calling for attacks in Saudi Arabia and for “volcanoes of jihad” across the world.
“America and its allies are terrified, weak, and powerless,”
repeatedly attacking “the Jews” and “apostate” and “treacherous” Muslim (Arab) leaders who feared the return of the Muslim faithful to the ways of the caliphate.
classical Arabic shot through with expressions of Muslim piety in the extremist takfiri tradition
“lying media” in claiming that the coalition, which includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan and Bahrain,
“Be assured, O Muslims, for your state is good and in the best condition,” Baghdadi declared. “Its march will not stop and it will continue to expand, by Allah’s permission. The march of the mujahidin [Muslim holy warriors] will continue until they reach Rome. And soon, the Jews and Crusaders will be forced to come down to the ground and send their ground forces to their deaths and destruction.”
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is one of the main leaders for the Islamic State. Earlier this year there were rumors that he had been injured or killed by an air strike. But now there are rumors that he might still be alive.
released an audio recording on Thursday in what could be the first sign of life since rumors spread that a U.S. airstrike hit Baghdadi and a convoy of ISIS leaders in Iraq.
Baghdadi references several events that happened in the last week, including the recent move by militant groups in Yemen and Sinai to swear allegiance to ISIS.
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is suspected to be alive, after reports that he had been injured or dead after an air strike hit the area he was in at the time. The is an audio recording that fit into the accounts that he might be alive.
CNN's Becky Anderson speaks with four students in Abu Dhabi about what they make of the Republican rhetoric and how they see the race for the White House. Young Muslims react to the Republican debate and rich business men.
If the conditions
remain unchallenged and, hence, unchanged, it will turn into another Syria
or Iraq.
Nowhere is this
threat more profound than with the rise of radical Islam in Libya
The ongoing low-level insurgency in Benghazi is driven by two factors. The
first is the radical Islamist ideology of certain groups that refuse to
recognise the modern state and its institutions. For example, according to
the leader of AS’s Benghazi branch, Mohammed al-Zahawi, his group will not
disarm and demobilise until its version of sharia is imposed. The
realisation of such an Islamic state constitutes the group’s main aim. In
other words, it is the nature of their Jihad.
The second reason is the Islamists’ history with the state security forces.
During the 1990s, Muammar Gaddafi unleashed a crackdown on all expressions
of Islamism, which saw thousands of youths arrested and jailed as political
prisoners. Many were incarcerated in the notorious Abu-Saleem prison.
Today’s rejection of state institutions has its roots in that brutality.
However, Benghazi is not the only Islamist stronghold in Libya: the city of
Derna, which has historically been a strong recruiting ground for Jihadi
fighters to Afghanistan, Iraq, and more recently Syria, is of serious
concern
Derna’s
Shura Council of Islamic Youth and Ansar al-Sharia have decided to declare
Derna an “Islamic emirate” and publicly announce their allegiance to ISIL
and its leader and so called “Caliphate” of Abu Baker al-Baghdadi. This
means that ISIL now has its terrorist tentacles in Libya.
If the international community continues to overlook the current Libyan
crisis, the country is likely to become an incubator of militant Islamist
groups.
In addition to a military
response, however, we need a holistic and proactive approach that focuses on
achieving reconciliation and stability. This involves forcing all rival
political parties to the negotiation table to agree that a newly elected
parliament is the sole representative body in the country.
This article basically accentuates the driving factors to the ongoing insurgency of ISIL in Libya and how the threat is even more extreme than that of Iraq and Syria. One is the Islamist ideology in itself, rejecting any form of a modern state and the institutions that accompany its success. For example in Libya the leader of the AS branch declares that his militants will not disarm or demobilize until sharia law is imposed. Second, during Gaddafi's rule he unleashed a crackdown on all Islamic expression. The brutality shown towards Islamic groups during this time has fueled their resentment towards sectarian rule and has urged them to push for the rejection of state institutions even more so. The article explains how Islamic groups have claimed power in both Benghazi and Derna, the latter being the historic recruiting ground for Jihad fighters to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria. The author makes it clear that both military and diplomatic force from the international community is crucial for the reconciliation of security.
This article shows what women in Egypt go through to try to provide for themselves. In one story, Sisa Abu Daooh dressed like a man for 30 years to work as a shoe-shiner. It also describes what is holding back women back for providing for themselves.
An Air strike has killed a prominent member of al Nusra, Abu Firas al-Suri, along with at least 20 al Nusra fighters. It is unclear whether the airstrike was Syrian or Russian.
On December 3, officials at Jeddah's King Abdulaziz International Airport prevented Samar Badawi from leaving Saudi Arabia to advocate abroad for the release of her husband, Waleed Abu al-Khair. A lawyer and human rights activist, he is in prison, facing a 15-year term for peacefully criticizing Saudi authorities on Twitter and in television interviews.
What does the term "human shield" mean? The term is used by critics of Hamas to imply that Hamas militants hide behind unwilling hostages, or especially that they cower behind women and children. If it's a fact that Hamas uses "human shields," who they are, what they're protecting, and why seem to be more salient points for analysis.
a database of more than 450 fighters currently in Syria and Iraq.
motivations for travelling to Syria are diverse
tougher laws and blanket punishment shouldn’t be the only approach.
one in nine former fighters subsequently became involved in terrorist activity
In many cases they are disillusioned, psychologically disturbed, or just tired.
ideological, vicious and bloodthirsty fighters who attract the headlines,
many have found the reality to be far different from what they were led to believe.
When he first travelled out there, he said “it was all focused on Assad,” he said. “But now it’s just Muslims fighting Muslims. We didn’t come here for this.”
The blanket approach taken by the government — to threaten all returnees with draconian prison sentences — Abu Mohammed says, makes him feel trapped. “We’re forced to stay and fight, what choice do we have? It’s sad,” he told us.
Following the defeat of the Soviet Union in the 1980s, Arab-Afghan fighters could not return to their home countries. They were stripped of their citizenship
regrouped in Sudan and formed a Jihadist Internationale, from which al-Qaeda emerged.
men were offered no opportunity to disengage from the path they had chosen.
Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other countries
deradicalisation programmes to convince jihadists to disengage
deradicalisation along with monitoring and surveillance.
would be willing to submit to such a scheme, were it available, in order to return to the UK.
the Channel Project.
More than 1000 people
successfully engaged through this programme.
Treating all foreign fighters as terrorists, however, risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy.
This is not about being soft: it’s about being smart.
In prison, by contrast, they are likely to be further radicalised while potentially exposing others to a hardened ideology and worldview.
another friend who recently quit the fight after he couldn’t accept what he saw out there.
experience — they need to be heard, not locked away.
This was an article (originally published by the Independent, however, I found it on their website via my first article from the BBC) by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence of London. The article suggests, allowing fighters to return home safely and enroll in a De-radicalization program would be more beneficial than current policies of severe punishment (prison, stripping of citizenship, etc.). The authors contend current repercussions for fighters returning to their home countries leave them trapped and isolated and prison sentences often lead to further radicalization. Overall this article really captured my attention in its non-conventional proposal for governments to handle these situations.
The US with Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates launched 14 strikes against IS in Syria, hitting a number of targets, including Raqqa, a stronghold in eastern Syria captured by the group in 2013.
al-Qaeda veterans named
These refineries are believed to be producing "between 300-500 barrels of refined petrolium per day", generating as much as $2 million (£1.2m) per day for the militants, a key source of revenue for IS.
This article provides a detailed outline of the battle against ISIS in Iraq and Syria through the use of maps, charts, and photographs to allow readers to visualize areas where fighting is taking place. Several maps provide locations of ISIS controlled territory, locations of airstrikes, and locations of ISIS controlled oil refineries. It was really helpful to see different maps outlining this information because I often hear about this conflict on the radio or television programs and it can be hard to understand the scope of the conflict without any visual aids. I really appreciated the effort to show in detail the specific locations.
This article outlined the fight against ISIS in Syria and Iraq providing detailed maps, charts, and photos to present a more clear picture of where violence and air strikes are occurring.
Iraq’s second city of Mosul looks like a model of success for its new rulers from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
But in the back alleys, litter fills the streets. The lights stay on, but only because locals rigged up generators themselves. And under the blare of café televisions, old men grumble about life under Isis’s self-proclaimed caliphate.
“We’ve endured international sanctions, poverty, injustice. But it was never worse than it is now.”
Sunni Muslims in both countries have long felt discriminated against by regimes dominated by rival sects
without an economy that gives people a chance to make a living, many say Isis has little more to offer
“Compared to past rulers, Isis is a lot easier to deal with. Just don’t piss them off and they leave you alone,” says Mohammed, a trader from Mosul. “If they could only maintain services — then people would support them until the last second.”
“They’re operating like something between a mafia, an insurgency and a terror group. Maybe they thought six months ago they were going to function as a state. But they don’t have the personnel or manpower.”
the FT found its attempt at state-building has so far failed to win over locals.
volunteers handing out sacks of wheat stamped with their black and white seal. They even announced plans to issue a currency,
In some cases they say Isis takes credit for systems in place before it seized power. In others, locals say it is stealing the resources of the region it seeks to rule
Travellers must stock up on Iraqi dinars to use in Iraq, US dollars for the road and Syrian pounds once they arrive.
“I’m against Isis with all my heart,” Mahmoud says. “But I can’t help but admire their cleverness.”
Isis struggles to balance its books,
services continue to function because of the money Baghdad still pays to former civil servants in Mosul. Isis taxes those employees at up to 50 per cent of their salaries.
It is as if Isis is financing itself partly through a pyramid scheme, and this has begun to falter.”
Though many now question Isis’s economic management, its military prowess and organisational skills are clear.
Isis allows easy movement through its territories to facilitate trade. Trucks passing through are taxed about 10 per cent of the value of their cargo.
“I may be a Salafi, but I’m not an idiot,” he jokes.
An unsubstantiated statement was released Monday affirming that Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis (ABM) was pledging loyalty to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), stating that the group chose Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, known as the leader of ISIS, as its leader.
A statement released by ABM read, "After entrusting Allah we decided to swear allegiance to the emir of the faithful Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, caliph of the Muslims in Syria and Iraq and in other countries," according to a Reuters report.
(CNN) -- He's enemy No. 1 in the fight against ISIS. But after waves of airstrikes by both Iraq and U.S.-led coalition forces, questions abound over whether the terror group's leader was hit. Iraq's Ministry of Interior said the Iraqi air force wounded ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and killed a number of his senior leaders in an airstrike on the Iraqi town of Al-Qaem on Saturday.
ABU DHABI // Expatriates have embraced the UAE's culture and traditions, and increased their understanding of Islam since they moved here. Most western expatriates (94 per cent) say they have embraced the culture, followed by Arab expatriates (93 per cent) and Asian expatriates (89 per cent).
Wow, so according to this source people moving into the UAE from Western culture have apparently started embracing that culture. This article sounds really good on the surface, but recalling that UAE is like one of the countries that actually still enforces possibility of death penalty for homosexual activity and prison sentences or beatings for adultery...