BEYOND SYRIA IRAQ

WHAT MAKES THE PROVINCES TICK?
Ideology
■ COLE BUNZEL
RAPPORTEUR’S SUMMARY
AS MANY HAVE OBSERVED,a special relationship exists between the
ideology of the Islamic State and the founding ideology of Saudi
Arabia—Wahhabism. The relationship is most evident, and most
acute, in the Islamic State’s declared provinces in Saudi Arabia. The group’s
leaders describe the country as “the land of God’s oneness” and “the land of
association and dissociation,” in reference to some of the key concepts of
Wahhabi doctrine. They would never describe it as “Saudi Arabia,” which
refers to the Al-Saud family, whom they reject as apostate unbelievers. In the
Islamic State’s imagery, the Al-Saud are the “al-Salul,” a name referring to an
early opponent of the Prophet Muhammad who pretended to be a Muslim.
THE ISLAMIC STATE IN SAUDI ARABIA
The Islamic State’s official presence in Saudi Arabia goes back to November
2014, when Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi announced the establishment of new
“provinces” in several countries. Since then, the Islamic State has carried
out attacks in the name of three distinct Arabian provinces: Nejd, in central
Arabia; Hejaz, in western Arabia; and Bahrain, in eastern Arabia (not
the island country by that name). In his announcement, Baghdadi outlined
a strategy for Islamic State attacks in the kingdom. The plan called
for attacking, first, the Shiites, who make up about 10 percent of the population;
second, the Saudi regime and security forces; and third, Westerners.
The ultimate goal of the three-tiered approach was, of course, to topple
the Saudi regime and transform the aspirational Arabian provinces into a
36