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On June 23, 2015, a member of the Shumoukh Al-Islam forum posted several images of gold coins minted by the Islamic State (ISIS), and claimed the new currency would soon be in circulation in ISIS-controlled areas. He wrote: "Glad tiding to the believers... soon Islamic State currency [will be] in the hands of the Caliphate State citizens in all the areas ruled by Allah's shari'a..." The images show the one-dinar and five-dinar coins.
The five-dinar gold coin
The one-dinar gold coin
It should be mentioned that ISIS announced its plans to mint its own currency late last year. On November 13, 2014, the pro-ISIS Twitter account @asiffallah posted a document by the Islamic State Treasury Department declaring that ISIS would soon minting its ow coins. The new currency, it said, would liberate the Muslims from the "tyrannical monetary system" that had drained them of their wealth for the benefit of the Jews and Crusaders. The document added that the order to mint the currency had come from the Caliph, and that the Treasury Department had studied the idea thoroughly and then presented a comprehensive proposal to the Shura Council, which approved it.
The Treasury Department document
According to the document, ISIS would mint gold coins of one dinar and five dinars, silver coins of one, five and ten dirhams, and copper coins of ten and 20 fils. The coins would bear on one side the Arabic inscription "The Islamic State - A Caliphate on the Path of the Prophethood", and on the other side various designs of Islamic significance.
The document also presented illustrations of some of the coins:
The one-dinar gold coin
The one-dirham silver coin
The ten-fils copper coin
According to a post on the Jihadi Media Platform, the dinar is worth $139, the dirham $1, and the 10-fils coin is worth 6.5 cents.[1]
The first issue of ISIS's French-language magazine, Dar Al-Islam, released in December 2014, featured an article on the new ISIS currency. The project was described as a way to circumvent the usurious global financial system by returning to a currency based on precious metals, and as one of the symbols of the Caliphate's status as a sovereign state. The text introduced the various coins and explained the significance of their designs, which are references to religious principles and to ISIS's goals, as exemplified in the following quote: "Second [gold coin]: Five dinars. Its design: a world map. Meaning: The Prophet's declaration that his community's kingdom will extend over the entire world. Proof: According to Thawban, the Prophet said: Allah showed me the earth, I saw the East and the West, and my community will have the kingdom over all that was shown to me"
Endnotes:
[1] Mnbr.info/vb, November 14, 2014.
