The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
On March 12, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) media company Al-Furqan released an audio message by its official spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-'Adnani. The 27:52 message is titled "So They Kill And Are Killed."[1]
The message is mainly meant to boost the morale of ISIS soldiers, with Al-'Adnani reaffirming that ISIS continues to be strong and to expand despite the attacks against it. He also reminds the soldiers that they are fighting for a more noble cause than their enemies. Al-'Adnani also informs ISIS's enemies that they had lost, and that they only realized how strong ISIS was when it was too late. In that regard, Al-'Adnani notes that while ISIS might be sustaining losses on the ground here and there, that would not stop it from ultimately achieving victory. He also notes that ISIS wishes to reach Western cities, naming Paris before even Rome or Spain, and that prior to doing so, ISIS will "blow up your White House, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower."
Following are Al-'Adnani's main points:
Al-'Adnani reaffirms ISIS's steadfastness in the face of the multi-national campaign against it. He also says that ISIS will bring back the glory of major Islamic battles and conquests, and will even reach Nahawand.[2] "Therefore, feel your necks, O Safavid Rafidites," he warns the Shi'ites.
Al-'Adnani welcomes Boko Haram's merger with ISIS and says that the caliph, i.e. Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, had accepted their pledge of allegiance.[3] Al-'Adnani thus declares that the caliphate had expanded to western Africa. He also notes that Boko Haram's move opens the doors of hijra to Africa, especially for Muslims who couldn't join ISIS in Syria, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, or Khurasan. "O Muslims, come to your [Islamic] state, we urge you to [join the] jihad, and urge you and call upon you to make hijra to [join] your brothers in western Africa. In particular, [we direct this call to] the callers [of Islam] and those seeking [Islamic] knowledge. Come, O Muslims, to the land of the caliphate, for it is better for you to be a sheepherder in Dar Al-Islam [abode of Islam] than an obeyed master in Dar Al-Kufr [the abode of unbelief]. Here, monotheism was fulfilled, here the [principle] of association [with Muslims] and disassociation [with the unbelievers] has been realized. Here is the jihad for Allah's sake. No polytheism or idols. No nationalism or patriotism. No polytheistic democracy or heretic secularism. [Here, there is] no difference between Arab and foreigner, white or black. Here, the American and the Arab became brothers, and the African and European, and the Eastern and Western [as well]..."
Addressing ISIS's enemies, namely the Jews and Crusaders, Al-Adnani's informs them that they were late in comprehending what took place, i.e. in how rapidly ISIS ascended and expanded. "We took you by surprise," he says. Al-'Adnani also affirms that ISIS shall continue to expand and remain strong, and that its enemies "will not be able to stand in its face, Allah's willing." Al-'Adnani also informs the Jews and Christians that they are faced with only two options: To become Muslims and be assured safety, or pay the jizya (poll tax) in humiliation after pulling their armies from all Muslim lands, including Saudi Arabia and Jerusalem. "What you [will] be paying to us in jizya won't account for [even] tenth of a tenth of a tenth of a percent of what you pay to finance your doomed war [against ISIS]," Al-'Adnani informs them.
Al-'Adnani also notes that the death of ISIS's mujahideen will not have an effect on its continuous growth. He also emphasizes that the mujahideen seek death and martyrdom to being with. Al-'Adnani also reaffirms ISIS's victory, while noting that it was achieved, inter alia, when ISIS was able to freely implement the shari'a and abolish democracy. Al-'Adnani also mocks the West, namely the U.S., for what it considers victory when it worked so hard to win back a town like Kobani. Such changes in the U.S.'s perceptive on victory, Al-'Adnani notes, is by itself a victory for ISIS. On the other hand, he notes ISIS perspectives on victory and says: "We want, Allah willing, Paris before Rome and before Al-Andalus, [and] after that we will blacken your life and blow up your White House, Big Ben, and the Eiffel Tower, Allah willing...We want Kabul, Karachi, the Caucasus, Qom, Riyadh, and Tehran. We want Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Sana', Doha, Abu Dhabi, and Amman. And Muslims shall return to ruling and leadership everywhere."
Moving to Sunnis in the region, Al-'Adnani warns them from the Shi'ites, and tells them that the latter had entered a "new phase" in their war against them. He also warns of the collaboration between the Crusaders and Shi'ites against Sunnis. Al-'Adnani ties the fate of ISIS with the fate of all Sunnis: "And if the Islamic State is broken, God forbid, then no Mecca or Madina will be for you O Sunnis after that." He also says that when that happens, Sunnis will be slaves and servants for the Shi'ites. Therefore, Al-'Adnani calls upon all Muslims to make hijra to "their state" in order to defend it. Al-'Adnani also directs a special call to Muslim Kurds in Turkey, Iran, and northern Iraq, asking them to join ISIS.
Al-'Adnani finally calls upon ISIS soldiers to continue their fight while reminding them that nothing can stand in their way. "Go ahead, for Mecca, Madina, Al-Quds, and Rome are awaiting you," he says.
Endnotes:
[1] The title is based on Koran 9:111: "Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment."
[2] The city is located in Hamadan Province in Eastern Iran.
[3] See MEMRI JTTM report Boko Haram Pledges Allegiance To ISIS Leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, March 7, 2015.
