Still from the latest issue of Dabiq magazine.
Clarion Project, by Elliot Friedland, May 25, 2015:
Entitled They Plot and Allah Plots, the issue focuses on legitimacy, trying to demonstrate theological and political legitimacy as well as the practical viability of its caliphate. The title of the magazine is the name of a feature detailing how the plans of the nations arraigned against the Islamic State will come to nothing since sovereignty belongs to Allah alone.
It opens with praise for the two terrorists killed while attempting to attack Pamela Geller’s ‘Draw Mohammed’ cartoon competition in Garland, Texas. It exhorts Muslim around the world to carry out similar attacks and where possible to move immediately to the areas controlled by the Islamic State.
As in the previous issue, a long section is devoted to undercutting the theological legitimacy of rival jihadi groups in Syria. They attack Saudi backed allies of Jabhat al-Nusra as being apostates on the grounds that they support the Saudi monarchy.
By labelling their opponents as apostates, they seek to position themself as the only legitimate jihadist organization.
A lengthy explanation of the importance of jihad follows. It is notable that they describe dying as an achievement (of martyrdom), in stark contrast to most other armies and paramilitary organizations where dying is considered undesirable (although an inevitability for some).
Debunking conspiracy theories and criticizing the historical origins of the Arab countries are also given plenty of space. The central message they want to convey is clear: the Islamic State is not a Western conspiracy or an aberration. It is, in their opinion, the only legitimate political entity (for Muslims) in the Middle East.
It boasts of successes on and off the battlefield, with features on the capture of Ramadi in Iraq and Yarmouk in Syria. The Islamic State’s hospitals and administration are also covered to give the impression of a functioning and thriving country.
Dabiq also defends the Islamic State’s practice of taking slaves, excoriating those of its supporters who have denied that it happens. Claiming to be written by a woman, a piece argues the case for taking captive women and sex-slaves and justifies it using scripture and historical references. It even argues that being a sex slave is preferable to a life of “prostitution” such as the Islamic State feels women have in other lands and says they should be grateful.
The piece closes by threatening to sell U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama into sexual slavery for a third of a dinar.
The tone and message of the magazine is encapsulated in the line, “Did you and your supporters think we were joking on the day we announced the Khilāfah upon the prophetic methodology?”
This issue of Dabiq shows a clear, coherent and self-confident ideology behind the orgy of rape and destruction that the group is unleashing.
Read Issue Nine of Dabiq Magazine: They Plot and Allah Plot
Read other issues of Dabiq Magazine
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