Today, the Taliban met with the special representative of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Shaykh 'Abd al-Hadi.
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Aaron Y. Zelin
@azelin
Senior Fellow | Visiting Scholar | Founder | Book “Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia’s Missionaries of Jihad”
Aaron Y. Zelin’s posts
For those of us who have followed and researched Syria the past decade-plus, what is happening in Ukraine is sadly unsurprising. Those that ignored the reality of the broader implications of Syria now get it. Terrible that Syria had to be sacrificed for the West to now get it.
My new 92-page booklet on HTS is out!
"The Age of Political Jihadism: A Study of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham”
bit.ly/3M4uFYX
Why Facebook really, really doesn’t want to discourage extremism: Our research finds that outrage is what goes viral — and that makes money. wapo.st/3raSDb9
Today is the day! I’ve been waiting for this day for sooo long. My book is finally out! 🎉
Buy it here: amzn.to/2uAZbqL
Same ideology, better PR.
Kind of ironic that jihadis in Idlib are using money with Ataturk on it
The left, just like the right, doesn’t actually have any idea what it’s like to live in a real dictatorship or what overthrowing an actual dictator looks like. That’s not to undermine the dangers of the past 4 years, but come on.
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Can't be said enough: we toppled a dictator.
Today is the 10 year anniversary of . Happy that it has been a useful resource for the research community. Thank you to all for the continued support of my website!
Would’ve gotten 20-30 if a jihadi... The justice system penalties needs some overhauling for far right extremists.
Scenario 1:
Step 1. Withdraw from Syria
Step 2. Turkish local allies takeover Kurdish-controlled areas
Step 3. HTS/AQ then takes over those areas
Scenario 2:
Step 1. Withdraw from Syria
Step 2. Iranian proxy militias takeover Kurdish-controlled areas
#somuchwinning
Jihadis kill French Muslim security guard for Charlie Hebdo, Muslim man working at kosher store saves customers. Your narrative destroyed.
Anyone that thinks this is gonna end soon is still in denial.
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Dr. Fauci to @jaketapper this morning: "Looking at what we're seeing now, I would say between 100,000 and 200,000 cases (of coronavirus)... excuse me, deaths. I mean, we're going to have millions of cases." #CNNSOTU
This is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.
The amount of primary sources/manuscripts referenced in ’s new book is dizzying in the best way possible. The new standard for literature on Wahhabism! Very highly recommended.
My forthcoming book “Your Sons Are At Your Service: Tunisia’s Missionaries of Jihad” will be published with Columbia University Press! So excited!!! Can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts/feedback when it comes out.
Two years of Taliban diplomatic engagements. Although they are not officially recognized, they are not isolated at all.
When you think you’re saying something edgy, but are just an ignoramus.
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Gonna go ahead and decline to take at face value government claims about “ISIS-K,” or any other Terrorist Groups which are claimed to have just been summoned into existence this week
Readers added context
ISIS spokesman Abu Muhammad Al-Adnani announced the creation of an Afghan branch of his group called Wilayat Khorasen, or ISIS-K, in an official statement given on January 26, 2015.
tinyurl.com/cw4v9myk
Over the past 1.5+ yrs, I've been working on a mapping project related to the Islamic State. On March 21st there will be a launch event for the mapping tool, which will be free & open access to anyone. Thanks to & for joining me virtually to help launch it.
This book from is simply phenomenal. No doubt it will be a go-to resource for years to come. A must-read for anyone interested in studying Syria.
Truly humbled by the outpouring of support for my website from fellow scholars as well as journalists, humanitarian workers, & others. I know a lot of people use my website for it’s stated purpose, but it still blows me away how useful it has been to so many in the field. Thanks!
My new 28-page research paper is finally out!
"The Others: Foreign Fighters in Libya”
It’s a sad day for academia when I get messages from researchers in the UK that their uni won’t let them get ethical approval for using IS propaganda in research and the police also then advising against looking at anything. The UK has really lost the plot and jumped the shark.
The far left is just as crazy as the far right. It’s only a matter of time before they get more violent too. twitter.com/girlsreallyrul
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If you’re a newspaper and your headline doesn’t include something about how Baghdadi was a rapist and reintroduced slavery, alongside all of the other atrocities, you’re doing it wrong. The guy was a legit creep show and committed crimes against humanity.
The map is live!
washingtoninstitute.org/islamicstatein
Here is an explainer to better understand the background on the map, decisions made on what we included, and how everything functions. Please read before using: washingtoninstitute.org/media/6306
That feeling when you finally submit your PhD dissertation for defense earlier today! A big big thanks to ! 💪🏼😎
Not quite sure why they needed this crisis to think this way.
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New: The Russia-Ukraine crisis is driving the European Union to make plans for a permanent, far-reaching break from Russian oil and gas. washingtonpost.com/climate-enviro By @michaelbirnbaum and @StevenMufson
Assad or we burn the country
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Replying to @realDonaldTrump
....If the Democrats are successful in removing the President from office (which they will never be), it will cause a Civil War like fracture in this Nation from which our Country will never heal.” Pastor Robert Jeffress, @FoxNews
Just finished a draft of an 11,500 word paper on foreign fighters that have gone to Libya since 2011. Can’t wait to share it! Hopefully soon
My new article for Terrorism and Political Violence (): "The Case of Jihadology and the Securitization of Academia”
Should be a national holiday
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How ISIS Made Money on Facebook: The Islamic State turned the social platform into a global marketplace for looted artifacts—until a group of vigilante archaeologists took matters into their own hands.
Dropping tomorrow! 8,000+ words. Anything you wanted to know about al-Hawl is in it.
Apparently IS only has 200 supporters, who knew. No doubt RWX is a big problem, but this isn’t serious & doesn’t help discourse or solve any issue. It’s not a competition. There are extremists within all cultures and societies. It’s part of the human condition. See: history.
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Please stop comparing right wing extremism to ISIS.
ISIS appeals to roughly 0.0000001% of Musims.
Right wing extremism represents the views and attitudes of roughly 30-40% of white people.
My forthcoming book is now on ’s website bit.ly/2H8w95l and Amazon amzn.to/2H8Hja0 for pre-order! Great holiday gift for the end of the year!
That 2.6 rating 😂
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Filming this morning at the remnants of Osama Bin Laden’s compound in Abbotabad on the 10th anniversary of the raid that killed him... helpfully the location is marked on Google maps 
IS made a huge leap in claimed attacks in April compared to prior months in Iraq and Syria:
Jan: 88
Feb: 93
Mar: 101
Apr: 151
Map is for April.
After 10 years, finally finished paying off my student loans for my MA! Good riddance.
UK government urged to suspend export of tear gas, rubber bullets, and riot shields to US amid ‘excessive’ use of force independent.co.uk/news/uk/politi
Eight years ago today, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced ISIS. It would change the trajectory and dynamics of the jihadi movement not only for IS, but also AQ and what is now HTS.
Great book deconstructing the argument that the Syrian uprising was caused by climate change
The British connection: Jihadi John was mentor to Easter bombings ringleader Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed in Raqqa
Two things:
-See what the Taliban is doing in rural areas outside Kabul and major cities. Don’t be a prisoner of the capital.
-Continue to follow what the Taliban is doing when this isn’t the front page story.
That will provide greater long-term insights.
Not everyone in al-Hol is a jihadi. Local Syrians were coerced into marrying IS fighters. Also Yezidis were forced into sexual slavery. There are those that are disillusioned & no longer believe in IS. Of course, there are still true believers in the camp. But 68k are not all IS.
Erdogan: We killed IS's leader
IS: HTS killed our leader
HTS: We didn't kill IS's leader
When concerns over terrorist content goes from good intentions and instead turns into restricting academics from sharing primary source information with other researchers.
Never would have thought this would look even dumber than it did originally, but it’s even worse now.
And the Oscar goes to...
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I didn’t know how bad Isis was, claims British jihadist
thetimes.co.uk/article/i-didn
What could go wrong...
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Berlin: Alleged Iraqi ISIS fighter has been released from custody, police says he poses a threat. Spokesperson of Berlin court says there were not enough staff and resources for the trial within six months (as demanded by law), so he had to be released. bild.de/regional/berli
NEW volume for edited by me dropping tomorrow: “How al-Qaeda Survived Drones, Uprisings, and the Islamic State"
It’s here! Check out my new research paper for : "Wilayat al-Hawl: 'Remaining' and Incubating the Next Islamic State Generation” bit.ly/32vwCXE
I can’t wait for China to air a Chinese TV show on Chinese television that criticizes the Chinese government and history. 🕰 waiting...
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The most honest 2 minutes in America. America is not the greatest country in the world. No more.
Check out my new article: "Return of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: The Jihadist State of Play”
IT’S OUT! How al-Qaeda Survived Drones, Uprisings, and the Islamic State - edited by : bit.ly/2u31iyx
My book on HTS was picked up by Rowman & Littlefield () and is now published through them as well. Beautiful looking hardcovers! rowman.com/ISBN/978153818
Message to anyone: save all your stuff on your laptop or external and don’t solely rely on the cloud or web service. Never trust internet companies. Keep all your stuff.
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I'm going through my archive and I'm so angry that YouTube deleted all of those videos from Syria. This is documented war crimes being erased from history. Good thing I saved a lot of them.
No, they didn’t. The Taliban has been quite adept at its information campaigns on its own and before the IS reemergence.
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In Opinion
“The Taliban understand that the information war is modern warfare,” writes Richard Stengel, an expert on disinformation and online propaganda, in a guest essay. “To that end, they have taken a digital page from the ISIS playbook.”
nyti.ms/3z5xJNT
I see we’re doing the Taliban uses social media pieces. They’ve been on it for more than a decade-plus…
Just submitted my book’s final manuscript to the publisher! Finally. Weird feeling.
The Taliban paints its flag on the wall outside the US Embassy in Kabul.
“Look at me: I am the captain now"
The ridiculous thing is the same Islamist leaders/states and jihadist actors that have been using inciting language in the past week will say they had no role in these various attacks yet continue to incite tomorrow during their already planned sermons and demonstrations.
The ridiculous thing is that these tech companies played this cat/mouse game with IS in 2015 and then eventually threw the hammer down. Don’t see why they can’t just do that from the drop. As has shown it works once it’s a serious effort.
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Instagram removed the account of one of the biggest QAnon influencers on the platform with 284,000 followers yesterday. Less than 24 hours since the removal, she's already back with 3 new public and 1 private accounts with 79,400, 27,800, 21,000 and 5,700 followers respectively.
The USG should declassify who was at the Bagram prison. Can then better assess reality of AQ’s future.
Things aren’t always about money. Values are important.
I’m honestly speechless after reading this, especially what happened to Suleiman (appropriately autocorrected by my phone to Superman). The humanity in ’s book should be celebrated & a standard. If you want to truly understand the Syrian uprising, this is THE book.
US senior official estimates 80% of Assad fighting force is Iranian sourced bit.ly/2AR91Gf Weird that no one calls Syria an Iranian occupation. Been clear for sometime. Also involved in managing state too, not just fighting aspects.
Check out my new research paper for : "My Beloved Brothers in God, This Is An Invitation: The Islamic State’s Dawa and Mosques Administration” bit.ly/3nnO6zk
It’s going to be really awkward (and embarrassing) if the Taliban takes Kabul by September 11th.
We are in an era of extremisms. They all feed off one another and are hyper-charged by algorithms and globalization. Jihadis were first to exploit in large way, far right has learned from them, expect other extremist trends to learn from both as reactions. Just the beginning.
There are less forces total in all of the main ‘war on terror’ area of operations today than there will be in DC.
-Afghanistan: 2,500
-Iraq: 2,500
-Syria: 1,000
-Somalia: 700
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WASHINGTON (AP) — National Guard says it will increase troops in DC to at least 10,000 by Saturday to boost security ahead of inauguration.
My phone has been banned from , congrats ! Guess no more . Hope everyone is happy.
Yesterday, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for an attack in Kampala, Uganda. I believe that’s the first time they’ve claimed an attack in Uganda.
Had the chance to finally read this. A criminally under-discussed book in the jihadi studies realm from . I highly recommend it! Anyone that’s a serious researcher in the field should read this. Deepens the literature on jihadi ideology/creed/methodology.
Clicking on terrorist propaganda even once could mean 15 years in prison under new law ind.pn/2tmuZvt The UK really has lost the plot.
A book that should get way more attention from .
Highlights the importance of AQ’s operations within Afghanistan itself outside of the more well-known international terrorism campaign.
Also, very relevant if the US withdraws and the Taliban takes over again.
Trump is the logical conclusion of a corporate media that favors entertainment over actual reporting & the dollar over the public good.
Not going to share the explicit pictures, but the Assad regime and Russia are still killing babies and targeting civilians in airstrikes all the time. While the world has moved on from Syria, many are still suffering. Don't really have words for the continued impunity.
For those still skeptical that ISIS didn’t have a plan or weren’t aiming for anything. From two months ago:
In contrast to the Taliban’s relatively professional information operations over the past week, al-Qaeda in contrast continues to lag behind in the media space. It’s been a week since Kabul fell and still nothing from Zawahiri or AQ’s senior leadership 1/2
Third promo clip for my Islamic State mapping project!
Get a brief preview of what the map looks like and how it will be a primary source-rich tool.
