The hierarchical bureaucracy, including petty rivalries between
officials, and legal codes in the form of religious fatwas are
detailed in a cache of documents seized by U.S. Special Operations
Forces in a May raid in Syria that killed top IS financial official
Abu Sayyaf. Reuters has reviewed some of the documents.
U.S. officials say the documents have helped deepen their
understanding of a militant group whose skill in controlling the
territory it has seized has surprised many. They provide insight
into how a once small insurgent group has developed a complex
bureaucracy to manage revenue streams - from pillaged oil to stolen
antiquities - and oversee subjugated populations.
"This really kind of brings it out. The level of bureaucratization,
organization, the diwans, the committees," Brett McGurk, President
Barack Obama's special envoy for the anti-IS coalition, told
Reuters.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Dec/28/images/ads/current/World_Finance_sda_christmas_102715.png) For example, one diwan, roughly equivalent to a government ministry,
handles natural resources, including the exploitation of antiquities
from ancient empires. Another processes "war spoils," including
slaves.
"Islamic State is invested in the statehood and Caliphate image more
so than any other jihadist enterprise. So a formal organization,
besides being practical when you control so much contiguous
territory and major cities, also reinforces the statehood image,"
said Aymenn al-Tamimi, a fellow at the Middle East Forum think tank
and an expert on IS's structure.
The documents also show how "meticulous and data-oriented" IS is in
managing the oil and gas sector, although it is not a sophisticated
operation, said Amos Hochstein, the State Department's top official
for energy affairs.
U.S. officials said the documents have helped the anti-IS coalition
to pinpoint vulnerabilities. The United States and its allies have
been using air strikes to degrade the group's oil infrastructure and
target key officials.
The documents show the Islamic State is not immune to the rivalries
and personality clashes that typify bureaucracies everywhere. A Nov.
21, 2014 letter from the Diwan of Natural Resources emphasizes that
Abu Sayyaf is in charge of handling antiquities.
"The reason being is that he is very knowledgeable in this field and
that Abu Jihad al-Tunisi is a simpleton who can't manage the
division," it says. KINDNESS AND CRUELTY
Reuters could not independently verify the authenticity of the
documents it obtained, which represent a fraction of the material
seized in the Syria raid. U.S. forces captured a huge amount of data
in the form of computer hard drives, thumb drives, CDs, DVDs and
papers.
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Many of the seized documents are fatwas, or religious rulings,
covering issues from rape of female prisoners and the treatment of
slaves with minor children to when it is permissible for a son to
steal from his father to fund travel to fight jihad, or holy war.
Reuters reported last week on a previously undisclosed ruling by the
Islamic State’s Research and Fatwa Committee that sanctions the
harvesting of human organs. The fatwa raises concerns that the
violent extremist group may be trafficking in body parts.
A booklet entitled "From Creator’s Rulings on Capturing Prisoners
and Enslavement," lays out rules on enslaving women seized from
vanquished "infidels." The October 2014 document, reviewed by
Reuters, attempts to ground the rules in Islamic law.
Citing sayings of the Prophet Mohammad, the booklet calls for both
kindness and cruelty to captives by Islamic State fighters. Enslaved
women should not be separated from their children, it says, but
elsewhere the rules allow Islamic State fighters to have sex with
female slaves.
Middle East Forum's Tamimi said the fatwas are intended to bolster
Islamic State's claim that it is a legitimate state.
The rules not only apply to captured territory in Iraq and Syria but
also its self-declared provinces in Africa, the Sinai and South
Asia. They cover even mundane issues.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Dec/28/images/ads/current/Symphony_lda_091814.png)
In the documents, there is a ruling on proper procedure for filling
out the personal details of prospective fighters: name, gender, and
communications method - telephone, telegram, Skype or the mobile
messaging service WhatsApp.
(Editing by Ross Colvin)
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