Since the 7 October attacks and Israel’s launching of its military campaign in Gaza, one of the questions has been what role, if any, jihadist groups have played in the fighting. By jihadist groups, I am not referring to Hamas, but rather those that have the general worldview described in my April article that gives a definition of jihadism. Currently, in the Gaza context, this refers to three main groups: Jaysh al-Ummah (supportive of al-Qa’ida), Jaysh al-Islam (pro-Islamic State) and the Nasir Salah al-Din Brigades (also called, until now, Liwa al-Tawhid).
Of these groups, the Nasir Salah al-Din Brigades is the most obscure publicly about where it stands on the jihadist spectrum of al-Qa’ida and Islamic State.
However, I do remember a Jaysh al-Ummah source telling me back in February 2019 that the Nasir Salah al-Din Brigades is aligned with the Islamic State. This source explained that the brigades underwent splits encouraged by Hamas and other factions, with some turning to Hamas while others remained as a Salafi faction and adopted the name of Liwa al-Tawhid, but later, the Islamic State was able to penetrate into the group through offering material support, and thus the group became supportive of Islamic State, and in fact Jaysh al-Ummah had debates with the group on this matter.
Since the 7 October attacks and Israel’s launching of its military campaign in Gaza, one of the questions has been what role, if any, jihadist groups have played in the fighting.
Like the other jihadist factions in Gaza, the Nasir Salah al-Din Brigades has generally been quiet about its activities as part of the Gaza war. This is partly for logistical reasons such as Internet access and the fact that these groups are numerically much smaller than Hamas. However, as Israel’s campaign in Gaza has continued to drag on and living conditions in the area have continued to deteriorate, the group’s wing for accepting donations- the Madad Mujahidi Gaza (‘Aid the Mujahidin of Gaza’) campaign- has put out more frequent appeals for support. This includes the opportunity to contact the campaign via Telegram and donate via cryptocurrency. For example, this appeal from July 8 [see original]:
“It seems that the war is continuing with no horizon for its end, and there is no consolation for the wounded people of Gaza: more massacres upon massacres, more displacement upon displacement, more destruction upon destruction. In Gaza, no educational institutions have remained, nor any hospitals, factories, infrastructure, sewage, water, electricity, projects, cash liquidity, security in any place, or houses or streets. All Gaza has become rubble on rubble. Nothing has remained safe in Gaza. God is our reliance, and He is an excellent trustee. To contribute to equipping your brothers in Liwa al-Tawhid in Gaza: contact us via @maddgaza/@maddgaza1.”
The group has also put out a new statement declaring the cancellation of the name Liwa al-Tawhid and has published a video featuring the first footage of its operations during the current Gaza war. To be sure, these groups in the grand scheme of things are small, but what role they play, if any, is worth highlighting for purposes of accuracy and historical documentation.
Below is the statement translated regarding the cancellation of the name change (parenthetical insertions in square brackets are my own), and relevant screenshots from the video. [See original at Substack.]
In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Nasir Salah al-Din Brigades
Gaza- Occupied Palestine
Jihadist Media
The Almighty has said: “And surely We test you so as to know the mujahidin among you and the patient, and test your affairs"- Muhammad 30 [sic: 31].
Praise be to God alone and prayers and peace be upon the one after whom there is no prophet.
In view of Shari’i reasons and in order to protect the old heritage that is crowned with the blood of our leaders and amirs, who laid the path of might for us that is the path of the monotheists, and putting our reliance on God, we announce the cancellation of the name ‘Liwa al-Tawhid’ and preserving the name of the Nasir Salah al-Din Brigades. We encourage all those who practise what they preach and those who are sincerely devoted to supporting the religion and strengthening the edifice of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’a [People of the Sunna and the Group- the Sunnis] to stand with us and work under the law of our Lord in order to attain the best things in this world and the Hereafter. We also disavow every path of disbelief and the astray sects that contravene the methodology of the Ahl al-Sunna wa al-Jama’a.
And God is predominant over His affair but most people do not know.
Nasir Salah al-Din Brigades
Friday: 6 Muharram 1446 AH
12 July 2024 CE
Media Platform
al-Buraq Foundation for Media Production: t.me/MediaBuraq
‘Aid the Mujahidin of Gaza’ campaign: @maddgaza/@maddgaza1
