Reports of IS Fighting in Qadam Neighbourhood, South of Damascus

Pictures posted on web-sites by Islamic State sympathisers show military activity in the Al-Qadam neighbourhood, south of Damascus. The pictures show groups of IS fighters roaming through the Al-Qadam neighbourhood and with stocks of M16 and other associated automatic rifles and stores of mortars that the groups and its affiliates have stockpiled. The proximity to […]

Islamic State’s Al Hayat Media Arm is a real and Ongoing Threat to Young People

Islamic State’s Al Hayat Media Arm is an Ongoing Risk to Young People: Social Media Activity Over the Last Week Highlights the Release of a High Quality Video Which Plays on Religious Symbolism, Identity & History News of the Walthamstow based Zahera Tariq allegedly travelling to Syria to join IS, possibly highlights the propaganda pull […]

Pictures Purport to Show Iraqi Shia Militant Abu Azrael Slicing Burnt ISIS fighter

Abu Azrael has managed to build up a persona of a fearless Shia fighter in Iraq. Versatile in media management of his image and muscle bound, (which adds to the media portrayal of a fearless warrior), Abu Azrael is also known as ‘Iraq’s Rambo’ and his real name is Ayyub Faleh al-Rubaie. Abu Azrael is […]

ISIS Cyber Specialist, Junaid Hussain from Birmingham, Confirmed KIlled by US

The U.S. military has confirmed the killing of Junaid Hussain, the British Citizen who had become a central player in the cyber activities of ISIS or Islamic State. Hussain was killed in a targeted drone strike on August 24th whilst travelling in Syria and was married to Sally Jones, an ex-punk rocker from Chatham who […]

Scholar’s corner: where does Islamic fundamentalism stem from?

Dr. Imam Mamadou Bocoum is a holder of two Masters and a PhD from The Muslim College, and Heythrop College, University of London. He is a lecturer in Islamic Studies; a Board member of the Muslim Law Council UK and an interfaith consultant. He is currently a consultant at Faith Matters and Tell Mama. Mamadou has authored a number of written works which have included: The Position of Jews and Christians in the Qur’an; Faith and Citizenship in Islam; The status of Women in Islam; Islamic Fundamentalism and the Qur’an. He can be reached at mbocoum@yahoo.com; Mamadou@tellmamauk.org. While delivering a talk on ‘extremism in the religion of Islam’, an audience member shouted: “Bush, Blair and Bin Laden are all f——s”. I pretended that I had not heard but this was to no avail as the same individual shouted again – but this time in a louder tone – “All of them are f——s”.  The heckler’s pronunciation was rather difficult to interpret (like mine!) and I thought that he meant the offensive six-letter designation. It proved a great relief when someone clarified that the ‘f word’ was fundamentalist. I then responded that besides sharing initial ‘B’ in their respective family names, [...]

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Jihadi John’s Threats to Behead People Apparently Circulated on Viber

The Daily Mail initially reported that it had received unique footage on threats being made allegedly by Jihadi John. The threats seem to have been made on a mobile phone camera some 2 months ago and were then circulated using VIBER and through mobile phone networks. The video purports to show Jihadi John as he is […]

Al Qaeda’s Al-Zawahiri Pledges Allegiance to New Taliban Chief

Al-Qaeda’s Ayman Al-Zawahiri has pledged allegiance to the new head of the Afghan Taliban in an audio on-line message. The move is seen politically to enhance the status of the new leader, (Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour), after the death of the Group’s founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, some two years ago. Al-Zawahiri stated, “We pledge our allegiance … (to the) commander of the faithful, Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansour, may God protect him.” The move is seen as a way of shoring up the waning support for Al-Qaeda, a group which has largely lost traction and support to groups such as ISIS and local splinter extremist groups in countries across the Maghreb to the Middle East. The move is also meant to try and hold the group together as it started to splinter after the reported death of Mullah Omar.

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Remember this next time you buy your Kebab (from a Turk), say Britain First Facebook posters

The precarious situation in the Middle East has come to the forefront, with the bombing of ISIS positions by the Turkish Air Force. Having taken the decision to militarily degrade ISIS, it seems that Britain First and its supporters have decided to vent their fury at Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish bigotry

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How Twitter users are ridiculing ISIS with cartoon memes

Individuals are using manga to drown out ISIS propaganda. The birth of ISIS-chan (Japanese: ISISちゃん, Aishisu Chan) took place in January to damage ISIS’ image SEO. ISIS-chan’s popularity increased after hacktivist group Anonymous targeted and exposed sympathetic ISIS Twitter accounts. The use of ISIS-chan comes with its own set of rules: do not insult Islam, avoid Islamic iconography and avoid naming Allah or the Prophet Muhammad. Alongside a strict no-gore, no-porn policy. At the turn of 2015, an alleged ISIS account attempted to spread propaganda on unrelated Japanese hashtags. Examples included ‘Daikan’ (a term to describe the coldest day of the year) and ‘Zuwaigani‘ (queen crab). A hashtag dedicated to Hitoshi Saito, the two-time judo Olympic gold medalist, who died on January 20, after a battle with cancer, became a target. The propaganda depicted the impeding peril of hostages Kenji Goto and Haruna Yukawa. Some created the hashtag #ISISクソコラグランプリ (ISIS kusokora guranpuri or ISIS crappy collage grand prix) to invert fear and ridicule the terror group. #ISISクソコラグランプリ pic.twitter.com/PR3BwpJevL — temmo kun (@temmo5) January 20, 2015 ISIS had threatened to murder both men unless Japan paid a $200m ransom – the same amount President Shinzo Abe donated to countries fighting the [...]

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David Cameron’s Speech Should Be Welcomed With a Small Note of Caution

A Prime Minister Who Laid Out A Heartfelt Vision To Tackle Extremism We welcome the speech of the Prime Minister and the need to tackle both non-violent and violent extremism. The Prime Minister’s approach to identifying the problem and putting in measures where grievances are both addressed and tackled was delivered in a heartfelt and […]