Briefs
Choosing a Figurehead Over a Fanatic: A Profile of Abu Musab al-Barnawi, the New Leader of the Islamic State in West Africa
Andrew McGregor Though it might be difficult to conceive, there are apparently limits to the degree of barbarity the Islamic State (IS) organization is willing to tolerate in its regional leaders. On August 2, IS took the unusual step of intervening in the leadership of... MORE
The Face of Bangladeshi Jihad: Abu Ibrahim al-Hanif (a.k.a. Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury)
Animesh Roul The Islamic State’s (IS) announcement of a “Bengal unit” in its propaganda magazine Dabiq (issue No 12) in November 2015 left the entire Indian subcontinent flummoxed. That issue very prominently featured a chapter dedicated to the “Revival of Jihad in Bangladesh.” Subsequently, through... MORE
Islamic State’s Female Enforcer in Mosul: A Profile of Umm Anas (a.k.a. Hajiah)
Halla Diyab Female militants’ roles within the Islamic State (IS) have recently evolved, breaking from their more conventional functions as recruiters and online propagandists for the jihadist cause. Increasingly, women act as vehicles of oppression against other female militants within the group. This departure from... MORE
Back from the Dead: The Turkistan Islamic Party’s Abdul Haq al-Turkistani
Jacob Zenn One of the key militant groups in the Jaysh al-Fateh coalition in Syria, the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) is made up of more than 1,000 Uighurs from China’s westernmost Xinjiang region. [1] The TIP attributes its founding to Hassan Mehsum, who was killed... MORE
August 2016 Briefs (Free)
THE RETURN OF GADHAFI’S GENERAL: ALI SULEIMAN KANA Nicholas A. Heras The international coalition to combat the Islamic State (IS) has recently begun to expand and intensify its activities in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. In July, three French Special Forces soldiers were killed... MORE
‘The Spielberg of French Islamism’: A Profile of Omar Diaby (a.k.a. Omar Omsen)
Andrew McGregor The Islamic State-inspired Bastille Day atrocity in Nice that killed 84 people and injured over 300 more has brought new awareness of a strain of radical Islam that thrives behind the lights and glamour of life on the French Riviera. Nurtured in hidden... MORE
The South Asian Televangelism Network of Salafist Preacher Dr. Zakir Naik
Farhan Zahid Few Islamist televangelists in South Asia have achieved the momentous success that Indian Salafist preacher Dr. Zakir Naik has in such short span of time. In fact, there are a number of televangelists, such as Dr. Israr Ahmad of Tehreek-e-Islami, Zaid Zaman Hamid... MORE
A Look at the Refugee Turned Ansbach Bomber – Mohammad Daleel
Meghan Conroy Introduction On July 26, the Islamic State’s (IS) online newsletter, al-Nabaa, published a profile of a 27-year-old jihadist who had allegedly belonged to the organization since 2013. [1] This publication was disseminated in the wake of that jihadist’s claim to fame – a... MORE
To the Gates of Mosul: A Snapshot of Sayyid Ali al-Yasseri & Sayyid Hamid al-Jazaeri, Co-Leaders of the Khorasani Brigades Shiite Militias
Nicholas A. Heras Introduction The U.S.-led international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) is preparing a campaign to seize Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city. Located in Iraq’s northwestern Ninewah governorate, Mosul is arguably the most important city controlled by IS in Syria or Iraq. As... MORE
Alms for Jihad: Profiling Jamaat ud Dawa’s Humanitarian Face Hafiz Abdul Rauf
Animesh Roul Pakistan based Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD), the internationally proscribed Islamic socio-political front of the terrorist group Lashkar-e Taiba (LeT), often blends violence with humanitarian activities in order to garner greater legitimacy and wider acceptance within the country as the true defender of Islam. JuD... MORE