As promised last night, here is the full video of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the caliph of the Islamic State, subtitled in English. It’s quite a production on the part of the ISIS media group — a white backdrop, good lighting, multiple cameras, careful editing, and a cast of mujahideen extras adoring the caliph.

Mr. Baghdadi’s remarks are pretty much standard jihad boilerplate, from my perspective. However, his careful enumeration of the heroes of the Islamic State — complete with designations signifying their place of origin, al-Iraqi, al-Shishani, etc. — probably follows a ranking protocol that is opaque to outsiders. Those who hail from the “Peninsula of Mohammed” seem to earn the highest honors.

Notice that some of the prominent mujahideen he mentions came from the West — Belgium and Australia in particular. The survivors among those gallant fighters are now back in Europe, being “re-integrated” into European society. Especially in Sweden.

Many thanks to Ibn Al-Malek for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Video transcript:

00:03 In the name of Allah the Merciful

00:07 The Furquan

00:13 Presents

00:21 In the hospitality of the Prince of Believers — The Caliph “Ibrahim ben Aw’ad El-Badry

00:25 El-Husseini El-Kuraishi El-Baghdadi” — May Allah protect him and provide for him.

00:34 Praise be to Allah. Prayers and peace unto Allah’s Prophet,

00:37 his clan, and his companions, who followed him in the right path.

00:41 Truly,

00:44 the battle between Islam and its followers, and the Cross and its followers,

00:51 is a long one.

00:58 The battle of Baghouz [Kurdish offensive against ISIS in Syria] has ended [March 23, 2019],

01:03 and during it the barbarism and savagery

01:09 of the Nation of the Cross against the Ummah [nation] of Islam became apparent.

01:13 And at the same time, it [the battle] revealed

01:21 the courage, the agility, and endurance of the Ummah of Islam.

01:26 And this endurance shook the hearts of the Crusaders

01:31 and intensified their rage and hatred

01:40 against the steadfast of the Islamic Ummah.

01:44 And praise and thanks to Allah,

01:50 many of your brothers were sent to succeed the governing of this Province [of ISIS]

01:59 until Allah, exalted and glorified, chose them and was sufficient for them [i.e., they were killed],

02:06 and the first of them was your brother Abu Abd-El-Rahman El-Angari El-Tamimei,

02:13 who was from the Peninsula of Mohammed [Saudi Arabia], prayers and peace of Allah upon him,

02:17 and was succeeded by your brother Abu Hagar Abd-El-Samad El-Iraqi El-Talebi [lineage of Abu Taleb],

02:24 who sacrificed himself and his fortune,

02:28 and was then succeeded by

02:34 your brother Abu El-Walid El-Sinawi [from Sinai] followed by your brother Abd El-Ghani El-Iraqi,

02:42 and lastly, your brother Abu Mus’ab El-Hegazi from

02:46 the Peninsula of Mohammed, prayers and peace of Allah upon him.

02:51 And these brothers, through their perseverance, tenacity, and patience

03:02 were the reason for the perseverance of the Mujahideen [fighters in the cause of Allah]

03:07 and the perseverance of their followers,

03:10 despite the small size of this area [Baghouz],

03:14 and the enormous and vicious Crusader attack,

03:19 and the suffocating siege placed,

03:22 through the perseverance of these men

03:25 Muslims were able to persevere in this area.

03:29 And we must not forget your brethren

03:33 the knights of the media, and above them all Abd-Allah the Australian

03:41 and Khallad El-Quahtani from the Peninsula of Mohammed, prayers and peace of Allah upon him,

03:48 and Abu Jihad El-Shishani [from Chechnya],

03:52 and Abu Annas Fabian the French,

03:55 and his brother Abu Uthman, may Allah rest their souls.

04:00 And we must also not forget to mention

04:05 the courage and initiative of members of the legal body,

04:09 and first among them Abu-Raghad El-Degani from the Peninsula of Mohammed,

04:13 praise and peace of Allah be upon him.

04:16 And we also must not forget your brethren

04:23 who bore the heaviest burden of this battle,

04:29 the soldiers and the fighters,

04:37 the platoons and brigades

04:42 and those who put in their best effort

04:49 to prepare and organize for them

04:54 all the things needed in battle,

04:58 and first among them Abu Yasser the Belgian

05:03 and Abu Tareq the Iraqi and many, many others.

05:08 And those whom we have not mentioned are not hurt, because Allah knows them well,

05:15 for He has been merciful to them, accepted them,

05:20 and rewarded them for their sacrifice for the Ummah of Islam.

05:23 For they stood up to the Crusaders in this battle

05:28 and proved themselves,

05:32 and proved to the entire world that the Mujahideen

05:36 have the upper hand in fighting the Kuffar [infidels],

05:41 and the perseverance for the truth they believe in.

05:46 And to Allah be praise and thanks that

05:49 your Mujahideen brethren in the Islamic State,

05:54 beginning with the battle of Baiji [against Iraqi forces 2014-2015],

05:58 the battles of Mosul [2016-17] & Sirte [against US-backed forces] , until the battle of Baghouz.

06:02 where they gave their utmost for their religion [Islam],

06:05 and did not surrender any land to the Kafirs [Infidels] except over on their dismembered copses,

06:12 for Allah has rewarded them with blessings and accepted them.

06:17 They were the reason for the perseverance of the [Islamic] Ummah

06:26 in this small area [Baghouz].

06:29 So we ask Allah, the exalted and glorified,

06:32 that He may accept these martyrs,

06:36 heal their wounds,

06:39 release their captives,

06:42 and accept the sacrifices they have offered.

06:46 And Allah willing,

06:50 their brethren will also not forget these sacrifices,

06:55 their sacrificial offering,

06:59 and avenge them and never forget them

07:03 as long as they have a pulse.

07:06 And Allah willing, there will be more battles after this one.

07:11 May Allah reward all the brethren in the [ISIS] provinces generally

07:15 for their united and blessed invasion

07:20 in revenge for their brothers in the Sham [Levant]

07:24 which has reached 92 [terrorist] operations in eight countries,

07:34 and if this proves anything, it proves the unity of the Mujahideen

07:45 and their perseverance,

07:49 vigilance and deep understanding

07:53 of the requirements of the battle,

07:58 and their understanding of the reality they are living.

08:08 We congratulate your brethren in Libya

08:14 on their perseverance and their blessed invasion

08:18 and their entry

08:22 into Fuqaha city [referring to ISIS massacre in Libya April 9, 2019].

08:27 May Allah reward them, for they proved

08:34 to their enemies that they are capable of

08:40 initiating a battle, knowing that their fight today

08:47 against their enemy is a war of attrition.

08:52 We advise them all

08:56 to prolong the battle so that they may cause their enemies to bleed

09:02 all their resources, human, military, economic,

09:09 logistical, and every resource. Our fight today is one of attrition,

09:15 prolonging the battle for the enemy,

09:18 so that the enemy knows that the jihad will continue until the Last Day [resurrection of believers].

09:24 Allah, who is exalted and glorified, has ordered us for jihad

09:30 and not necessarily victory.

09:35 We ask Allah, exalted and glorified, for perseverance, for us and our brethren,

09:42 in reaching our goal, and prevailing

09:45 and walking in the straight path, for He is the excellent helper and protector.

09:51 And concerning your brethren in Burkina Faso and Mali:

09:58 we congratulate them on their joining the Caliphate.

10:10 We ask Allah, the exalted and glorified, that he may protect them

10:14 and protect our brother Aba El-Walid EL-Sahrawi [from the desert]

10:17 and advise them to intensify their attacks on France the Crusader and her allies,

10:25 and take revenge for their brothers in Iraq and the Sham [The Levant].

10:28 They [the “crusaders”] must know that Muslims are united in blood,

10:37 and are one hand against those not with them, and that they should feel that Muslims are one body;

10:46 if one member suffers, the whole body suffers.

10:52 And we were also notified that Allah, exalted and glorified,

10:56 has brought to the right path many in other organizations

11:01 in Khorasan [Afghanistan] who have pledged allegiance to the Caliphate

11:06 and joined the Mujahideen [of ISIS].

11:09 We ask Allah, exalted and glorified, for their perseverance and success,

11:15 and to keep their promises,

11:18 and be supporters of and helpers to their brethren. I think you may have followed recent events

11:23 of Netanyahu, who has taken charge of the Jewish government [winning the election],

11:27 and the even greater event

11:31 and the fall of the Algerian dictator

11:34 and the Sudanese dictator, and yet what is sad and regrettable is

11:42 that people did not understand,

11:47 even until now,

11:51 why they [the dictators] left and what they wanted.

11:59 They substituted one dictator for another dictator

12:06 more criminal and murderous against Muslims.

12:11 We say to them [the people of Algeria and Sudan]

12:14 and remind them that the only way

12:20 to succeed against these dictators is jihad in the cause of Allah.

12:28 Through jihad

12:31 dictators can be controlled.

12:34 and only through jihad can pride and dignity be achieved,

12:41 because these dictators

12:46 can only be dealt with by the sword,

12:50 so that they [the people] can return again to Allah, the exalted and glorified,

12:55 and resort to the legal [Islamic] way to change governments and remove dictators,

13:01 so that all religion is for Allah.

13:04 And as for your brothers in Sri Lanka,

13:08 they have cooled the chests of [comforted] the monotheists [referring to Muslims only]

13:11 through operations that woke up the Crusaders [Christians] from their slumber

13:18 in their feast of Passover [referring to Easter] in revenge for their brethren in Baghouz,

13:23 and the number of Crusaders killed or injured topped over 1000,

13:32 and this is just part of the revenge that awaits the Crusaders and their allies,

13:37 Allah willing. For praise be to Allah that among those killed

13:43 were Americans and Europeans.

13:46 So we congratulate the monotheists [Muslims] in Sri Lanka

13:50 for their allegiance and joining the Caliphate,

13:54 and advise them to remain united in Allah,

13:59 united in word and deed,

14:02 and that they become a thorn in the chests of the Crusaders.

14:06 We ask Allah to accept the brethren, the Inghimasiyeen,

14:10 the martyrs, and bring success to their brothers

14:14 to continue in the blessed path they have begun.

14:19 We also must not forget the blessed operations of your brothers

14:24 in the Peninsula of Mohammed, prayers and peace of Allah upon him, in Zulfi [in Riyadh 4/21/19],

14:30 and we ask Allah that other such operations come after it

14:34 and avenge their monotheistic brethren

14:39 in the Peninsula of Mohammed, payers and peace of Allah upon him,

14:44 and strive hard in the way of jihad

14:48 against the dictator of “Ahl Salool” [internal fighters against Islam at the time of the Prophet].