“Look Un-Islamic”: ISIS Publishes Infiltration Manual for Lone-Wolf Attackers

There is little worse than the current situation in the Middle East, as Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) continues its sociopathic Olympics across Iraq and Syria. But recently, Daesh has managed to package their lunatic brand of crazy for worldwide distribution through the digital publication of a client-facing user manual, geared to empower their global affiliates and sympathizers.

The manual, titled “Safety and Security Guidelines for Lone Wolf Mujahideen,” is being widely distributed across the Internet, in English. The manual states, “No doubt that today, at the era of the lone wolves, brothers in the West need to know some important things about safety in order to ensure success in their operations.” Daesh is recognizing its loyalists abroad, and has set out to maximize the base of prospective readers and activists—the lone wolves.

Within the guide’s pages, one sees an evolution in the tactics, techniques, and procedures commonly deployed by similar terrorist organizations. For example, there is a juxtaposition of very different elements, such as the fundamentals contained in an al-Qaeda manual discovered in the early 2000s. Both manuals focus on infiltration, cultural-adaptation techniques, deception, diversion, and sabotage with high overtones of Islamic-jihadism. However, the new Daesh manual differs, as it focuses on the long game—catering to sleeper agents and those establishing a foreign base of operations or a cell—all the while encouraging their lone wolves to culturally adapt to their surroundings.

Found throughout the manual are the following: tips, tricks, lessons learned, logistics, recruitment techniques, security, surveillance, targeting, planning, scenario and implementation models mentioning asymmetrical warfare, espionage, and InfoSec. There’s also plenty of deranged rhetoric, such as, “We have spoken about this before, no negligence, and no paranoia. And this is the divine Qaeda that our Lord put us in, which is the one of the middle path and moderation in everything.” Phrasing like this is found throughout the manual, and is designed to motivate the would-be lone wolf.

New subversive infiltration, cultural awareness, social studies, and performances are encouraged as never before. A few of these include (paraphrased for readability):

• Look un-Islamic.
• Avoid religious clothing.
• Match your clothes, don’t clash your colors.
• Your clothes should match your age.
• Keep your beard shaved, and shave it two weeks before you travel to avoid the appearance of previously having a beard.
• Do not wear a watch on your right hand.
• Wear a crucifix if you do not have a Muslim name on your passport.
• Use only the alcohol-based perfume. Do not use the oily, non-alcoholic perfume, and if you are a man, use perfume for men.
• Avoid using the Miswak—teeth-cleaning twigs. Use a toothbrush.
• Do not keep a booklet of Dhikr (booklet of Islamic worship) on you.
• Always be polite and respectful to the person you are talking to.
• Just say, “Hello.” There’s no need to use too much of the usual sentences that religious brothers use, like ‘salam alaykum’ (peace be upon you), ‘barakallah feek’ (may Allah bless you) or ‘jazakallah khayr’ (may Allah reward you with goodness) and so on.
• Meet at a nightclub, as “the loud music, drunk people, and the crowd can provide cover for secretly discussing the details of an operation—if the brothers are dressed accordingly and not acting too weird.”

Forecasting actual field implementation of this manual rates as highly probable, because the Daesh franchise of terror has established itself in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Tunisia, and Yemen. Daesh has also established affiliate attackers who operate just below the radar throughout Europe—a continent plagued with blind trust that has resulted in the Paris attacks, a massive terrorist network in Belgium, reports of a plethora of varying attacks, and a complete disregard of the law throughout the continent.

Sympathizers and forward-deployed members of Daesh, posing as refugees, have infiltrated continental Europe and are opening a passage into the United States. European Union nations, who believe that they are acting in kindness, have thrown caution to the wind and are currently reaping what they have sown, but may in fact force Americans to pay the price for their negligent sympathies. Europeans, despite the ongoing acts of violence in their nations, are processing the massive horde of refugees—in bulk—and are streamlining their citizenship process.

America’s “no requirements” visa policy with most European nations could mean that when these infiltrators are eventually handed passports from their host nations, they will be free to simply purchase a plane ticket to the United States and enter the country under the pretense of staying less than 90 days. This would allow the lone wolves of Daesh access to the side door of our home, a door we have kept exclusively open for our friends that is now set to be compromised by our enemies.

Even so, we have already been internally compromised. Daesh made an unsubstantiated 2015 claim that they have 71 “soldiers” in 15 American states. Possibilities and propaganda aside, there have been a string of successful and failed publicly acknowledged attacks committed by jihadis in the United States in recent years. There have also been regular attacks by jihadis that the mainstream media and politicians downplay as gun violence or the acts of an unaffiliated individual.

Despite such claims, a short list of “Prominent Attacks Linked to Extremist Islam” includes:

Data courtesy of the New York Times

Not listed is a man who opened fire on a Philadelphia police officer while shouting “in the name of Islam,” and who has claimed allegiance to Daesh. Another, a would-be attacker, was poised to welcome 2016 by way of violence on New Year’s Eve in Rochester, New York. The would-be attacker claimed to have received instructions directly from Daesh. The list goes on, unfortunately, but all the attacks bear an uncanny similarity: They all bear the hallmarks of a lone-wolf attacker determined to kill Americans.

(Featured image: AP Photo/AAP Image, Dean Lewins)