ISIS Research Articles

The Repatriation of Foreign Terrorist Fighters in Indonesia: Its Dilemma and Debates

ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) has expanded its movement to Southeast Asia, including Indonesia which once got attacked by terrorist as the country becomes terrorists’ preferred place to travel and execute their plans in conflict zones. To tackle this problem, Indonesian government had issued a policy to avoid negative implications upon the return of Indonesian nationals linked to terrorism from abroad (Foreign Terrorist Fighters or FTF). The government was considering whether or not to repatriate FTF since this plan remains a debatable issue in Indonesia. The government was concerned with the possibility of them recruiting new members. On the other side, humanity becomes the opposite reason leading to the acceptance of the extremist repatriation policy. Due to the urgency of the rampant terrorist threats and the consequences, the Indonesian government has decided to implement the repatriation policy. The government ended up refusing the repatriation of Indonesian nationals linked to terrorism abroad to protect the national security. This article elaborates the radicalization mechanism, terrorist recruitment process based on the national security theory. This study also explains the urgent situation and condition that made the government apply refusal against repatriation. There are still considerable challenges regarding the repatriation policy that need to be addressed such as relevant infrastructure and effective regulations.

THE LEGAL ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN PROTECTING CULTURAL HERITAGE AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES IN THE WAR-AFFECTED COUNTRIES: THE CASE OF IRAQ AND SYRIA

Conserving cultural heritage and archaeological sites have become a serious national concern in the Middle East for the war-affected countries, including Iraq and Syria. Because looting and violence have caused massive destruction of cultural heritage and archaeological sites, this study aimed to analyze the legal background concerning the protection of cultural heritage and archaeological sites in the context of Iraq and Syria during 2014 with the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This study used the content analysis method and cross-country analyses for Iraq and Syria. The study is guided by two main questions: What is the government's legal role in protecting cultural heritage and archaeological sites? Are there any legal authorities in Iraq and Syria to protect cultural heritage and archaeological sites during war and conflict? In the end, this paper suggests that protecting cultural heritage is the legal responsibility of government which is supposed to be enforced in the legal foundation of the state as a national sovereign power.

COMPARATIVE LAW REPATRIATION INDONESIAN CITIZEN EX FOEIGN ISLAMIC STATE IRAQ AND SYIRIA ABOUT INDONESIA LAW AND ISLAMIC LAW

The issue of citizen became the hot news on sosial meda country in Indonesian. On February 1 2020, the National Counter terrorism Agency exchanged international intelligence information with countries in the Middle East and got around 600 Indonesian citizens who were former combatants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This polemic has become a hot topic of discussion among the government and the people of Indonesia about the fate of Indonesian citizens (WNI) whether they can be returned to their homeland or left alone in shelter camps in Syria. The formulation of the problem studied in this journal is to describe the views or opinion of Indonesian law on the concept of citizenship and explain the views of Indonesian law (law no. 5 of 2018 concerning the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Terrorism) and Islamic law (Opinions of Imam Malik and Imam Syafii) concerning the repatriation of Indonesian citizens who were former combatants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria to Indonesia. In this study, the authors use normative research methods by conducting library research through the process of reading, researching, and reviewing ongoing discussions with this research. The results of this study indicate that in Indonesian law, referring to Law No. 5 of 2018, they must be repatriation to Indonnesia because they are the responsibility of the state in accordance with articles 43b, 43b, and 43d. whereas in Islamic law there is caution by asking them if they want to go back and repent for their actions, if they obey they can be repatriation to Indonesia, if not they are fought. and the decision will ultimately be left to the government about their fate.

When the Islamic State Kills: Ironies of American and ISIS Executions.

These research notes explore the idea of comparing executions in the United States (US) to executions undertaken by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Is it possible that America’s ostensibly rational, formal, and “clinical” death penalty is more painful for its victims than ISIS victims? I investigate this question by considering the suffering caused by the death penalty in the US, making some informed speculations about ISIS executions, discussing execution in two influential Islamic nations, and observing some ironies these topic raise about the rule of law and capital punishment. My goal with these notes is to spur interest in comparative research on state violence and the death penalty.

The Anti-Kurdish Thoughts of ISIS

AbstractThis article explores the ideological motivations for ISIS's prejudice against the Kurds. From the group's inception, ISIS has rejected any kind of understanding of Islam but its own. However, its animosity toward Kurds has its own purpose and foundations, separate from its religious dogmas. The aim of this article is to study the reasons behind its fundamental aversion toward the Kurds. An analysis of the literature of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and particularly their interpretation of the Qurʾan and of Islamic prophetic traditions and history, demonstrates such a clear prejudice toward the Kurds, that no honest researcher can deny the vehemence of the group's hatred of the Kurds and their nationalist ideology. This animus explains, at least in part, why ISIS promulgated such a virulent anti-Kurdish ideology and recruited fighters to invade Kurdish lands. This study examines the ideological motives behind the group's behavior toward the Kurds. The article's hypothesis is that the Arab extremists that filled the ranks of ISIS, whether they came from secular nationalist, jihadist, or even moderate Islamist backgrounds, shared an antipathy against the Kurdish people that was deeply rooted in pro-Arab nationalistic sentiment. Below, the article looks at the deadly combination of Baʿthist ideology, which had previously led to genocidal campaigns against Kurds under Saddam Hussein, with the religious extremism of ISIS. A qualitative research method of discourse analysis is used to shed light on the ideological roots of ISIS's antagonism against Kurds. Kurdish-studies researchers will benefit from this study, as well as security, counter-terrorism, and Middle Eastern researchers and students.

The Last Genocide against the Yazidi People

AbstractWhen the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) emerged from the ashes of unsolved political, religious, and sectarian conflicts in the Middle East, it became one of the greatest threats to global order in recent years. It invaded and occupied a large swath of territory in Iraq and Syria, leaving a trail of bloodshed in its wake. ISIS fighters carried out a deliberate campaign of annihilation against the religious Yazidi community, which is officially recognized as a protected group under the UN Genocide Convention. ISIS identified them as an “unbeliever community” and proceeded to embark on an eliminationist campaign against the group, including deliberate killing, destruction of the conditions of their life, and the capture and transference of Yazidi children.

Coursebook-Based ISIS’ Propaganda: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Arabic History Texts in ISIS’ School Environments

This research aims to investigate forms of propaganda spread by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as represented in an Arabic History Coursebook they prepare for ISIS’ school environments. It utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) as its research method to examine and reveal values and ideologies behind choices of words, grammar, and text structures. Using an ISIS’ Arabic History Coursebook entitled Al-Tarikh: li al-Shaff al-Khamis al-Ibtida'i (published in 2016/1437H) as the data source, this research is primarily focused on the analysis of clauses and phrases which contain words of daulah and qital. The data were analysed utilizing functional linguistics and propaganda techniques as its analytical framework. Results of analyses show that as an organization ISIS fights for ideologies which underlie the idea of the Islamic State and spreads values of radicalism to its targeted communities. Propaganda techniques such as name calling, glittering generality, transfer, plain folk and bandwagon are found to be dominant in ISIS’ propaganda projects.

A QUALITATIVE STUDY ON VIOLENT EXTREMISTS AND NEWS MEDIA: HOW MALAYSIAN ONLINE NEWS FRAMED VIOLENT EXTREMIST GROUPS INVOLVED IN THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR

The news has been a place for violent extremist groups to gain recognition internationally. The Syrian Civil war which had involved notorious and internationally recognised violent extremist groups is an example of this phenomenon. However, a limited number of studies had uncovered the thematic variation on how Malaysian online news frames violent extremist groups involved in the Syrian Civil War. Therefore, the present study explored whether the Malaysian news coverage of the violent conflicts that involved violent extremist groups active during the Syrian civil war may shed light on how mainstream news covers violent extremist groups. The present study employed a qualitative search and analysis of two popular online newspapers in Malaysia to identify the types of news frames on the news published during the peak of the Syrian civil war and when a notorious violent extremist group, Daesh (alternatively known as Islamic State (IS) or Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)), had shaken and threatened the world. A total of 272 news articles published between 2010 to 2020 were collected and analyzed. Analysis of the news frames revealed twelve different news frames. The frame with the highest occurrence was labelled as “Western destructive interventions”. The frame detailed out Western nations’ involvement in the war which caused damage to livelihood and civilizations in Syria and justified the violent extremist groups’ activities. The present study concludes that the Malaysian news media framing on violent extremist groups and other parties involved in the Syrian Civil War could have two varied forms, positive (heroic or humanized) or negative (destructive or demonized). The main contribution of this study is that it provides an insight into how Malaysian news media cover a conflict involving Muslim extremist groups. Additionally, the study adds to previous research on how violent extremist groups is framed in digital news.

Newspaper discourse: Constructing representations of terrorist groups (IRA and ISIS)

Terrorism is a phenomenon which is constantly transforming and evolving, resulting in a plethora of research aiming to better understand it. More recently, as media has become globalised, there has been a surge of research into the relationship between terrorism and the media. However, there is a lack of studies comparing media representations of terrorist groups from two separate eras and ‘waves of terrorism’ (Rapoport, 2013). This research aims to fill this gap by examining the discourse used in newspapers to construct representations of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). This research used a qualitative methodology, discourse analysis to look at words and their meaning. Data was collected, for the analysis from both The Guardian and the Daily Mail newspapers. The articles were analysed using NVIVO. Differences were identified in the discourse used to represent terrorist groups in 2017 from those used in 1975. In 2017, newspapers were more likely to label the perpetrators as ‘sick’ and the attack as a ‘terrorist’ attack, discussing the victim’s injuries using more violent terminology. While 1975 newspapers were more likely to comment on political reasoning and ideology. An increased presence of sensationalisation, in the 2017 newspapers, seems to suggest a possible shift towards sensationalising terrorist events. More research is now needed on a larger scale, to consider if these changes in discourse occur more widely, and to examine what impact they have on public perception. 

The Threat of North African Foreign Fighter Returnees: Myths and Realities

North Africa is often perceived to be vulnerable to threats from returning jihadist fighters coming home from campaigns in Syria and Iraq, especially in the aftermath of the Islamic State organization's 2019 collapse. This article, however, argues that the danger posed to the Maghrib by foreign fighter returnees is less acute than predicted. The reasons for this diminished threat include the civil war in Libya, disaffection due to intra-jihadist infighting, and North African states' programs offering rehabilitative pathways to former radicals in exchange for cooperation.

TAJIKISTAN: AN EVALUATION OF TERRORISM AND COUNTER-TERRORISM POLICIES SINCE INDEPENDENCE

Tajikistan, a country overloaded with the horriϐic memory of bloody civil war, an increasingly devastated economy, and the ineradicable misfortune of having long borders with Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, has been reigning consistently by the Emomali Rahmon’s regime for three decades with wide-scale surveillance and draconian acts. Taking advantage of the weak governance, poor military infrastructure and porous border, Islamic extremists and cross border terrorist groups have also been seen persistently deepening their inϐluence in the region either by perpetrating a series of terrorist activities in the terrain or joining Tajik national into their organizations. This paper presents a detailed analysis of how and to what extent terrorism has posed security threats to Tajikistan through examining the Global Terrorism Database and RAND database that includes the numbers and intensity of the terrorist incidents in the territory since independence. It systematically analyses the prominent terrorist groups and, more particularly, the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), which has widened its network in the region. The paper also makes a sincere effort to evaluate the counter-terrorism acts adopted and implemented by Tajikistan. Moreover, the article also examines how the Tajik’s authority constructs state discourse on terrorism by delegitimising social acceptance of the terrorist on the one hand and projecting the state as the severe victim of terrorism on the other. Keywords: Terrorism, Tajikistan, Terrorist Attacks, Counter-terrorism Act, Taliban

Assessment of Perinatal Depression Risk among internally displaced Yazidi Women in Iraq: a descriptive cross-sectional study

BackgroundYazidi survivors of a 2014 genocidal attack by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have complex medical and mental health needs in the perinatal and postpartum period. Few studies have assessed perinatal mental health needs for this population of women who are living in camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI).MethodsThe specific aim of this formative cross-sectional study was to assess the prevalence of perinatal depressive symptoms, specifically the risk of perinatal depression symptoms, among a purposive sample of Yazidi women living in camps for internally displaced persons in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. One hundred twenty-two pregnant and recently postpartum (<1 year) Yazidi women completed a Kurdish-language version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) questionnaire. Pregnant and postpartum participants’ responses were analyzed together, in order to assess an overall combined risk of perinatal mental health issues for the study population. Logistic regression analyses were used to measure the association of participant characteristics with an elevated risk of perinatal depressive symptoms.ResultsParticipants were 17-45 years of age (mean 32 years, SD 7.63) Among the 122 women, 67.2% (n=82) were pregnant and 32.8% (n=40) were <1 year postpartum. Overall, 78% (n=95) of participants were at an elevated risk of depression (EPDS >10), and 53% (n=65) of all participants were at risk of moderate to severe depression (EPDS >12). Thoughts of self-harm (EPDS item 10) were reported among 97% (n=118) of participants. Logistic regression analysis indicated that increased risk of perinatal depressive symptoms was significantly associated with reports of health problems during pregnancy (OR=3.22, 95% [CI]:1.08-9.61) and marital status (OR=16.00; 95% [CI]: 0.42-0.50). Age (OR= 0.84; 95% [CI]: 0.75–0.94) and level of education (OR=0.15; 95% [CI]: 0.42-0.50) had protective effects.ConclusionsRates of perinatal depressive symptoms risk among internally displaced Yazid pregnant and postpartum women are higher than the general Kurdish-speaking population in Iraq (28.4%). Culturally responsive trauma informed perinatal and postpartum care services, which include both community-based and clinical strategies for perinatal depressive symptoms and suicide prevention for this population, are critically needed.

Special report from the field: The women of the Islamic State in Iraq

AbstractThere are a great many unaddressed grievances that persist in Iraq to this day – grievances whose roots reach back to the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003 and which ultimately led to the creation of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in 2014. Even though the Islamic State was ousted in 2017, these grievances have not gone away. In this special report from the field, American photo‐journalist Susan Schulman presents the distressing testimony and images of the families that once supported the Islamic State in Iraq and who are now shunned by Iraqi society as a result.

The Rising Threat of Terrorist Attacks Against Hospitals.

Hospitals are vulnerable to terrorist attacks, as they must remain easily accessible to the general public. Hospitals are also occupied with both staff and patients 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, meaning that any attack is almost guaranteed to inflict a multitude of casualties. In addition to the immediate effects of attacking a hospital, there are also uniquely devastating second- and third-order effects when hospitals are attacked. A focused search of the Global Terrorism Database (GTD) was performed to identify terrorist attacks against hospitals throughout the world. Data between the years 1970-2018 were selected, which included 191,465 entries in total. These entries were then searched for incidents containing the term "hospital" and the results were manually searched to identify trends in the number of incidents occurring per year, as well as the armament that was employed, and the regions of the world where the attacks occurred. A total of 430 terrorist attacks on hospitals were identified in the GTD, resulting in 1,291 deaths and an additional 1,921 wounded. The frequency of terrorist attacks against hospitals has been steadily increasing over the last two decades and is disproportionate to the overall increase in terrorist attacks against all target types. Attacks have been carried out against hospitals in 61 different countries. The most common method used in these attacks was "bombing/explosion," which accounted for 299 attacks. Of the known terrorist groups identified in the GTD, "Houthi extremists (Anshar Allah)" and "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)" carried out the greatest number of attacks on hospitals. There has been a disproportionate rise in the frequency of terrorist attacks on hospitals when compared to other target types, highlighting the vulnerability of these key structures. Unsurprisingly, these attacks have inflicted large casualty counts in addition to disrupting community health care and disaster response. Attacks against hospitals have been reported on every inhabited continent except Australia, making their protection a matter of international security. The rate of terrorist attacks on hospitals has increased dramatically over the last two decades, creating an urgent need to develop improved defense strategies that will better ensure their protection.

Trends of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) Acts of Terrorism Targeting the Shia Community

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has consistently attacked Shia communities, and buildings belonging to these communities, both in the Middle East and outside the region. This paper tries to explain the logic and justification used by ISIS in making the Shia community a target of terrorism. To answer this question, this paper uses the concept of religious terrorism and framing through the phenomenon of terrorism. By analyzing various ISIS documents related to Shia issues, this paper describes the framing developed by ISIS for attacking Shia groups. This paper finds that ISIS creates anti-Shia framing by combining theological problems, Middle East socio-political conditions, and end-time eschatological beliefs. From a theological point of view, ISIS believes that the Shia are an ‘apostate’ group that deserves to be fought. In the socio-political context, ISIS considers that Shia groups work with foreign countries to fight Islam. In terms of eschatological beliefs, ISIS considers Shiites to support the Dajjal in the end times that must be fought. On the other hand, ISIS claims that its group is a legitimate caliphate and defender of Islamic teachings. These things shape ISIS’ hostile attitude towards Shia groups.&#x0D; Keywords: Shia, ISIS, terrorism, framing

Education Under the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria: A Content Analysis of the Physical Education Curriculum

This study focused on lessons learned from the Physical Education Curriculum under the reign of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). We conducted an unprecedented analysis of ISIS primary school physical education curriculum. The research objective focused on describing and analyzing the context and intentions of the document as well as its content (didactic, pedagogy, learning assessment, among others). We also analyzed the general scientific quality of the curriculum of physical education targeting fitness preparation by the instructor in charge of the education of the youth. In addition, our analysis focused on the philosophical and contextual issues of the manual. Findings revealed an incomplete and a rapidly developed textbook where several essential elements related to pedagogy, didactics, learning, and assessment were missing or inconsistent. The logic of military preparation under the guise of preparing the student’s physical condition was an important finding without being explicitly mentioned. Integration of religious content was present without being affirmed in the content of the lessons. We argue that the ISIS physical education curriculum appears to be committed to an absolutist/theocratic ideological or propaganda program that, among other things, promotes the preparation of the future soldiers of the ISIS army. Recommendations about secularization and the reconstruction of post-ISIS education systems are formulated.

Unholy War: Violent Extremism in Marawi and Its Impacts on Muslim Communities in Indonesia

Religious radicalism in the form of violent extremism is against the principles of human rights and democracy. Religious radicalism also opposes the existence of the modern state of Indonesia and, arguably, also of other Southeast Asian countries. The global political commitment initiated by the United Nations, namely Responsibility to Protect, states that several countries in Southeast Asia, such as the Philippines, are at high risk of atrocities. Civilians in Marawi in the Philippines have experienced atrocities carried out by the Maute family-led militant group backed by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). In 2017, for more than five months, the restoration of regional security and stability in Marawi by the Philippine security apparatus caused many casualties. This study aimed to identify, map and analyze the narrative structure of the goals and backgrounds of the actors involved in the Marawi case and its impacts on Muslim communities in Indonesia. The research focused on a narrative analysis that united various factors contributing to violent religious extremism. This study employed a narrative perspective that was multidimensional, consisting of the narratives of marginalization, invitation, symbolic violence, and violent extremism. It demonstrated that the narrative of marginalization and calls for Jihad served as the basis of solidarity among the members of the Maute militant group in Marawi. The narrative aimed at solidarity for jihad in Marawi had more influence on groups belonging to ISIS, such as Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), and East Indonesia Mujahideen (MIT).&#x0D; Keywords: violent extremism, radicalism, terrorism, Marawi, the Philippines, Indonesia

US Special Forces transformation: post-Fordism and the limits of networked warfare

Abstract The last two decades have witnessed a rapid rise in the use, size and capability of many western Special Operations Forces (SOF). A response to the global jihadist threat, the growing presence, prominence and technology-enabled lethality of SOF in conflict zones has resulted in increased scholarly attention. Some have argued that their rise is indicative of important and ongoing changes in the character of war itself. One of the most influential of these works is Steven Niva's study of the transformation of US Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) Task Forces in Iraq. Niva argues that JSOC (more accurately its Task Force 714 Command Headquarters, henceforth TF714) was forced to adopt a networked organizational structure to counter Al-Qa'ida in Iraq (AQI). For Niva, this transformation provided evidence of a shift towards ‘counter-net’ and ‘chaoplexic’ forms of warfare conceptualized by Bousquet in this journal. This article uses new primary and secondary sources to critique these claims. It argues that although a network approach was an important part of TF714's transformation, it was only one part. Instead, JSOC's transformation is more accurately understood through a post-Fordist industrial framework of the centralization of management control and the simultaneous decentralization of decision-making; the integration of core and periphery forces; outsourcing; and a network approach to knowledge. From this analysis, it argues that post-Fordist, rather than network or chaoplexic theory, best describes even the most networked military organizations in the twenty-first century, and that more broadly, fully networked warfare is unlikely given the frictions associated with the coming ‘binary’ battlefield.

Sociology of Terrorism: A Brief History and Overview of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) Propaganda Wing from a Socio-Educational Perspective

This study aimed at providing a brief overview of ISIS’s ideology and origins as starting points for an analysis of its propaganda strategy. How did ISIS utilize its ideological propaganda wing to achieve its socio-educational goals? An intrinsic case study is used to provide an overview of ISIS’s key multi-lingual propaganda documents and media modes. It is these documents and modes of media that ISIS uses as primary sources for its propaganda strategy, which is employed through vocabulary reinforcement, in addition to piece-meal usage of Qur’an and Hadith. Through the intrinsic case study, this study illustrates precisely how ISIS’s ideology is reflected through both content and form. Since ISIS’s inception as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), ISIS has learned to constantly reposition and remarket itself as a needed response to the needs of the umma. It is only by understanding the periodicals that ISIS has developed over time that one can do justice in delving into ISIS’s strategy of sociolinguistic terrorism.&#x0D; &#x0D; Received: 11 November 2021 / Accepted: 29 December 2021 / Published: 5 March 2022

The Impacts of Organizational Structure on Salafi-Jihadist Terrorist Groups in Africa

Africa has become a haven for jihadist terrorist organizations that run the gamut from local groups fighting to avenge political and economic grievances to splinter groups affiliated with the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) or al-Qaeda. Jihadist gr