Volume 3: A Call to Hijrah
This volume opens with a reflection on international affairs, in particular the Obama administration’s decision to take military action against Da’esh. Da’esh alleges that US soldiers have killed Muslim families and raped Muslim women. A ransom is demanded and terms are disclosed for James Foley, whom Da’esh has taken prisoner. They afforded Foley an opportunity to provide an account which they published prior to his execution.
Da’esh takes a moment to reflect upon what they consider to be their miraculous creation in Syria. The poor from all over the world gathered in Syria in order to fight together and establish Da'esh. They argue this achievement is even greater than that of the development of the Islamic State in Medina. There are numerous theological references on how Islam will return to whence it started; a strange phenomenon. Da’esh infers that their practice is strange to many; thus proposing that they are on the ‘true’ Islam. This volume lists the virtues of Syria or Sham as it is historically referred to, the apocalyptic wars and validation found in hadith of the people who live and rule there as true believers. Da’esh impresses the importance of making Hijra to Sham by asserting it to be the methodology of the prophet Abraham. They claim that Abraham’s actions created two distinct camps, one of belief and the other of disbelief. Thus their actions, upon the methodology of Abraham have, likewise, created a camp of Islam and a camp of kufr (disbelief). Thus, those who affiliate themselves to the camp of Islam are safe whereas those who do not are legitimate targets. There is a particular disdain for those individuals who support or align themselves with state institutions such as the police. Da’esh claims a principle of execution by affiliation so police officers are killed, their homes burnt and families imprisoned. In validation of their conduct they cite the practice of the prophet Muhammad and his successors; Abu Bakr and Umar. They suggest that what many consider to be severity is in fact a bonafide religious practice conducted by the prophet and his companions.
Da’esh present a call to arms for all professional folk; doctors and engineers in particular, to make hijrah (migration) to the Islamic State. This is accompanied with a hard push to religiously compel individuals to sign up for their jihad. There are lots of scriptural references to religious obligation and the fouls of hypocrisy alongside constant repetition of a notion that jihad gives life. Da’esh presents an image that those who live in the caliphate do not sin or are less inclined to sinning than those who live in a non-Muslim, democratic state which ultimately compromises ones faith. Therefore, it is necessary to migrate to the Islamic State.