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Showing posts from February, 2026

Islamic State Supporter Discusses Making Hijra to the Sahel and West Africa

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Islamic State Supporter Discusses Making Hijra to the Sahel and West Africa On 24 September 2026, an Islamic State (IS) supporter in an online chatroom discussed making Hijra (migrating) to join Islamic State fighters in the Sahel and West Africa. Africa has been the main theatre of operations for IS since the fall of their strongholds in Syria and Iraq. The fact that supporters frequently discuss making Hijra to Africa online, underscores its importance. Pakistan is also often recommended in chatrooms to those wishing to join the group.  In Detail The supporter made the post in British English and appears to be a native English speaker. The supporter states he used machine translation to translate the message into Arabic.  1. Theological justification for making Hijra  The writer argues that making Hijra is a test of a Muslim's faith and distinguishes a "true Muslim" from "those who remain in comfort and hypocrisy". He says that since the outcome of making Hijr...

ISWAP Releases Sermon From Its Wali During Ramadan

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Bottom Line Up Front Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has released a sermon by the Wali (Governor) of its West Africa Province, Abu Abed al-Rahman Al-Ansari during the Islamic month of Ramadan. The sermon is in the form of a video lasting nine minutes and 53 seconds.  This video shows how important Africa remains for Islamic State, despite attention being drawn to IS in Syria with the mass-escape of IS-linked families from al-Hol refugee camp. IS continues to operate across theatres in Africa and at the moment, Africa is where IS is achieving their goal of remaining and expanding, not Syria. While the mass escape and other factors could lead to IS rebuilding in Syria, as it currently stands, Africa is where the Caliphate 2.0 is thriving.  In Detail The sermon is entitled "Guidance and Admonition for the Righteous (Brothers of God) " and features only Al-Ansari sitting against a plain backdrop next to the IS flag. The sermon is delivered in Arabic.  The sermon st...

Rapid Sitrep: Former JNIM Commander Who Defected to ISSP Details Reasons Behind Decision

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Saaʿd Bottom Line Up Front On 16 February 2026, it was posted in an Islamic State chatroom that a former commander of al-Qaeda's West African branch, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), known by the name Saaʿd, has released several audio recordings detailing his reasoning for his defection to Islamic State Sahel Province (ISSP).  What you need to know At the time of this report, Saaʿd's date of defection is unclear. While Fulcrum Intel Digest will update this piece when we have the recordings, for now we know the following reasons from the chatroom: The commander feels that Al-Qaeda leadership do not implement Sharia "in it's entirety", despite his own efforts to implement it how he saw fit during several meetings with senior leaders from both JNIM and Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).   Further, Saaʿd's view is that the accusation from Al-Qaeda that ISSP are "Kharijites" is baseless and has “no foundation in the Quran  or the Sun...