1 Documenting the Virtual ‘Caliphate’ By Charlie Winter Foreword by Haras Rafiq 2 Quilliam is the world’s first counter-extremism think tank, set up to address the unique challenges of citizenship, identity, and belonging in a globalized world. Quilliam stands for religious freedom, equality, human rights, and democracy. Challenging extremism is the duty of all responsible members of society. Not least because cultural insularity and extremism are products of the failures of wider society to foster a shared sense of belonging and to advance democratic values. Quilliam seeks to challenge what we think and the way we think. It aims to generate creative, informed, and inclusive discussions to counter the ideological underpinnings of terrorism, whilst simultaneously providing evidence-based recommendations to governments for related policy measures. The author would like to thank all those interviewed in the course of researching this report. The author would also like to thank Lloyd Randle, Sarah Sinno and Rachel Bryson whose contributions as research assistants were invaluable. For further information contact: Quilliam Email:
[email protected] Tel: +44 (0)207 182 7280 www.quilliamfoundation.org Documenting the Virtual ‘Caliphate’, October 2015 © Quilliam 2015 – All rights reserved ISBN number – 978-1-906603-11-5 Disclaimer: The views of individuals and organisations used in this report do not necessarily reflect those of Quilliam. 1 Contents Foreword 3 Executive Summary 5 Introduction 8 Methodology 10 a) Locating the source