"Muslims are the biggest victims of ISIS" is a media trope. Other media tropes surrounding IS include use of the word "slick" to describe their media, use of the word "twisted" to describe their ideology, use of the word "self-proclaimed" to describe the khalifa.

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It's very rare that you hear a Muslims actively criticizing IS except that they use these "tag words." The tag words are an almost certain indication that a person is uncritically accepting a propagandized media account of the situation.

There are legitimate criticisms...

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...to be made, but they are usually drawn from first hand sources, for example people who are from Iraq and Syria and who have family who lived in territory under IS control. Individuals articulating criticisms from valid sources will almost never unconsciously drop tag...

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...words into their speech. Even among the ranks of the mujahidin who believe in the permissibility of compromising regarding working with groups with questionable or corrupt aqeeda, there has been a huge effort independent of the mass media effort to generate a certain...

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...image. As a rule, when it comes to these things you can be certain that infiltrators will carry out military attacks, murders, and massacres as part of the misinformation campaigns.

I strongly believe the north Sinai massacre in the sufi masjid, which was never....

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...claimed by IS, has all the marks of such an operation. In older threads I detailed similar incidents in the Algerian civil war which were instrumental in turning the general people against the mujahidin.

One of the most effective tactics used by IS is dressing...

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...in the uniforms of their enemies. 4 Russian speaking IS fighters managed to enter an airbase in Syria and destroy several Russian jets in this way, and they routinely use these tactics in ambushing Iraqi military and police.

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So ask yourself, if IS is actively pretending to be their enemy in order to achieve strategic goals, do you really think that the kuffar, the CIA, Mossad, and their networks are NOT using similar tactics? Given how much is at stake, do you think that there is anything...

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...that those who are in power will NOT do in order to stay in power? These are people with absolutely no fear of Allah, and vast wealth, weaponry, and techniques of psychological manipulation in their arsenal. There is no question that they have spies and agents in the...

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...ranks of all of the groups of mujahidin in Syria.

We cannot expect anything less than an absolute maximum level of disinformation and manipulation. This is total war, and one of the chief weapons in this war is the deception that it is not a total war. No group is...

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...immune to these tactics. If Shaitan succeeded in turning the sahaba (radhi Allahu anhum) against each other, what chance do we have?

As individuals, we have to support each other in birr and taqwa, and not support each other in sin and transgression.

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We cannot become so attached to any faction of the Muslims that we see other factions as purely bad, or having no benefit. Surely, there is great benefit in jihad fi sabilillah, and the jihad of IS is no exception to this fundamental truth.

There is no question that any...

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...faction of Muslims who sees success on the battlefield will undergo massive efforts of infiltration, spying, and manipulation in order to direct their efforts against the Muslims. This is a basic principle of warfare or martial arts; you attempt to direct the movements...

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...of your enemy to your own advantage, using his force against him.

I have seen this same logical fallacy used by multiple factions in the fitna, because their actions were directed in such and such a way, it was seized upon as evidence that they are in fact working...

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...with, controlled by, or created by the kuffar. And I really think the key to overcoming this is in the ayat:

(وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ)

Defend yourself if you need to defend yourself. Refrain from...

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...cooperating if it involves disobedience to Allah. Do not hope for acceptance or companionship from the creation, but rather depend on Allah for your sense of belonging.

But know that leadership is from the sunnah, and there is no jamaat without it. If the conditions...

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...of leadership are filled, it does not matter if the imam of the Muslims is secretly kaffir agent. If the jamaa does not obey him against the command of Allah, and only obeys him in matters that are lawful, he will certainly fail in his aim and end up advancing the...

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...interests of the Muslims in spite of his efforts. Matters are judged by the apparent, and if the imam fills the apparent conditions of his khilafa being legitimate, then obedience is binding on all Muslims. This is the means of establishing and preserving unity...

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...prescribed by the religion of Allah, and who dies without the bay'ah to the imam around his neck dies the death of jahiliyyah. It is about this ruler that we are meant to be patient, even if he whips our backs and steals our wealth; about the ruler who establishes unity..

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...among the Muslims, not the one who fights to preserve division. It's important to remember in these times the words of Allah:

(وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ)

We who are not qualified to judge, by lack of knowledge of sharia or by lack of knowledge of...

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...of circumstances, or both, must remain silent. The sahaba (radhi Allahu anhum) generally refrained from speaking except in three cases: to glorify and worship Allah, to command the good and forbid the evil, or for necessary matters such as earning a living.

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It is from the command of Allah to avoid spreading news before it is confirmed by a just person. And it is also from the command of Allah, by way of his Prophet, sal Allahu alaihi wa salam, to avoid suspicion and spreading doubts about Muslims.

And like all...

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...of Allah's commands, this is guidance which protects us both individually and collectively from harm in this life and the akhira.

Spreading news does not only refer to news of events, but also the character or nature of groups and individuals. If someone...

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...comes to you and tells you that so-and-so is a thief, and the one telling you this is a fasiq, you cannot spread the ideas told to you by the fasiq until it is confirmed by a righteous person.

Anyone who lives in the lands of the kuffar should be assumed to be a fasiq.

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Anyway, I hope that if we can try to apply this guidance more, and focus less on loyalty to groups and more on cooperating in goodness (and it is from goodness to adhere to the sunnah of having an imam according to the criteria defined by the fuqaha), that we can attack...

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...the root of the fitna that is afflicting us. And Allah's help is sought.

Walhamdulillahi rabbil 'alamin.

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