The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On December 26, 2015, Al-Furqan, the official media wing of the Islamic State (ISIS), released a new audio message in which the group's commander, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, urged Muslims to join the ranks of ISIS to defend their religion. In the 24-minute message, which was disseminated via ISIS-affiliated Twitter accounts, Al-Baghdadi also criticized the Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism, which was declared recently, and threatened all forces and countries that are taking part in the war against ISIS – including the U.S., Europe, Russia, the "Jews", the Shi'ites, and the "apostates". In addition, Al-Baghdadi called on the Saudis to rebel against their government and join ISIS, and threatened the "Jews" (hinting at the State of Israel), saying that the mujahideen are getting closer and will soon besiege them.
The following are the main points of his address:
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Al-Baghdadi spoke at length about the importance of remaining strong in order to repel the assault on the Islamic State, by either winning or dying for the sake of Allah. Describing the attacks against ISIS as a war waged by the unbelievers against Islam, he urged the Muslims to join ISIS and defend their religion, property, and families. With the aim of encouraging the mujahideen to be patient, remain steadfast, and never give up, Al-Baghdadi compared the hardships currently afflicting the Islamic State to those it experienced when it was first established a decade ago (i.e. as the Islamic State in Iraq). He then urged the mujahideen to free Muslim prisoners everywhere, particularly the scholars in the prisons of the "tyrants."
Regarding the West, he said that the Western countries do not dare send ground troops because they learned their lesson in Afghanistan and Iraq, and because they know that it would be their last battle. He said: "Here are the Christian crusaders and the nations of unbelief, and the Jews, [and they] do not dare to come fight a ground war against a small group of mujahideen, and each of them is pushing the other to get involved. They will not dare to come, because their hearts are filled with terror of the mujahideen, and because they learned their lesson in Afghanistan and Iraq and they have learned that they cannot defeat the mujahideen."
Criticizing the newly declared Saudi-led Islamic Military Alliance, he said that it is not Islamic, and added: "If it were an Islamic alliance, it would have declared its support for the people of Sham [Greater Syria] who have been suffering, and would have declared war on the Nasseriyya [Alawites, i.e. the Assad regime] and their master, the Russians. If it were Islamic, it would have declared war and enmity against the polytheist Rafida [Shi'ites], and the atheist Kurds in Iraq who have killed and displaced the Sunnis… If it were an Islamic alliance, atheist China would not have asked to join. If it were an Islamic alliance, it would have declared its disassociation from its masters, the Jews and the crusaders, and it would have made it its goal to kill the Jews and to liberate Palestine."
Al-Baghdadi then warned that the mujahideen would soon besiege the Jews, stating: "We haven't forgotten about Palestine. Allah willing, we will never forget it, and very soon, Allah willing, you will hear the march of the mujahideen whose arsenals will be besieging you, on a day that you think is distant, but that we think is coming soon. Day by day, we are getting closer to you… Oh Jews, you will never, ever prosper in Palestine, which will never be your land and home. Palestine will only be a grave for you. Allah has gathered you there so that the Muslims will kill you, until you hide behind trees and rocks, and you know this very well."
After criticizing any who still doubt that the war on ISIS is a war on Islam, Al-Baghdadi urged all Muslims, particularly the Saudis, to rebel against their government and join ISIS to defend Islam: "We urge all Muslims everywhere, especially the sons of the Land of the Two Holy Mosques [Saudi Arabia] – Come join [us], light or heavy, young or old... Rebel against Al-Saloul [defamatory term for Saudi Arabia's royal family], the tyrants, and the apostates, and support your family and brothers in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Afghanistan, Caucasus, Egypt, Libya, Somalia, the Philippines, Africa, Indonesia, Turkestan, Bangladesh and everywhere."
Al-Baghdadi concluded by threatening all the countries taking part in the war against ISIS. Addressing "the Jews, the crusaders, their associates, and those who are behind them; America, Europe, Russia and their allies and the agents the Rafida [Shi'ites] and the apostates," he quoted Koran 9:52: "Can you expect for us (any fate) other than one of two glorious things – (Martyrdom or victory)? But we can expect for you either that Allah will send His punishment from Himself, or by our hands. So wait (expectant); we too will wait with you." He added: "We promise you, Allah willing, that all who take part in the war against the Islamic State will pay a high price and will regret it. Await us, America; await us, Europe; await us, Russia; await us, oh Rafida [Shi'ites]; await us, oh apostates; await us, oh Jews; we too await [the day]."
Source: twitter.com/s_____r_____s80, December 26, 2015.
