Rather than being on the run amid daily U.S.-led bombings, the Islamic State, also called ISIS and ISIL, says it is building an urban infrastructure, especially in and around its so-called capital of Raqqa in Syria to meet the needs of a growing population.
“In order for its project to last, ISIS knows that it needs to supply basic services to the population and to create revenue, and it knows that educated professionals are an integral part of forming a successful, operational society,” says a new report from the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). Its analysts constantly review thousands of Islamic State Internet postings 24 hours a day.
“To recruit these elements,” the study says, “ISIS propaganda appeals to their desire to be part of a successful community that implements Islamic law.”
Another think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, concludes that the Islamic State is so entrenched in a fractured Syria that the current Obama administration war strategy there cannot work.
James Phillips, a Middle East analyst at The Heritage Foundation, told The Washington Times that the terrorist group is dispensing propaganda in the same way as previous oppressive dictatorships.
“I think ISIS is constructing an Islamist totalitarian ‘Potemkin village’ that it claims is a utopia, but it clamps down on any reporters that try to present the truth,” Mr. Phillips said. “Like other revolutionary totalitarian movements, it insists that it is bringing heaven to earth, but in reality it has created a hell on earth, certainly for non-Muslims and for Shia Muslims, but even for Sunni Muslims who are forced to live under the dictatorship that ISIS has imposed.”
What helped kick-start the Western migration to Syria — now thought to number in the thousands — was the third issue of the Islamic State’s online magazine, “Dabiq,” in August, with its theme of “A Call to Hijrah,” or call to come to Muslim-controlled lands.
The Islamic State now is showcasing its highly educated recruits in various video feeds as a scheme to get more doctors, nurses, teachers and engineers to follow them.
MEMRI’s report captures some of the tweets, videos and online articles.
In a March tweet, the Islamic State announced that a medical college has opened in Raqqa, with more to come.
‘A beautiful job’
“We need engineers and doctors,” says the posting with a photo of an Islamic State “official” sitting in what appears to be a modern office, a phone and laptop computer on the desk and the Islamic State flag nearby.
The next month, a British member who claims to be a student now in Syria tweeted: “If you make hijra to the Islamic State and have skills or are specialized in something you will be transferred to that dept.”
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