Even though the Islamic State several years ago lost most of its territory in Iraq and Syria, and with it the appearance of enjoying the favor of Allah upon its claim to be the caliphate, that claim still has a potent appeal for jihad groups worldwide, as well as for many individual Muslims. In Sunni Islamic law, only the caliph is authorized to declare offensive jihad; in the absence of a caliph, jihad can only be defensive (although that can be and has been interpreted elastically enough to include 9/11). In my book The History of Jihad From Muhammad to ISIS, I detail how the great Islamic caliphates of the past — the Umayyads, Abbasids, Ottomans, and others — pursued jihad relentlessly against Infidel states. Jihadis still think about those glory days, and want to relive them.
Where did Naser Almadaoji learn his understanding of Islam? Are authorities investigating the local mosque? Or would that be “Islamophobic,” and they’re content to wave away the question by trotting out the moldy oldie that he was “radicalized on the Internet”?
“Ohio man gets 10 years in prison for trying to join ISIS,” by Simon Druker, UPI, February 1, 2023 (thanks to Henry):
Feb. 1 (UPI) — A federal judge on Wednesday sentenced a man in Ohio to a 10-year prison sentence for attempting to join the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq.
Naser Almadaoji also will be subject to 15 years of supervised release following the prison sentence, the Justice Department confirmed in a statement.
The 23-year-old is an Iraqi-born U.S. citizen and in 2021 pleaded guilty to attempting to provide material support to foreign terrorist organizations….
He later admitted to investigators that he planned to smuggle himself into Afghanistan and join the Islamic State to receive military training, including how to make a car bomb, kidnap priority targets and break into homes. He would then return to the United States with the ultimate goal of starting an armed conflict between the federal government and anti-government militias.
Earlier in 2018, Almadaoji traveled to Jordan and Egypt in an attempt to join an Islamic State affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula. He was not successful and returned to the United States.
Almadaoji later told a man he believed to be an ISIS member that he was interested in assisting with “projects” in the United States…
