JAFFA, Israel – Although some member states are not aware of its existence, the ideology behind a Saudi-led anti-Islamic State coalition is challenging the jihadi organization’s theological underpinnings, the Mufti of Egypt told Asharq Al Awsat newspaper.
Shawki Alam, the religious leader of the largest Arab nation, told the Saudi-British paper that the coalition has destroyed IS’s “religious and ideological infrastructure, which has relied on fallacious interpretations of prophecies.”
Alam added that Egypt’s Fatwa Council, which has consistently opposed IS’s eschatological beliefs, supports the Islamic coalition unanimously, and this is is “the beginning of the moral and ideological end of the principles on which Islamic State is founded. Extremists distort the prophet’s teachings, which are meant to promote peace, piety, and serenity, and co-opt them to their bloodthirsty ends.”
“The so-called [IS] caliphate, which cannot tolerate the existence of an Islamic military coalition, constantly tried to undermine it,” he added.
Breitbart Jerusalem reported last week on IS’s recent publications regarding a doomsday war, which they believe will take place in the Syrian town of Dabiq near Aleppo and on the Syrian-Turkish border.
According to IS, one of Mohammed’s hadiths, revealed by his companion Abu Hurreyrah, ensures that “the Last Hour will not come until the Romans land at al-A’maq or in Dabiq. An army consisting of the best [soldiers] of the people of the earth at that time will come from Medina [to oppose them].”
This hadith is constantly referenced by the Islamic State as “evidence” that the insurgency and resulting international intervention in Syria were predicted by Mohammad.
The hadith continues:
“They will then fight and a third of the army will run away, which Allah will never forgive. A third [of the army], which will be constituted of excellent martyrs in Allah’s eye, will be killed, and the third who will never be put to trial will win and they will be conquerors of Constantinople.”
After the battle, Jesus, who is depicted as Muslim, will “descend and lead them in prayer. When the enemies of Allah see him, they will [disappear] just as the salt dissolves itself in water, and if [Jesus] were not to confront them at all, even then [the enemy] would dissolve completely.
“Allah will kill them by his hand and he will show them their blood on [Jesus’] lance.”
Asharq al Awsat also reports that the Islamic coalition has sent shockwaves around the Arab World, and Muslim countries such as Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan are considering joining it.
Breitbart Jerusalem reported last week that Pakistani officials said the country was not consulted before it was announced as a member of the 34-country bloc.
In another unusual twist of events, Lebanon’s Foreign Ministry last week denied knowledge of the new Saudi-led coalition, while Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam made a statement implying his country was indeed a member, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported.
Breitbart Jerusalem reported that it was difficult to find a single Palestinian Authority official willing to publicly comment on the alliance.
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