The Islamic State releases a new official audio of its spokesman.

The Islamic State (IS) released via its official media outlet responsible for leadership messages al-Furqan Media Foundation, on 13 September, a 36-minute audio statement by official spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir (debunking reports of his death in May 2022), entitled “And hold fast to the rope of God all together, and do not become divided”.

This is the third statement of 2022, following the announcement of the new caliph in March 2022 and the audio speech released in April 2022. Until now, it was always the spokesman of the group who issued the statement, never the leader of IS.

The new speech released by Abu Omar al-Muhajir does not address the recent rumours about the arrest of the caliph (or a senior leader) in Turkey.

The spokesman urges Muslims to “pay allegiance to your caliph”, suggesting that whoever is the caliph can still exercise authority, praises the prison breaks carried out by the Islamic State in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, asks why Muslims in so many places are holding back from supporting the Islamic State (e.g. in Iraq), and criticises Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and al-Qa'ida.

The details of IS's audio speech

The audio speech by the official spokesman of the Islamic State, Abu Omar al-Muhajir begins by praising the attacks of its fighters on prisons in Nigeria and DR Congo and the large number of released prisoners. According to Abu Umar, the organization's main concern is the release of imprisoned Muslims and that no Muslim should remain in prison (Breaking the Walls strategy): “Our promises to Muslim prisoners are still valid and in just one year, we have freed three prisons”.

The emphasis on attacks on prisons is not surprising. It has been, and still is, one of the main operational directives for IS fighters, recalled in other audio and propaganda material such as al-Naba. In 2022, the group has already conducted three prison raids, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria and Syria.

It calls on freed prisoners who oppose IS to “return to righteousness and join them”.

The IS spokesman also turns to geopolitics, commenting on world events from his perspective. He states that the opponents are divided “into West and East and are fighting each other” and soon the rulers of Arab and Islamic countries will be involved in this confrontation, and the Islamic State and its supporters should use these events to their advantage. He therefore calls on all Muslims to rally around IS.

Abu Umar then appeals to the organization's fighters, supporters and sympathisers living in south-east Asia, such as Singapore, the Philippines, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia who are “weakened and humiliated” that they will do good “for themselves by joining IS” and calls on them to be more active and operational.

He then praises the IS fighters from Africa (especially those from West Africa - ISWAP and Central Africa - ISCAP) who decided to fight after “years of humiliation, when the continent's resources were plundered by European countries and its inhabitants became refugees in search of a better life”. He then makes an appeal to the “Sunnis of Africa”, claiming that the Islamic State has liberated them from the “crusaders”.

He then praises the massacre and displacement of Christians in Africa (by ISCAP and IS-Moz), promising “horror” and to continue targeting Christians.

He then turns to Syria and in particular the Syrian people, who live “in difficult conditions under the regime of Bashar al-Assad and the SDF militias”, and urges them to join IS to “stop this vegetative existence”. He criticises Syrian opposition groups saying that there is a difference “between those who ask Allah for help and those who seek help from Turkey”.

According to the Islamic State spokesman, Syrian opposition factions have become “a hotbed of injustice and a tool in the hands of Turkey to achieve its goals, which drives them like cattle to market”.

He criticises al-Julani and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), without naming them, for supporting a “sectarian” State and its project in Idlib.

Al-Muhajir then turns to the Sunni Iraqis who have “believed the government's promises in vain and are now suffering abuse and indiscriminate arrests” by the security forces and government militias: “While the Shia political factions are in power, the Sunnis have no part and no one is looking out for their interests”. Therefore, Abu Umar, also referring to the recent infighting between Shia factions in Iraq, calls on Iraqi Sunnis to join IS to “overthrow the Shia-majority regime”.

He then appeals to the Sunnis in Yemen and invites them to fight against the Houthis, not hoping for help from those who have made peace with the Houthis. He claims that IS is the only one fighting the Houthis (even though an IS-Yemen attack has not been claimed for months).

Abu Umar then goes on to praise the IS fighters in the Sinai Peninsula and calls them “a thorn in Israel's eyes”. He also calls them “ lions of Sinai” because they resist despite massive attacks launched by the Egyptian army and local tribes.

He then turns to Afghanistan, criticising the Taliban for dealing with the US and defending the Shia. He praises the “Khurasan Knights” (referring to the ISK) for launching continuous attacks that destabilise “the Taliban government”.

Al-Muhajir describes the IS forces as battalions fighting on the front line, and urges them to work diligently day and night.

Abu Umar states that the Islamic State seeks to unite Muslims and not divide them along tribal, national or civil lines, and criticises and rejects all calls for nationalism and democracy.

The spokesman continues his speech by stating that “we (the IS organisation) are not immune from mistakes and we also make them like all living people, but we do not make them intentionally, and we correct as soon as we notice them”.

He stated that there are groups and individuals who want IS to bow down to the West and its allies and not continue the fight against the enemies of Muslims: “But if one of these groups and individuals is inclined towards peace and stops acting against IS, then ISIS will not be at enmity with them”.

He then also responds to accusations that IS kills other Muslims. According to him, IS is the enemy of apostates.

Abu Umar also addresses the issue of al-Qaeda, which, according to him, has shown hostility to IS and caused a split in the ranks of the jihadist movement. He accuses al-Qaeda that in order to prevail over the Islamic State, its leaders have preferred “to support anyone”, even apostate groups, and that it has committed itself to fighting IS “without any religious justification other than to limit the progress of the organisation”.

The IS spokesman also addresses Afghanistan, criticising the Taliban for ingratiating itself with the United States in the hope of gaining aid and recognition, as well as for supporting the Shia and trying to ensure their safety and free worship.

Al-Muhajir urges the “Muslim Ummah” to note how the world is divided between the capitalist and communist camps, and how communist nations “large and small” have come to undermine the position of the United States, credit for which is their struggle against the US.

Daniele Garofalo is a researcher and analyst on Jihadist terrorism and an expert in monitoring Jihadist media channels.

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