Abu Alaa al-Afri is set to be the new chief of Islamic State (ISIS)
after Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, remains incapacitated due to suspected
spinal damage .
Al-Afri is al-Baghdadi's second-in-command, whose
age is unknown, was born in the city al-Khidr near Mosul, the strategic
Iraqi city under Islamic State control since 2014 April.
Abu Alaa
al-Afri is also known as ‘Haji Imam’ and whose real name is Abdelrahman
Moustafa Qurdashi, was a professor of physics and a teacher in Tal Afar
in Nineveh.
Al-Afri means 'face of the earth' is a
charismatic figure who is well-known by the militants, and ready to
assume permanent command if self-appointed Caliph al-Baghdadi dies.His
position strengthened especially after the group began to suffer
tactical defeats in Syria and Iraq since December 2014.
“They
have a lot of confidence in al-Afri,” said Hisham al-Hashimi, senior
adviser on Isis to the Iraqi government. “He is smart, and a good leader
and administrator. If Baghdadi ends up dying, he will lead them.”
In
1998 he went to Afghanistan, and made his way up the ranks of
al-Qaeda. He leans toward reconciliation with rival extremist group
al-Qaeda and its Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusr. and was loyal to the
organizations' Iraqi branch leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
It was reported that in 2006, al-Afri was one of the founders of the
Mujahideen Shura Council of Iraq, a jihadi group fighting the US armed
forces that invaded Iraq and overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime.
Afri has not been appointed by the Shura council of the ISIS which is the decision making body.
Shura
Council appointed Baghdadi in the first place due to his Religious
credentials, the alleged descent from Prophet Mohammad and the strong
tribal connections.
While al Afri is a follower of prominent
jihadi scholar Abu Musaab al-Suri and has dozens of publications and
religious (shariah) studies of his own.
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