Replacing Al-Adnani

“If you can kill a disbelieving American or European – especially the spiteful and filthy French – or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever…then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner…Smash his head with a rock or slaughter him with a knife or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him, or poison him.”

– Abu Mohammad al-Adnani in announcing the caliphate of the Islamic State

With statements like these, the Islamic State’s chief spokesman, Abu Mohammad al-Adnani, demonstrated a level of charisma and zeal which will be difficult to replace. His death in a U.S airstrike on August 29 marked the loss of a major cog in ISIL’s proselytizing and terrorizing machine.

Adnani was more than just ISIL’s official spokesman. He was a senior leader in the caliphate’s organization, a member of the Shura council, and chief of Amn al-Kharji – IS’s foreign intelligence and operations branch.

His role in the caliphate cannot be underestimated. Several captured and defecting IS members have identified Adnani as the “big man behind everything” and that “everything goes back to him”.

From 2000 until his demise, Adnani climbed the ranks of Al-Qaeda, and eventually became second-in-command for IS. Adnani’s expansive resume and celebrity status within the organization made him the premier successor to the caliphate, after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

His death will set back IS’s military and terrorist operations until a replacement can be found. Strategically speaking, Baghdadi should consider splitting the role of his previous second-in-command into two parts: the chief spokesman for the recruitment campaign and the tactician coordinating ISIS sponsored terror across the globe.

However, the Islamic State of Syria and the Levant is an ideologically fueled organization that will put more emphasis on the theology and fundamentalism inherent to the caliphate. The Islamic State is governed by the Shariah law, as interpreted from the Koran, the Haddith, and the Surah.

This means that Adnani’s position is likely to remain singular. While there are several contenders for Adnani’s position, there are two potential candidates: Turki al-Binali (a.k.a Abu Safyan al-Salami) and Abu Luqman (a.k.a Ali Moussa al-Shawakh).

Born in 1984 and raised in the Al-Bousaiteen District in Al-Murraq, Bahrain, Binali came from a well-to-do environment.He had several privileged education opportunities such as studying at the College of Islamic & Arabic Studies in Dubai.

After the United Arab Emirates forcibly removed/banned Binali from the country, he studied under authoritative Islamic scholars such as Abdullah Ibn Jibreen, Zuhayr al-Shawish, Abu Mohammad al-Magdisi, and Omar al-Haddouchi.

After education, Binali led an extensive recruiting support network in the Gulf region and met with several members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. After Muammar Gaddafi’s death in 2013, Binali gave a series of recruitment lectures in Libya.

Turki al-Binali joined IS in 2013 and wrote several theological treatises that still serve to guide the caliphate’s direction. By 2014, he was appointed as the chief religious adviser to IS.

His education and scriptural experience makes him the prime contender for the position of chief spokesman. Compared to Adnani, Turki al-Binali demonstrates evident zeal and an intimate understanding of Shariah law and the purpose of the Islamic caliphate.

On the other hand, Abu Luqman is another potential candidate for Adnani’s position. He served as the Islamic State governor of Raqqah in Syria. He also studied law at the University of Aleppo.

After Bashar al-Assad imprisoned him, Luqman adopted the Salafi manhaj (methodology) of Islamic law. Rather than appealing to a specific school of thought established by precedent, Salafis believe in returning to the original ways of Islam based on the precedent laid down by Mohammad and his earliest companions.

Luqman has served in a security capacity throughout most of his terrorist career, including notably executing rival jihadist group Jabhat al-Nursa’s commander in the Raqqah province. Shortly after, he became the chief interrogator and emir (military commander) of the Raqqah region.

As chief emir he appointed subordinate emirs, distributed Islamic State fighters across borders, publicized IS’s military operations, and functioned as a senior figure in charge of detaining captured westerners.

Abu Luqman’s experience in structuring the Raqqah province’s emirate and coordinating soldiers qualifies him to undertake Adnani’s position as the chief of the IS’s foreign intelligence operation.

Each candidate has a strength that could half-way fill the shoes Adnani left behind. Turki al-Binali can inspire the masses to “kill a disbelieving American or European”. Abu Luqman can direct them to “smash his head with a rock or slaughter him with a knife”. In the end, whoever will replace Abu Mohammad al-Adnani will have to demonstrate a similar balance of charisma, passion, and strategy.