June 2018 From Revolution Muslim to Islamic State An Inside Look at the American Roots of ISIS' Virtual Caliphate Mitchell Silber & Jesse Morton International Security Last edited on May 24, 2018 at 4:55 p.m. EDT About the Author(s) Mitchell Silber is the former director of intelligence analysis for the NYPD. Jesse Morton was the former leader of Revolution Muslim. About New America We are dedicated to renewing America by continuing the quest to realize our nation’s highest ideals, honestly confronting the challenges caused by rapid technological and social change, and seizing the opportunities those changes create. About International Security The International Security program aims to provide evidence-based analysis of some of the thorniest questions facing American policymakers and the public. We are focused on South Asia and the Middle East, extremist groups such as ISIS, al Qaeda and allied groups, the proliferation of drones, homeland security, and the activities of U.S. Special Forces and the CIA. newamerica.org/international-security/reports/revolution-muslim-islamic-state/ 2 Contents Introduction Key Findings The Origin of Revolution Muslim The First Split: Bakri Breaks with Hizbut-Tahrir ALM Establishes Itself in New York The Second Split: The Islamic Thinkers Society Splits from ALM-NY The Third Split: Revolution Muslim Splits From the Islamic Thinkers The Revolution Muslim Method: Explicit and Online Promotion of Terrorism The Shift to Explicit Promotion of Terrorist Groups The Shift to an Integrated Online Ideological E�ort The Revolution Muslim Method Proves Its Success Passive Followers Turning Operational Active Followers Take Action Revolution Muslim’s In�uence on al-Muhajiroun in the U.K. Revolution Muslim Calls for Travel Abroad The “South Park” Threat Revolution Muslim Disbands: The Group Stumbles, the Method Continues newamerica.org/international-security/reports/revolution-muslim-islamic-state/ 3 Contents Cont'd ISIS Takes Up the Revolution Muslim Template Interactive Social Media English-Language Magazines Direct Communication Platforms Beyond Adopting the Template: ISIS’ Adoption of the ALM/RM Network Conclusion newamerica.org/international-security/reports/revolution-muslim-islamic-state/ 4 Introduction From December 2007 through May 2011, Revolution Muslim, a radical Salafi- jihadist organization based primarily in New York City, brought al-Qaeda’s ideology to the United States. At its inception, many dismissed Revolution Muslim as amateurish. Yet the group developed an effective and deadly methodology for promoting “open-source jihad” via radicalization, recruitment, online propaganda, social media and covert communications. The group was linked to many of the most serious terrorism investigations opened by the New York Police Department (NYPD) at the time and had international links with cases touching four continents. In 2012, federal prosecutor Gordon Kromberg, who prosecuted the cases of Yousef al-Khattab, Jesse Morton and Zachary Chesser, all figures at the core of Revolution Muslim, stated: “It is amazing from the perspective of time to look back at Revolution Muslim. In our pleading we listed … 15 different defendants … who engage[d] in terrorism or attempted to engage in terrorism [and] all were connected to Revolution Muslim.”1 Though the group disbanded in May 2011, it laid the foundation for jihadist organizing in the United States that the Islamic State (ISIS) would later copy and take advantage of. Revolution Muslim was a virtual terrorist group, before the term “virtual caliphate” became the en vogue way to conceptualize the future trajectory of ISIS following its loss of territory in Iraq and Syria. As a result, analyzing the history, operations and the means of thwarting Revolution Muslim is essential to understanding the challenge of ISIS’s “virtual caliphate.” This report provides a unique, multifaceted lens into Revolution Muslim’s activities and how it catalyzed the jihadist scene in America and the West. It was written by Mitch Silber, the director of intelligence analysis at the NYPD at the time that Revolution Muslim was operating, and Jesse Morton (aka Younus Abdullah Muhammad, as he will be referred to throughout this paper), a founder of Revolution Muslim and now a former extremist.2 Silber and Morton present an informed insiders’ account. Between 2006 and 2011, the two were working directly against each other. The report is divided into five sections: • A history of Revolution Muslim and its origins. • A description of Revolution Muslim’s innovative approach to radicalization. • A review of Revolution Muslim’s success in applying its new approach. newamerica.org/international-security/reports/revolution-muslim-islamic-state/ 5 • A detailed examination of how Revolution Muslim’s efforts online foreshadowed and built the foundation for ISIS’ radicalization and recruitment efforts. • A concluding discussion of what lessons Revolution Muslim holds for future counterterrorism efforts. newamerica.org/international-security/reports/revolution-muslim-islamic-state/ 6 Key Findings Revolution Muslim emerged out of a broader tradition of Islamist organizing that called for the reestablishment of the caliphate, years before the inception of the Islamic State. • Revolution Muslim was the result of the splintering of prior Islamist political organizations due to disputes over leadership and tactics. • By embracing more radical tactics, the founders of new groups, including Revolution Muslim, generated media coverage and thereby expanded their influence. • Revolution Muslim and other Islamist groups in the West presaged and established a reservoir of support for the reestablishment of a caliphate, which ultimately aided ISIS. Revolution Muslim established a new method of jihadist organizing. • Revolution Muslim promoted a more explicit advocacy of jihadist terrorism than any prior organized manifestation of Islamism in the United States. • Revolution Muslim spread its material more extensively than prior groups through an integrated and public-facing media effort that pioneered the use of online, social media and in-person activities. Revolution Muslim’s new approach was the most extensive and effective jihadist mobilization effort in the United States on behalf of al-Qaeda and its allies. • In at least 15 different cases, individuals who engaged in terrorism or attempted to engage in terrorism were connected to Revolution Muslim. • Revolution Muslim encouraged individuals to radicalize and enact their views through direct and passive interaction. • Revolution Muslim’s efforts reshaped the original al-Muhajiroun movement that it emerged out of, encouraging al-Muhajiroun’s move toward more explicit jihadist extremism and more sophisticated online activities. ISIS developed its own powerful online, English-language radicalization and recruitment efforts by drawing upon the foundation Revolution Muslim had developed. • Revolution Muslim pioneered the integrated use of English-language propaganda magazines, interactive media and online direct newamerica.org/international-security/reports/revolution-muslim-islamic-state/ 7 communication platforms, which ISIS would later adopt to great success in its communications efforts. • ISIS drew upon the human networks that Revolution Muslim had nurtured to recruit fighters to travel to Syria and individuals to conduct attacks in the West. As ISIS loses its physical territory in Iraq and Syria, the threat from ISIS will increasingly resemble that recently posed by Revolution Muslim. • Undercover officers, including those operating online, will be essential to track a fluid network like Revolution Muslim or a virtual ISIS. • The template developed first by Revolution Muslim and later by ISIS will continue to pose a threat regardless of the fate of ISIS as a group. Preventing future attacks and recruitment will require action beyond the arrest of key leaders to address the power of the template. newamerica.org/international-security/reports/revolution-muslim-islamic-state/ 8 The Origin of Revolution Muslim In December 2007, Younus Abdullah Muhammad and Yousef al-Khattab, two prominent figures within the Islamic Thinkers Society, split off and established Revolution Muslim. In doing so they changed the jihadist ecosystem through a more explicit advocacy of terrorism and a more adept online propaganda effort while establishing the United States, previously thought of by many as immune to radicalization, as an important node in international jihadist networks. Yet, Revolution Muslim did not emerge out of nowhere. Instead the group was the product of a series of splits within the Islamist Hizbut-Tahrir (HT) movement and a long tradition of Islamist organizing. Revolution Muslim’s history as having emerged from these splits to transform existing networks illustrates the potential for online communities to sustain jihadism even as terrorist groups overseas face setbacks. The rest of this section provides a history of the path to Revolution Muslim’s emergence. Omar Bakri and Revolution Muslim’s Roots in Hizbut-Tahrir The origin of Revolution Muslim traces back to Omar Bakri Muhammad, a radical cleric who played a key role in developing Hizbut-Tahrir in Britain and then created a spin-off organization, al-Muhajiroun (ALM), the predecessor of Revolution Muslim in the United States. Bakri was born in Aleppo, Syria, in 1958 and studied Islam formally from the age of 5. According to his own account, he was radicalized through his relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood, a relationship