The Islamic State (documentary)

Last updated
The Islamic State
Directed byMedyan Dairieh
Produced by
Narrated by Ben Anderson
CinematographyMedyan Dairieh
Edited by
  • Evelyn Franks
  • Andy Hayward
  • Sam Sapin
  • Paula Salhany
  • Rich Lowe
Distributed by Vice Media (Vice News)
Release date
  • 20 August 2014 (2014-08-20)
Running time
42:32
Country Syria
Language English

The Islamic State is a documentary created by VICE News in 2014 during the rise of the Islamic State and documented by Vice News correspondent Medyan Dairieh while he was visiting the territory of the Islamic State for 3 weeks in which he explored areas of Raqqa with the hisbah (Islamic State police) and explored the front lines of Syria. [1] A trailer was released for it called "From ISIS to the Islamic State" which was released on August 11, 2014. [2]

Contents

Film and plot

The correspondent, Medyan Dairieh, was spending three weeks in the territory of the Islamic State in Raqqa from May to June 2014, where he explored Raqqa up to the Euphrates river in which he talked to the members of the Islamic State, military of the Islamic State, and civilians under the rule of the Islamic State. [3] These were considered planned trips and Dairieh was there with the permission of the Islamic State which was considered surprising by many. [4]

One of the members of the Islamic State that was a guide to the Euphrates was Islamic State press officer Abu Mosa, who gained attention after being filmed by VICE News. [5] Through their guide on the banks of the Euphrates, a propaganda vehicle that was used in propaganda by the Islamic State showed up and revealed how kids are used in the Islamic State, in the various clips shown in the documentary, the kids, teenagers to children, showed love for the Islamic State and the so-called caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. [6] During these interviews near the Euphrates, they talked about how the inside of the Islamic State worked with child recruitment, where kids under the age of 15 were sent to Sharia camp, an organized learning environment about Islam, Salafism, and Jihadism, and kids above the age of 15 were sent to military camps to learn about fighting and basic weapons training, specifically with the AK-47. [7]

The driver of the propaganda van was an Australian-born Jihadist named Khaled Sharrouf who joined ISIS (before it was the Islamic State) in December of 2013, he was interviewed with his son where he pressured his son to say pro-ISIS answers to the interviewer. [8] The van was called the "preaching van" which espoused Qu'ran verses from the megaphones on top and also preached Wahhabi ideologies. [9] Those who interviewed VICE in the area of Raqqa about the children stated that the children were a "generation of Jihad" and loved the so-called caliphate. [10] Through the tour of Raqqa, they talked about their hatred for Turkey, especially for cutting off the dam to Raqqa and Mosul of the Euphrates, the Free Syrian Army, and Al-Nusra Front. [11]

Then he explored areas of Raqqa with the hisbah (Islamic State police), whose patrol leader was Abu Obida, who explained his purpose to establish the caliphate in the way of the Prophet Mohammed, [12] and ordered traders to remove a poster showing infidels and a man to change the fabric on his wife's veil. [13]

Reception and criticism

The Washington Post called the documentary 'impressive' in an article released by them. [14] Business Insider called the documentary amazing and talked about how it showed the violence and the recruitment by the Islamic State. [15] The legality of how VICE News gained access and the trust of the Islamic State was heavily questioned and criticized due to the fact it can be seen as illegal. [1]

Awards

In 2014, the documentary won VICE News a Peabody Award. [16] VICE News was one of the multiple news, radio and podcast winners for 2014. [17] The winners were released on April 20, 2015. [18]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raqqa</span> City in Syria

Raqqa is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about 160 kilometres east of Aleppo. It is located 40 kilometres east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and bishopric Callinicum was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate between 796 and 809, under the reign of Harun al-Rashid. It was also the capital of the Islamic State from 2014 to 2017. With a population of 531,952 based on the 2021 official census, Raqqa is the sixth largest city in Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rojava–Islamist conflict</span> Theater in the Syrian civil war

The Rojava–Islamist conflict, a major theater in the Syrian civil war, started after fighting erupted between the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Islamist rebel factions in the city of Ras al-Ayn. Kurdish forces launched a campaign in an attempt to take control of the Islamist-controlled areas in the governorate of al-Hasakah and some parts of Raqqa and Aleppo governorates after al-Qaeda in Syria used those areas to attack the YPG. The Kurdish groups and their allies' goal was also to capture Kurdish areas from the Arab Islamist rebels and strengthen the autonomy of the region of Rojava. The Syrian Democratic Forces would go on to take substantial territory from Islamist groups, in particular the Islamic State (IS), provoking Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War.

Al-Hayat Media Center is a media wing of the Islamic State. It was established in mid-2014 and targets international (non-Arabic) audiences as opposed to their other Arabic-focused media wings and produces material, mostly Nasheeds, in English, German, Russian, Urdu, Indonesian, Turkish, Bengali, Chinese, Bosnian, Kurdish, Uyghur, and French.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Women's Protection Units</span> Ethnic Kurdish military unit

The Women's Protection Units (YPJ) or Women's Defense Units is an all-female militia involved in the Syrian civil war. The YPJ is part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the armed forces of Rojava, and is closely affiliated with the male-led YPG. While the YPJ is mainly made up of Kurds, it also includes women from other ethnic groups in Northern Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Al-Khansaa Brigade</span> All-female police unit in Islamic State (2014-2017)

The Al-Khansaa Brigade was an all-women police or religious enforcement unit of the jihadist group Islamic State (IS), operating in its de facto capitals of Raqqa and Mosul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suluk, Syria</span> Town in Syria

Suluk is a town within the Tell Abyad District of Raqqa Governorate in Syria. Suluk is close to the border with Turkey. The population of the town is predominantly Arab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruqia Hassan</span> Syrian journalist

Ruqia Hassan Mohammed, also known by her pen name Nissan Ibrahim, was a Syrian independent journalist and blogger based in Raqqa, Syria. She was a member of the activist group known as Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, and wrote frequently under the pen name Nissan Ibrahim. She is thought to be the first identified female citizen journalist executed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raqqa campaign (2016–2017)</span> Part of the Rojava–Islamist conflict in Syria

The Raqqa campaign was a military operation launched in November 2016 during the Rojava–Islamist conflict by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Raqqa Governorate, with the goal of isolating and eventually capturing the Islamic State's capital city, Raqqa. The SDF's subsidiary goals included capturing the Tabqa Dam, the nearby city of al-Thawrah, and the Baath Dam further downstream. The campaign ended successfully in October 2017, with the capture of Raqqa.

Khaled Sharrouf was an Australian Jihadist who in 2013 travelled to Syrian territory to fight in the Syrian Civil War on the side of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Born in Sydney, Australia, in 2017 he was the first Australian dual-national to have his Australian citizenship revoked under anti-terror legislation passed in 2015. In 2014, he posted an image to the Internet showing his seven-year-old son holding the severed head of a Syrian soldier, an act that was widely condemned.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raqqa campaign (2016–2017) order of battle</span>

In course of the Raqqa campaign (2016–2017), an international coalition, primarily composed of the Syrian Democratic Forces and CJTF–OIR, captured the Raqqa Governorate from the Islamic State, which had declared Raqqa city the capital of its self-proclaimed caliphate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Raqqa (2017)</span> Major battle in the Syrian civil war

The battle of Raqqa (2017), also known as the second battle of Raqqa, was the fifth and final phase of the Raqqa campaign (2016–2017) launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State (ISIL) with an aim to seize the city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIL since 2014. The battle began on 6 June 2017, and was supported by airstrikes and ground troops from the US-led coalition. The operation was named the "Great Battle" by the SDF. It concluded on 17 October 2017, with the SDF fully capturing the city of Raqqa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deir ez-Zor campaign (2017–2019)</span> Part of the Syrian Civil War (2017–2019)

The Deir ez-Zor campaign, codenamed the al-Jazeera Storm campaign, was a military operation launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria's Deir ez-Zor Governorate in 2017 during the Syrian Civil War with the goal of capturing territory in eastern Syria, particularly east and north of the Euphrates river. The U.S.-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF–OIR) anti-ISIL coalition provided extensive air support while SDF personnel composed the majority of the ground forces; OIR special forces and artillery units were also involved in the campaign.

Al-Barakah is a Syrian administrative district of the Islamic State (IS), a Salafi jihadist militant group and unrecognised proto-state. Originally set up as al-Barakah Province to govern IS territories in al-Hasakah Governorate, the province shifted south after 2016 due to the territorial losses to the YPG/YPJ. Having been demoted from province to district in 2018, al-Barakah administered a small strip of land along the Euphrates in Deir ez-Zor Governorate until the Battle of Baghuz Fawqani; since then the "territory" has turned into an insurgency.

Opposition–ISIL conflict during the Syrian Civil War started after fighting erupted between Syrian opposition groups and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In early January 2014, serious clashes between the groups erupted in the north of the country. Opposition groups near Aleppo attacked ISIL in two areas, Atarib and Anadan, which were both strongholds of the fundamentalist Sunni organization. Despite the conflict between ISIL and other rebels, one faction of ISIL has cooperated with the al-Nusra Front and the Green Battalion to combat Hezbollah in the Battle of Qalamoun. By 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Syria insurgency</span> Armed insurgency

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abu Mosa (press officer)</span>

Abu Mosa was a press officer for the Islamic State. In a documentary video made by Vice News reporter Medyan Daireh, he threatened the US and said "we will raise the flag of Allah in the White House". He also threatened to "liberate Istanbul".

The origins of the Islamic State group can be traced back to three main organizations. Earliest of these was the "Jamāʻat al-Tawḥīd wa-al-Jihād" organization, founded by the Jihadist leader Abu Mus'ab al-Zarqawi in Jordan in 1999. Although the other two predecessor organizations emerged during the Iraqi insurgency against the U.S. occupation forces which included the "Jaish al-Ta'ifa al-Mansurah" group founded by Abu Omar al-Baghdadi in 2004 and the "Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama’ah" group founded by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his associates in the same year, the modern iteration of the Islamic State was formed after the U.S. occupational forces outlawed the Iraqi branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party putting the Sunni soldiers and bureaucrats out of work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State Health Service</span> ISIS-run health service (2015-2019)

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References

  1. 1 2 March, Andrew F. (2014-10-01). "Is Vice's Documentary on ISIS Illegal?". The Atlantic . ISSN   2151-9463. OCLC   936540106 . Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  2. ↑ "From ISIS to the Islamic State: Vice News trailer". The Mercury . 2014-08-11. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  3. ↑ al-Shibeeb, Dina (2016-03-15). "First journalist who visited Raqqa: 'ISIS's initial target was Jordan'". Al Arabiya English . Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  4. ↑ Calderone, Michael (2014-08-07). "How Vice News Got Unprecedented Access To The Islamic State". HuffPost . Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  5. ↑ Buchanan, Rose Troup (2014-08-22). "ISIS spokesperson reported as dead". The Independent . ISSN   1741-9743. OCLC   185201487 . Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  6. ↑ Salama, Zeina Karam & Vivian. "ISIS Is Building An Army of Child Soldiers In The Capital Of Its 'Caliphate'". Business Insider . OCLC   1076392313 . Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  7. ↑ "A Look Into Heart of Jihadist 'Caliphate' in Syria, Iraq". NDTV . 2014-08-23. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  8. ↑ Fraser, Kelmeny (2014-08-10). "The photo that will shock the world: jihadist Khaled Sharrouf's son, 7, holds severed head". The Daily Telegraph . ISSN   1836-0203. Archived from the original on 2019-08-27. Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  9. ↑ Bunzel, Cole (2015). "From Paper State to Caliphate: The Ideology of the Islamic State" (PDF). The Brookings Project on U.S. Relations with the Islamic World (15): 10 – via Brookings Institution.
  10. ↑ Porter, Geoff (2015-02-27). "The Role of Child Soldiers in a Multigenerational Movement". Combating Terrorism Center at West Point . Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  11. ↑ Khatib, Lina (2015-06-29). "The Islamic State's Strategy: Lasting and Expanding". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace . Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  12. ↑ Mikati, Sarah (17 May 2015). "Islamic State's inability to govern destroys communities it occupies". Deseret News . Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  13. ↑ "A Look into Heart of Jihadist 'Caliphate' in Syria, Iraq". Naharnet . 23 August 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  14. ↑ Taylor, Adam (2014-12-23). "The strange story of the 'first Westerner' to report from the Islamic State". The Washington Post . ISSN   0190-8286. OCLC   2269358 . Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  15. ↑ Kelley, Michael B. "The VICE Documentary About The Islamic State Is Amazing". Business Insider . OCLC   1076392313 . Retrieved 2025-01-02.
  16. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (2015-04-20). "Peabody Awards: 'Serial,' Vice, NBC's Richard Engel Among News, Radio Winners". The Hollywood Reporter . ISSN   0018-3660. OCLC   44653726 . Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  17. ↑ "74th Annual Peabody Award Winners — Announcing Documentary, Educational, Children's and Public Service Programming Winners | TVWeek" . Retrieved 2025-01-03.
  18. ↑ Holston, Noel (2015-04-20). "New players, forms highlight Peabody news, radio winners". University of Georgia . Retrieved 2025-01-03.
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