Secret Deal sees Al Qaeda Leave Fallujah

Religion is also important to Al Qaeda affiliates but in many ways members don’t really obey the rules of Islam – they practice an extreme version that allows them to murder and to extort money to raise funds. But while they may not pay much attention to the teachings of Islam that advocate moderation and not killing thy neighbour, many of ISIS’ local members do still care about tribal laws and connections. These may well trump religious allegiances.

Even if nothing else, the tribes of Anbar currently have one thing in common with Al Qaeda affiliates like ISIS: many of them also want to confront al-Maliki and his government.

The members of ISIS in Anbar seemed to be well aware of this; they realized that Anbar was becoming an incubator of bad feeling toward the al-Maliki government.

One of the extremists, an Iraqi, took the podium after Friday prayers last week and addressed a huge crowd of worshippers: “We are the supporters of the Islamic State. We do not want to harm you. We belong to you and we want to help you to fight the Shiite government.  We will not act spontaneously,” the extremist said. “We will implement your orders.  You are the people of the city and you are the tribes of this city.”

This confirms what a resident of the city told NIQASH. “Al Qaeda is not acting in any radical way,” the resident said. “They don’t want to anger the people of the city. Members of Al Qaeda who belong to the Sunni tribes of Anbar won’t fight their own tribes and the tribal leaders won’t carry arms against Al Qaeda. The two have a common enemy.”

In many parts of Iraq tribal connections, customs and laws still have great power – often more than the rule of law, which is often hard to find.

“As the concepts of the state and of citizenship diminished in Iraq after 2003, Iraqis began to resort to their tribal origins to protect themselves,” explains Ahmed al-Qubaisi, a local sociologist.

Of course Iraqis are also well aware of what ISIS does when it’s not “defending” them against their oppressors. Members of Sunni tribes fought Al Qaeda affiliates during 2006 and 2007, when sectarian violence was at its worst in Iraq and Al Qaeda killed many of them and stole their money. Many Iraqis are also well aware of what ISIS is doing in Syria, committing atrocities against the Syrian people. However their growing anger at the way they are being treated by the Shiite Muslim-led government has caused them to think more favourably of that old adage: My enemy’s enemy is my friend.