reading for 5/30

Inspired by the weeks of hate that more or less happened, we look at ISIS this week.

Basic ISIS Logistical Facts(ish):

ISIS had a propaganda magazine called Dabiq from July 2014 to July 2016. Dabiq is a place in Syria that is supposed to be the location for one of the final battles according to certain Muslim myths about a final apocalypse. They published 15 issues. It is self described as “a periodical magazine focusing on the issues of tawhid (unity), manhaj (truth-seeking), hijrah (migration), jihad (holy war) and jama’ah (community). It will also contain photo reports, current events, and informative articles on matters relating to the Islamic State.” Then in October 2016 Turkey(+allies) took control of the town Dabiq.

So they started a new magazine called Rumiyah after that, which is the currently runing one. Rumiyah means Rome in arabic, gesturing to that which ISIS intends to capture. They’ve published 9 issues of this, the last one released this month in May 2017. They translate it into Arabic, English, German, French, Indonesian, Turkish, and Uyghur.

I skimmed through all 24 issues and picked out a few articles to read. I’ve uploaded just the pages you need to save you the scattered images of them executing non-believers/criminals.

The main article we’ll be reading is in the 15th and last issue of Dabiq: Why We Hate You And Why We Fight You. A second reading from the same issue, one instance of a running segment titled In The Words Of The Enemy.

Some things you might think about when reading:

  • What sounds legit about their criticisms?
  • What rhetoric is similar to anarchistish rhetoric?
  • ISIS is grounded in Islam and the quran, so it’s not Christian, but what sounds Christian about them?
  • Damn the design of this magazine is clean!

Next I’ll just drop some quotes, notes, and images I found interesting/funny from going through all this shit.

The second reading was one of many in a running segment by the same name: In The Words Of The Enemy. This usually is just quoting Western politicians(/intelligence chiefs/private corporations like RAND) when they say that ISIS is strong and has made real gains, and some minor comments on the quotes. For example

“ISIS is no longer a state in name only. It is a physical, if extra- legal, reality on the ground.”

Another example serves to prop up their binary mode of thinking:

“The world today is divided into two camps. Bush spoke the truth when he said, ‘Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.’ Meaning, either you are with the crusade or you are with Islam”

Along that same line of thinking (in an unrelated article talking about tribal groups and how they can stay somewhat culturally intact but they need to be loyal and partially assimilate):

“So we warn the tribes, that any tribe or party or assembly whose involvement and collaboration with the crusaders and their apostate agents are confirmed, then by He who sent Muhammad with the truth, we will target them just as we target the crusaders, and we will eradicate and distinguish them, for there are only two camps: the camp of truth and its followers, and the camp of falsehood and its factions. So choose to be from one of the two camps.”

They also have a running segment titled “Among The Believers Are Men” where they do a short bio of one of their men, maybe have a few quotes from his friends about how pious/funny/brave he was, and then tell how he was martyred and ask that Allah accept him. Sometimes they die in a suicide bombing, or just uninterestingly in the course of war. I read one where the man bravely ran to try to save a suffering comrade who was dying slowly from sniper wounds (bait) and got sniped in the process.

They also had three instances of a segment called #JustTerrorTactics (really [Just Terror] Tactics) where they talk about the logistics of committing terror attacks in Crusader Countries. They stress (and make a compelling case) that it’s extremely easy to carry them out successfully, especially if you’re not trying to live through it. They have one on knife attacks and give knife buying tips. They have one on arson (make sure to really cover the stairs and exists). They also have one on vehicle attacks. In the vehicle attack article,they use parades as an example of a way to get lots of kills.

(Click any of these images to enlarge)

This was the first moment that I realized that they very intentionally were not depicting women in any of their images. In all of the magazines there wasn’t a single image of a woman, and here they’ve blurred out every woman.

Another from the same article, quite funny out of context.
In a section titled “Blood Is Halal”,

Muslims currently living in Dar al-Kufr must be remind- ed that the blood of the disbelievers is halal, and killing them is a form of worship to Allah, the Lord, King, and God of mankind. This includes the businessman riding to work in a taxicab, the young adults (post-pubescent “chil- dren”) engaged in sports activities in the park, and the old man waiting in line to buy a sandwich. Indeed, even the blood of the kafir street vendor selling flowers to those pass- ing by is halal to shed – and striking terror into the hearts of all disbelievers is a Muslim’s duty. There is no shar’i re- quirement to target soldiers and policemen nor judges and politicians, but all kuffar who are not under the covenant of dhimmah are fair game. How can the disbelievers ever dream of safety and security while Muslims suffer anywhere in the world and while the rule of Allah is mockingly replaced by manmade monstrosities of democracy?

And accompanying image.

This is the front page of one. Replace the ISIS flag with a black flag and the head garb with a black hoodie and facemask and GET EXCITED.

I don’t understand what’s up with this full page joke? ad? but here it is

Handful more images to end the ISIS show.

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