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As reported last week, on 30 November 2022, IS Central Command announced the death of its caliph Abu al-Hassan al-Hashemi al-Qurashi along with naming Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi as the new caliph. Since then, IS affiliates around the world have been pledging allegiance (Bay’ah) to the new caliph.
Even though Abu Umar al-Baghdadi (2006-2010) was the first caliph of the Islamic State, the culture of issuing Bay’ah mainly became popular during the time of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Despite receiving Bay’ah from more than 30 global locations, there were no official Bay’ah photosets for Baghdadi. The photosets TRAC has on record are mainly unofficial and were never released by IS Central Command.
However, just before Baghdadi’s death in 2019, the group released an official video Bay’ah series under the title, “And The Best Outcome Is For the Pious.” The infamous series, comprised of about 15 videos, featured IS affiliates re-pledging allegiance to Baghdadi over the summer of 2019.
After Baghdadi’s death, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi became the caliph of the Islamic State and the group adopted a more formal approach towards Bay’ah by releasing official photosets of IS affiliates swearing allegiance to the new caliph. However, unlike Baghdadi’s reign, there was significantly less Bay’ah videos released for Abu Ibrahim, with Ibrahim receiving Bay'ah from 18 locations as opposed to his predecessor's 30.
Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi became IS caliph in February 2022 and IS militants from about 15 countries swore allegiance to him. Following the footsteps of Ibrahim, IS’s official media house released 24 official Bay’ah photo sets along with 8 Bay’ah videos featuring IS affiliates, with one of the most interesting and unusual being the Bay’ah video from East Asia, which depicted surveillance drone capabilities.
During the time of Abu al-Hassan, Islamic State became more organized. IS Wilayahs like ISK included Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Central Asia while Islamic State Jammu & Kashmir (ISJK) was merged into Wilayah al-Hind or Islamic State India. Lasting only nine months as caliph, Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi was succeeded by Abu al-Hussein al-Husseini al-Qurashi. Although a singular Bay'ah video has been released, the new caliph has received the highest number of Bay'ah photosets so far, with 27.
In a very surprising move, the first unofficial Bay'ah video came from Majid al-Haram inside Mecca, Saudi Arabia. This is the first time in the history of the Islamic State that a caliph received a Bay’ah from inside Mecca.
Additionally, unlike the previous two caliphs, Abu al-Hussein also received allegiance from Lebanon, Arakan (Myanmar), and Mozambique. It is important to note that never before has Wilayah Mozambique issued a Bay’ah apart from Islamic State Central Africa (ISCA).
Nevertheless, the most notable absence is of the Bay’ah from Wilayah Sinai. Islamic State Sinai (ISS) is highly active in the region and not receiving Bay’ah from them is unusual. TRAC speculates that IS Central Command has not yet received photos from ISS due to the remote location and ineffective communication system.
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