IS magazine takes aim at 'misleading' Muslim scholars

The Islamic State described two scholars, Omar Mahmoud Othamn, more commonly known as Abu Qatada, and Sheikh Abu Mohamed al-Maqdisi, both leaders of the Jordanian Salafist movement, as “misleading scholars” in the latest issue of Dabiq, the militant group’s online magazine.

IS dedicated the whole of page 38 of the 63-page magazine to a large picture of the two scholars. Under their photo, a narration by one of the Prophet Muhammad’s companions, Abu Dharr was placed.

In the narration, Abu Dharr relays that Prophet Muhammed had said that he fears for his followers from “the misleading imams,” referring to the two scholars.

Abu Qatada, considered radical Islamic preacher, was found not guilty of terrorism offences by a court in Jordan in September after being deported from Britain.

He was reportedly involved in secret negotiations to save the life of American hostage Peter Kassig, who was later beheaded by IS militants.

According to the Guardian, Abu Qata had been persuaded by a US lawyer to initiate talks with the militant group in an attempt to release Kassig.

Although IS did not specify the reason behind describing him as a "misleading scholar", Abu Qatada’s attempt to negotiate on behalf of the US aid worker, may have been a reason for the animosity.

In a similar fashion, IS dedicated the whole of the following page of Dabiq to a photo of Waddah Khanfar, former head of Aljazeera and Yasser Abu Hilala, current director of the news network along with the title, “Bewitching media.”

Two sayings for Prophet Muhammed were also placed under the photo: “Indeed what I fear most for my Ummah (followers) is every articulate munafiq (hypocrite).”

“Indeed some eloquence is sorcery.”

Neither Khanfar nor Hilala are known to be affiliated with any extremist groups. On the other hand, Aljazeera and Doha, where the network is based, have been accused of supporting more moderate political Islamist groups, namely the Muslim Brotherhood.

This is the sixth edition of Dabiq Magazine which has been published regularly by the Islamic State as a propaganda tool and as a means to recruit supporters from the West.

The periodic magazine is slick and produced in several languages including English. It focuses on issues of jihad (holy war) and hijra (migration) among others and usually publishes photo reports and articles about the Islamic State from their own perspective.

Dabiq is a place in Syria that is supposed to be the location for one of the final battles according to certain Muslim narratives about the final apocalypse. According to the Calrion Project, choosing such a name for the magazine highlights the group’s goals to establish a caliphate or Islamic State reminiscent of the historical empire that stretched across the region.