IS Proclaims Any Road to Jerusalem Other than True Jihad is Path to Failure
Addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and dismissing the Sunni nationalist and Shi'a factions spearheading the war effort, the Islamic State (IS) proclaimed that any road to Jerusalem other than true jihad is a path to failure.
In the editorial for Naba 287, which it published on May 20, 2021, the group argued, as did al-Qaeda (AQ) and its various branches, that Palestine is an issue for all Muslims and not merely a local cause, and that only by fighting Israel and its allies will Jerusalem be liberated. By defining jihad as fighting for the establishment of Islamic Shariah, empowerment of Muslims, and freeing all Islamic lands held by disbelievers, it declared that resistance and revolution like that waged by Che Guevara, Yassir Arafat, and Vladimir Lenin is not the same. Likewise, the ambitions and goals for which nationalists and the Shi'a fight are also different than those pursued by true Sunni jihadists.
After directing all Muslims to follow the only viable road to Jerusalem, the IS called to support Palestinian fighters and also strike the "allies of the Jews" outside Israel. It wrote:
The mujahideen everywhere must spare no effort in supporting their brothers in Palestine, and to defend them with everything they possess, for it is a Shariah duty. They must support it as much as they can. What is not fully realized, will not be left in bulk. Who is unable to fight the Jews inside Palestine, let him fight them outside it, and fight with them the allies of the Jews and their guardians from among the tyrants of the Arabs and non-Arabs, and they are many.
Following is a translation of the editorial:
The Road to Jerusalem
They said in the past that “All roads lead to Rome”. The correct view is that only one road might lead to Rome, and it is the same and the only road that leads to Mecca, Jerusalem, and Andalus, and it is the same that leads to Baghdad, Damascus, and all the other usurped and captive Muslim capitals and fortresses.
People expect from us to talk about Jerusalem in a statement, a speech, a newspaper, or a book. If this was the roof of Jerusalem to us, we would have flooded the world with statements and speeches, but Jerusalem is for us a religion that we support, a faith that we defend, and a promise that we will fulfill, by the permission of Allah the Almighty, sooner or later.
Islam has drawn for us the road to Jerusalem with precision and clarity. It is a road that is neither confusing nor ambiguous, and there is no distortion or deviation in it. It is a road on which the prophets have previously walked, and upon which the conquering Companions proceeded, led by the Imam of the Mujahideen, Muhammad, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him. It is the jihad for the sake of Allah the Almighty, and this is the only road and solution.
People must realize that jihad for the sake of Allah the Almighty differs from what is called resistance. The difference between jihad and resistance is like the difference between truth and falsehood, between misguidance and guidance, between the path of the prophets and the righteous believers, and the path of Guevara, Arafat, and Lenin, and between the path of Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali (may Allah be pleased with them), and the path of Soleimani and Khamenei! The gap between the two paths and the two sides is very large, as are consequence of each.
Thus, the people must correct their course, and adjust their compass to the road of jihad, and not the road of resistance.
We consider that the mujahid who is lying in wait the Rafidha [Shi'a] in Iraq is closer to Jerusalem than he who is loyal to the Rafidha and who has beautified their image and exported them to the scene in Palestine and opened for them the marketplace for trading the issue of Jerusalem and the holy sites! We also consider that the mujahideen who are garrisoned on the peaks of Nangarhar, the reef of Bosaso reef, the deserts of Nigeria, the jungles of the Congo, or even Mozambique, and those who walk on the straight path of Allah, are closer to Jerusalem than those who claim its victory but has lost the way to it by following a road other than jihad, and paths other than that of the believers.
Allah the Almighty said: "Is My Straight Path, so follow it, and follow not (other) paths, for they will separate you away from His Path" [Al-Ana'm, 153]. Ibn Katheer (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "But His path is one, as the truth is one." The road to Jerusalem, Mecca, Andalus and the like is one path, with one method that does not multiply. It is the road that the Messenger of Allah, Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him, has left for us, and no one deviates from it except the doomed, and the one who settles in it is lost.
Jerusalem will not be liberated, and its scent will not be breathed in by the one who curses the Mothers of the Believers! Jerusalem will not be liberated by those who differentiate between it and Iraq, Sham, Yemen and Khorasan, nor those who differentiate between it and Chechnya. Jerusalem will not be liberated by those who abandoned and disappointed the Muslims in Mosul, Raqqah, Aleppo and Baghouz, all of which are the issues of Muslims and their homes, and it will not return to them without Islam.
Likewise, Jerusalem will not be liberated by those who differentiate between the Rafidha and the Jews! The ambitions of the Rafidha in Jerusalem and Muslim countries are no less than the ambitions of the Jews there. If the Jews are dreaming of a country from the Nile to the Euphrates, then the Rafidha are dreaming of a country from Tehran to Beirut.
Moreover, Jerusalem will not be liberated by those who differentiate between fighting the Jews and fighting their guard, the tyrant Arabs such as Tamim and Erdogan, and even the Al Saloul and al-Nahyan. The Prophet, Allah's peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him'." (Al-Bukhari)
The authentic Hadiths confirm that Palestine will only be conquered by the Muslims, not by patriots or nationalists, nor those who are panting behind the mirage of Iran and its axis, for they will all end and fade away. Only the Muslims will be those who conquer Jerusalem. All the apostate armies and governments will fall, and the Jews will not find anyone to shelter them, as is the case today. They will not find the Egyptian army, the Jordanian, the Lebanese, nor the Nusayri. All these disbelieving armies surrounding Palestine like a bracelet surrounds the wrist will disappear. However, they will not disappear but at the hands of those who see their disbelief and the necessity of fighting them. Whoever achieves this will attain it. Then, nothing will prevent us from the Jews except for the Gharqad tree!!
All parties, movements, and groups have lost their way to Jerusalem. They have forgotten Rome, sold Andalus, mocked Dabiq, and disbelieved in the conquest of Constantinople. However, the soldiers of the Caliphate know their path well, and we think that they were not late and did not slow down their march to it for one day. All their battles today, east and west, are nothing but stations on the road to Jerusalem, Mecca, Andalus, Baghdad, Damascus and all the captive homes of Muslims, as it is one battle.
The soldiers of the Caliphate did not stray from their road to Jerusalem as others did, and they have not forgotten Jerusalem since the launch of their blessed jihad in Iraq. Sheikh Abu Muhammad al-'Adnani (may Allah accept him) said: "Allah has blessed us, and so he opened the door for jihad in Iraq. The immigrants made haste and came from all sides, and the banner of monotheism was raised, and the marketplace of jihad was constructed. A group of immigrants and supporters confronted the most powerful force known to history, with worn out ammunition and bare chests, confident in the victory of Allah, and determined to establish the Shariah of Allah. Their bodies are in Iraq, their souls are in captive Mecca, their hearts are in Jerusalem, and their eyes are on Rome."
On the other hand, the soldiers of the Caliphate did not exaggerate in the issue of Palestine nor did they make it an exception among the Muslim issues. They set Jerusalem in front of their eyes, but they did not close their eyes to other issues and other Muslim wounds. They did not differentiate between the blood of their Muslim brothers in Palestine and the blood of their brothers elsewhere. Rather, they took upon themselves the concern of giving support and protection to all of them, not a favor or a compliment to anyone, nor a compassion, as the people of emotions do not support the truth and do not push away falsehood. It is the creed and belief, and the support and loyalty to the Muslims, and to all the Muslims.
The mujahideen everywhere must spare no effort in supporting their brothers in Palestine, and to defend them with everything they possess, for it is a Shariah duty. They must support it as much as they can. What is not fully realized, will not be left in bulk. Who is unable to fight the Jews inside Palestine, let him fight them outside it, and fight with them the allies of the Jews and their guardians from among the tyrants of the Arabs and non-Arabs, and they are many.
O Allah! Be kind to Your worshipers the Muslims in Palestine. O Allah! Grant upon them a rational matter, to cherish Your guardian and humiliate Your enemy. O Allah! Send the sword of Your vengeance upon the Jews, and relieve and heal the hearts of the believers.