The Islamic State group has reportedly accepted a
pledge of allegiance from Nigeria-based Boko Haram, according to an
audio recording released Thursday claiming to be from an Islamic State
group spokesperson. If the recording is authentic, Boko Haram becomes
the largest and most lethal jihadi group to be inducted into the Islamic
State group's network.
On Saturday, Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau released an
audio recording declaring his loyalty to ISIS caliph Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi, but there was no official alliance until now. The formal
acceptance, contained in a message purporting to be from ISIS
spokesperson Mohammad Al-Adnani, changes the picture. Dozens of jihadist
groups around the world have professed their allegiance to al-Baghdadi,
but ISIS maintains a strict application process in order to be
officially c
onsidered one of the so-called caliphate's wilayat
(provinces) and receive ISIS support.
A jihadist group asking to be taken under the ISIS banner
must publicly declare its allegiance to al-Baghdadi, and the pledge must
be documented and shared. If there is more than one jihadist brigade in
the area, the pledge must come from a unified body, demonstrating that
they are able to operate together and consolidate forces into one ISIS
wilayat.
While there is no preference for how a group presents an
allegiance declaration, some groups have been praised for taking the
opportunity to urge other Muslims to declare their loyalty to Baghdadi.
Boko Haram's pledge of loyalty did precisely that. The one from the
Shura Youth Council in Libya also did, and its pledge of allegiance was
“worthy of being written in gold,” according to ISIS propaganda magazine
Dabiq.
Once consolidated as part of the so-called caliphate, the
group must nominate a wali, or governor, and a Shura council, the
religious leadership, according to Dabiq. The leaders must also
demonstrate their willingness to implement ISIS’ version of Sharia law
in their region. It is likely that ISIS leadership in Syria and Iraq has
some say in this selection process. In the past the militant group has
sent small delegations of fighters into countries likely to sympathetic
to ISIS to lay the intial groundwork for expansion.
Earlier this week ISIS released a photo report from its de
facto headquarters in Raqqa, Syria, showing militants celebrating the
creation of “wilayat Nigeria” and the inclusion of Boko Haram.
After the group has chosen its leaders, it must come up
with a military strategy and a plans for future operations that would
allow ISIS to consolidate territory in the region -- a territory that
the group would actually be able to govern. The military proposal must
then be presented to ISIS leadership for approval.
“The policy of the Islamic State is known,” according to
Dabiq. “it does not give any person or group permission to announce a
wilāyah or present themselves as officials representing the Islamic
State leadership until the aforementioned process has concluded.”
Once allegiance has been declared, groups will often carry
out an attack or act of brutality that they will document and share as a
sign of loyalty and commitment to ISIS. When Sinai-based jihadist group
Ansar Bait al-Maqdis (ABM) pledged allegiance to ISIS, it carried out
one of the deadliest attacks on Egyptian security forces since Mohammed
Morsi was ousted fom the presidency in 2013. ABM did not officially
claim responsibility for the attack until after ISIS accepted its
allegiance.
“ISIS is choosing groups that are already active in
conflict zones and helping them to gain power and perhaps territorial
control more easily,” said Harleen Gambhir, counterterrorism analyst at
the Institute for the Study of War. “It’s more a matter of ISIS
tailoring its strategy within each wilayat to whatever the regional
fight is, to help their affiliates have the most power.”
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