Research on the Islamic State

The Islamic State’s burning to death of a captured Jordanian pilot is the focus of two documents translated below.

Middle East Forum Shillman/Ginsburg Fellow Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi is one of world’s leading researchers on the Islamic State (IS) group terrorizing Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIS. The overwhelming majority of his writings and translations are too detailed or esoteric for distribution to a general audience, so instead MEF compiles periodic updates providing links and summaries for those who wish to follow the groundbreaking work of this prolific researcher.

For more general interest writings by Jawad al-Tamimi, click here.

Articles

ISIS and Syria’s Southern Front (Feb. 6)
The Middle East Institute
Jawad al-Tamimi examines the various militia forces holding sway in the southern front in Syria, along the border with Jordan. He concludes that IS is “absent or weak in the south,” dismissing IS’s claims to be affiliated with some of the militias operating there. Proposals to building an anti-IS coalition in the south are not presently feasible, however, as “the rebels in the area are too focused on fighting the regime, and the bulk of ISIS territory and resources lies too far away.”

Translations

Islamic State Justification for Burning Alive the Jordanian Pilot (Feb. 4)
A document released by IS’s al-iftaa wa al-buhuth (Fatwa and Research) committee, which is responsible for producing Islamic textual justifications (Quran verses, hadiths, events from early Islamic history) for IS actions. This one is headlined “What is the ruling on burning the kafir [disbeliever] with fire until he dies?” Names cited in the document, such as fifteenth-century Egyptian jurist Al-Hafiz ibn Hajar, are identified in Jawad al-Tamimi’s annotations.

“Soon, Soon” – IS Nasheed (February 4)
A musical chant (nasheed) from IS’s Ajnad Media Foundation. Notable for its sound effects (mp3) and violent lyrics (e.g. “We will come to you with slaughter and death,” “With the specters of night and the young men of terror.”)

Naqshbandi Army: Statement: Condemning the Burning of Muadh al-Kasasbeh (Feb. 14)
Statement from the Naqshbandi Army (Jaysh Rijal aṭ-Ṭariqa an-Naqshabandiya, or JRTN), a secular-leaning Sufi Sunni Iraqi group associated with former Baathist army officers, condemning IS’s burning alive of captured Jordanian pilot Muadh al-Kasasbeh. Notable for its effusive praise of both the pilot (e.g., “heroic martyr”) and the Kingdom of Jordan (e.g., “a land deep-rooted in its creed and authentic in its Arabness”), as well as characterizing IS’s methods as similar to “the evil hands of sectarian and racist [Shi’a] militias whose loyalty is to Iran.”