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On January 27, 2020, the Islamic State (ISIS) released a new audio speech by its spokesman Abu Hamzah Al-Qurashi, produced by its media arm Al-Furqan and distributed on social media including Telegram and Hoop.[1] In the 37-minute speech Al-Qurashi delivers a defiant message: ISIS is not only surviving, despite the declarations by consecutive U.S. presidents that it was finished, but it is also expanding its war against its enemies and that war now spans the globe. Notable in the speech was Al-Qurashi's declaration of war on Israel, calling on ISIS extensions in the Sinai and Syria to attack it and urging Muslims to thwart the U.S. peace plan referred to as the "Deal of the Century." Urging ISIS fighters to step up their attacks, he called on Muslims everywhere to "emigrate" and join the ISIS branch nearest them.
Following are the main points from the speech:
"The Infidels Wish To Extinguish The Light Of Allah By Their Continuous Military And Media Campaigns"
Abu Hamzah began: "The infidels wish to put out the light of Allah by their continuous military and media campaign against the monotheists, a total war on all fronts. For this they have mobilized their media channels and the turbans of evil, the scholars of the tyrants and the champions of depravity, in order to hurl the most vile faults and accusations against the Islamic State. They distort its true nature and its creed, and its jihad in defense of the religion and the community...
"We say to America and to its Arab and non-Arab servants: You have been trying to fight the Islamic State since it was limited to Iraq... you repeatedly declared that you finished it off and you are surprised each time to see, after all of your declarations, the continuance of its activity and the attacks of its soldiers..."
The New ISIS Leader "Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi... Has Taken Upon Himself And Upon The Mujahideen... To Wage War Against The Jews And Regain What They Stole From The Muslims"
He then reviewed the history of ISIS and its predecessor groups, from Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi to the establishment of the Islamic State in Iraq under the leadership of Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi and on to its expansion to Syria and its conquests in Iraq under Al-Baghdadi, the declaration of the caliphate, and the global expansion of the "Islamic State." Throughout his review, he repeatedly emphasized the devotion to Bayt Al-Maqdis, Jerusalem, as a symbol for Palestine in its entirety. He then declared:
"Today we have begun a new stage in our war against you. The eyes of the soldiers of the caliphate everywhere are still turned toward Bayt Al-Maqdis. In the coming days, with Allah's permission, there will be events that will cause you to forget the horrors you have seen during the time of the previous leaders, Abu Mus'ab Al-Zarqawi, Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi, and Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi. Our jihad shall continue, with Allah's permission. The honorable, heroic sheikh, the commander of the faithful and the caliph of the Muslims, Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi has arrived. We pray to Allah that He will torment you, take vengeance upon you and punish you severely.
"He [Abu Ibrahim] has taken upon himself and upon the mujahideen in the rest of the [ISIS] provinces, and upon the Muslims in all countries, a new stage, which is to wage war against the Jews and regain what they stole from the Muslims – which will be returned only by a book that guides [the Quran] and a victorious sword – and the conquest of Bayt Al-Maqdis and the passing on of the banner to Muhammad bin Abdallah, the Mahdi, with Allah's permission."
"Oh Soldiers Of The Caliphate Everywhere... Go For The Israeli Settlements And Marketplaces; Turn Them Into Lands For Testing Your Weapons... Attack The Jews And Slaughter Them"
Calling on ISIS in the Sinai and in Syria to attack Israeli villages with all weapons at their disposal, he said: "Oh soldiers of the caliphate everywhere, especially in beloved Sinai and blessed Syria, go for the Israeli settlements and marketplaces. Turn them into lands for testing your weapons and chemical rockets and other types [of weapons]. To the Muslims in Palestine and all countries: Be a spearhead in the war against the Jews and in thwarting their plans and their 'Deal of the Century.' Pay no heed to the Hamas of apostasy and collaboration and its ilk, the factions of shame, the dogs of Iran and its base, foolish servants. They produce nothing but slogans and condemnations, in the swamps of apostasy and depravity, and offer condolences for the commanders of the Zoroastrians [the Iranians] who tormented the Sunnis, such as the slain Safavid [Iranian] Qassem Soleimani, Allah's curse on him.
"We call upon you to join the soldiers of the caliphate, who are exerting themselves to remove the borders and the obstacles standing between them and fighting the Jews, who are determined, with Allah's permission, to topple the armies and bring down the thrones, formed by the Crusaders to be a protecting force for the Israelites, and incite their brothers everywhere to attack the Jews and slaughter them, inside Palestine and outside Palestine, and kill them wherever they can find them..."
"Oh Tyrants Of America And Worshippers Of The Cross... Are You Not Ashamed To Declare, For The Past 15 Years, That You Have Finished Off" ISIS?
Addressing the governments of the U.S. and its allies, Al-Qurashi dismissed their declarations that they had defeated ISIS: "Oh tyrants of America and worshippers of the Cross: Search for something else in which to rejoice other than your claims of finishing off the Islamic State. We say the dog of the Rum [the Byzantines, the Christian West], Trump: The two dogs who ruled America before you, Bush and Obama, also claimed and declared that they had finished off the Islamic State, on numerous occasions. Are you not ashamed to declare, for the past 15 years, that you have finished off the monotheists? Your war was once limited to Iraq; now, with Allah's grace, it has spread across the world, to Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Sinai, to Libya and Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, to the Caucasus, to West and Central Africa, to Tunisia and Algeria..."
"If you include in your calculations that you managed to win a battle, and that the mujahideen withdrew from it, know that the entire matter is in the hands of Allah... Allah is merely testing his worshippers, to differentiate those who are sincere in their jihad from the insincere ones...
"Oh fool of the Rum, oh you who showed off your dog in the media and honored him while refraining from mentioned your soldiers and their participation [in the operation to kill Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi]... die in your rage! Your dreams and hopes of finishing off ISIS are nothing but an illusion..."
Turning next to address the ISIS fighters, Al-Qurashi commended them for pledging allegiance to the organization's new leader: "Oh lions of the caliphate and bearers of the banner everywhere, we congratulate you for pledging allegiance to the commander of the faithful and the caliph of the Muslims, the jihad fighter, the sheikh Abu Ibrahim Al-Hashemi Al-Qurashi, may Allah protect him."
He also made a point of congratulating ISIS's media outlets and activists for pledging allegiance to the new leader and for the continuous efforts in face of the campaign against ISIS in waged by the media and establishment Muslim scholars.
ISIS Fighters Must "Double The Activity And Increase The Strikes... Turn The Infidels' Joy Into Funerals, And Lie In Wait For Them Everywhere"
Congratulating the ISIS fighters on their attacks to avenge the death of ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, he urged them to redouble their efforts and attacks against ISIS's enemies: "We order you to double the activity and increase the strikes. Write down the targets, draw up plans and boobytrap the roads, lay down IEDs, and spread out snipers and kill with silencers. Turn the infidels' joy into funerals, and lie in wait for them everywhere..." He urged ISIS fighters everywhere to remain steadfast in these times that are so trying for them, particularly mentioning those in Afghanistan.
ISIS's War Against Iran Is Not Ended
To the "Rafidite" Iran, and by extension the Iraqi government, Al-Qurashi asserted that that ISIS's war against them was not ended, despite their governments' claim of defeating ISIS in Iraq. The conflict in Iraq, he said, had merely entered a new stage, and Iraq's "cannon and planes" would be of no avail in their fight against ISIS. He warned: "Touch your necks and don your shrouds before you go to sleep." He urges them not to be overconfident, saying that the U.S., with whose support the Iraqi militias had previously fought, has begun to "target you and eliminate your defiled commanders" – a reference to the targeted killing of IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani and Iraqi PMU deputy commander Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis.
Mocking Iran's response to the U.S. strike that killed the two, Al-Qurashi stated: "Your response was nothing more than smashing the glass of the Crusader American embassy in Baghdad, in the manner of your wretched slaves, the apostate Hamas movement, and, like Hizb Al-Lat [a pejorative term for Hizbullah] with the Jews – empty statements and speeches." Ridiculing the Iraqi government's threat to force U.S. troops out of the country as beyond its capabilities, he asked: "Can a lowly, miserable slave like you drive out his Crusader master?" He asserted that the ones truly capable of driving the U.S. out of Iraq are the ISIS fighters, since, he said, they had forced the U.S. to withdraw from Iraq about a decade ago and had "made [the U.S.] army – by Allah's goodness – withdraw from the regions of the Sunnis in their underwear because of their fear of facing them [ISIS fighters]."
The Syrian Democratic Forces Are Doomed
Addressing "the males of the atheist Kurds, America's hunting dogs and slaves," he stated that their success against ISIS was due only to the support provided by the U.S.-led coalition's airstrikes. The Syrian Democratic Forces, he said, would be doomed after the imminent U.S. withdrawal from Syria, and its attempts to reconcile with the Assad regime and obtain the help of its Russian allies would not protect it from ISIS's vengeance. He went on to warn that the local tribes in Syria that had collaborated with ISIS's enemies by providing information about its operatives would sooner or later face ISIS's vengeance if they did not repent, adding: "We receive the lists of your names from the good people in your areas." ISIS, he promised, would accept the repentance of those who stop collaborating with its enemies, but those who "repent" and are later "apostatized" will be legitimate targets for retaliation. Al-Qurashi also reassured ISIS prisoners that ISIS had not forgotten them and that the organization would do all in its power to obtain their release. He urged them to stand fast and to accept their fate until that happened.
Muslims Worldwide Must Immigrate To The Nearest ISIS Province And Join A Military Training Camp
Finally, addressing Muslims worldwide, Al-Qurashi urged them to immigrate to the nearest ISIS province and there join one an ISIS military training camp.
In conclusion, he exhorted ISIS fighters to not rely on their own strength and abilities and reminded them that no matter how much great their efforts, success and victory come only with the help of Allah. He also cautioned them against getting involved in strife and internal division.
[1] Telegram, January 27, 2020.
