Against the backdrop of a beautiful green landscape along the Euphrates River, four young men carrying assault rifles walk up a hill in slow motion, carrying the distinctive flag of the Islamic State (IS). A voice informs us that these “warriors of the doctrine” are carrying out the “noble mission” of “purifying” Iraq. Speaking to the camera, the four deliver messages to their “Sunni family” in Bahrain. Aside from the expected pleas to join their jihad, the key purpose of the film is to encourage members of their home country’s security forces to join IS. They also urge fellow Bahrainis to boycott November’s parliamentary elections.
The video is graphic evidence that Bahrain has a burgeoning problem with Salafi radicalization.
Support for extremist groups has flourished even as the state has been cracking down on the non-violent, pro-democracy opposition. The regime’s response to the film, which has been viewed around 100,000 times since it was uploaded in September, has been muted, though officials admit that at least 100 Bahrainis have joined IS and several have been killed. That number is small but significant. Not only is there a direct link between IS and Bahrain’s security services (as the video suggests), but the Bahraini cohort in the Islamic State includes Turki al-Binali, one of the movement’s most influential radical preachers.
