Jordanian jihadist leader condemns ISIS caliphate
Prominent jihadist and al-Qaeda figure Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi has called the Islamic State's new caliphate a "rush job" and "illegitimate."
AMMAN, Jordan — Jordanian Islamist groups have rejected the announcement of an Islamic caliphate by al-Qaeda offshoot the Islamic State (IS, formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) on territory it has seized in Iraq and Syria, a move they see as a “rush job,” “forced” and “illegitimate.”
The Sunni militant organization declared itself a caliphate on June 29, renamed itself “Islamic State“ and proclaimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, caliph of the Muslim world.
Salafist and al-Qaeda spiritual leader Assem Barqawi, better known as Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi, one of the most influential voices in Salafist Islam, dismissed the declaration of a new caliphate in a lengthy statement posted July 1 on his website branding the group “deviant” and against the principles of both Islam and Sharia.
The cleric was detained for 16 of the last 21 years in Jordanian jails before being released from prison earlier in June, after serving a five-year prison term on allegations of posing a threat to state security and recruiting jihadists to fight in Afghanistan.
