By Liana Eustacia Reyes and Elizabeth Bennett
The popularity of ISIS shows the fickle nature of jihadist loyalty.
Recently, Reuters published an article that quoted the Pakistani Taliban’s (TTP) leadership as claiming that a former spokesperson, Shahidullah Shahid (pen name for Sheikh Maqbool), had pledged the TTP’s allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in “… a move to seek publicity.” And that, “[a]s far as allegiance to ISIS (Islamic State) is concerned, … [their] allegiance is to Mullah Mohammad Omar Mujahid” – the Afghan Taliban leader. The article goes on to discuss years of tension and resulting fractions within the TTP, but the key takeaway is that some terrorists weigh popularity over loyalty. These bandwagoning terrorists base their allegiance and support on media darlings, more so than on any actual rapport with their new alliance. And while the TTP may not profess an allegiance to ISIS, its affiliates certainly do, along with the once “loyal” affiliates of al-Qaeda and its Syrian affiliate, the Al-Nusrah Front. Although the ideology itself may motivate terrorist relations, there is something to be said about developing alliances that appear to be driven solely by media attention and publicity.
Within one month of ISIS taking control of Mosul and announcing its caliphate (June 19, 2014 and June 29, 2014, respectively), the following Asian terrorist groups publicly announced their allegiance to ISIS: Mujahidin Indonesia Timur, Tahreek-e-Khilafat (the Caliphate Movement), Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid, and Abu Sayyaf. The aforementioned groups spanned from Pakistan and Indonesia to the Philippines. They claimed allegiance either because of ISIS’s takeover of Mosul or its announcement of a global caliphate. Yet, none of these groups claimed any support for ISIS before such events gained media attention.
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