Over the past few days, ISIS supporters have been circulating job openings in the Islamic State ranging from bomb maker to chef and fitness trainer.
The online posting was pulled from the “Message Of A Mujahid” video released this past spring by jihadist Abu Sa’eed Al-Britani — aka Omar Hussain, a former grocery employee from southern England.
Hussain frequently writes PR, including an appeal for doctors to come to the Islamic State and a detailing of the “culture clash” that Western jihadis experience in the caliphate, including Arabs who walk off with other guys’ shoes and Chechens who throw their weight around.
In his listing of 10 jobs in the Islamic State, Hussain acknowledges that not everyone who might want to come join ISIS wants to fight, though “the distinction between a boy and a man is the act of fighting.”
Not surprisingly given the priority ISIS places on media, the first job listed is in this realm — given, he argues, ISIS’ need to push back on the mainstream media. “All praise is due to Allah that Dawlah [Islamic State] has a strong foot on the media, but imagine if there was no internal media from us, so many misconceptions would be unanswered, so many arguments would not have been refuted. We would be totally silent in the face of the vicious onslaught from the media.”
Hussain then recruits for ISIS’ healthcare sector, noting that their hospitals are sometimes “packed” and sometimes “the assistance, care and supervision of many brothers goes unchecked” due to a lack of doctors and assistants, including ISIS members who have been disabled in fighting.
“I do not wish to sound harsh, but my brother please fear Allah, stop treating the Kuffar [disbelievers] and come treat the wounds of your brothers,” he says.
Next on the recruitment list: chefs.
The kitchens where cooking is done for the jihadists “are about 30km behind enemy lines so it’s safe from all firing,” Hussain explains.
To make sure that food, supplies, weapons and fighters are transported to the front lines, ISIS also wants mechanics to keep up their fleet of white pickups. “Vehicles play a big role in the work we do. Indeed it is a vital tool for a mujahid in all aspects of daily life,” he notes.
“And many times while driving over rocky terrain or over fields, and the continuous usage, they get damaged and parts get broken. So our own mechanics are very useful. Being a mechanic at the Dawlah garage is very handy and also a very rewardable job. So if you know mechanics, work in the Dawlah garage and assist the mujahidin with your skills.”
And then there’s the bomb-making department.
“Ever wondered who assembles the cars and trucks that the brothers drive for their martyrdom operations? Ever wondered who makes the explosive belts? Ever wondered who places bombs on the roads between us and the enemy? The brothers in the bomb making department are the core and backbone of nearly every operation,” says Hussain. “…Imagine the reward in preparing a car packed with explosives for a brother to go detonate in enemy lines; you would get the same reward as the brother who pushes the button and sends 50 kuffar to hell.”
Others are needed just to man checkpoints around ISIS territory “where we mostly catch evil doers trying to smuggle” banned items such as cigarettes. “A fun and rewarding job indeed,” promises Hussain.
Next he makes a pitch to teachers: “Imagine the reward in nurturing a child upon tawhid and jihad.”
“The mujahidin spilt their blood for the establishment of the state, so the least we can do in appreciation and gratitude for them is to help bring up their kids with the correct Islamic teachings,” he notes.
And ISIS wants everybody from jurists to office clerks to work in the Sharia courts. “Oh, and spies get executed on the spot, so good luck to any kafir reading this who thinks he can get in!” Hussain adds.
The ninth job is something Hussain says he tried himself in Raqqa “and it is a very enjoyable task”: Islamic police. “They are the ones who carry out the public lashings and beheadings,” he says. “They walk the streets with their sticks, punishing all those who break the law.”
Finally, Hussain stresses that the Islamic State could use a few good personal trainers.
“Some brothers come in with a lot of extra ‘barakah’ [blessings] on them which needs to be burnt off, likewise some training camps also teach grappling, knife attacks and defenses, as well as all sorts of other defense tactics,” he said. “These are very important for a mujahid to learn and if you are good at any of these, you could train the new brothers in these camps. Fitness is important and if you want you can be every new mujahid’s first personal trainer.”
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