Issue No. 25 (May 2023) of the English-language Voice of Khurasan magazine, which is published by the Islamic State in the Khorasan Province (ISKP), includes an article by "Abu Muhammad Al-Italy" titled "MEMRI Plans, But 'Allah Is the Best of Planners [Quran 8:30].'" The article levels a series of false claims about MEMRI, and calls our "cunning plan" to "tarnish the image" of ISIS and "misguide" Muslims by dissuading them from waging jihad is "an utter failure".[1]
Indeed, the article states that MEMRI's "plan" is backfiring:
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"By republishing the contents of Voice of Khurasan and other 'well-guided' outlets, MEMRI is just acting as a multiplier for the dissemination of the Islamic Khilafah's statements worldwide, enabling the mujahidin to reach a much greater number of readers."[2]
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"MEMRI is offering the Islamic Khilafah also a free translation service from different languages [into] English [and] French, Polish, Japanese, Spanish, as well as Hebrew."[3]
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"The way [MEMRI] reports and the previews [it provides] does nothing but emphasize the heroic accomplishments and the great achievements of the Islamic Khilafah."[4]
Abu Muhammad's claims are false.
First, MEMRI does not "disseminate" ISIS propaganda. Almost all of our content relating to ISIS and its provinces is part of our Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) project, which is only accessible to intelligence and law enforcement agencies that fight against murderers like Abu Muhammad Al-Italy.
Second, the underlying assumption in the article is that people only need to see ISIS' version of Islam in order to be convinced that it is the right path. However, this is gravely mistaken – the reality is that people flee from this form of Islam, because its believers are worse than animals. Animals, for instance, have mercy on their offspring, which ISIS does not have the humanity to muster, as evidenced by this video showing a father helping ISIS members execute his young daughter while refusing to accept her pleas for forgiveness and her request for him to hold her hand:
Unfortunately, there are too many radical Muslims who believe that people will somehow be mystically drawn to this form of Islam and its values, despite its total lack of humanity. In one humorous example, British Muslim preacher Mohammed Hijab attempted to similarly draw Canadian academic Dr. Jordan B. Peterson into his misogynistic and violent form of Islam by simply singing Quranic verses to him during a podcast.[5]
Radicals like Abu Muhammad Al-Italy, Mohammed Hijab, and others cannot face the reality that they do not have broad appeal even among Muslim communities.