Part 8
By Abu Umair al-Afghani
The leadership of Daesh was made up of a partnership between Ba’athist secularists and Khawarij ideologues. Its leading figures included the following:
1. Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the Overall Leader of Daesh, or What They Called the “Caliph”
His real name was Ibrahim Awwad, also known as Ibrahim al-Badri al-Samarrai. Under the Ba’athist regime, he earned a doctorate in Islamic studies from the Islamic University of Baghdad. After completing his studies, he remained an imam and university lecturer until the fall of Saddam Hussein’s government.
Up until 2003, he had no connection with any international jihadi movement, nor did he believe in the idea of a global caliphate or global jihad. The reason was simple. The Ba’athist regime kept all imams and religious teachers under strict surveillance. Anyone who merely held jihadi or caliphate-oriented views would never have been allowed to serve as an imam or lecturer. The situation was much the same as it is today in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, where scholars with such views face severe restrictions.
Another point is that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was a Sunni Arab from the Badri tribe. Yet Daesh, along with the CIA, promoted the false claim that he belonged to the Quraysh tribe. The reality is clear. The Badri tribe was a local Iraqi tribe, not one from the Hijaz, and there is no evidence linking it to either the tribes of the Hijaz or the Quraysh.
2. Abu Muslim al-Turkmani
His real name was Fadel Ahmed Abdullah al-Hiyali. He served as Baghdadi’s deputy. Before joining Daesh, he was a member of the Ba’ath Party, a secularist, and a general in Saddam Hussein’s army. He commanded Saddam’s special forces and was an active figure within the Ba’ath Party.
3. Haji Bakr
His real name was Samir Abd Muhammad al-Khlifawi. Officially, he was presented as Baghdadi’s adviser, but in reality he held the real power inside Daesh. He was the man responsible for its formation, structure, and organization. Behind the scenes, his authority exceeded Baghdadi’s. It was Haji Bakr who designed, planned, and launched the Daesh project.
Before Daesh, he was a secular Ba’athist, a colonel in Saddam Hussein’s army, an active member of the Ba’ath Party, and an important intelligence officer under Saddam’s government.
4. Abu Ali al-Anbari
His real name was Adnan Ismail Najim. Within Daesh, he served as Baghdadi’s deputy and was placed in charge of Syria. Baghdadi also entrusted him with expanding the so-called global caliphate and coordinating groups in other countries that pledged allegiance to Daesh. He played a key role in turning Daesh into an international organization. Before Daesh, he too was a secular Ba’athist, a senior general in Saddam’s army, and one of the officials responsible for spreading Ba’athist ideology and overseeing military education under Saddam’s government.
5. Abu Abdullah al-Kurdi
He was one of Daesh’s senior intelligence officials. Before joining Daesh, he had served as an important intelligence officer in Saddam Hussein’s army and was an active secular member of the Ba’ath Party.
6. Abu Ahmad al-Alwani
He was another senior figure within Daesh’s leadership. Before Daesh, he had served as an intelligence officer under Saddam Hussein and was an active secular member of the Ba’ath Party.
7. Abu Luqman
He was one of the key members of Daesh’s leadership. Before Daesh, he was an active secular member of the Ba’ath Party and an intelligence officer under Saddam Hussein.
Now let us see who stood alongside these secularists in Daesh’s leadership.
1. Abu Muhammad al-Adnani
His real name was Taha Subhi Falaha. He served as Daesh’s spokesman and one of its most influential figures. In simple terms, he was the the ideological brain of Daesh. Before Daesh, he had been among the mujahideen of al-Qaeda, a close companion of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may Allah accept him, and had pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda’s leadership.
But Adnani followed the path of the early Khawarij. He rebelled against his own leaders, declared all Islamic and jihadi movements to be unbelievers, and issued fatwas calling for their killing. Like the Khawarij of old, Adnani was known for his abusive language and contempt toward every Islamic movement. In the end, Allah answered the prayer he himself used to make:
“O Allah, if we are Khawarij, then destroy us completely.”
2. Abu Omar al-Shishani
His real name was Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili. He was a citizen of Georgia and served as Daesh’s defense minister, military commander, and member of its leadership.
He held an uncompromising extremist Salafi and Khariji ideology. Like the others, he declared Muslims, Islamic movements, and jihadi organizations to be unbelievers. In Syria, he was responsible for killing many mujahideen who were fighting against Russia and the Rafidah regime in Syria.
3. Abu Hamza al-Muhajir
He was one of Baghdadi’s closest advisers and a member of Daesh’s leadership.
Before Daesh, he had pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda. After the martyrdom of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, may Allah accept him, he became the head of al-Qaeda’s branch in Iraq. Like the early Khawarij, he rebelled against his own leaders, declared them unbelievers, and played a role in the martyrdom of Abu Khalid al-Suri, one of al-Qaeda’s senior leaders.
4. Abu Ayman al-Iraqi
He too had once been a member of al-Qaeda.
Along with the others, he rebelled against his leaders, declared them unbelievers, pronounced takfir upon every Islamic jihadi movement and Muslims across the world, and became responsible for the killing of many mujahideen and ordinary Muslims.
