The newly-formed Islamic State released a video of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the group’s emir, who has been named Caliph Ibrahim. The 21-minute video (above) shows Baghdadi, also known as Abu Du’a, speaking at the Grand Mosque in the Islamic State-held city of Mosul, which was captured by the jihadist group on June 10.
In the short sermon, Baghdadi urges Muslims to wage jihad and plays the role of the humble servant. Translation below is from the SITE Intelligence Group:
I have been plagued with this great matter, plagued with this responsibility, and it is a heavy responsibility. I was placed as your caretaker, and I am not better than you. So if you found me to be right then help me, and if you found me to be wrong then advise me and make me right and obey me in what I obey Allah through you. If I disobey Him then there is no obedience to me from you. I do not promise you, as the kings and rulers promise their followers and congregation, of luxury, security, and relaxation; instead, I promise you what Allah promised His faithful worshipers.
As Baghdadi walks up to the pulpit, he appears to struggle a bit, as if he had recently been injured. Although Baghdadi was rumored to have been injured months ago in Syria, the reports were never confirmed.
Baghdadi, who leads the jihadist group that controls vast areas in both Iraq and Syria, was previously thought to have been residing in the Syrian city of Raqqah, which is also under the control of the Islamic State.
The video is the first to show Baghdadi, who previously has not appeared in public. The sermon is the second statement by Baghdadi that has been released by the Islamic State in the past five days.
On July 1, the Islamic State released a statement from Baghdadi in which he “issued ‘a special call’ to religious workers as well as for ‘people with military, administrative, and service expertise, and medical doctors and engineers of all different specializations and fields,'” according to the SITE Intelligence Group.
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4 Comments
Hi!
Could anyone pls translate this sermon as many of us do not understand arabic ?
Cheers
@Ben
This twitter feed contains the translation and analysis,
https://twitter.com/TusiPolymath
No, Baghdadi. It’s a naked power grab. You can wrap yourself in religious righteousness and false humility till the sun sets in the east; but the rest of the Islamic world, and the West, see you for the over-ambitious, pretentious clown you really are.
Nobody accepts you as a worthy caliph. You are only the leader of a pack of bloody murderers whose shameful atrocities have earned you the eternal flames of hell.
Ben,
The comments section probably won’t accommodate a translation of the entire sermon, but here’s a summary, plus you have the quote from SITE:
Basically he starts by talking about Ramadan and how it is a duty for Muslims to fast and that if they do so they will be rewarded with paradise. Then he goes to Ramadan is a time to fight jihad as the prophet commanded (he quotes from the Quran and the Hadith extensively to support this) and says that Muslims cannot attain the purpose that God created them for (worshiping him) unless God’s religion is established as the rule of the land, and this is only done through jihad, which God commanded them, to fight his enemies and establish his religion as the only religion so that there is no fitna (sectarianism). God has given Muslims a book to guide them and a sword to make them victorious, and that they must be patient through the ordeal of jihad so that in the end God will give them victory. This is a promise from God, so if they want to see this attained they must continue to fight jihad and urge other believers to do so. If people only knew what great reward and honor there was in fighting jihad both in this world and the next, no one would be lax in doing so. They will be released from shame / dishonor. Fight jihad with your money and with yourselves, and your sins will be forgiven and you will attain reward.
Hope that helps.