, with air evacuation, port security, command training, and joint air and ground force exercises. Senior Egyptian military leaders participated in the exercises, monitoring and enabling the implementation of field exercises.

The question is: What is the benefit expected from such maneuvers?

There is no doubt that any training is beneficial. Therefore, training armies enhances their military capabilities and combat experience, and interaction with other advanced armies gives them an idea of what those armies have reached. However, is it conceivable that the United States, Britain, France, and the Jewish entity truly aim to enhance the combat capabilities of the armies of Muslim countries? Everyone has recently heard the statements of the US envoy to the Levant, Tom Barak, in which he openly stated that arming the Lebanese army is exclusively for fighting Iran’s Hezb in Lebanon. Everyone has also heard that American aircraft are equipped with codes that only permit their use with US permission. What applies to aircraft certainly applies to missile systems and other weapons. We have also seen how the Jewish entity’ s aircraft bombed Doha, the capital of Qatar, without being intercepted by Qatari air defenses, and the Qatari Prime Minister stated that they were unable to detect the attacking aircraft. Therefore, no sane person can believe that the United States and the Jewish state are keen on enhancing the military efficiency and readiness of Arab armies.

So what is the purpose of these military maneuvers?

A close examination reveals that these maneuvers have two main objectives. The first is commercial, promoting their weapons by demonstrating their strength and effectiveness on the ground, as a prelude to concluding deals. The second, more dangerous, is penetration and building relationships. Participation in these maneuvers reveals to everyone the actual and operational chain of command, and the administrative organization of armies, their workings, and the way orders are transmitted. It also reveals their capabilities, the skills of the fighters, their level of training, the nature and quality of the mechanisms and equipment used, and the weaknesses of the personnel, equipment, and administrative organization. These maneuvers also represent an ideal opportunity to meet and interact with officers and commanders, personally, forge friendships and get to know them better, establish direct communication channels with them, and learn about their tendencies, ideas, and passions. This, in turn, helps identify those who can be penetrated and recruited, and those who pose a threat and should be excluded.

These maneuvers are a treasure trove of valuable information for foreign intelligence agencies, enabling them to understand matters that are supposed to be the military secrets of countries, that should be surrounded by thick veils of secrecy. However, we provide them with ease and convenience, on a regular basis, so they can continually update their data. Perhaps we may even contribute to their funding to ease their financial burden!

Our country is infiltrated not only because of the competence and skill of foreign intelligence agencies, but also because we open the door wide for them and violate the veil of sensitive and strategic agencies, and present them on golden platters for them to graze as they please. This is only because we have lost the protecting Imam and the protective shield, and we have become without a shield. The Messenger of Allah (saw) said,

«وَإِنَّمَا الْإِمَامُ جُنَّةٌ، يُقَاتَلُ مِنْ وَرَائِهِ وَيُتَّقَى بِهِ»

“The Imam is a shield, the Muslims fight from behind him and are protected by him.” [Bukhari and Muslim]