Latest Articles and Blog Posts

Dissent in the Islamic State: The Testimony of Abu Abd al-Malek al-Shami

January 14, 2019  •  aymennjawad.org

Abu Muhammad al-Husseini al-Hashimi was not the only person inside the Islamic State to write a scathing critique of the organization's overall direction in summer 2017. A certain Abu Abd al-Malek al-Shami, about whom little is otherwise known, also wrote a highly critical work that is the subject of this post.

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Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham: Interview

January 10, 2019 at 10:56 am

Update [10 January 2019]:

This interview has been removed at the request of the interviewee. For more information please contact the author.

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Iraqis in Hezbollah: Interview

January 9, 2019 at 2:08 pm

It is well known that there are Iraqi groups that bear the brand name of Hezbollah (e.g. Kata'ib Hezbollah). More obscure is the recruitment of Iraqis into Hezbollah itself. Below is an interview I did with Abu Kayan, who heads the Fawj al-Tadakhkhul al-Sari' (Rapid Intervention Regiment), a group of Iraqi fighters affiliated with Hezbollah. This Rapid Intervention Regiment is not to be confused with an Iraqi-led group of the same name that was founded in Damascus and has ceased to operate, with its members having gone a variety of ways. Prior to joining Hezbollah in 2013, Abu Kayan was affiliated with the Iraqi group Kata'ib Sayyid al-Shuhada', which first became known to the outside world for its intervention in Syria. With his affiliation to Hezbollah, Abu Kayan has participated in operations in both Iraq and Syria.

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Turki Binali's Critique of The 'Theory of Balance': Translation and Analysis

January 8, 2019 at 8:06 pm

Turki Binali, a Bahraini cleric and one of the most well-known Islamic State scholars, was regarded as representing a more 'moderate' trend in the organization that was wary of the influence of 'extremists' in concepts like takfir (declaring people to be disbelievers: more controversial when applied to those who profess affiliation with Islam).

This leaked letter Binali wrote in January 2017 as head of the Maktab al-Buhuth wa al-Dirasat (Research and Studies Office) to Islamic State head Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi reflects the scholar's dislike of the 'extremists' and his concern about their influence in the Islamic State.

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Trump Is Right About Iran in Syria

January 8, 2019  •  American Spectator

"They can do what they want there frankly," commented President Trump in a recent Cabinet meeting regarding Iran's role in Syria. Unsurprisingly, Trumps' remarks attracted a flurry of outrage. "Worst counter-Iran strategy ever," tweeted Jonathan Schanzer of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. In a similar vein, Shalom Lipner, a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, accused Trump of "conceding the region to Iran and its friends."

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