The Islamic State’s Profile of Manaf al-Rawi

By Kyle Orton (@KyleWOrton) on 1 October 2017

Manaf al-Rawi

The Islamic State and its supporters release short biographies of their slain leaders. One such profile was released by Manaf Abdul Rahim al-Rawi and is reproduced below. (A fuller profile of al-Rawi is available here.)

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Shaykh Abu Haydar al-Rawi, [whose real name is] Manaf al-Rawi, the Islamic State’s commander in Baghdad, was born in Russia in 1975. He joined the mujahideen at the beginning of the Crusader invasion of Iraq. Allah blessed him as he was a close friend of Shaykh Abu Muhammad al-Lubnani (Abu al-Shahid). He was a part of the first generation of mujahideen during the First Battle of Falluja [in 2004], and due to his bravery and military skills he was assigned to a sensitive mission during this battle, which was evacuating the wounded from the battlefield to medical centres outside the city and supplying the mujahideen with subsistence. During the siege of Falluja this was really difficult, especially when there is heavy airstrikes and artillery bombardment. Later, he became acquainted with Shaykh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi (he was one of the five masked men who appeared in the Nick Berg beheading video), Shaykh Abu Ayyub al-Masri [a.k.a. Abu Hamza al-Muhajir], Shaykh Abu Anas al-Shami, and Shaykh Umar Hadid, where he became more involved in the practice of his profession and public affairs and held himself back for the sake of Allah, dedicating his life to jihad and al-mujahideen.

Al-Rawi played a role in a number of major operations in-and-around Baghdad, including the August 2009 bombings of several government ministries, several Baghdad martyrdom operations against the American military, as well as the 25 January [2010] attacks that hit three hotels where American soldiers and other Westerns live.

He combined courage with manners, humility and honour, and with mercy and kindness to his brothers, the muhajirun [foreign fighters] and the ansar [locals]. When he proposed to his wife, her only condition was that he does not prevent her from making a martyrdom operation; he then agreed and they got married. After a brief time, she carried out a martyrdom operation for the sake of Allah, even before she had a baby.

He was arrested and imprisoned three times during his life. The first time he was arrested by U.S. special forces, when they raided his house in Baghdad and he spent almost four years before he was released in 2008. He continued on the path of jihad and was not affected by captivity and trials. A short while after his release, he was nominated as wali (governor) of Baghdad because of his military and administrative skills. He was arrested once again in 2009 by the Safawi Army, but he released after six weeks because they have not identified him.

Upon his release, he was arrested, in [March] 2010, for the third time while he was passing through a Rafida [bigoted term for Shi’is] checkpoint in Rawa town [in western Anbar Province], where they recognized him from his photograph on a most-wanted list and arrested him. He spent three years of brutal torture in solitary confinement but he persevered and remained steadfast until he was executed on the hand of the Rafida [i.e. the Iraqi government] in April 2013, may Allah accept him and grant him al-Firdaws al-A’la [the highest point in paradise]. Ameen.