Islamic State of Iraq Attempts to Establish Its Legitimacy in Online Book

On January 7, 2007 Islamist websites posted a new book titled "Informing People about the Emergence of the Islamic State," published by Al-Furqan, the production company of the Islamic State of Iraq, under the supervision of 'Othman Ibn 'Abd Al-Rahman Al-Tamimi, who heads the Islamic State of Iraq's Shari'a Board. The book states that its goals are: to lay out the legal, political and pragmatic considerations underpinning the mujahideen vision for the Islamic State in Iraq; to describe the circumstances that have led to the prompt realization of this vision; and to address the debate sparked by the establishment of the Islamic State.

In the first chapter, the book explains why an Islamic state is necessary. One of the main arguments presented is that guiding people to obey God inevitably requires the establishment of a religious-political entity. Without such an authority, states the book, no effective guidance can take place. Chapter Two aims to establish the legitimacy of the Islamic State of Iraq, and specifically, to show that the Majlis Shura Al-Mujahideen legitimately represents the Muslims in Iraq and effectively implements shari'a law in all areas of life (e.g. imposes Koranic punishment, collects Islamic taxes, and wages jihad against the enemy).

Chapter Three, titled "What We Are Accused of and What We Should Say in Reply," is an attempt to counter the criticism aimed at the Islamic State of Iraq - for instance, the claim that an Islamic state should not be established while Islamic territories are still under foreign occupation and while basic security is not provided.

The fourth and last chapter aims to elicit support for the Islamic state from religious scholars, Islamic movements, Islamic youth, the various jihad organizations in Iraq, and the general Iraqi population.

Islamist Video - 150 Bombings of American Targets

On December 30, 2006, Islamist websites posted a nine-minute video titled "The Bombings that Destroyed the Myth of the American Military Machine on Iraqi Soil." According to the Islamist sites, the video shows "more than 150 bombings in fewer than nine minutes." The video shows a series of dozens of bombings of moving American targets (tanks, APCs, Humvees, trucks, and cars) carried out throughout Iraq at different times by various Sunni jihad groups, some affiliated with Al-Qaeda and some not. Among the groups are Al-Qaeda, Ansar Al-Sunna, Al-Jaysh Al-Islami (The Islamic Army), Jaysh Al-Mujahideen, Kata'ib Thawrat Al-'Ashrin, Jaysh Al-Fatihin, and Jaysh Al-Rashidin. No mention was made of the video's producer. A copy of the video is on file in MEMRI's archives.

GIMF Responds to Egypt's Alleged New Campaign Against "Media Jihad"

On January 8, 2007, the Global Islamic Media Front (GIMF) posted a response on Islamist websites to what it termed Egypt's new campaign against websites that are helping the "media jihad." In the response, the GIMF expresses doubt about Egypt's capability to fight "media jihad," saying: "The Americans themselves have not been able to stop this… astonishing 'media jihad' on the Internet… How, then, will the conspirators from the Egyptian intelligence apparatus stop it?" The message continued, "We would like to tell those who engage in this failed initiative, You are digging in water. With Allah's help, you will not succeed in attacking us, no matter what you do… With Allah's help, we will resist you with our brigades… just as we did your American lords… We have belief in Allah, knowledge, experience, and awareness [of technical matters]… We have experts, programmers, engineers, computer security experts, etc. We will discover your plans…"

The message ends with a general appeal to Muslims to assist "media jihad" - not as individuals, but in groups, so that they do not become easy prey for attacks by the enemy.