The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to [email protected] with "Membership" in the subject line.)
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The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
By: M. Khayat*
Introduction
In the past year, the Islamic State (ISIS) has put out an astonishing number of daily releases, ranging from written statements to very professionally produced videos, inter alia to promote itself and to advance its agenda, among other things. In order for many of these ISIS releases, primarily the video and audio productions, to be distributed, they must first be uploaded to certain websites; the links to them on these websites can then be shared on top-tier jihadi forums such as Shumoukh Al-Islam, and also on social media such as Twitter. In recent months, ISIS has shown a clear preference for using the San Francisco-based Internet Archive (archive.org) to host its materials. Among the ISIS content posted there are video and audio productions, online magazines, and radio broadcasts by ISIS's Al-Bayan radio. In order to manage its numerous daily releases, ISIS has created a number of accounts on Archive.org.
EXCLUSIVE: ISIS Members Advertise Marital Status On Twitter
The following report is a complimentary offering from MEMRI's Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM). For JTTM subscription information, click here.
Both Western fighters and those interested in migrating to the Islamic State have turned to social media for both making travel arrangements and to finding spouses. A Twitter account called Jihad Matchmaker offers its services to prospective immigrants. Matchmaking efforts are also conducted on Facebook. At this time, it appears that fighters are beginning to advertise their marital status on their Twitter bylines. Women also indicate whether they are married or widowed.
The following are examples from ISIS fighters' social media accounts:
Noting Marital Status
British ISIS fighter Abu Awlaki, aka Omar Hussain, writes on his Twitter byline: "Living under the shade of the Khilafah (ex-Jabhat) Married to a princess. Three slots still available." Hussain previously wrote an advice piece on marrying fighters off of Twitter.
On June 2, 2015, the jihadi forum Al-Fidaa' posted a fatwa signed by nine senior clerics, which states that Syrian rebel groups must fight members of the Islamic State (ISIS). The signatories, all of whom are associated with Al-Qaeda and Jabhat Al-Nusra (JN), include prominent Jordanian clerics Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi and Abu Qatada Al-Falistini, as well as senior JN ideologue Sami Al-'Oraidi. The fatwa was issued following advances by ISIS in the northern outskirts of Aleppo, in which it snatched villages held by the Syrian rebels, including Jabhat Al-Nusra and others. ISIS advances were accompanied by aerial bombardments by Assad's military on rebel positions, which led to the latter accusing ISIS of collaborating with the regime. It should be noted that these developments came on the heels of significant gains for the rebels in the Idlib region.
Interview With Computer Science Student From Madagascar Who Joined ISIS
On June 4, 2015, a brief interview was posted on Justpaste.it with a student from Madagascar who has joined ISIS and is now apparently in Ramadi, Iraq. According to the interview, he was studying computer science at Antananarivo University in Madagascar and was introduced to Islam by some Indian friends. He eventually converted, and several months later joined the Islamic State and apparently traveled to Iraq with some other Malagasy and South African men. He describes what motivated him to join the organization and gives some details about the training he underwent in Iraq and his activity there.
On June 3, 2015, the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq's Ninawa (Ninveh) province published photos of a public execution in Mosul of three men convicted of acts of homosexuality. The report, titled "Implementation Of The Punishment Of Those Who Have Committed Acts of Homosexuality" was published on the jihadi forum Shumoukh Al-Islam (Shamikh1.info) and distributed via social media. The three men were blindfolded and dropped head first from the roof of a tall building in front of a large crowd of spectators, including children.
ISIS Video Threatens Balkan Countries, Targets Muslims In Balkan Countries For Recruitment
On June 4, 2015, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Al-Hayat media branch, dedicated to non-Arabic material, distributed a new video, featuring foreign fighters from Bosnia, Albania and Kosovo, aimed at recruiting Muslims from the Balkans. They deliver a clear message to the Muslims of the Balkans: Immigrate to the caliphate and join the jihad. The video appeals to the Muslims in Bosnia by addressing their grievances from recent history, i.e the war in the former Yugoslavia, as well as farther back in the Twentieth Century, which is presented as an era of humiliation for the Muslims.
The slickly-produced video, titled "Honor is in Jihad", details the ISIS narrative concerning the Balkan region with archive images and an English language voice-over. The video, 20 minutes in duration, was released on Archive.org and distributed via Twitter through ISIS media operatives and supporter accounts. While the fighters speak in their native languages, the video is entirely subtitled in English. The last segment of the production also features what appears to be a new ISIS nasheed [religious song] in English in the background.
ISIS Hacktivists Publish A Hit-List Of Italian Officers To Be Targeted By 'Lone Wolves'
On May 30, 2015 Islamic State (ISIS) online activists distributed on Twitter a document urging ISIS lone wolf operatives in Italy to target Italian military personnel, while supplying ten profiles complete with pictures, addresses and phone numbers of the prospective targets. The document is signed by a support group calling itself the "Islamic State Hacking Division" (ISHD) which has no apparent official link to ISIS. The same group was behind the March 2015 publication of a hit-list covering 100 US military personnel. In its message, the group made claims -still unconfirmed -that it had penetrated and gained access to secure servers. The information distributed in both the Italian and US cases was apparently retrieved online using open source intelligence gathering methods to trawl through social media and publicly available records. The practice of publishing online personal data about an individual or doxxing in internet jargon is standard fare for hacktivists and cyber-vigilantes.
ISIS Issues Zakat Cards To Track And Monitor Citizens In Mosul
On May 28, 2015 the Mosul-based activist group, reported on a new zakat (alms) card that was issued by ISIS to citizens of Mosul. The cards are akin to banking or debit cards and contain serial numbers for tracking and monitoring purposes. Zakat is one of the 5 pillars of Islam, and calls for employed Muslims to donate 10% of their earnings to those less fortunate. However, Mosul Eye reports that the zakat is instead used to pay the salaries of ISIS militants.
The post reads: "ISIL is finding new ideas every day to maximize its financing sources and bleed as much as people can tolerate, ISIL started about a month ago, issuing a new card and named it 'Zakat Card.' Similar to a banking credit and dabit [debit] cards and equipped with serial numbers for easy tracking and monitoring, used to collect Zakat money with it from the city locals. It is renewed every year. As per Sharia [law], there is a minimum for a man's [earned] money to eligible to pay Zakat, and with this card, [meeting] this minimum is no longer required to be eligible to pay Zakat, on the contrary, every one works and earns an income MUST pay Zakat, as ISIL has count[ed] it both as tax and Zakat together! This card is now imposed in Mosul and all the territory under ISIL's control, and all ISIL's militants are exempt from this Zakat and all forms of taxes. It is no longer a right for anyone who's willing to pay their Zakat to anyone they see fit, instead, ISIL sees that no one else is eligible to [receive] Zakat more than its militants, since all its militants fit all criterias [sic.] to make them the only eligible recipients of Zakat by Sharia."
On June 2, 2015, the Islamic State's (ISIS) Aleppo province released a video featuring a contingent of Muslims from East Turkestan (Xinjiang) in western China who immigrated to the Islamic State. Titled "Go Forth Whether Light or Heavy," the video is aimed at calling on Uyghurs, the ethnic Muslims in East Turkestan, to travel to the Islamic State. The video features an elderly Uyghur man who speaks about his decision to travel to the Islamic State as well as about discrimination against Muslims in East Turkestan on the part of Chinese authorities. The man also calls on Muslims in East Turkestan, including professionals such as doctors and engineers, to make hijra to the Islamic State.
Also featured in the video are Uyghur children receiving religious education at one of ISIS's shari'a institutes, and a number of Uyghur doctors performing surgery at an ISIS-run hospital.
ISIS West Africa (Boko Haram) Claims It Still Holds Territory, Claims It Downed Nigerian Aircraft
On June 2, 2015, the Islamic State's (ISIS) West Africa province - the name given to areas under Boko Haram's control after the latter joined ISIS - released a video documenting what it said were attacks by "caliphate soldiers'" on the Nigerian military.
Although it shows sporadic weapons fire and the execution of a number of Nigerian soldiers, the video's main aim is to refute media claims that Nigeria and its neighboring countries have achieved substantial victories against Boko Haram, and that they have driven Boko Haram from areas it previously controlled.
