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On February 2, 2023, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 376 of Al-Naba', its weekly newsletter. The issue's feature article, titled "Kill the Jews," called for a global religious war to be waged against Jews, wherein Muslims should attack Jews and Jewish sites of worship everywhere.[1]
Muslims Must Shun The Jews And Prepare For War With Them
The editorial derides the Jews as being diametrically opposed to the Islamic ummah. It opens: "Allah revealed the qualities of the unbelieving Jews in many verses in his wise book, and He described them in detail and precision. There is no doubt about the wisdom of this precise, divine description, so it should serve as a lesson and warning for you to take caution and to be prepared. A Muslim shuns the conduct of the Jews, the adherents of their customs, and their aides, and he takes heed of their deception; out of necessity, he prepares to wage war against them."
Citing verses from the Quran, the article attributes several malevolent characteristics to the Jews as a whole. For example, it asserts that in the Quran, Allah revealed the "unbelief and polytheism" of the Jews, their "distortion and corruption of Allah's word," their "suppression of the truth," their "betrayal of the covenants and killing of the prophets," their "severe hostility toward the believers," their "curse and heartlessness," their "cowardice in battle," their "practice of usury and robbery," their "continued striving for corruption and chaos," their "acceptance of wrongdoing," their "lust for [earthly] life," their "arrogance and pretension," and their "jealousy and malice toward Muslims."
Roots Of Conflict With Jews Are Religious, Not Political
The editorial also underscores that the roots of the conflict with the Jews are not political, but religious. "Most people have disregarded the Quranic characterization of the Jews and its aim," it asserts, noting, "They have instead concerned themselves with a historical narrative of events, thereby deviating from the roots of the conflict. They determined that the war with the Jews is a national conflict whose reason is 'aggression against lands and possessions." Indeed, they have come to warn against the dangers of being dragged into a religious war with the Jews, as if this were a crime!" Later the editorial asks: "Is there any pretext left on which someone can claim that the war with the Jews is not religious?"
The article also takes aim at the "allies of the Jews," which it describes as the "apostate Arab rulers, whom the Islamic State has declared as unbelievers, whom it sees as a part of the Jewish invasion of Palestine, and whom it calls to fight against." The Islamic State, it asserts, "puts on equal footing all of their axes, whether Qatari or Emirati, Arab or Persian."
"Kill The Jews By Any Means"
The article further offers operational guidance to Palestinians in particular, advising them to conduct suicide attacks in Israel: "We reiterate our call and reminder to the youth of Palestine that their war with the Jews should be [waged] within the blessed Quranic context, that is, a religious war far apart from ignorant nationalist views that contradict the Quran and Sunnah. We stress and affirm the advantage of targeting Jewish temples and synagogues and subjecting them to bloody attacks [...] We advise them to equip themselves with explosive belts, for their absence from that battlefield has lasted too long."
To Muslims at large, the editorial echoes its call for attacks against Jews globally. "We incite Muslims everywhere to fight the Jews and target them in their neighborhoods and synagogues that are spread across Europe and elsewhere. Kill the Jews by any means, constrict them, and [be part of] the start of the war that burns the unbelieving Jews," it concluded.
[1] Al-Naba', issue 376, February 2, 2023.
