Latest Articles and Blog Posts

"We will not bow down"- New nasheed from Ajnad Media

September 8, 2017 at 9:16 am

Despite the continued territorial setbacks for the Islamic State, with Raqqa likely soon to be lost and the organization's enemies pushing into Deir az-Zor province, the media wing responsible for Arabic nasheed production (Ajnad) continues to release new nasheeds. The latest one is لن ننثني ("We will not bow down"), the verb having connotations of giving up, bending over, defeat and frustration. As with the other recent nasheeds released by Ajnad, the messaging again focuses on defiance in the face of losses and that the idea that the Islamic State will not be truly defeated. Below is my translation of the new nasheed.

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The Life of Abu Tayyim Inkhil: Deceased Amir of Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed

September 7, 2017 at 8:29 pm

Amid the continued failure of the Syrian rebels to roll back the Islamic State-linked Jaysh Khalid bin al-Waleed in the southern province of Deraa, the U.S.-led coalition and its allies seem to be resorting increasingly to repeated decapitation of the leadership in targeted strikes. These strikes have killed multiple officials in the organization, such as Abu Qasura Kanakari and Abu Hamza Tawheed. On 17 August, a strike killed the amir Abu Tayyim Inkhil, whose life I aim to document in this post.

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Rijal al-Karama Two Years After Bal'ous' Assassination: Interview

September 1, 2017 at 2:26 pm

It has been almost two years since the assassination of Sheikh Abu Fahad Waheed al-Bal'ous, the Druze sheikh who founded the Rijal al-Karama (Men of Dignity) movement in the predominantly Druze province of Suwayda' in southern Syria. Many misconceptions have surrounded Rijal al-Karama, above all the idea that the movement aims to remove the regime and state structures from Suwayda'. In reality, Rijal al-Karama operates on the premise of those basic structures remaining in place, while emphasizing the idea of defending one's local area instead of being conscripted into the army to fight in a place far removed from one's home. In short, as I have outlined before, Rijal al-Karama is more of a reformist and third-way movement.

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review of Jihadism Transformed: Al-Qaeda and Islamic State's Global Battle of Ideas

Fall 2017  •  Middle East Quarterly

Jihadism Transformed contains eleven essays of varying quality, mostly focusing on the two main competing global Sunni jihadist movements: al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The book examines, in particular, the narratives these groups have developed and exploited to attract recruits in different parts of the world, both in the Muslim-majority lands that represent epicenters of jihadism and in the West. The exception is an essay by Christopher Anzalone of McGill University that looks at Shiite militant mobilization in response to the perceived Sunni jihadist threat, especially in Syria.

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Archive of Islamic State Administrative Documents (cont.- IV)

August 28, 2017 at 7:43 am

For prior parts in this ongoing archive, see:

Part I
Part II
Part III

Specimen 39P: Statement on education, al-Hajr al-Aswad, south Damascus (late August 2017)

Islamic State
al-Hajr al-Aswad area

In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Statement for distribution

To the male and female teachers from the citizens of the Islamic State in south Damascus

To our brothers from the Muslim populace dwelling within the lands of the state of the Islamic Caliphate in south Damascus:

It is forbidden to teach outside the lands of the Islamic State beginning from academic year 2017-2018.

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