Life in Raqqa under IS

[Valin]

Al-Monitor:

Ali Hashem

Nov. 3 2014

 

Behind the walls of the de facto Islamic State (IS), life in the northern Syrian city of Raqqa goes on. The city, once the summer capital of the Abbasid dynasty, has become a jihadist metropolis, where thousands of IS fighters, families, immigrants and locals live under the sort of tailored circumstances that could only fit the society created by its self-appointed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Abu Ibrahim al-Raqqawi, a pseudonym for a young anti-IS activist from Raqqa, told Al-Monitor the situation was dire. He said, “People in Raqqa are outraged. There are a lot of immigrants who came and joined IS: Americans, British, Germans, Europeans in general and from around the world. They are given special treatment, pampered by the organization.”

He added, “They are given the best homes and cars while locals pay taxes. They took the abandoned houses — some left behind by Christians, others by Sunnis — while those in the city who own more than a house are forced to give all other houses to the immigrants.”

 

Raqqawi, who founded the “Raqqa is being slaughtered silently” campaign, explained that a group of young men decided to rise against IS. “We are a group of activists from the city of Raqqa. We were against the ruthless regime of [syrian President] Bashar al-Assad, and after our city was liberated by another ruthless regime, IS, we decided to resume our activities. Our campaign started on April 16, 2014,” he said.

 

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I'm very Confused. I keep reading on TOS that Muslims want to live like this (under Sharia)....Is it possible these people are wrong?