Author: Osama Humam
The Daesh group, which gained significant membership in 2014, commenced with assertions of a global caliphate, attracting recruits from various countries. Its propaganda machinery seemed potent, concealing its imperfections through forceful promotional strategies.
Jürgen Todenhöfer, a German author, politician, and journalist, conducted investigations into various militant groups in the Middle East, with a particular focus on Daesh. He engaged in dialogues with members of the group and published his discoveries in English and other languages.
Todenhöfer conversed with a German citizen and Daesh member, under the pseudonym “Saleem.” At that juncture, Saleem was situated in Syria, and during the interview, he recounted firsthand experiences and intriguing perspectives about Daesh.
Saleem initially joined Jabhat al-Nusra, but when Daesh emerged, he was influenced by their propaganda and joined them. The interview, conducted via Skype in 2014, took place when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi proclaimed the so-called caliphate in Iraq and Syria.
Throughout the interview, Saleem shared insights about Daesh. He delineated the group’s combatants and leadership, stating: “Al-Baghdadi persistently wages war against Muslims, and he personally appropriates the spoils of conflict.”
Saleem criticizes Daesh for their lack of comprehension regarding jihad or Muslim customs, and their failure to afford individuals an opportunity. For instance, Daesh combatants administer penalties against individuals solely for smoking, without employing rationality or leniency. He alludes to the extremism of Daesh in this context.
Saleem, with a sense of sorrow, disclosed harsh realities, saying: “Daesh members are killers. If they claim to act according to Allah’s law, they should be questioned: where are the courts for those they kill? They quickly and arbitrarily kill people, like those caught smoking, by immediately arresting them and cutting off their hands.”
In the course of the interview, Saleem observes instances where cigarettes are openly consumed in his vicinity, and divulges that there exist Daesh affiliates who abstain from growing beards, revel in music, and act in accordance with their inclinations.
This behavior underscores that the ISIS Khawarij (extremists) regard these actions as permissible for themselves, engaging in them nonchalantly, while simultaneously subjecting other Muslims to death sentences in makeshift courts for minor transgressions.
Such instances of unjust and arbitrary killings by Daesh Khawarij also occurred in Afghanistan when the group emerged, particularly in the Momand Dara and Bati Kot districts of Nangarhar province, where witnesses and some family members of victims are still alive. For these extremists, murder according to their whims is a routine act.
