Latest Articles and Blog Posts

Local Councils in Idlib: Interview

October 16, 2018 at 6:25 pm

Local councils can be found across the rebel-held areas of Idlib in northwest Syria. To provide a sample overview of the structure and operations of a local council in Idlib, I interviewed Khalid Ghanima, who is from the media department of the local council of the locality of Killi [also spelled: Kelly] in the north of Idlib province.

Below is the interview with some condensing, editing and reordering for clarity. Any explanatory insertions are in square brackets. This interview was conducted on 7 October 2018 CE.

Q: Firstly can you tell me a little about the locality of Killi? The number of inhabitants, the main families in it etc.

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Competing Ideological Trends in the Islamic State: The "Suspect" vs. The Mainstream

October 16, 2018 at 2:58 pm

In the online realm, polemical debates continue to play out between supporters of the Islamic State's official media and supporters of media outlets that are supportive of the Islamic State as a whole but are critical of what they see as the excess power wielded by 'extremists' in the organization. One of those outlets is al-Wafa' Media Foundation.

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The Islamic Fighting Group in Libya's First Statement

October 13, 2018 at 3:40 pm

In the 1990s, the Qadhdhafi regime faced a limited and unsuccessful insurgency launched by the Islamic Fighting Group in Libya (Arabic: الجماعة الإسلامية المقاتلة بليبيا), more commonly known as the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and usually abbreviated as LIFG in English.

In my view, the former translation of the full name is more appropriate, even if a debate about translating the full name might seem a little pedantic. The reason I mention this point is that the former translation conveys a better sense of the group's broader vision: namely, a jihadist group that happens to be in Libya for the time being, with ambitions not necessarily confined to Libya.

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Interview with the Armed Islamic Group's Amir

October 12, 2018  •  aymennjawad.org

Over the course of 1995-1996 CE, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) alienated many people who had come under its banner inside Algeria as well as many supporters abroad. The GIA's amir Djamal Zitouni (Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin) was assassinated by elements who had turned against the GIA. In his place came Abu Talha Antar Zouabiri (/Zawabiri), who did nothing to improve the declining reputation of the GIA.

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The Armed Islamic Group's Allegiance Pledge Document

October 9, 2018 at 1:16 pm

As can be seen from the manifesto of the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) published with the signature of Abu Abd al-Rahman Amin (Djamal Zitouni) in Sha'aban 1416 AH (c. late December 1995 CE-late January 1996 CE), the group repeatedly emphasized that it was the sole legitimate Islamic group fighting in its abode of Algeria, and as such required all Muslims within that abode to hear and obey its amir. For those who wanted to work with the GIA as a fighting force inside Algeria and/or formally join the group's ranks, it was required to pledge allegiance and sign a document called wathiqat al-ta'ahhud ("pledge document"). This document is presented in this post.

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