Inside IS: Ten days in the Islamic State

Transcript

« INSIDE IS »

51 min. 3 sec.

Titles

Maps / transitions (ONLY ONE)

Subtitles

Commentaries

CHARACTERS

NARRATION

00:00

HOPE PRODUCTIONS / DREAM FIGHT

00:26 French IS Fighter on screen

This is a message for all enemies of Islam. Specifically France.

00:33

00:34 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

They have taken a central position on the world stage.

They call themselves ‘The Islamic State’.

They claim religious, political and military authority over all Muslims.

In reality, they are a tiny minority of the Muslim population.

I have traveled in the Muslim World for over fifty years and have experienced the love and kindness of its people.

Now, everyday we read about new atrocities perpetrated by ISIS; they target innocent people; killing, enslaving and torturing in the name of religion.

The group is a Frankenstein phenomenon, born of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

01:29 GEORGE BUSH JR

…and carry on the work of peace.

01:32 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

We now have more than 1.3 Million killed civilians across the Middle East and more than one hundred thousand international terrorist, instead of some hundreds, before the beginning of he war on terror. Our wars have been a terror breeding program.

In mid 2014 ISIS cut all communications with foreign journalists, while I still had an open line to the organization.

02:00

Münich, Germany

September 2014

02:06 ABU QATADA (ON SCREEN):

The problem is, the sound connection gets really bad.

02:10 JURGEN:

Is it difficult for you to get on Skype?

02:14 ABU QATADA (ON SCREEN):

For security reasons, we have to drive a little out of town to use the Internet.

02:20 JÜRGEN:

I want to understand what you want, what your organization wants, and one can only do that through dialogue. And if I understood you correctly, you said it would be best if I come and visit.

02:37 ABU QATADA (ON SCREEN):

Yeah.

02:38 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

For several months I spoke at length with Abu Qatada. His previous name was Christian. He’s German to the core and a leading figure in the IS propaganda machine.

02:50 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

But it's not that easy for me to go there.

02:57 ABU QATADA (ON SCREEN):

Why not?

02:59 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Perhaps you could guarantee my safety, but how does that help me? If then somebody else decides to slit my throat...

03:06 ABU QATADA (ON SCREEN):

If that would happen, I mean, "shit happens". But this person would be punished.

03:17 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Yeah, right, but that's going to help me...

03:23 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (HIS OWN INTERVIEW)

This is a guarantee of safety for Jürgen Todenhöfer, so that he can travel safely in the territories of the Islamic State with his traveling companions. The soldiers of the Islamic State will respect this guarantee and allow him free and safe passage until he has fulfilled his mission and left once again.

03:51 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

My name is Jürgen Todenhöfer. I was the first Western reporter to enter ISIS territory and come out alive. My son Frédéric joined me with a camera. This is the story our my journey.

04:12

INSIDE IS

04:15 FRENCH SPEAKING IS FIGHTER Here, this is an explosive belt. An explosive belt. In Arabic it's called "button".

04:23 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Northern Aleppo, Syria. We are taken to a registration center for new recruits. This French speaking fighter, who refuses to be filmed, is responsible for new arrivals.

04:37 FRENCH SPEAKING IS FIGHTER

And I have my gun. It’s a Kalashnikov, the Russian version, but it’s really good. And here are the bullets... And that's the gun… to smash, to... Simple as that.

04:49 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Between fifty and sixty will turn up at this particular center today. After a series interviews, the officer decides how these men will serve in the organization.

05:03 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW)

We saw people from all over the world. From Sweeden, France, The United States. There was a guy from the Carabean. Very good looking, very charming, stylish, Ray Ban glasses. And I said “what are you doing here? What have you done before?” He said “I was just admitted at the Court of my country” I asked him “Are you going to fight or are you going to work in the administration as a lawyer?” he said “I’m going to do what the Calif is asking me”

05:40 BAGHDADI (SPEECH)

If you see me on right action, help me, and if you see me on falsehood, advise me and lead me to the right path. Obey me as long as I obey Allah, and If I disobey Him,do not obey me.

06:05 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

First night in Raqqah. Gun and artillery fire breaks out. IS fighters celebrate the conquest of an important zone near the airport of Der-E-Zor.

06:17 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (OWN INTERVIEW)

When we arrived in Raqqah we found out immediately that the boss of our IS commando was the driver. He was always masked. He was a guy from the UK, probably from London, and he tried to dominate us.

06:40 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

We have strong suspicions that our masked driver was Mohammad Emwasi, also known as Jihadi John, the executioner of reporter James Foley. There were many indications. His direct contact with foreign hostages, his insistence to have one of the hostages hand us a letter for Prime Minister David Cameron, on camera, his peculiar way of speech, his London accent

07:06 JIHADI JOHN:

…will result in the bloodshed of your people.

07:10 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Back home our suspicions were strengthened as we got online and heard his real voice, reversed engineered by the Anonymous Network.

07:20 JIHADI JOHN:

…will result in the bloodshed of your people.

07:25 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

It sounded just like our driver.

07:29 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW):

And we had some requests and he didn’t accept the requests. They took all our electronic devices. We were even not allowed to go to the balcony. Of course we went to the balcony and we saw what was happening in the streets, but we weren’t allowed to go out into Raqqah. This guy, the driver, had an incredible tone, a way of speaking I couldn’t accept. So it was hard at the beginning but, from Raqqah, our visit in the so called Islamic State started to be successful.

08:08 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW with ABU QATADA):

What are the goals of the “Islamic State” when large parts of Syria and Iraq are conquered? Is that all? Or is there more?

08:20 ABU QATADA The goal of the Islamic State is to establish the sharia of Allah. Whether that’s in Iraq, in Syria. We have experienced some gains in Libya, toward Sinai, in Egypt, toward Yemen and on the Arabian peninsula, so called Saudi Arabia.

08:42

Sykes-Picot Border

On route from Raqqah to Mosul

08:46 IS Fighter in the car

Everything is destroyed.

08:53 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

We cross the former Syria-Iraq border, which the Islamic State has reduced to rubble.

09 :00 Map of Syria & Iraq – ISIS territory & Sykes-Picot Border

09 :06 IS FIGHTER:

Sykes-Picot finished brother… Sykes-Picot no more.

09:06 ABU QATADA:

And we say we don’t have borders, only front lines. That means the expansion will not stop.

09:24 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW with ABU QATADA):

That means one day you want to conquer Europe as well?

09:29 ABU QATADA

No, no, one day we WILL conquer Europe!

We don’t just want to do it, we WILL do it, we’re certain of that.

09:36 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Our masked English driver is visibly angry. For the entire six hour journey, he refuses to speak to us.

09:46 FREDERIC TODENHÖFER

Tell him he's not being filmed. He's masked anyway. And he's a fighter who isn't scared.

10:23 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

On first glance, life in Mosul seems completely normal, if you forget that, behind our camera, there are armed IS fighters at all times.

10:35

10:35 MOSUL MARKET SHOP KEEPER

We treat each other well here.

10:35 IS FIGHTER (OFF)

And how are things for you, sir?

10:37 MOSUL MARKET SHOP KEEPER

By God, we're completely fine. By the grace of God, we're content. We're living by the laws of God.

11:48 IS FIGHTER (OFF)

This fish is called 'Samak Jami'. The Shi'a hate this fish. Because they say: when Ali ibn Ali Talib tried to perform his ablutions, this fish disturbed him.

12:00 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

One of the IS guys tells us the Shia are gone and the fish is back. A cruel joke

Considering how many Shia have been killed in Mosul.

For the mostly Sunni population here in Mosul, life under the Shia government has been so bad in recent years, that the IS is viewed as a lesser evil.

12:25 ABU QATADA:

We consider the Shi'a to be Murtadeen or Rafidah.

12:30 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW with ABU QATADA):

Apostates?

12:31 ABU QATADA:

Apostates. Correct. And they have one option. Abu Bakr al Bagdadi, has told everyone who fell into apostasy: If he repents, as long as we have no power over him, then we will accept his repentance. No matter how many of us he killed, even if he killed one hundred of us,we will accept his repentance. We will receive him as brother, as Muslim. If he doesn't do that, we will kill him. And for the Shi'as, there is no possibility to pay the protective tax or anything like that. Only Islam or they die.

13:05 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW with ABU QATADA)

And if the 150 million Shi'a of Iraq and the Shi'a or Iran, that live in this world refuse to convert,it means they will be killed?

13:15 ABU QATADA

Yes, exactly as we...

13:16 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

150 million?

13:17 ABU QATADA:

150 million, 200 million, 500 million; we don't care about the number.

13:22

Sabonjy Mosque

Bab Al Tob,

Mosul, Iraq

13:36 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Time for Friday prayers. Shopkeepers shut their blinds and close their stores.

As we walk through the market, Abu Qatada attributes this devotion to the ISIS grip on Mosul.

The mosque gets so crowded, that people lay their coats and scarves so they can pray on the street.

I have to admit however, that we didn’t feel very comfortable during the sermon.

14:05 SABONJY MOSQUE IMAM-FRIDAY SERMON (OFF)

We will make of Damascus the capital of the amir of the believers

We are the ones who are going\Nto be living in Makkah and Madinah.

And we’ll conquer Constantinople.

O Allah destroy the unbelievers and the atheists and the corruptors,

O Allah help Your servants destroy America,

Oh Allah, destroy America with something that strikes it from the sky or from the earth.

O Allah, destroy the American airplanes,

O Allah sink the American battleships,

Oh Allah, kill the oppressors and the atheists.

Allah kill all the disbelievers and leave none of them.

14:53 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Are you going to kill all the Muslims in Europe who don’t follow your beliefs?

15:00 ABU QATADA

Whoever doesn’t follow our beliefs does not follow Islam. And if he insists on following his misguided path,then of course there is no other choice other than the sword.

15:12 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Killing?

15:13 ABU QATADA

Definitely.

14:57 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Our next stop is the Central Court of Mosul, where we hope to find out how the new laws of the IS are being implemented.

As a former judge myself, I requested an interview with a judge. We recorded with him for almost an hour, but our masked English driver deleted most of our footage, with no explanation. The judge told us all former judges and court workers had been executed, while he studied law at a local mosque.

15:57 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Do you speak English?

15:59 JUDGE

No.

16:00 JUDGE

For people today, if one of them thinks about committing a crime, or transgressing the laws of God, he will think a thousand times, because he won't get away with it through bribery or cronyism. Up to now, and this is from the grace of God, people know what will happen to them. So they don't transgress. And now, of late, praise is due to God, we have not had to apply the punishments. Even at the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him, there were only two cases in which hands were amputated. So when the laws of God apply, these problems cease. And this is in contrast to non-believing countries, where you see bribes and injustice, so that criminality flourishes.

16:52 JÜRGEN’S OWN INTERVIEW

And the end I asked him, would there be any executions or amputations during the next days. And I didn’t say I’d want to see an execution or an amputation, I only wanted to know. Abu Qatada said: “If you want to see an amputation or an execution, that’s no problem, I can do that for you! Do you want a Shia or do you want a Kurd? I will do it for you”. You know… he said this with a smile on his face. And if a guy from the media department can say “I will make the amputation or the execution for you”, then it mean that there is no justice, that the laws of this Islamic State are just a joke.

17:37 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW with ABU QATADA):

You, the “Islamic State,” have beheaded people, sometimes in spectacular fashion, and you’ve filmed these beheadings, you have introduced slavery, you have enslaved Yazidis. Do you think that beheading people and slavery are progress for humanity?

17:56 ABU QATADA

Progress or whatever. I think there will never be a time in human history when these things don’t happen. And that is part of our religion, to teach the unbelievers to fear us. And we will keep on beheading people. It doesn’t matter if they are Shia,whether they are Christians or Jews or whatever else. We will continue the practice. And people should think about that. James Foley or whoever, didn’t die because we started the fight, they died because their ignorant governments didn’t help them.

18:43 JÜRGEN’S OWN INTERVIEW

I was not only schocked, it made me extremely sad. Because I knew so much about this man, about Abu Qatada. I know how he was when he was young. And he was very different.

19:00 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW with ABU QATADA):

Do you consider slavery progressive?

19:02 ABU QATADA Definitely. A progress, a help, and so on. There’s always been slavery. Christians and Jews had slavery.

19:09 JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER (INTERVIEW with ABU QATADA)

But it was abolished.

19:12 ABU QATADA

Only because some ignorant people believe it’s been abolished. There’s still slavery in the West, and people know that very well. There are women who are forced into prostitution and things like that. Under the most awful conditions. Slaves in Islam have rights, and if slaves, for example, convert to Islam or something like that, there are many that have been freed. And we teach them Islam, and we teach them a good thing... and we have morals and... we have... We have morals and... I forgot the word.

19:58 IS FIGHTER (OFF)

You know, the brothers from, er... from the Arab countries, Saudi Arabia. I really admire them a lot. Because they have a lot of wealth. They're very, very rich. For them, they have enough cars, a lot of women.

20:21

Great Mosque of Al Nuri

Mosul, Iraq

20:27 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

We drive to the mosque where Abu Bakr al Baghdadi made his first appearance five months earlier. Its leaning minaret makes the tower of Pisa look positively vertical. For the first time in over fifty years I’m prevented from entering a mosque. One of our escorts walks in with Frederic’s camera.

20:53

21:14 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

The streets are being patrolled by different kinds of police forces.

21:18 JÜRGEN

Is this ISIS police? Or just police?

21:27 IS TRAFFIC COP

We’re the local traffic service.

21:29 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Religious law and order seems to be the key concern.

21:33

21:39

Islamic State Police

Mosul, Iraq

21:42 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

It is puzzling to meet a terrorist Chief of Police, dressed in US army gear, looted from Iraqi soldiers.

21:53 IS CHIEF OF POLICE

This province, since it was established,has never witnessed such security. Now people can go about their business, and leave their houses, at any time, without fear of death or getting hurt. Peace is all around; there is no shooting, bombing or theft. Sometimes a week passes before we receive claims for any theft, crime or trespass that took place here.

22:18 JÜRGEN

If you catch a thief, how long will it take until his hand is cut off? How many days?

22:24 IS CHIEF OF POLICE If there was a need for further evidence, he would stay for no more than one or two days. And if the value of stolen items exceeds a certain limit, his hand will be amputated in accordance with Islamic Law.

22:45 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

His message is official and opaque, but it becomes clear just how firm the IS grip is on the local population.

22:54 JÜRGEN

Was he stealing something? Or fighting?

22:55 IS FINGHTER / CHIEF OF POLICE (OFF)

He went out with a woman who wasn't his. Meaning she wasn't his wife, mother or sister.

23:05 JÜRGEN

He went out. Flirting. On a date.

23:09 IS FINGHTER / CHIEF OF POLICE (OFF)

Correct.

23:12 FREDERIC (OFF)

And how long does he have to stay in?

23:13 IS FINGHTER / CHIEF OF POLICE (OFF)

One day.

He just got one day. That's it.

23:23 JÜRGEN

And the woman?

23:27 IS FINGHTER / CHIEF OF POLICE (OFF)

He's the one who harassed her. It's not permissible.

She's free, it's not a problem.

23:35 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

The man in the next cell was arrested for possession of sleeping pills and anti-depressants.

23:42 IS CHIEF OF POLICE (OFF)

For sleep...

23:44 JÜRGEN

It’s not allowed? But if he is sick…?

23:48 IS CHIEF OF POLICE (OFF)

No, no, no! No sick!

No sick.

23:57 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

It can be hard to understand what constitutes a crime in a puritan and totalitarian regime. Will the people of Mosul accept this situation, if the IS can’t deliver on its promise of security and prosperity?

24:12

24:26 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

This former Iraqi army base is currently in the hands of ISIS. The fighter outside the base has an American M16 assault riffle.

24:37 JÜRGEN

Did you participate in a fight?

24:42 KID SOLDIER

Yes.

24:43 JÜRGEN

How old are you?

24:44 KID SOLDIER

Thirteen.

24:48 JÜRGEN

How old?

24:48 KID SOLDIER

Thirteen.

24:50 JÜRGEN

And you?

24:52 KID SOLDIER 2

Thirteen.

24:54 JÜRGEN

And how much are you paid? Do you get money when you are fighting?

24:57 IS FIGHTER (OFF)

No, no. Say no.

25:00 KID SOLDIER

No.

25:03 JÜRGEN

And you are the boss.

25:07 IS FIGHTER

But he cannot be filmed.

25:10 JÜRGEN:

OK, OK.

25:09 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Minutes after we enter the army base, we spot an American plane.

25:13 IS FIGHTER

Do you see it?

25:15 JÜRGEN

Ah, yeah. Over there!

25:17 IS FIGHTER ON THE RADIO (OFF)

We don't want problems. They're not allowed to film anyone inside.

25:24 IS FIGHTER

The minister is saying something about filming here...

25:30 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

The fighters tell us our visit will be cut short.

25:32 IS FIGHTER

No pictures!

25:37 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

We are not allowed to film the secret prisons hidden under the hills of this base. Instead, we are shown a collection of war trophies. This is what is left of the Iraqi army in Mosul: a tank graveyard.

25:58

26:05 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

On our way to the city gates, we suddenly stop at a roundabout. A Kurdish soldier is being led to us. IS Special Forces are positioned around us.

Before the interview, the prisoner thanks us for our time.

26:23 JÜRGEN

You are Kurdish.

26:24 KURDISH PRISONER

Yeah. I’m Kurdish.

26:25 JÜRGEN

And when did they catch you? On which day?

26:31 KURDISH PRISONER

Since June 15, 2014, for six months.

26:38 JÜRGEN

Have you been treated OK? Is the treatment OK?

26:41 KURDISH PRISONER

How we are treated is not a big deal for us. We look after our own. At first we couldn’t tell night from day. We had no idea what would happen to us,\Nwhether we would be freed or not. All we knew was that we’d survived.

27:00 IS FIGHTER (OFF)

He asked how you were treated! Tell him!

27:01 KURDISH PRISONER

Fine, no problem.

27:04 JÜRGEN

And are you a Muslim?

27:07 KURDISH PRISONER

Yes, Muslim.

27:10 JÜRGEN

And did they tell you what will happen to you?

27:14 KURDISH PRISONER

They’ve told us that we are going to be used for prisoner exchanges. We appealed to the government of Kurdistan, to President Barzani, to participate in this exchange. The government hasn’t responded. They aren’t showing any interest.

27:43 IS FIGHTER (OFF)

He asked how you are treated! You had enough food and drink?!

27:43 KURDISH PRISONER

We have been treated well,\Nvery well, no problems.

27:50 JÜRGEN

Do you have family? A wife? Children?

27:54 KURDISH PRISONER

No, I’m not married, but I have brothers and sisters. They are orphans, so I had to look after them.

28:02 JÜRGEN

Does your family know that you’re a prisoner of the Islamic State?

28:09 KURDISH PRISONER

Yes, they’ve known for six months. We were interviewed on television. We appealed to the government, to Barzani. And to our families as well, but with no response. Now they don’t know if we’re alive or dead! They know nothing about our situation.

28:24 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

His voice catches. A big crowd gathers around us. I want to stop the interview when a drone is spotted. I shake his hand long and hard. They put a bag over his head and drive him to a secret location.

28:37

28:43 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

We continue our drive to the outskirts of town, where we interview a front line ISIS fighter.

28:51

Mashki Gate

Mosul, Iraq

28:57 JÜRGEN

He should look at me.

29:02 JÜRGEN

Tell me when.

29:03 FREDERIC

Now.

29:05 JÜRGEN

You were one of the first fighters who entered Mosul. Is that correct? In august?

29:15 MOSUL FIGHTER

Yes.

29:17 JÜRGEN

How many people were you?

29:20 IS FIGHTER (OFF CAMERA)

Three hundred brothers.

29:23 JÜRGEN

How many?

23:24 IS FIGHTER (OFF)

Three hundred.

29:25 JÜRGEN

Only three hundred?

29:27 MOSUL FIGHTER

Three hundred. Perhaps less.

29:25 JÜRGEN

Only three hundred?

How can you explain that with less than three hundred people, twenty-four thousand people were running away?

29:37 MOSUL FIGHTER

Glory be to God, we do not retreat. God promised us victory, so we fight and He grants us victory. These apostates, they are with the tyrants. We are sure that Allah will help us conquer their countries. Rome, Constantinople and America, we will conquer them all.

29:55 JÜRGEN

What is your name?

29:57 MOSUL FIGHTER

Ahmed.

30:59 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

As usual, I wanted to shake hands, but he refused. He said: “You have a guarantee, here in the Islamic State. So you will survive here. But you will go back to Germany. And we will come to Germany. We will search you, we will find you and we will kill you.”

30:21 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

I have had enough of the so-called Islamic State. I am saturated by their rhetoric. have heard them speak in the name of all Muslim people. Still, from my understanding, they represent Islam at all.

30:38 IS FIGHTER

A Kurdish soldier said to me: You're crazy, why do you (want to) die?"

30:44 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

It is strange to see people going through their day in a war zone, and then watching IS propaganda as their evening entertainment.

31:00 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

With three cars and six armed escorts, we pay a visit to a hospital.

31:07

General Hospital

Mosul, Iraq

31:10 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

As we see in the car park, apparently the Islamic State is even issuing license plates.

31:18 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

The judge told me corruption is over. The Chief of Police said there is no crime. Perhaps the doctors will tell me they have eradicated disease…

31:34 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

We meet a young doctor who doesn’t want to be filmed. He says he’s from Europe, but no more. I press him and he gets ready to talk.

We speak to three wounded men; two IS fighters and one civilian.

31:53 IS TRANSLATOR

Will you go back to fighting?

31:55 WOUNDED IS FIGHTER 1

With the permission of God.

Throughout the world. Throughout the world.

With the permission of God. With the permission of God.

32:08 IS TRANSLATOR

When I can walk, I will go to fight.

32:10 JÜRGEN

What did you do before joining IS?

32:14 WOUNDED IS FIGHTER 2

Merchant.

32:16 JÜRGEN

And why did you join ISIS? What was your motivation?

32:26 IS TRANSLATOR

Why did you join IS? For Islam of course.

32:38 WOUNDED IS FIGHTER 2

For my belief.

32:53 JÜRGEN

You were injured last Saturday by a drone attack?

33:03 DOCTOR

He says it was drones, he doesn’t know, but he thinks they were Iraqi. And there are also twenty citizens, all killed, just citizens, and also too many injured, he says.

33:14 JÜRGEN

By the drones.

33:15 DOCTOR

By the drones.

33:20 DOCTOR

Ten days ago, the American drones, they shot two ambulance cars.

They were going to bring some injured citizens. And these two ambulance cars, they were targeted by the American drones. And after they ran out from the ambulance car They were shot by some kind of machine gun.

So they were targeted on purpose, to kill them.

33:38 JÜRGEN

Did the ambulance car have certain signs? Was it clear that this was an ambulance?

33:43 DOCTOR

All the ambulance cars, they are marked.

33:46 JÜRGEN

And how many people were injured?

33:49 DOCTOR

In this (case), all of them are dead. Six employees in the medical field, they're all dead.

33:56 JÜRGEN

And injured?

33:59 DOCTOR

All of them are killed. There were six of them. They were sent to bring the injured people,

But they were shot before they reached them...

34:04 JÜRGEN

And do you have an explanation why the Americans bombarded the ambulances?

34:11 DOCTOR

Their country, that was established on the flesh and bones of millions of Indian citizens

They have no problem to shoot six Muslims.

34:24 JÜRGEN

And do you see a reason? I don't understand the reason.

34:27 DOCTOR

There's too many things happening in this world

and we don't understand the reason.

It is like the evil fighting the opposite.

They want to fight with people\Njust to push the Islamic State.

It's like a plan, a long term plan.

34:40 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

I couldn’t assess the accuracy of these allegations, but independent sources have confirmed multiple cases where civilians or civil infrastructure have been targeted by coalition forces.

34:53

34:54

Mosul University

35:04 JURGEN’S OWN INTERVIEW

After fourteen year of War on Terror, we have more than one hundred thousand international terrorists. Some of them even have their own state. The Islamic State is as big as UK.

35:21 JURGEN

In Germany there is a lot of concern, in America and in England as well, that there will be attacks by your supporters. Attacks against German Christians, German Muslims. Is that something that might\Nhappen in the near future?

35:36 ABU QATADA

Germany, America, Europe, England, whatever all those countries are, are all fighting the Islamic State. You know about the coalition. All these countries are classified as Dar al-Harb, countries of war, and we are at war with them. And they must expect that there will be fighting in their countries as well. Hitler fought in the Soviet Union and after that\Nthe Soviet Union fought in Germany. That’s perfectly normal.

36:06 JURGEN

Well, we don’t think it’s very normal. Are we going to have to reckon with attacks

from the “Islamic State” in Germany in the foreseeable future?

36:13 ABU QATADA

The thing is, we really don’t care whether you consider this to be normal or not.

Because you are fighting us, the German state in particular is fighting us.

It has made arms shipments to the Kurdish Army. And it has been fighting Islam for a long, long time.

Since as far back as Nur al-Din, or the times of Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Ayubi and so on and so forth.

And therefore they need to prepare themselves for that. Definitely.

36:49 JÜRGEN

That there will be attacks? Large-scale attacks or attacks by individuals?

36:53 ABU QATADA

As Abu Muhammad al-Adnani,\Nour official spokesperson, said:

Blow them up with bombs, or stab them with a knife.

And if you can’t do that, then at least spit in their faces."

37:08

PARIS. ELEVEN MONTHS LATER.

37:34 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

Abu Qatada was deadly serious. For the so-called Islamic State, one hundred and thirty human lives are worthless. The massacre at the Bataclan Music Hall, brought home their sadism.

37:50 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

Look at this! He looks very happy about killing somebody.

37:57 NARRATION: JÜRGEN TODENHÖFER

I am here to interview Shaykh Hamza Yusuf. With his help, I want to clarify things and put them into perspective. He has studied Islam for over thirty years. He is of the most widely respected and influential Muslims scholars in the world. He’s also an American.

38:18 JÜRGEN

Did ISIS try to kill you?

38:20 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

They issued that there would be a reward for somebody.

38:24 JÜRGEN

So you are a target.

38:26 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

I’m a target. I gave a khutba, which a Friday sermon.

38:30 SERMON BY SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

It’s madness. Complete insanity.

38:33 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

And I think it just bothered them. Because my argument was they had nothing to do with Islam.

38:38 SERMON BY SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

These people have nothing to do with this religion!

38:41 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

This is literally a statistically insignificant number of people, and yet they are claiming that “we represent the true Islam.” They don't represent my Islam. And they don't represent the vast majority of Muslims around the world’s Islam.

39:02 JÜRGEN

Making propaganda every day with their brutality is, I think this is something new.

39:08 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

It creates a gross distortion in the minds of Western people [when] that is all they see. And also we’re living in an age — to use a French philosopher — the age of spectacle. And so the more dramatic you can do something, the more media attention it will get.

39:25 ISIS FIGHTER - PROPAGANDA VIDEO

Shame on you!

Repent to your Lord and come with us. Come and join us!

39:33 JÜRGEN

Some young people are attracted by the ideology of ISIS. But what would you say, how many percent of the Western Muslims are attracted by ISIS?

39:46 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

Well I mean, if you take your country for example, there is about 5 million Muslims in Germany today. What we know of, there is less than a thousand [that] have gone to Iraq and Syria to fight. So, if you just take those numbers, you are dealing with .0002% of the Muslim population. It almost doesn't register statistically. And yet if you watched German media [laughs], you’re going to assume that every one of those 5 million German Muslims is a potential terrorist. Despite the fact that ISIS the state has told people “you have to come, this is a religious duty.” So people aren't obeying them.

40:30 ABU BAKR AL BAGHDADI

Allah All Mighty said: “Jihad is ordained for you though you dislike it."

40:36 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

The word for war, ‘harb’, in Arabic is a negative term in the Koran. Jihad does not mean war. Jihad means ‘struggle’. The greater struggle is the struggle against the soul, against the low qualities of the soul, and then the lesser jihad is the struggle against enemies that are trying to conquer your land or something like that.

40:57 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

The verse that gave permission to fight, which is Surat al Hajj, the 22nd chapter of the Koran. The verse actually says: ‘permission is granted to defend themselves because they have been fought.’ And then it says: ‘had it not been some people defending other people, churches, synagogues, temples and mosques where in God’s name is mentioned, much would've been destroyed.’ And so the very reason for jihad was to protect religious communities!

41:26 JÜRGEN

You would say only self-defence is allowed?

41:28 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

Self-defence is allowed in Islam. But to rebel against – because the idea is that government even a tyrannical government, is better than anarchy.

41:40 BATACLAN SURVIVOR (OFF)

We thought maybe there were fireworks or something related to the show. And they were shooting everybody in a very calm way.

41:47 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

We're here in Paris, we’re sitting in a café. We feel safe. But there's people that actually believe that they can simply come, take a Visa, and they can disregard the laws. In Islamic law if you come into a land with a Visa, you’re called mu’ahhad, which means you have a contractual agreement to obey the laws. If you break those laws, you’re a criminal. And this is by consensus of Muslim scholars.

42:15 ABU BAKR AL BAGHDADI

Your brothers in the Jihad have been rewarded by Allah's victory, and He has enabled them to assume power after long years of Jihad and patience, and fighting the enemies of Allah.

He has granted them success and enabled them to achieve their goal, where they have rushed to declare the Caliphate and the inauguration of Imam.

42:40 JÜRGEN

Do you think a Caliphate would be a solution for the Muslim World?

41:44 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

No. Umar, the second Caliph, said that if anybody claims to be a Caliph, don’t take his allegiance. Because Caliphate has to be an agreement of the Muslims. I mean why can't I just declare a Caliphate? right now, I am the Caliph! California comes from the Spanish word Khalifornia, the land of the Caliph. This is historical fact.

43:05 JÜRGEN

California? Are you sure?

43:06 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

Yeah, the land of the Caliph. So I will declare the Caliphate in California, and Abu Bakr [al-Baghdadi] is not the Caliph. I am the Caliph, so now everybody has to migrate to California and take allegiance with me. This is ridiculous, it’s absurd. Who would accept that?

43:26 JÜRGEN

And I said this is anti-Islamic. 113 of the 114 surahs start with the words ‘In the name of God the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.’ Where is your mercy?”

43:38 SHAYKH HAMZA YUSUF

What I’ve seen, and again I want to hear what you saw, because I wasn’t there. I like most people only see what’s being shown to me, but they have released several things that have indicated to me that they’re cruel. For instance, Benjamin Franklin said in his autobiography that since the Prophet Muhammad rebuked Khalid for mistreating prisoners, no Muslim has ever mistreated prisoners. So there’s a founding father of America who knew more about Islam than these people. Because you can’t kill a journalist, and to behead these journalists…thank God you came back with your head. Because several journalists didn’t.

44:21

44:28

Foley's mother, she came out and just begged for the mercy of her son. And she said: “I read the Koran, and I read about the Prophet, and he was merciful. Just show mercy to my son”. And I just felt it was so ironic that here is a woman who is not a Muslim, and yet she had a deeper understanding of the religion then these people claiming to be the Caliphate.

44:52 JÜRGEN

Once they said: “we have captured 3,500 people in Mosul, but we have killed only 50% of them.” This was mercy, for the other 50%.

45:02 SHAYKH HAMZA

What a lot of people don't understand is; there are many many verses in the Koran about being forgiving, and not being angry about what people say or attack you;

And the Prophet, when he moved to Medina, the first thing he did was create this pluralistic society where the Jews had their religion, the Muslims had their religion — he made covenants with several different Christians. These covenants are still in existence. The churches that they have destroyed in Iraq; these churches have been there, they were there long before the Muslims. The Christians in Iraq were there long before the Muslims ever got there.

45:42 SHAYKH HAMZA

in the entire biography of the Prophet. There is not one case where he forced anybody to believe in his religion. And he said ‘God will give you with gentleness what he will never give you with violence.’ And so not to say Islam doesn’t have a martial spirit, it doesn’t have the idea of self-defence, that’s all true. But at it’s essence it’s a merciful thing. So when there’s no mercy in something, it’s not Islamic.

46:10 IS EXECUTIONER (FRENCH SPEAKING)

I have been sent by our leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi, to cleanse the earth of disbelievers, whoever they may be and wherever they may be. We have come to you with slaughter. Our knives come closer to your throats day after day.

46:30 IS EXECUTIONER 2 (ENGLISH SPEAKING)

And you can see them now, digging their own graves in the very place where they were stationed.

46:36 JÜRGEN

How would you defeat ISIS?

46:39 SHAYKH HAMZA

ISIS is an ideological movement, and so it’s ideas. And those ideas have to be combated with ideas.

46:48 JÜRGEN

J: So you say we cannot bombard ideologies?

46:50 SHAYKH HAMZA

H: I think it's unjust, it’s a moral to bombard victims in this situation. Most of which are civilians, women and children.

46:59 ARAB CIVILIAN WITH PHONE CAMERA (OFF)

God is greater!