How to Recover the Lost Children and Spouses of ISIS[1] Thirty-two-year-old American Samantha Elhassani, together with her four children—two brought into ISIS and two born there – is now awaiting her fate in a People’s Protection Units (YPG) camp near al-Hasakah, Syria. In 2014, she took her two small AmericanContinue Reading
ICSVE’s new Breaking the ISIS Brand Counter Narrative video, A Poor Man in the Islamic State, is based on the testimony of Syrian ISIS defector Abu Abdullah recorded in Turkey in October 2015 by Anne Speckhard and Ahmet S. Yayla. In this video, Abu Abdullah talks about his work in theContinue Reading
My Journey Towards Jihad is the 19th counter narrative video clip in the ICSVE Breaking the ISIS Brand series. It features Abu Albani, a Kosovar foreign fighter who went twice to Syria; first to join and fight with the Free Syrian Army and later to join and fight forContinue Reading
By Anne Speckhard, Ph.D. ICSVE is proud toannounce the release of our newest video in the Breaking the ISIS Brand–ISIS Cadres Counter-Narrative Project. “Dreams of the Islamic State” produced by ICSVE’s Zack Baddorf is based on Anne Speckhard’s and Ahmed Yayla’s interview in Turkey of Syrian ISIS defector, Ibn Mesud. Ibn Mesud wasContinue Reading
ISIS is claiming credit for inspiring the latest terrorist attacks in Nice, France and on a train in southern Germany as well as a machete attack in Belgium. We don’t know what was in the attackers’ minds or whether ISIS’ claim is false bravado or true, but a video obtainedContinue Reading
Murky federal plans, and odd bedfellows between law enforcement and counseling professionals, currently threaten to create ethical dilemmas for those in the helping professions—psychologists, counselors, imams and doctors—who may be called upon by the FBI in upcoming months to report on citizens in behalf of national security interests as theyContinue Reading
Once again ISIS cadres have penetrated from Syria into Turkey and carried out an assault on those brave enough to speak out against them. Monday evening (April 10th), thirty-six year-old Syrian journalist, Muhammed Zahir al Serkat, was shot in the center of Gaziantep (a Turkish town near the border ofContinue Reading
The Islamic State (IS) is the most powerful, ruthless, horrific and well funded terrorist group in recent history. Not only has ISIS managed to take and control a significant swathe of territory, it has become a de-facto state. By Anne Speckhard, Ph.D. & Ahmet S. Yayla, Ph.D. Since their 2014Continue Reading