Islamic State Wins Support from Jordanian Pol, Shocks Saudis

Ruthless violence from the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS, or ISIS) is dividing people in the Muslim world, two recent clips from Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) show.

In Jordan, politician Muhammad Bayoudh Al-Tamimi, a Palestinian, vigorously defended the group during a television appearance posted online Aug. 31. Islamic State ideology "stems from the Quran and the Sunna," he said, according to MEMRI's translation.

"The Quran and the Sunna constitute their ideology, doctrine, and conduct…there is no such thing as 'ISIS ideology' – its Islam."

It has divided the world into two camps – those who stand with the West, including the United States – and those who stand with ISIS. A recent ISIS slaughter of Syrian troops was justified, Al-Tamimi said, because, "They had killed tens of thousands of Muslims… If these Muslims are terrorists – I salute those terrorists! I salute the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria! Blessed be your hands! March on!"

For Saudi Arabia, however, news that a 25-year-old Saudi doctor, Faisal bin Shaman Al-'Anzi, carried out a suicide car-bomb attack for ISIS in northern Iraq in July, killing and injuring approximately 30 people, sent shockwaves through the country's press, a separate MEMRI report shows.

Columnists questioned how someone tasked with saving lives could join a terrorist group like ISIS. Some also emphasized that the roots of the radicalization are based in the institutions of Saudi society, including the education system. Some even suggested re-evaluating the overall ideological origins of the Saudi state.

For instance, liberal Saudi columnist Halima Muzaffa called for reform of the Saudi education system and social institutions, in an article in the daily Al-Watan.

"The phenomenon [of joining ISIS] doubtlessly indicates that our education [system] is unable to improve [the students'] awareness, which means that we must reassess [the issue of] increasing the level of their awareness. However, the responsibility for this does not lie solely with the education [system], but with all the social institutions that are party to shaping [people's] awareness. Therefore, we must rebuild the ideological-moral system in all the institutions, on the religious, educational, medical and media levels," writes Muzaffa.

In the Saudi daily Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, columnist Mishari Al-Zaidi compared Al-'Anzi to other doctors in history who participated in brutal activities, such as Nazi doctor Aribert Heim and Serbian doctor Radovan Karadzic. He noted that al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri also is a doctor.

The ISIS ideology is "a malady that kills off the conscience and emotions," Al-Zaidi writes. He called on Saudi education and health professionals "to open their eyes and wake up in order to notice any sign, even the most minute, of any civil servant's [attraction to the ideas of] ISIS -- which could become a cup of poison that will end up causing bitterness and death. This epidemic means that [we must declare] a state of emergency -- from the home through the office to the street."

Al-Shabaab Video Seeks Recruits in Minnesota

Al-Shabaab, al-Qaida's Somali affiliate, wants Muslims from Minnesota to sign up. A new video released last week by the terrorist group's media arm, the Al-Kataib Foundation, urges Minnesotans along with jihadists from Great Britain, Germany and other non-Muslim nations to join its jihad.

Four Somali fighters appear in the video with their faces digitally obscured sitting while sitting with their AK-47s.

"Those that are living in the U.S., especially Minnesota, Great Britain, Germany and many parts of the kuffar (unbelieving) world, you have a decision to make today," one of the fighters says in slightly accented English.

Al-Shabaab already attracted numerous foreign Muslims from abroad to its ranks, including British-born Samantha Lewthwaite, aka the "White Widow," and Omar Shafik Hammami (AKA Abu Mansour al-Amriki), an American-born jihadist. Hammami, an Alabama native and Muslim convert, served as a leading propagandist for the group before being killed in September 2013.

At least 40 Americans, mostly from the Minneapolis area, have joined the terrorist group, along with 20 to 25 Canadians.

Several Americans died fighting for the terrorist group – including one as a suicide bomber.

"If you choose to not make this decision and not answer the call of Allah, note that there is a clear evidence against you on the day of judgment in the court of Allah," the man in the video said. "For what are you still living in Dar al-kuffar [Land of disbelief] for? Is it the schools, the jobs and the settlements you have? Know that this world is only temporary and the hereafter is eternal.

"So save your souls from the great punishment of Allah … and make Hijrah," he continues. "Come join us."

In a direct verbal attack against the United States, the masked man reminds Americans of the defeat they suffered in Mogadishu in 1993 when the bodies of their soldiers were dragged through the streets.

He also celebrates last year's attack against the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya that left 67 people dead. U.S. forces launched a drone attack against Al-Shabaab Tuesday in an effort to kill the Ahmed Abdi Godane, the group's leader widely believed to have been behind the mall attack.

"Know that our war against you is not based on geographical borders or securing tiny strips of land, but between truth and falsehood" the masked man said. "You should know that this war will continue until the last drop of your blood is spilled."

Hamas' Military Wing Boasts of its Units and Weaponry

The Hamas-affiliated Al-Risala published a report recently outlining the various units and capabilities of the 'Izz Al-Din Al-Qassam Brigades,' Hamas' military wing, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) . Portions of the report, translated by MEMRI, state that the Brigades, totalling approximately 30,000 terrorists, consists of six regiments, with roughly 5,000 fighters in each and encompassing five battalions.

The Infantry Unit is the largest contingent, comprising approximately 85% of the entire Al-Qassam Brigades. Tasked with maintaining internal stability and attacking Israeli soldiers head-on, the Infantry Unit boasts several types of advanced weapons, including Kalashnikov 74, M-16 rifles, and a quarter of a million locally manufactured hand grenades.

The Special Unit is responsible for carrying out infiltration attacks in Israel and striking Israeli military bases. Its fighters represent the elite of the al-Qassam Brigades, possessing advanced and sophisticated weaponry, including sniper rifles, explosive charges and night vision binoculars. Moreover, the Engineering Unit is tasked with tunnel excavations, constructing a vast underground network featuring tunnels dozens of kilometers long utilized for weapons storage, and for transferring supplies. Attack tunnels are also exploited for infiltrating and facilitating attacks within Israel.

According to the report, the Air Defense Unit was created less than seven years ago and possesses advanced shoulder-fired SA-7, SA-18, and SA-24 anti-aircraft missiles that are capable of shooting down airplanes. This unit also has British Javelin missiles with a range of 5.5 kilometres, threatening Israeli military jets and civilian aviation.

The Artillery Unit is tasked with manufacturing and launching missiles into Israeli civilian population centers, including multiple versions of the Qassam and Katusha rockets. This unit also possesses advanced Russian Grad rockets and locally manufactured M-75 rockets that hit Tel Aviv. Moreover, the Artillery Unit is in charge of firing mortars into Israel; it inflicted casualties in the latest conflict.

Other units include Hamas' Military Intelligence Unit, tasked with monitoring suspects and executing accused spies for Israel. During the war, Hamas summarily executed over 20 alleged collaborators, some of whom were shot in the streets in front of public onlookers.

While the current cease-fire appears to be holding, Hamas prepares for the next round of fighting and continues to manufacture rockets intended to target Israeli civilians.

Latest Islamic State Magazine Touts Foley Killing, Taunts Obama

Al-Hayat Media, an important part of the Islamic State's propaganda machine, released the third issue of its English-language jihadist publication Dabiq Friday. It released its first two editions of the magazine written in the style of Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's Inspire magazine earlier in August.

A recent article in the New Republic compared the first two editions of Dabiq with Inspire, saying the new magazine provided a more "comprehensive attempt to recruit westerners" than its Al-Qaida predecessor.

The cover, "A Call to Hijrah," recalls the Muslim Prophet Muhammad's journey from Mecca to Medina and reads like a glossy recruiting guide.

It sets up the United States as the boogeyman all Muslims must fight because Americans killed thousands of Muslims during their occupation of Iraq, calling their deaths "collateral damage."

Dabiq gloats over James Foley's beheading, calling it "a cooling balm for the believers' hearts" that served "as a retribution for the recent American aggression against the Muslims of Iraq."

It claims that the Obama administration was "dragging its feet" its feet for nine months trying to save Foley's life and those of other American and British hostages held in the Islamic State's dungeons. In the new issue, the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, or ISIL) again raises the administration's refusal to release Aafia Siddiqui, who is serving an 86-year sentence for attempting to murder Americans in Afghanistan and plotting 'mass-casualty' attacks in New York.

Obama acts "more foolishly" than Bush on matters of foreign policy in the Middle East, the magazine says, and calls him an "apostate."

The magazine also provides religious justification for Muslims living in the West to leave their countries and join the fight, depicting a Muslim society free from nationalism and where they can live in full accord with Islamic law and morality. It also uses guilt against Muslims who refuse to follow the Islamic State.

"So abandoning hijrah (migration to the Islamic State) – the path to jihad – is a dangerous matter. In effect, one is thereby deserting jihad and willingly becoming a hypocritical spectator," the magazine said, criticizing Muslims in the West who live like their non-Muslim neighbors. "… [N]ow there is a Khalifah (Caliphate) prepared to accept every Muslim and Muslimah into lands and all it can within its power to protect them alone."

The "life of jihad" it says is only possible if Muslims move to the Islamic State's caliphate."

Catholic, Orthodox Patriarchs Call for Islamic State's Destruction

Genocide against Christians across the Middle East prompted the region's Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs to call for foreign intervention Wednesday during a meeting at the Maronite patriarchate in Lebanon.

Islamic State forces, along with other jihadist groups, have systematically destroyed ancient Christian communities in both Syria and Iraq since the start of Syria's civil war in 2012.

"The international community cannot keep silent about the existence of the so-called," the patriarchs said in a statement, referring to the Islamic State. "They should put an end to all extremist terrorist groups and criminalize aggression against Christians and their properties."

Pope Francis issued a similar statement earlier this month.

The Christian leaders previously were reluctant to encourage foreign intervention in the Syrian civil war. Melkite Patriarch Gregory III, whose church is based in Damascus, charged in August 2013 that foreign intervention in Syria fueled "hatred, fueling criminality, fueling inhumanity, fueling fundamentalism, terrorism."

A prior statement by three of the Catholic and Orthodox patriarchs in December 2011 similarly opposed foreign intervention.

Developments since then led to the change in posture. Those include the Islamic State's imposition of the Quran-mandated jizyah tax on Christians in Syria and in Iraq. Christians must choose among paying the tax, converting to Islam or facing death. In addition, the slaughter of Christians and the desecration of their churches forced the patriarchs' hands.

"The very existence of Christians is at stake in several Arab countries – notably in Iraq, Syria and Egypt – where they have been exposed to heinous crimes, forcing them to flee," the patriarchs' statement said.

They called on Muslim religious leaders to issue a fatwa forbidding attacks on Christians, describing their silence so far as "painful." The United Nations Security Council must take steps toward "eradicating" the Islamic State or else Christian suffering will continue, they added.

A recent incursion by the Islamic State into Lebanon, which experienced its own bloody 15-year sectarian civil war during the 1970s and 1980s, heightened the patriarchs' distress.

"We reject religious extremism in Lebanon. Lebanon is a country for all and not a country where there are different religious emirates," they said.

Lebanon's constitution requires its president to be a Maronite Catholic, but that office has been vacant since former Lebanese President Michel Suleiman's term ended May 25.

A series of tweets by an Islamic State supporter on Thursday show Lebanon remains squarely in the terrorists' sights and that they plan to force Christians there to pay the jizyah or get them to flee to France.

Mahmoud Abbas: Blame Hamas for Gaza Casualties

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas may not be fond of Israel and its political leadership, but he's clear-eyed about one thing: Hamas initiated and prolonged an unnecessary fight with Israel that directly led to Palestinian deaths.

Abbas appeared on Palestine TV Friday, saying "it was possible for us to avoid all of that, 2,000 martyrs, 10,000 injured, 50,000 houses (damaged or destroyed)."

This criticism comes on the heels of his statement that this week's open-ended ceasefire was, in essence, the same Egyptian proposal Hamas rejected weeks ago, before Israel's ground incursion into Gaza which sent casualties dramatically higher and cause massive damage.

Nevertheless, Hamas is trying to spin the war into a victory. That was apparently too much for Mahmoud al-Habbash, a senior Abbas adviser on religious affairs. On Thursday, Habbash likened Israel's Operation Protective Edge to a battle Mohammed fought in 625 A.D. That fight, the Jerusalem Post's Khaled Abu Toameh wrote, "is generally believed to be a defeat for the Muslims, especially because of the heavy casualties they suffered."

In that case, Habbash wrote on Facebook, "The Muslims admitted their defeat," a statement interpreted as a call for Hamas to do the same today.

That same candor has been lacking among American Islamists, including officials at the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), which apparently now acknowledges that its mission includes being "defenders of the Palestinian cause."

CAIR's Los Angeles director, Hussam Ayloush, has had no comment about Hamas. But after the ceasefire, he wrote in a Twitter post that he conflict was an unprovoked "barbaric assault" by Israel.

Even in the conflict's early stages, however, Abbas wondered what Hamas was "trying to achieve" by firing rockets at Israeli neighborhoods, given that Palestinians "are the losing side, and every minute there are more and more unnecessary deaths. I don't like trading in Palestinian blood."

If he can say that, why can't Ayloush and his colleagues in the United States?

CAIR Lawyer Ponders Outlandish US/Mossad Conspiracy Theory

While the world recoils in horror at the brutality shown by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, an attorney for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) apparently gave serious consideration to a wild conspiracy theory alleging that ISIS is a Mossad and CIA "proxy force."

Lena Masri, a CAIR attorney in Detroit, linked from her Facebook page Aug. 22 to an article by Iran's official news agency, IRNA, about ISIS and its rise to prominence. Among its claims, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic State, "is really Simon Elliot, a Jewish agent for the Zionist intelligence agency Mossad."

The notion rated a "pants-on-fire" from fact-checking site "Pundit Fact," three days earlier, but Masri chose instead to put the question out to her Facebook friends. "Any truth to this???" she wrote.

Part of CAIR's unstated mission is to deflect attention from the theological underpinnings driving terrorist groups like ISIS, al-Qaida and Hamas. It's a task made more difficult when ISIS proclaims itself the "Islamic State" and a regional caliphate ruled by draconian punishments like book-burning, the stoning of adulterers, and the murder of apostates. Masri's post about ISIS came just days after video surfaced of American journalist James Foley's beheading.

Masri's posting is the latest in a long line of reckless social media postings by CAIR officials. Similar to Masri, CAIR national spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said he suspected a radical Islamist website which issued threats against producers of the television show "South Park" may not be legitimate.Most Muslims, he claimed, "suspect [the sites] were set up only to make Muslims look bad."

Last week, the day after Foley's murder was reported, CAIR Executive Director Nihad Awad bracketed Twitter posts criticizing ISIS brutality with a claim that it is Israel which poses the greatest threat to world peace and security.

Dawud Walid, Masri's colleague at the CAIR Michigan office, has argued that FBI terrorism stings have "recruited more so-called extremist Muslims than al-Qaida themselves."

CAIR officials also have shown an affinity for the messages issued by Iran's official mouthpieces. CAIR officials were frequent guests on Iran's English-language news outlet, Press TV, appearing to back away from the network only after being called out publicly. And Walid was among CAIR officials who dismissed allegations in a federal indictment that traced Iran's elite Qods Force to a plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's United States ambassador in Washington, D.C. – a potential act of war.

"Not believing AG Holder on Iran-Mexican drug cartel alliance," Zahra Billoo, a CAIR San Francisco official, wrote on Twitter in 2011. Walid said he wasn't "inclined to believe this #Iran plot biz" because it involved an FBI sting operation.

Prosecutors had evidence showing a Qods Force official wired $100,000 as a down payment on the ambassador's assassination. The case ended with the main suspect pleading guilty and receiving a 25-year prison sentence.

In an unrelated case, the FBI seized internal documents from a Hamas-support network in America which place CAIR and its founders firmly under its wing. Those records were admitted into evidence in federal court. CAIR treats this documented, court-tested connection as a wild, Islamophobic concoction.

In reality, though, there's no need to ask "any truth to this?"

American Killed Fighting For the Islamic State in Syria

A Free Syrian Army source says a San Diego man was killed in battle fighting for the Islamic State (IS) against a rival anti-Assad faction over the weekend. Douglas McArthur McCain, 33, was identified through passport photos and distinctive neck tattoo.

This comes as the Obama administration ramps up its effort to counter the self-proclaimed terrorist state in the wake of American journalist James Foley's brutal execution last week.

McCain was born in Illinois but later moved to the Twin Cities in Minnesota where he graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School in 1999. Police arrested McCain in 2000 on a disorderly conduct charge; in 2001 on a theft charge; and again in 2006 on charges of obstruction, according to court documents.

His "Duale ThaslaveofAllah" Facebook account features jihadist imagery such as the black flag used by IS and links to other Facebook pages depicting street brawls. His most recent Facebook activity shows he befriended a Malaysian jihadist who lives in Raqqa, Syria where the IS is based.

He "reverted" to Islam in 2004, according to a Twitter post. McCain reportedly worked at a restaurant in San Diego and attended Masjid Nur in that city, NBC News reports.

U.S. intelligence officials estimate at least 100 Americans have gone to Syria to fight for a myriad of jihadist factions battling the Assad regime. Of those, only about a dozen Americans are believed to be fighting for IS.

McCain becomes the fourth American known to have been killed while fighting for jihadist groups.

In May, Florida resident Moner Mohammad Abusalha became the first American to be a suicide bomber in Syria fighting for Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate. A Pittsburgh man, identified as Amir Farouk Ibrahim, was reportedly killed fighting in Syria in 2013. Nicole Lynn Mansfield, a white convert to Islam from the Detroit area, also was killed while fighting there last year.

McCain's death no doubt will heighten concern about IS ability to recruit American Muslims to fight under its banner – concern that had already been brewing due to images of the White House and Chicago's Old Republic Building that had been circulated in IS-related Twitter accounts.

Decimated Hamas Accepts Ceasefire, Claims Victory

Israel's counterterrorism operations in Gaza have effectively deteriorated Hamas' military capabilities and facilitated in breaking down the terrorist group's chain of command, security officials told the Jerusalem Post Tuesday.

Later that day, amid the report's assessment that Hamas had lost much of its will to fight, the terrorist group agreed to the latest Egyptian-brokered ceasefire.

There is growing discontent among the Hamas ranks, as the group suffered significant terrorist casualties, destruction of vital military infrastructure, rocket construction capabilities, and major destruction of its sophisticated underground tunnel network, the Post report said. Israel's successful targeted assassination of senior Hamas leaders severely disrupted the terrorist organization's command and control structure, and even resulted in the desertion of rank and file terrorists from battle.

In light of the assassinations, growing suspicion of Israeli intelligence infiltration also forced Hamas to halt the use sophisticated technologies in the battlefield, significantly reducing its ability to fight. The growing mistrust and panic led Hamas to summarily execute over 20 Palestinians accused of collaborating with Israel.

Mid-range commanders allegedly fled with their families from conflict zones to avoid having their houses destroyed, producing a sense of mistrust and abandonment among remaining fighters. In one case, 14 Hamas fighters were reportedly trapped in a tunnel for 20 days with no supplies while their commanders failed to even attempt a rescue effort. Some are believed to have starved to death.

According to the Israeli assessments, many within Gaza's society are disillusioned with Hamas, whose leaders were among the first to hide underground leaving the civilians to cope with Israeli retaliation to Hamas' indiscriminate terrorist campaign. Hamas is also accused of confiscating aid transferred into the Gaza Strip, intended for needy civilians, and giving it to its own members. 

None of this reality has stopped Hamas from claiming victory. Hours before the cease-fire went into effect, dozens of rockets and mortar shells targeted southern Israel, wounding dozens and killing one Israeli. The Hamas Al-Qassam Brigades boasts of its terrorist campaign and perceived diplomatic victory over Israel, touting that it is preparing for the next round of hostilities against the Jewish state.

Hamas leadership continues to make clear that they remain committed to Israel's destruction. The Gaza war showed that they are willing to sacrifice their own people, by constantly firing from civilian population centers and structures, including mosques and hospitals, in hopes of advancing that goal.

Hamas Training Manual Tells Civilians to Store Bombs

A Hamas training manual published by the engineering corps of the Al-Qassam Brigades, the terrorist group's military arm, tells Palestinian civilians living in Gaza how to build and store bombs in their homes.

Such recommendations further demonstrate Hamas' desire to put civilians into harm's way. Secondary explosions consistent with storage of munitions in civilian areas have been observed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) since the beginning of the latest conflict in July.

The terrorists aim "to transfer combat from open areas to built-up urban areas, which serves the 'resistance' [i.e. Hamas] and fighters of Islamic Jihad," according to the manual, seized by Israeli troops during Operation Protective Edge.

The manual tells "jihad fighters" to take advantage of private residences to evade Israeli intelligence-gathering efforts. It also suggests doing so enhances the element of surprise.

According to an IDF translation of the section titled "Factors for Successfully Hiding Weapons in Homes," the Al-Qassam Brigades recommends:

(1) The activity of hiding weapons in homes needs to be done with secrecy and should not have a military character.

(2) Placing equipment in residential areas needs to be done with household items.

(3) You must use residents of the area in order place the equipment inside.

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