Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi[17][b] (Arabic: أبو إبراهيم الهاشمي القرشي, romanized: Abū Ibrāhīm al-Hāshimī al-Qurashī;[20] born Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi (أمير محمد عبد الرحمن المولى الصلبي);[11] 1 or 5 October 1976 – 3 February 2022)[10] was an Iraqi militant and the second caliph[c][24] of the Islamic State. His appointment by a shura council was announced by the Islamic State media on 31 October 2019, less than a week after the death of previous leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.[25]
Not to be confused with Abu al-Hasan al-Hashimi al-Qurashi.
Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi
Ba'athist Iraq (2000–2003)- Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna (c. 2003–?)
al-Qaeda (2003–2013)
Islamic State (2013–2022)
Al-Qurashi's tenure as caliph saw the Islamic State being mostly limited to insurgent activity in the Middle East,[12] but also make substantial advances in Africa, where IS increased its territories and influence.[26] The U.S. Rewards for Justice Program was offering up to $10 million in exchange for information leading to al-Qurashi's apprehension.[27] On 3 February 2022, al-Qurashi killed himself, and members of his family, by triggering a large bomb during a raid by the U.S. Joint Special Operations Command.[28][29]
Speculations about his identity[edit]
When he was announced as the successor of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, nothing was known about al-Qurashi other than the name he had been given by the Islamic State: Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi. His Arabic onomastic ("nisbah"), al-Qurashi, suggested that he, like Baghdadi, claimed a lineage to Muhammad's tribe of Quraysh, a position that offers legitimacy in some quarters.[25] Al-Qurashi's name was believed to be a nom de guerre and his real name was unknown at the time.[30]
The possibility that al-Qurashi was Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi had already been raised on the day of al-Qurashi's coming to power, but this was uncertain at the time.[31] Muhammad Ali Sajit, the brother-in-law and aide of al-Baghdadi, who was caught in June 2019, also believed that "Hajji Abdullah", a top aide to al-Baghdadi, was al-Qurashi, the new leader.[32]
Rita Katz, director of SITE Intelligence Group, believed that it was unlikely that the Islamic State would "release any video speeches from this new leader or at least ones that show his face".[18] Nonetheless, on 1 November 2019, then U.S. president Donald Trump stated on social media that the U.S. government had identified al-Qurashi's true identity.[33] However, a report on 5 November 2019 by The National said that this "does not seem to be the case" and that "reports indicate that Iraqi, Kurdish and American officials say they don't have much to go on".[34] The Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center correctly speculated on 5 November that al-Qurashi was of Iraqi nationality.[35] The Small Wars Journal agreed with this assessment, stating that Iraqis constitute the majority of the Islamic State members and would not accept a non-Iraqi leader for the organisation.[36]
A report on 23 December 2019 by the Voice of America expressed doubt that al-Qurashi existed at all. It stated that the Islamic State was possibly caught off guard and announced a name as a holding move, to "create the impression it is on top of things".[37]
On 20 January 2020, The Guardian released a report confirming al-Qurashi's true identity as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi.[38] On 20 May 2020, the Iraqi Intelligence Service identified a captured militant as al-Qurashi; however, the military clarified that this was actually Abdul Nasser Qardash, a potential successor to al-Baghdadi. Al-Qurashi was still outside Iraqi custody at the time.[39]
Biography[edit]
Early life and education[edit]
Al-Qurashi was born on 1 or 5 October 1976[8] as Amir Mohammed Abdul Rahman al-Mawli al-Salbi.[11][40] Most sources—including al-Qurashi—state that he was born in al-Muhalabiyyah near Mosul, Iraq.[9][12][41] Alternatively, Tal Afar has also been suggested as birthplace,[9][11][40] including by a short biography published by IS supporters.[16] His father was a muezzin with two wives; he had six brothers and nine sisters.[12] Al-Qurashi claimed to be Arab,[12][42] but many sources have claimed that his family was Turkmen.[11][40][42] According to Nineveh genealogy expert Nizar al-Saadoun, most of al-Qurashi's clan—the al-Mawla—is Arab, and descended from the Abbasid Burisha clan which in turn were related to Muhammad's clan.[12] The U.S. military also classified him as Arab in 2008.[9] However, two of his brothers became leaders within Turkmen organizations.[12] Official IS sources later described his family as being part of the Quraysh, Muhammad's tribe, albeit a "Turkified" branch.[42] Based on a later IS biography of al-Qurashi, regional expert Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi argued that he was "Turkmen by language, not necessarily racial lineage".[16] Al-Qurashi's family followed a Sufist form of Islam,[12] and he also claimed that he was a Sufi in his early years.[43]
He was educated in Sharia at the University of Mosul,[40][41][44] majoring in Quranic studies and Islamic education.[12] After graduating with honors in 2000, he was conscripted[12][45] and served as a private[46] or officer in the Iraqi Army.[40][44] He likely forged contacts to jihadist groups during his military service.[12] According to pro-IS sources, he "repented" his state service after meeting Abu Ali al-Anbari.[16] Researcher Hassan Hassan described al-Qurashi as the "disciple" of al-Anbari,[42] and a pro-IS biography of al-Qurashi claimed he studied "Ilm" under al-Anbari.[16]
Al-Qaeda and early career with the Islamic State[edit]
After the end of Saddam Hussein's rule following the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he joined al-Qaeda's Iraqi branch (then known as Islamic State of Iraq, short "ISI"), and served as a religious commissary and a general Sharia jurist.[44] Al-Qurashi's motives for joining al-Qaeda remain unclear. When he was interrogated later in life, he gave conflicting reasons, either stating that he had "joined ISI in order to stop fighters attacking innocent people" or because he had been requested to teach classes to ISI members.[43] He climbed the group's ranks while completing his master's degree in Mosul.[12] As part of al-Qaeda, he reportedly also served as militant for Jamaat Ansar al-Sunna under Abu Ali al-Anbari and co-founded a militant base called the "al-Jazira camp". As a local insurgent officer, he led rebel forces against the United States during the Battle of Tal Afar (2005).[16] In 2007, al-Qurashi was appointed al-Qaeda's general religious judge and later deputy emir for Mosul. At the time, he would give lectures at the city's Furqan Mosque.[12] Within the Iraqi al-Qaeda branch, he became part of a faction called "Qaradish", formed by followers of Abu Ali al-Anbari. This faction would later come to dominate the IS high command.[42]
On 6 January 2008,[47] he was arrested by U.S. forces and detained at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq.[12][d] While in prison, he falsely claimed to have joined al-Qaeda in 2007 and that he had served as deputy to Abu Omar al-Baghdadi.[12] The U.S. military would later claim that he had become a willing informant during his imprisonment.[49] A U.S. official stated: "He did a number of things to save his own neck, and he had a long record of being hostile—including during interrogation—toward foreigners in ISIS."[49] However, the truthfulness of these claims have been doubted by analysts. Hassan Hassan argued that "well-placed Iraqi sources" described the allegations of al-Qurashi having acted as informer as being "weak" and highly unlikely, as the Islamic State usually withheld any high-ranking commands from anyone that would have become a "snitch" which was not the case for al-Qurashi.[42] The later pro-IS biography stated that al-Qurashi was "preoccupied with lecturing" at Camp Bucca.[16]
