Isis has used the death of Aylan Kurdi to declare that refugees fleeing its territories are “sacrificing” their own children and committing a “dangerous sin” against Islam.
In the latest issue of the extremist group’s propaganda magazine Dabiq, an article entitled “The Danger of Abandoning Dārul-Islām (the ‘Islamic State)” appears with a picture of Aylan’s body.
The three-year-old Syrian boy drowned alongside his mother and brother when their boat capsized as they tried to reach Greek islands last week.
Aylan's family were fleeing Kobani, which has been devastated by fighting between Isis, Kurds and the Coalition
His family was fleeing to Europe from Kobani, which was occupied by Isis earlier this year and has seen devastating battles between jihadist militant, Kurds and Coalition forces.
“Isis and criminal gangs killed that boy,” George Osborne said last week as the British government vowed to house thousands more Syrian refugees.
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In Dabiq, refugees themselves are blamed for causing their own deaths by migrating from the “land of Islam” to the “land of disbelievers”.
“Sadly, some Syrians and Libyans are willing to risk the lives and souls of those whom they are responsible to raise upon the Sharia – their children – sacrificing many of them during the dangerous trip to the lands of the warwaging crusaders ruled by laws of atheism and indecency,” the article said.
Isis has tried to use the death of Aylan Kurdi to encourage Muslims to migrate to its 'Caliphate'
“It should be known that voluntarily leaving Dārul-Islām (the Islamic State) for dārul-kufr (Western countries) is a dangerous major sin, as it is a passage towards kufr (disbelief) and a gate towards one’s children and grandchildren abandoning Islam for Christianity, atheism, or liberalism.
“If one’s children and grandchildren don’t fall into kufr (disbelief), they are under the constant threat of fornication, sodomy, drugs, and alcohol.”
The article mentioned tragedies in Turkey, Libya, Italy and Austria, claiming that the repeated losses should “awaken the heart” to drive followers to start a religious migration.
According to Isis’ ideology, the world’s Muslims are obligated to travel to their self-declared Caliphate across Syria and Iraq in a “hijrah”.
Isis ideology states that Muslims are obliged to migrate to its own self-declared Caliphate
Anyone going in the opposite direction, to Christian countries, will only “find refuge in Hell”, the Dabiq article claims.
Territories and nations ruled by other factions of Islam including Shias and Alawites, as well as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states allied with the international coalition of “crusaders and apostates” fighting Isis is also condemned.
Refugees moving to non-Islamic nations and accepting the culture of their new homeland could be classed as apostates, Isis claims, and have committed a “major sin”.
Charlie Winter, a Middle East researcher London-based counter extremism think tank the Quilliam Foundation, said that jihadists often attract supporters by relying on a “victimhood narrative” asserting that the West either does not care about Muslims, or is part of an international conspiracy against them. Timeline: The emergence of Isis
But the migration of hundreds of thousands of refugees to Europe, where countries including Germany and Sweden are welcoming them with open arms, has forced a different response.
“Taking in a load of refugees isn't going to solve the problem but if it’s a long-term strategy, it will be a trust-building exercise,” Mr Winter told The Independent.
“It is one of the things that will contribute to undercutting the jihadist narrative of a conspiracy against Islam.”
Even as some Western politicians were claiming that Isis militants are reaching Europe disguised as asylum seekers, Mr Winter said the group's supporters have been posting pictures online claiming people were seeking refuge in their self-declared Caliphate.
He was unsurprised that Isis had sought to use Aylan’s death for its own aims.
“The group will go for whatever line suits it at any one time,” Mr Winter added. “This is a very deliberate ploy.”
