On October 3, four days prior to the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas on Israel on October 7, resulting in the loss of a thousand lives, the ISIS propaganda outlet known as “Voice of Khurasan” released its 9th issue. The issue, clearly called for the extermination of Jews and Christians. If we go by the pages of the package, specifically on page 30, there was a chapter titled “Legacy of Betrayal.” In this section, the terrorist publication expressed its vehement and longstanding animosity towards Jews and Christians.
Labelling the establishment of Israel as peculiar, the article insinuated a collaboration between Jews and Christians to create the Jewish state at the expense of Muslims. The article constructed a dark historical narrative with the intention of fostering animosity towards the land of Israel.
Within the same context, the extremist publication lamented the downfall of the Ottoman Empire and contended that the Ottoman Empire’s lack of adherence to Shariah was the reason for their inability to receive Allah’s support in self-defence.
The article stated, “The First World War aimed to dismantle the Ottoman Empire, which served as the last obstacle to Jewish settlements in the sacred land of Palestine. We acknowledge that the Ottoman rule did not strictly adhere to Shari’ah, as they occasionally engaged in acts of shirk and innovation. This deviation was why they ultimately lacked Allah’s divine aid in defending the faith.”
Additionally, the mouthpiece of the Islamic State propagated a conspiracy theory, alleging that Jews and Christians conspired to establish a “Dajjali – One World Order” to counteract the “spread of Islam.”
The article claimed that the “neo-Zio-Crusaderist alliance” had ambitions extending beyond the confines of Israel’s borders, with plans to create a “Greater Israel” that would encompass the entire Middle East.
In addition, a propaganda map of Palestine was disseminated to promote the narrative that Israel had been encroaching upon land that rightfully belonged to Palestinians. This same map has been utilised by various media outlets sympathetic to terrorists, such as Al Jazeera, and by advocacy groups like the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN).
The ISIS publication took direct aim at the Abraham Accords, a time when Israel and Saudi Arabia were displaying signs of optimism regarding the normalisation of their relations. The timing and context of this terrorist publication clearly aimed to undermine these ongoing developments. The mouthpiece also criticised Arab nationalism in its messaging.
Significantly, Saudi Arabia’s stance, which was critical, dealt a blow to the efforts towards normalizing relations with Israel, especially in light of Israel’s response to the terrorist attack on the 7th of October. It is evident that the attack was meticulously planned beforehand, and the publication strongly suggests the involvement of both ISIS and Hezbollah.
#Statement | The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is closely following the developments of the unprecedented situation between a number of Palestinian factions and the Israeli occupation forces, which has resulted in a high level of violence on several fronts there. pic.twitter.com/KEFsNB5ZVb
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) October 7, 2023
The article advocated for open resistance in the name of faith against what it referred to as “infidels.” A prominently displayed graphic text in the article urged, “Do not take the Jews and Christians as your allies,” accompanied by an image depicting an Israeli soldier engulfed in flames.
The terrorist group cited a Quranic verse to caution Muslims against forming alliances with Jews and Christians and to distrust them. The Quranic passage quoted in the article reads as follows: “O you who have believed! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies. They are allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is one of them.”
In its closing remarks, the ISIS document concludes by stating, “Therefore, it is clear what the Zio-Crusader West seeks to achieve in Arab countries through the imposition of the Abraham Accords, which essentially aims to erode the remaining fervour of Muslims in protecting their religion.”
It quoted verses from the Quran as follows:
“…they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners,” adding that “…and this plan of Allah the Almighty will – surely – make the Jews and the Christians remorse thinking about their years of tireless efforts for extinguishing the light of truth (Islam) in the end, for our beloved Prophet has given us the glad tiding of our overpowering the Jews, in his saying: “You will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, ‘O `Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.’”
