In his first speech following the official declaration of the Islamic State’s (IS) caliphate in 2014, the new caliph, Abubakr al-Baghdadi, delivered his famous audio statement titled, “A Message to the Mujahidin and the Muslim Ummah in the Month of Ramadan.” In the speech, al-Baghdadi divided the world into, “two camps,” that were in violent and irreconcilable opposition to each other, including the, “Muslims and the mujahidin,” on one end, and the, “Jews, the crusaders, [and] their allies,” on the other end. The latter camp, he declared, was, “being led by America and Russia, and being mobilized by the Jews” (Jihadology, July 1, 2014). This designation of Russia as a top priority enemy by IS’s sole leader would set the tone for the organization’s media warfare campaign against the country for years to come.
The Islamic State’s Anti-Russia Propaganda Campaign and Criticism of Taliban-Russian Relations (Lucas Webber, The Jamestown Foundation)
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