On December 17, the website Fisyria posted the second part of the series titled "'Omar Al-Shishani and Abu Jihad on the Latest Developments in Syria."[1] In this part, ISIS commanders 'Omar Al-Shishani and Abu Jihad answer questions on their joining ISIS and on the division of war booty among the mujahideen.
'Omar Al-Shishani (left) and Abu Jihad
'Omar Al-Shishani says that he has been in Syria for a year and seven months, and that at first he taught at a mu'askar (training camp).
Asked why he and Abu Jihad felt it necessary to join ISIS, he states that unity is the source of the Muslims' strength, that Allah ordered them to unite, and that unity serves the interest of the Islamic nation and will help to instate the laws of Allah in the land. He adds that all the groups in Syria should unite.
He adds that there are areas in Syria where the laws of shari'a are being implemented, giving as an example the city of Al-Dana, where Abu Jihad is emir, and where ISIS performs marriages and registers births.
In his part of the film, Abu Jihad urges the brothers to look at the mujahideen's actions, and not at videos which abound on the Internet. He praises ISIS emir Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, both as a man and as an imam, and stresses that their decision to pledge allegiance to him was not spontaneous but well-considered.
Abu Jihad says that, if the brothers have questions, they should ask them via the Fisyria website, and that he and Al-Shishani will answer as far as possible, because they understand it is important to provide information.
Addressing the rumors that mujahideen should not pledge allegiance to ISIS because this group does not distribute the war booty among the mujahideen, he says that those who spread these rumors are insincere, and that not all the booty can currently be distributed, since it is fuel for jihad. He notes that on their "home front" (presumably in Chechnya), the mujahideen were always given enough to sustain themselves and their families, but all the rest of the booty was kept by the group. Since ISIS is currently cut off from all sources of funding, he explains, it is temporarily refraining from distributing the spoils. For example, at the moment it is not possible to sell tanks (that have been seized) and distribute the money among the mujahideen, since the tanks might fall into the hands of "the devil's forces." Furthermore, the gear is needed for the great battles still to come. However, ISIS has not abolished the Islamic law that calls to distribute spoils among the fighters.
Asked how the mujahideen sustain themselves, he says that the ISIS pays them an allowance in cash, and that Al-Baghdadi receives the same allowance as one of the rank and file.
[1] See MEMRI JTTM report No. 7129, "In Video, Jihad Commanders 'Omar Al-Shishani And Abu Jihad Discuss Their Joining ISIS," December 18, 2013.
