Islamic State (ISIS) Editorial Mocks Global Coalition For 'Failed Mission,' New Local 'Focus Groups,' Condemns Ministerial Meeting In Saudi Arabia As New 'Crusade'

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Issue 395 of Al-Naba', the official weekly newsletter of the Islamic State (ISIS), dated June 15, 2023, contained an editorial titled "Crusade in the Land of Revelation!" which criticizes the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS as it recently held its 10th ministerial meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The editorial argued that the Coalition has failed in concluding its initial mission, is unable to cover the military and financial cost of its years-long campaign against ISIS, and is currently forming new counterterrorism "focus groups" in Africa, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.[1]

Recent Coalition Meeting "Yielded Nothing New But A Fresh Batch Of Promises"

The editorial opened by criticizing the Coalition's refusal to acknowledge its failure in fighting ISIS, saying that its most recent meeting yielded nothing new but a fresh batch of promises to defeat ISIS, made dozens of times before, but which exist "only in the statements and imagination of the Coalition leaders."

"However, the reality on the ground proves that it [ISIS] succeeded in draining [the Coalition] and dragging it toward new arenas and vast battlefields it could no longer cover militarily and financially," it stated.

Failing Global Coalition Is Unable To Support New Mission In Africa

The editorial went on to allege that the Coalition's launch of a "donation campaign" to raise funds for its "war on Islam" demonstrates the financial crisis of the "usurious" global economy, noting that its pledge to continue to support "anti-jihad programs" in Africa, Iraq, Syria, and South and Central Asia confirm that ISIS has expanded in territory and dragged the Coalition into the "largest, most comprehensive battle of attrition ever witnessed in modern times."

According to the editorial, the Coalition's clear acknowledgment that its war against ISIS in Iraq and the Levant remains its utmost priority, refutes all speeches declaring victory in the past, and sends a message to the African coalition that the "spearhead of the Crusader coalition" continues to fail in concluding its initial mission, "let alone help you in your new mission?!"

It further claimed that among the signs of the "great attrition" is the Coalition's focus on supporting counterterrorism efforts led by civilians, which, it argued, has forced it to move from protecting civilians to using civilians in a mission "all armies combined habe failed to achieve."

Ministerial Meeting's Timing And Venue Are "Blatant Transgression Against Muslim Sanctities"

The editorial went on to condemn the Ministerial Meeting's timing and location, noting the religious significance of the land of Saudi Arabia and condemning the lack of protests. It said that holding the meeting in the Land of the Two Holy Mosques during the season of Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, constitutes a "transgression" against Muslim sanctities that is "even greater than the desecration carried out by the Jews of the sanctities of Muslims in Jerusalem."

"The Crusaders' gathering in the land of revelation went unnoticed," it said, as Muslims "betrayed the will of the Prophet to 'expel the polytheists from the Arabian Peninsula.'"

Muslim Rulers, Religious Clerics "Are Staunch Soldiers Of The Crusader Coalition"

"Today, we see the Crusaders welcomed, celebrated, and even asked to repeat their Crusade from the Arabian Peninsula?! All of this takes place amidst the silence of the clerics of evil and the preachers of apostasy, who represent the other facet of the Crusader Coalition's war against the mujahideen," the editorial stated.

Further discrediting Muslim rulers and clerics for supporting counterterrorism efforts, the editorial claimed they serve as "staunch soldiers of the Crusader alliance" and issue fatwas deeming dissenters as khawarij[2] who must be fought against.

"The unbelievers' gathering to conspire against the Prophet during the early days of Islam is convening again today in the Land of Revelation under the leadership of Crusader America, as if time had run its course so all chapters of the war against Islam will be repeated in a clearer and fiercer way," it added.

New Coalition Member Togo Is "Insignificant"; Coalition Won't Acknowledge The "Major Role Played By The Jews In The War Against ISIS"

The editorial mocked the Coalition's new member, Togo, as an insignificant mini state, although it represents an addition to the number of countries "gathered to fight one state [ISIS] that was founded on the principle of piety from the first day and still adheres to it."

According to the editorial, the coalition continues not to acknowledge "the major role played by the Jews in the war against the Islamic State," arguing that such mention raises the ire of people "who become indignant at the mention of the Jews, and not the Crusaders!" which, it added, "shows the deepest credal deviation and depravity the nation has suffered since the beginning of Islam."

Coalition's "Failed" Centralized Effort Led To Launch Of Provincial "Focus Groups"

Concluding, the editorial bragged about ISIS's supposed continuing successes in its war of attrition, saying that the Coalition continues to harvest failure after years of a "lost war."

It contended that the Coalition, initially founded to focus all resources and energy to combat the Caliphate in Iraq and Syria, is now establishing new localized "focus groups" to distribute efforts to cover new arenas in Africa, Afghanistan, and Central Asia.

Citing Quranic verses to corroborate the argument, Al-Naba' argued that the Coalition's failure to conclude the mission to defeat ISIS is "divine plan" and "backfiring schemes," noting that the fiercer the fight, the stronger and more widespread jihad becomes.