On Saturday, Bakr al-Baghdadi released a rare audio recording in which the ISIS leader threatened Israel (“we are getting closer to you everyday”), insisted that the Russian air campaign had not weakened the group (“hear the good news that our state is doing well"), and called upon Muslims to join the caliphate and take up arms against its enemies.
“Joining (its fight) is a duty on every Muslim. We are calling on you either join or carry weapons (to fight) wherever you are,” Baghdadi said, adding that “there is no excuse for any Muslim not to migrate to the Islamic State.”
Muslims, apparently, do not agree and took to Twitter to list a number of “excuses” for their unwillingness to drop what they’re doing to wage jihad in Syria and Iraq. Here are some amusing examples.
I've got Star Wars on Sunday. Maybe later. https://t.co/UQ71PkUi4j
— Saadat Ali Zia (@my69cents) December 26, 2015
Sorry #ISIS. This Muslim is just waking up. Needs coffee. Also, it's Christmas weekend family time. Run along now. https://t.co/gUODLPdDy6
— Salman Anees Soz (@SalmanSoz) December 26, 2015
Sorry, I am busy watching Netflix. https://t.co/YyLJ9cQ2nS
— Mohamed Djingo (@TheDjingo) December 26, 2015
Would do, but there's engineering work on the trains around London Bridge. Soz https://t.co/Rx2ucColWo
— radio_shak (@radio_shak) December 26, 2015
Are you telling me I should join you rather than witness Leicester City win the league?? Noooo wayyyy! https://t.co/CqtIZBesM9
— Anjum Rauf Meer (@anjum_meer) December 26, 2015
As The Independent notes, the Twitter reaction is "a reminder that the overwhelming majority of people follow Islam peacefully and detest the message that Isis spreads."
One country that does not detest the message ISIS spreads is of course Saudi Arabi, where wahhabism is openly promoted and championed. It's interesting to note that Baghdadi also threatened Riyadh in the audio recording, asking Saudi citizens to overthrow the government. And then on Sunday, we get this from al-Jazeera:
While recent spectacular terror attacks either directed or inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have mostly taken place against the West and Russia, a new priority for ISIL could be the Gulf.
The two countries that appear to be more at risk now are Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The likelihood of a full-blown ground operation by troops from that newly formed coalition is at the moment quite low, as it would mean Saudi soldiers fighting alongside its arch-enemies - the Shia militias - against ISIL.
This assessment might change instantaneously if there were to be a spectacular ISIL-directed terror attack in either Saudi Arabia or the UAE.
Did Baghdadi just set the stage for a Saudi-led ground intervention in Syria? And if so, how convenient is that for Riyadh and its newly formed anti-terror "coalition" who would like nothing more than to rollback the Iranians (who were left out of the alliance) and tip the scales back in favor of the rebels fighting Assad?