Abu Omar al-Muhajir

Abu Omar al-Muhajir
أبو عمر المهاجر
Occupation	Official spokesman of the Islamic State
Predecessor	Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi
Successor	Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari
Movement	Islamic State

Abu Omar al-Muhajir served as the fourth spokesman for the Salafi jihadist group Islamic State (IS), ^{[1] [2]} from 10 March 2022 until his capture in April 2023 by the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). ^[3] He succeeded Abu Hamza Al-Qurashi in March 2022, and was replaced by Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari in August 2023. ^{[4] [5]}

History

Abu Omar al-Muhajir was announced as spokesman in a speech of Al-Furqan Foundation in March 2022, and he made four audio speeches in his tenure as spokesman for the Islamic State.

His speeches included: ^{[6] [ unreliable source? ]}

• “Some Have Fulfilled Their Obligations [by Martyrdom]” - 10 March 2022
• “Fight Them, and God Will Punish Them At Your Hands” - 17 April 2022
• “And Hold Fast, All of You, to the Rope of God and Be Not Divided” 15 September 2022 ^{[7] [ unreliable source? ]}
• “So they kill and are killed” 30 November 2022 ^[8]

Identity

Little is known about Abu Omar al-Muhajir. It was speculated by Yemeni journalist Mohammed Faisal on Twitter that he is Juma'a Al-Badri, a brother of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ^[9] but this was never confirmed. Many analysts^{[ who? ]} believed his accent to be Iraqi after analyzing his speeches.^{[ citation needed ]} HTS did not present him before media after his capture nor comment on his capture. ^[3]

References

1. "In New Audio Message, ISIS Spokesperson Abu Omar al-Muhajir Calls for Attacks in the West". Flashpoint. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
2. "ISIS spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir calls on Muslims around the world to join the organization's ranks and criticizes other Islamist organizations". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center . 18 September 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
3. Baladi, Enab; Ibrahim, Hassan (28 September 2023). "Mystery circumstances surround al-Muhajir arrest by Tahrir al-Sham". Enabbaladi.net. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
4. Mroue, Bassem (3 August 2023). "The Islamic State group says its leader was killed by militants in Syria and names his successor". ABC News . Archived from the original on 5 August 2023.
5. "IS confirms leader Qurayshi's death and names successor". BBC News . 10 March 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2023.
6. "Abu Umar al-Muhajir Speeches". Kyle Orton's Blog. November 30, 2022.
7. Orton, Kyle. "Prison Breaks, Jihad in Africa, and Uniting the Sunnis: The Third Speech of Islamic State Spokesman Abu Umar al-Muhajir". www.kyleorton.com.
8. ""So They Kill or Are Killed"- Islamic State Speech Announcing Death of Leader and Appointment of Successor". 2 December 2022.
9. Faisal, Mohammed [@M_Faisal311] (16 October 2022). "المتحدّثون الرسميّون لـتنظيم «داعش»! #ISIS" (Tweet) (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2023– via Twitter.