People might think that now that the former chief of ISIS Abu Bakr AL Baghdadi is dead, things will cool down and that in the words of Trump who announced the death of Baghdadi; “The world is safer now”, but it seems as the experts of combating terrorism don’t share the same views. According to The New York Times the group broke its silence on Thursday to confirm their deaths, announce a new leader and warn America: “Do not be happy.” In an audio recording uploaded on the Telegram app, the Islamic State mourned the loss of Mr. al-Baghdadi, who led the organization for nearly a decade, and its spokesman, Abu Hassan al-Muhajir, who was killed a day after Mr. al-Baghdadi and who had widely been considered a potential successor. The Islamic State announcement said that Mr. al-Baghdadi had been succeeded as leader by Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi, whom it identified as the “emir of the believers” and “caliph.”
“Nobody — and I mean nobody outside a likely very small circle within ISIS — have any idea who their new leader ‘Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi’ is,” Paul Cruickshank, editor of the CTC Sentinel at the Combating Terrorism Center, said in a tweet on Thursday. “The group has not yet released any meaningful biographical details which might allow analysts to pinpoint his identity.” The man known by the nom de guerre Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi takes over a caliphate of ashes. Isil has been driven from Mosul and every other city it once controlled. A territory once the size of Britain has been reduced to a few pockets in the deserts of eastern Syria. Abu Ibrahim himself is in hiding along with the rest of Isil’s leadership. His elevation to the position of caliph was announced in a seven and a half minute audio tape, rather than in a speech at one of Islam’s most storied mosques. Western intelligence officers are scrambling to piece together the identity of the new Isil leader but for now almost nothing is known about him. His elevation was endorsed by Isil’s shura council, a consultative body of senior figures, and the statement mentioned that Baghdadi had left “a will” with instructions for after his death.
Experts of the counter terrorism field believe that the new chief will not be revealing himself in videos, he might keep a low profile for now, mostly because he is now the most wanted man. The al-Qurayshi appellation at the end of his name indicates that he is being portrayed as a descendant of the Quraysh tribe of the Prophet Muhammad, a lineage that the Islamic State considers to be a prerequisite for becoming a caliph, or ruler of a Muslim theocracy. Its use indicates that the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, ISIL and Daesh, continues to see itself as a caliphate — even if one with practically no territory. “It shows that while the world is ready to pronounce the Islamic State dead and finished, the group’s core leadership continues to believe it can operate much as it has in the past,” said Colin P. Clarke, a senior fellow at the Soufan Center, a research organization in New York.
Only time will show who the “real” chief is and how he plans to lead his weakened delusional herd. But one thing is for sure, the group is not be underestimated.
Meral Musli Tajroska – Psychologist, Expert on Violent Extremism and Radicalization and Activist for Gender Equality
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This project was funded in part through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the implementers/authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government.
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