ISIS published a new issue of its glossy online magazine in which it profusely praised the Brussels attacks but saved the cover for scorn of the Muslim Brotherhood.
The 14th issue of Dabiq declared in the foreword, peppered with bloody photos of the March 22 attacks, that “the death of a single Muslim, no matter his role in society, is more grave to the believer than the massacre of every kāfir [disbeliever] on earth.”
“And while the Sharī’ah calls for the invasion of all kāfir lands, certainly the aggressors are dealt with before those nations not actively waging war against the Khilāfah. This is an obvious reality. Any disbeliever standing in the way of the Islamic State will be killed, without pity or remorse, until Muslims suffer no harm and governance is entirely for Allah.”
Belgium is referred to as a “battleground,” a status “soon to spread to the rest of crusader Europe and the West.”
“Paris was a warning. Brussels was a reminder. What is yet to come will be more devastating and more bitter,” the magazine states. “…Bullets and shrapnel will slash and pierce all those whom Allah’s soldiers reach.” Bloodshed will not end, ISIS vows, “until the rule of Allah reaches east to west and the Muslims walk undisturbed by the kāfir filth beneath them.”
Because the jihadis see themselves as working for Allah, the foreword adds, “there is thus no possibility of their surrender to humans” and “crusaders,” after “resolve dissipates,” will “fall at the feet of the invading lions, appealing for amnesty and begging to pay jizyah [tax].”
The issue includes obituaries for the Brussels bombers, calling Ibrahim El Bakraoui a guy “known for his bravery and generosity” and his brother Khalid “a man of strong character, a natural leader.” Both men are described as being drawn to terrorism while in prison for other offenses.
Najim Laachraoui is hailed as “a unique man, possessing excellent manners” who “participated in several battles” against al-Nusra before traveling to Europe, where he “prepared the explosives for the two raids in Paris and Brussels.”
The cover story on the Muslim Brotherhood underscores how ISIS wants their own influence to reign superior in places like Egypt and Gaza by discrediting the Brotherhood for being “apostates” whose “servitude to the crusaders reached the point of hosting Western intelligence agents in the ‘Islamic’ centers of the West to partake in the war against jihād.”
“They do not want to oppose any other religion. They want to treat all kuffār as equals with Muslims. They thus reject the obligation of jihād against the Jews and Christians,” ISIS complains of the Brotherhood, objecting to their participation as a political party in governments where laws other than Shariah exist and decrying their “pacifism.”
Another article studies what Muslims can learn from the Mongol hordes when it comes to protecting the Islamic State from invaders.
“Today, the people are divided into three groups with respect to the establishment of the Islamic State and the return of khilāfah upon the prophetic methodology: A group that supports the revival of the Khilāfah and the implementation of the Sharī’ah, a group that wages war against the Khilāfah and the Sharī’ah, and a third group that claims to be in support of establishing the Khilāfah and implementing the Sharī’ah but seems to think that this can only come about by abandoning jihād, fear-mongering, and criticizing the mujāhidīn over any perceived shortcomings,” that article states.
“Just as the people of Shām began assuming the worst when facing the fitnah [trial] of the Mongols, so too do many Muslims today assume the worst when facing the fitnah of the tawāghīt [rulers] and the crusaders, even apostatizing because of these assumptions!”
Underscoring ISIS’ attempt to rival al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, a profile highlights a jihadist from Bangladesh who pretended that he was going to an engineering conference in the Middle East, immigrated to the caliphate and died fighting there. Dabiq includes another article with the head of ISIS in Bangladesh, who vowed “our soldiers are presently sharpening their knives to slaughter the atheists, the mockers of the Prophet, and every other apostate in the region.”
The magazine features another article purported to be from British hostage John Cantlie advocating for Western countries to drop their policies of not paying ransoms to ISIS.
Cantlie, kidnapped in 2012, has appeared in numerous ISIS propaganda videos.
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