Thread by @VincentFoucher

1. Habib Yusuf (aka Abu Musab al Barnawi), the new ad interim boss of #ISWAP responds in a 50-minute audio in Hausa to “the one who calls himself Imam al Shekawi”. A thread…

2. Most of it is a response to Shekau’s criticism of ISWAP's doctrine in the audio testament in Kanuri & Hausa that he put out on 18 May, shortly before blowing himself up (discussed in a previous thread). There are also interesting bits about Shekau’s pledge to the IS in 2015.

3. Why Habib does that while Shekau is dead is clear at the end of the audio: he addresses Shekau’s followers. He mentions Sambisa and Lake Chad… but also, interestingly Zamfara and Niger… does that mean they consider that there are indeed Shekau affiliates there?).

4. Habib calls Shekau's followers to obey the IS Khalifa and join ISWAP, since Shekau himself said he had never rebelled against the Khalifa.

5. And so, he is giving doctrinal explanations, answering Shekau’s criticisms. “O you people of Sambisa, o you, people of Shekau, this is what we brought to you, basing our argument on facts and reasons. (…)"

6. Habib rejects Shekau’s notion that Muslims who do not live under his control are unbelievers (kafir). Habib insists most Muslims in government-controlled areas are apostates (murtad), because they condone abominations (notably elections). Some are good Muslims, though.

7. He insists that is why the jihadi should not launch blanket attacks against civilians of the sort Shekau was doing. And he also insists that the murtad who repent must be accepted, not killed.

8. Habib points out that Shekau himself has not been consistent: if indeed everyone else is an unbeliever, they must be offered a choice before being killed - conversion, payment of jizya tax or death. Shekau has not done that.

9. Habib also discusses the enslavement of women, which Shekau claims ISWAP condemns. Habib insists that slavery is indeed licit, but that the IS Caliph has decided that it was not right to take murtad (ie apostate Muslim) women as slaves and that Shekau should have obeyed.

10. Habib makes use of Shekau’s mention of an Al Qaeda envoy as a good Muslim to say that AQ associates are not good Muslims (he even calls them kafir, a strange choice given the rest of his talk). He insists ISWAP opposes “the Taliban” (mentioned here as an equivalent of AQ).

11. Habib denies ISWAP endorses Western education. He insists Western ed. is bad “because all their curriculum is designed by UNESCO”. He is probably embarrassed here, & does not enter into details, because the IS does have a more nuanced take on Western education than Shekau.

12. For the patient ones, here comes the juicy bits… When al-Baghdadi proclaimed the restoration of the Caliphate (end June 2014), Habib and others pressed Shekau to pledge.

13. Shekau put conditions, asking “an audio containing the voice of the Khalifa or that of Adnani [the IS top external ops guy] explaining fully why and how this allegiance and loyalty could be declared”

14. Comms with the IS were not easy… “we continued exploring for a period of one year, from 1435 to 1436, ways to make contacts with the Khalifa."

15. "We were not able to make it until the month of Jumada [February 2015] when some Arabs came to us as muhajir. It was through them that we got the way to get to the Khalifa”.

16. Interestingly, later in the audio, Habib insists that these Arabs were not envoys of the IS, that they came of their own accord, not as representatives of Baghdadi.

17. They were the ones who established the link nonetheless: “they heard us looking for a way to access the Dawla and they said they have it, and they gave it to us.” This probably gave Habib, who was clearly close to these guys, an edge: he owned the link to the IS.

18. So here I stand seriously corrected: these Arabs are certainly the Abu Obeidah team which I discussed in an earlier piece crisisgroup.org/africa/west-af…

19. They were not sent by the IS: they came on their own. I should have known: I was told they had tried going to the Levant but were blocked on the way. And they arrived before the pledge, not after. So, the IS did not have a strong top-down outreach strategy towards Boko Haram.

20. Habib continues: “We brought [to Shekau] an audio containing the voice of Adnani, and everybody who was present at that time heard how Adnani was praising him [Shekau]”… “he [Shekau] made his own audio making his own declaration of allegiance and loyalty to the Khalifa.”

21. Shekau then gave a letter to Habib to convey to the Khalifa – in his testament, Shekau accuses Habib of having dumped the letter in Lake Chad. Habib denies, insisting that they sent an electronic copy to the Khalifa.

22. Habib also mentions the killing of “Aliyu”. He means Aliyu Qaid aka Aliyu al Gombewi aka Abu Hanissa, which other sources describe as a very important figure. Veteran jihadi. Trained with the Algerian GSPC. Top military commander (amir ul jaysh) of JASDJ.

23. Aliyu was close to Habib and they were the ones running the Arab visitors and the connection with the IS. Aliyu was the one who organised the flight of the Abu Obeidah team when Shekau decided to arrest them.

24. Eventually, Aliyu fled along with Habib and his brother Abba, and they were caught. Shekau had Aliyu executed but spared Habib and Abba, young men of prestigious lineage whom he deemed not too dangerous. Big mistake!

25. But let’s go back to the audio. After killing Aliyu, Shekau took over “all our computers and other electronics we used for communication” and then had his own direct link to the Dawla. I am amazed that Shekau had not ensured direct control over comms before, I must say.

26. So where does this leave us? Some interesting pieces for the jigsaw that is the history of Nigerian jihad, I find… And indications of #ISWAP's continued outreach towards the pieces of Shekau's #JASDJ.

27. The prestige of the Caliphate, too, is quite fascinating: it was difficult for Shekau, suspicious as he was, to refuse to pledge and to drop his pledge after his removal as wali. And it is still in the name of the Caliphate that Habib calls #JASDJ remnants to join him.