Syria-Iraq 'caliph' incites Muslims to holy war
By
Yara Bayoumy DUBAI (Reuters) - The leader of the al Qaeda offshoot now
calling itself the Islamic State has called on Muslims worldwide to take
up arms and flock to the "caliphate" it has declared on captured Syrian
and Iraqi soil. Proclaiming a "new era" in which Muslims will
ultimately…
Reuters
Syria-Iraq 'caliph' incites Muslims to holy war
3 hours ago
By Yara Bayoumy
"Terrify the enemies of Allah and seek death in the places where you expect to find it," he said. "Your brothers, on every piece of this earth, are waiting for you to rescue them."
The audio message, titled "A Message to the Mujahideen and the Muslim Ummah in the Month of Ramadan," was posted online through the group's media arm. Another account affiliated to the group posted translations in English, Russian, French, German and Albanian.
"By Allah, we will take revenge, by Allah we will take revenge, even if after a while," Baghdadi said.
While ISIL's power grab may appeal to many militants, there have already been signs of dissent. Some Islamist groups fighting in Syria have rejected the announcement of the caliphate, saying its terms had not "been realised at present", and urged Muslims to avoid siding with the Islamic State.Iraq's Association of Muslim Scholars, which was formed to represent minority Sunnis, said in a statement: "Any group that announces a state or an Islamic emirate... under these conditions is not in the interest of Iraq and its unity."
"THUNDERING STATEMENT"
The audio message's authenticity could not be immediately verified, but it was carried by SITE, an authoritative U.S.-based organisation that monitors jihadist statements.
Fighters should "embrace the chance and champion Allah's religion through jihad", Baghdadi said.
He called on Muslims to immigrate to the self-styled caliphate, saying it was their duty. In a direct, confident message, he urged them to "listen, realise and stand and free yourself from the shackles of weakness, and stand in the face of tyranny".
"VANGUARD OF NEW ISLAMIC AWAKENING"
The declaration of the caliphate followed a three-week drive for territory by ISIL militants and their allies among Iraqi's Sunni Muslim minority.
"It's a bold, all-in strategy wherein he is trying to present himself as the vanguard of this new Islamic awakening."
DUBAI
(Reuters) - The leader of the al Qaeda offshoot now calling itself the
Islamic State has called on Muslims worldwide to take up arms and flock
to the "caliphate" it has declared on captured Syrian and Iraqi soil.
Proclaiming a "new era" in which Muslims will ultimately triumph, Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi issued the call to jihad - holy war - in an audio
message lasting nearly 20 minutes that was posted online on Tuesday.
It was his first purported message since the group - previously known
as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) - proclaimed the
caliphate on Sunday and declared him its leader, in an audacious bid to
sweep away state borders and redraw the map of the Middle East.
Baghdadi, who has assumed the mediaeval title of caliph, used the
message to seek to assert authority over Muslims everywhere. He called
on them to rise up and avenge the alleged wrongs committed against their
religion, from Central African Republic to Myanmar (Burma)."Terrify the enemies of Allah and seek death in the places where you expect to find it," he said. "Your brothers, on every piece of this earth, are waiting for you to rescue them."
The audio message, titled "A Message to the Mujahideen and the Muslim Ummah in the Month of Ramadan," was posted online through the group's media arm. Another account affiliated to the group posted translations in English, Russian, French, German and Albanian.
"By Allah, we will take revenge, by Allah we will take revenge, even if after a while," Baghdadi said.
While ISIL's power grab may appeal to many militants, there have already been signs of dissent. Some Islamist groups fighting in Syria have rejected the announcement of the caliphate, saying its terms had not "been realised at present", and urged Muslims to avoid siding with the Islamic State.Iraq's Association of Muslim Scholars, which was formed to represent minority Sunnis, said in a statement: "Any group that announces a state or an Islamic emirate... under these conditions is not in the interest of Iraq and its unity."
"THUNDERING STATEMENT"
The audio message's authenticity could not be immediately verified, but it was carried by SITE, an authoritative U.S.-based organisation that monitors jihadist statements.
Fighters should "embrace the chance and champion Allah's religion through jihad", Baghdadi said.
He called on Muslims to immigrate to the self-styled caliphate, saying it was their duty. In a direct, confident message, he urged them to "listen, realise and stand and free yourself from the shackles of weakness, and stand in the face of tyranny".
"Let the world know that we are living today in a new era. Whoever was
heedless must now be alert. Whoever was sleeping must now awaken.
Whoever was shocked and amazed must comprehend. The Muslims today have a
loud, thundering statement, and possess heavy boots," said Baghdadi,
according to the posted translation.
"They have a statement that
will cause the world to hear and understand the meaning of terrorism,
and boots that will trample the idol of nationalism, destroy the idol of
democracy and uncover its deviant nature." "VANGUARD OF NEW ISLAMIC AWAKENING"
The declaration of the caliphate followed a three-week drive for territory by ISIL militants and their allies among Iraqi's Sunni Muslim minority.
Dominating
swathes of territory in an arc from Aleppo in Syria to near the western
edge of Baghdad, the caliphate aims to erase colonial-era borders and
defy the U.S.- and Iranian-backed government of Iraq's Shi'ite prime
minister, Nuri al-Maliki.
Earlier on Tuesday, Shi'ites failed to name a prime minister to replace
Maliki at the first meeting of a new parliament session, dashing hopes
that a unity government would be swiftly built to save Iraq from
collapse. ISIL also poses a direct challenge to the global leadership of
al Qaeda, which has disowned it, and to conservative Gulf Arab Sunni
rulers, who already view the group as a security threat.
Julian Barnes-Dacey, a senior policy fellow with the European Council
on Foreign Relations, said Baghdadi had made a "bold call in proclaiming
this caliphate and speaking out so vigorously now".
"He perceives this as his moment, having been able to seize this unprecedented amount of territory," he said."It's a bold, all-in strategy wherein he is trying to present himself as the vanguard of this new Islamic awakening."
(Additional reporting by Ali Abdelaty in Cairo, Amena Bakr in Doha and
Dominic Evans in Beirut; Writing by Yara Bayoumy; Editing by Mark
Trevelyan)
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