Here we will display video However repressive the Hisba Diwan appears in its own bureaucratic documentation, the reality was often worse. This investigation focuses on what actually happened under the Hisba Diwan’s rule, and examines its effects on society, based on case files and other documents the organization left behind.

In his book “Jihad Academy”, former hostage Nicolas Hénin writes: “The militiamen on the ground are much less subtle than their commanders, since the latter care more about appearing respectable.”

In many ways, the Hisba Diwan’s practical interactions with society were far worse than even the dystopian vision the “General Regulations” projects. That text is written in a language which ranges between bureaucratic and grandiose. It quotes scripture and Islamic authorities from Ibn Taymiyya to Ibn Khaldun. Yet the reality of Hisba practice was as often thuggish as legalistic.

Take the testimony of Mahmoud al-Zana, who was detained in the Muawiyah School Prison. “I entered prison,” he reports, “after a heated argument with members of the Hisba who had asked me to lower the price of some materials in the shop. The person who requested the discount was from Yemen. When I refused his request, he became angry. So I expressed my frustration. What I didn’t realize was that a plainclothes Hisba agent was standing behind me. He summoned a patrol, and they took me directly to prison.”

How to account for the discrepancy between text and practice? The “General Regulations” was published early in 2015, near the start of ISIS rule. This was the idealistic stage (relatively speaking) of the project. Afterwards it seems that the treatment of the population became more severe, both because individual Hisba officials took it upon themselves to torture detainees in whatever ways they saw fit, and because ISIS authorities hardened their policy. The subsection of the “General Regulations” guidance on investigation called “Controls on Beatings” contains  a line in red which states, “Work on this paragraph is suspended based on the decision of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan.”

The reports in this section make use of prisoners’ actual experiences, and of the case files and other internal documents left behind by ISIS, to investigate the reality of life under the organization’s rule.

“Prisons, Interrogations and the Qualifications of the Muhtasib” examines the actual conditions experienced by victims of the Hisba Diwan.

“Creed and Censorship” analyzes documents discovered by the IPM which show how ISIS persecuted those who used language which it considered blasphemous.

“Restrictions on Women’s Lives” focuses on ISIS legislation concerning a dress code for women, and on the restrictions the organization placed on women working and traveling.

“Trade and Consumption of Drugs and Alcohol” examines the available case files of people charged with drugs and alcohol offenses.

“The Cigarette Trade” examines the available case files of those charged with smuggling and selling tobacco.

“Rape, Homosexuality, and Child Abuse” studies documents related to those accused of these behaviours. ISIS failed to distinguish between homosexuality, on the one hand, and rape and child abuse, on the other.

“Documents Concerning Informers” examines the available files on the network of informers which ISIS cultivated.

“Prostitution and Fornication” focuses on files concerning those accused of these behaviors.

“Sufism and Sorcery” uses the available documentation to examine how ISIS persecuted the Sufi strain of Islam, which it identified with sorcery.

The investigation then describes and displays a range of circulars sent within the Hisba Diwan’s internal bureaucracy. These documents cover a range of Hisba-related issues, from the workings of the specialized Women’s Division to the banning of imported meat.

Prisons, Interrogations, and the Muhtasib’s Qualifications

Discrepancies between the text and witness testimony are particularly evident when it comes to prisons, interrogation techniques, and the qualifications required of the muhtasib.

Prisons

The “General Regulations” insisted that a prison should be well ventilated, but when the Hisba Diwan took over the Muawiyah School as its headquarters, it used the first floor of the main building for administration, while the airless basement was converted into a dark, airless dungeon. Again at the Wadi Street Prison, Hisba officials chose a musty, airless basement in which to crowd their victims.

Interrogation

The reality of interrogation sessions in Hisba centers was often much harsher than the official text suggests.

For example, while the text states that “the arrested person must be treated in a way that preserves his dignity,” witnesses almost always describe being threatened and insulted in some way or other. Men were often blindfolded and handcuffed during interrogation.

The text states that a woman should be questioned in the presence of her male guardian – that is, a male relative – or at least that the investigator should not be alone with her during the interrogation. It seems that the second condition was adhered to, but that women were often interrogated without a male guardian being present.

The regulations concerning beatings show the greatest distance between theory and practice. The authors of the “General Regulations” consider beating to be an acceptable means of investigating a suspect, but they nevertheless impose conditions on the nature of the beating. These conditions were generally not adhered to.

For instance, the text specifies that, “Beating shall be on the bottom of the feet only, and otherwise it is not permitted, regardless of the justification.” It also prohibits beating “on the face or sensitive areas of the body.” Yet many witnesses recount being beaten on the limbs and torso. It was prohibited to beat women, yet there are several accounts by women of being beaten. One woman suffered a miscarriage after being beaten on the torso with a glass cola bottle. This occurred in Rumaila prison. The victim had been arrested after smoking a cigarette at the end of her work shift.

The text specifies that “a stick” is the only tool that should be used for beating suspects. While sticks certainly were used, so too were a range of objects including the aforementioned glass bottle, electrical cables, and fists. The most common weapon was a green hosepipe named ‘Lakhdar Brahimi’ after the former UN diplomat and Algerian foreign minister. (‘Lakhdar’ means ‘the green’ in Arabic) – though this was primarily used not in the investigation stage but in implementation of a sentence.

The text further prohibits insulting a prisoner during beating. Yet witness accounts suggest that beatings were routinely accompanied by verbal insults and threats.

The Muhtasib

The text states that, in order to qualify for work in the Hisba Diwan, a candidate had to “be known for good conduct and good reputation among his fellow mujahideen.” And he had to avoid “everything that degrades his chivalry and reputation … such as eating in markets, laughing out loud, going out bareheaded, or the like.”

In practice, it seems the requirement to pledge allegiance and absolute obedience to ISIS carried greater weight. And of course the people of Raqqa did not necessarily recognise the moral probity of muhtasibs. Witnesses report that at least one Hisba interrogator had a history of delinquency and narcotics use before joining the organization. Another Hisba official worked for the Assad regime’s intelligence services shortly before moving to ISIS.

Creed and Censorship

When ISIS seized control of Raqqa and other areas of eastern Syria, it sought to control not just political and religious discourse but even everyday speech. The organization imposed harsh punishments on those who used language it considered blasphemous. Such language included common names and colloquial expressions – like “O Muhammad!” – formerly used even by religious Muslims. ISIS also punished people who swore by anything other than God. And it prohibited people from naming their children with certain names.

The censorship of speech was coupled with punishments that went as far as execution. Other punishments included flogging, the confiscation of property, and lengthy incarceration. Files obtained by the ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) verify the implementation of such punishments in 25 cases. They include 24 rulings on what ISIS labeled ‘creedal’ cases, or ideological crimes, such as “making blasphemous utterances, blasphemy, cursing religion, cursing God, mocking God or religion, and apostasy.”

Our investigation into this area is based on these files, as well as audio recordings of an interrogation session, and evidence of rulings issued by ISIS on cases categorized as creedal.

In addition, the IPM has recorded testimony from a former detainee incarcerated for making blasphemous utterances. In the video interview, she narrates the details of her arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, and sentencing.

This archive material helps us to understand how ISIS sentenced those it considered blasphemers, and what religious references were used as the basis for the sentences.

The Content of the Documents

These documents were discovered by the IPM team when ISIS was expelled from Raqqa.

They pertain only to cases in Raqqa, and cover about six months, between July 2016 and January 2017. They consist of 25 files involving 26 people (21 men and five women). Verdicts were issued in all but one case. The sentences include mandatory sharia courses, in-prison sharia courses (prisoners had to pass an exam before they were released), as well as flogging, and in one case, execution and confiscation of property. There are two audio recordings of the interrogation of a suspect accused of “claiming prophethood”. This is the only case in which no verdict is recorded.

Hisba and Creedal Cases

The “General Regulations of the Hisba Diwan” dedicates section one of chapter six to “creedal crimes”. It stipulates the following four charges: sorcery and witchcraft, heretics, swearing by other than God, and cursing God, the Prophet, or religion.

The text specifies that anyone accused should be interrogated and referred to the sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan. Almost all the known sentences for this offense were issued by the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan, except for one issued by the sharia judge in the Hisba department, Abu Hamza al-Tunisi.

Claiming Prophethood

In December 2016, muhtasibs arrested a man on the charge of claiming to be a prophet. The man was born in Homs in 1988, and moved to Raqqa during the war because of family ties. In an audio recording of his interrogation, he says he was praying the isha (night) prayer at the Ibad al-Rahman Mosque in Raqqa. After finishing his prayer, he felt dizzy, saw the moon splitting, and heard a voice saying, “The Messenger’s duty is only to deliver.” So he started telling people around him that he was a prophet of God.

In this first recording, the suspect mentions that the smell of the paint in the mosque contributed to his vertigo. In a second interrogation, dated a week after the first, the suspect repeats the same story, and the interrogator asks in detail about a past charge related to taking drugs recreationally. The suspect says he had taken drugs when he lived in Homs but had stopped since arriving in Raqqa.

The interrogator then concentrates on the type of drugs, the effects they had on him, and the pharmacies he could have obtained them from. In a frightened voice, the suspect pleads that his behavior in the mosque was entirely out of his control.

In the case file, there is a written statement by a doctor to the effect that the suspect had previously abused painkillers like Tramadol and Sedivet, but he was adamant that the suspect was repentant. The doctor then postulated that the suspect’s mental state may have deteriorated because of a recent divorce which likely led him to relapse, causing the outburst at the mosque.

In the written statement, the doctor asks the Hisba Diwan to take the mental and psychological state of the suspect into consideration.

We found no verdict in this case. The suspect was likely released after attending a sharia course, or after being flogged.

A Death Sentence

In case no. 13850, the criminal judge, Abu Muslim al-Jazrawi, sentenced a man charged with blasphemy to death. The verdict was dated 21/7/2016. The IPM has not been able to verify if ISIS carried out the sentence.

In this case, the suspect – a man called Majid – admitted before the judge that during an argument, he cursed at his mother, his sister, and God. Majid expressed deep remorse, saying his words had come from a place of despair. The judge rejected his repentance, and specified the death sentence, for “apostasy”.

The judge based his sentence on the following verses from the Quran: “Was it Allah, His revelations, and His Messenger that you ridiculed? Make no excuses! You have lost faith after your belief.” (9.65)

He also quoted Ibn Taymiyya: “Our companions and others said, ‘Whoever curses at God whether jokingly or seriously has blasphemed according to this verse. This is the unquestionable truth.’”

Another quote came from Imam Ibn Rahawayh, who said, “Muslims have unanimously agreed that a person who curses God or his Prophet (peace be upon him) or rejects anything that Allah revealed, or kills a prophet of God, is an infidel, even if the person accepts God’s revelations.”

The document specified that Majid was to be beheaded with a sword in a public place, and all his property was to be confiscated and taken to the treasury. There is no proof of it, but the sentence was likely carried out. The document that gave the verdict had the seal and approval of the deputy emir of the ISIS Judiciary and Grievances Diwan, Abu Abbas al-Jazrawi. This was often the last step before a sentence was carried out.

Blasphemous Women

These documents include five cases of women accused of blasphemy, mocking God, and cursing God and religion. The women were given sentences similar to the men, such as imprisonment, flogging, and attending mandatory sharia courses.

However, the available documents only give a summary of these cases. They are far less detailed than those concerning the men’s cases, which cover the suspects’ arrest, interrogation, and imprisonment.

One woman was exonerated because the judge did not trust the details provided in the case file. The text mentioned there was a raid and shooting at the time of the woman’s arrest, which influenced the judge’s decision.

Another woman was also released after being arrested with her husband because he had papers containing “blasphemous” writing in his pocket. Her husband had written “Allah” repeatedly, along with verses from the Quran, but the woman pleaded that she was illiterate and could not have known what her husband had written.

The case suggests the authoritarian and invasive nature of ISIS rule. Men and women were frequently searched without cause, and even scrap papers in their pockets would be meticulously examined, and often interpreted in the worst way possible.

In another case, the judge ruled that a woman’s period of imprisonment satisfied the punishment demanded for her crime, also mentioning her earnest repentance. Another woman was sentenced to attend a mandatory sharia course. The harshest sentence found in the women’s files was 70 lashes for a woman who said, “If I do not come to work, then it is from God. [it is God’s will]”

In an interview conducted by the IPM team, a woman accused of blasphemy said she had been flogged with 200 lashes after spending ten days in prison.

Judiciary and Sentences

The “General Regulations” instructs that people accused in creedal cases should be referred to the sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan, meaning the Hisba sharia officer was not authorized to rule on these cases. The following chart shows the breakdown of the verdicts/punishments in the available documents:

Sentence	Number of cases
Sentence unavailable	1
Innocent	1
Release	10
Sharia course and in-prison sharia course	9
70 lashes	2
50 lashes	1
Execution	1

The sentences were issued by the following judges:

Judge’s name	Number of cases
Abu Muslim al-Jazrawi	5
Abu Maan al-Najdi	11
Abu al-Farouk al-Muhajir	7
Abu Huthaifah al-Tunisi	1 (this is the only sentence by a Hisba judge)

The judges cited verse 70 of chapter 25 of the Quran: “As for those who repent, believe, and do good deeds, they are the ones whose evil deeds Allah will change into good deeds. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

Abu Muslim al-Jazrawi issued the only death sentence in the available cases. Abu Farouk al-Muhajir issued the three flogging sentences. The judges above belonged to the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan, except Abu Huthaifah al-Tunisi, who was a sharia officer and Hisba judge. It is unclear why he handled a case that typically would have been referred to the sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan.

(The judges’ names are noms-de-guerre, and refer to places of origin. Al-Jazrawi means ‘of the Arabian peninsula’. Al-Najdi refers to the Najd region of central Saudi Arabia. Al-Muhajir means ‘the migrant’. And al-Tunisi means ‘the Tunisian’.)

Restrictions on Women’s Lives

During ISIS rule, every aspect of a woman’s daily life in public was severely restricted. Most obviously, the organization imposed a strict regime of sexual segregation. Both men and women were punished for violating these new rules. The organization also applied a dress code to both men and women, but women bore the brunt of the legislation. Women’s employment opportunities and freedom of movement were also limited. And some women, including underage girls, had to endure forced marriages. In some cases, families chose to marry their daughters to ISIS members, hoping to gain influence and power, but on many other occasions, they were forced to do so.

These difficult conditions were the lot of Sunni Muslim women so long as ISIS remained in power. Yazidi women, on the other hand, were abducted and enslaved en masse.

ISIS sought to justify its repression by reference to Islamic texts. Yet its abuse of women sometimes exceeded even the most extreme interpretations of scripture. According to testimonies given to the ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) team, women were frequently tortured in ISIS prisons, usually by men. In one testimony, a former female prisoner says she was sexually harassed by ISIS guards. These behaviors have no possible Islamic backing.

Here, we examine documents that focus on restricting women’s freedoms. The documents were all issued by the Hisba Diwan, and they were divided into three categories: the dress code, restrictions on women’s movement and work opportunities, and the special Hisba Women’s Division. We finish with a note on women’s resistance to the ISIS regime.

The Dress Code

The relevant documents record decisions prescribing a very specific dress code. They specify the shape of clothes, how they should be worn, and even their required smell and color.

Statement on Covering Women’s Eyes

بيان تغطية عيون النساء

This document orders women to cover their eyes, citing several verses of the Quran as well as hadith (reports of the Prophet’s words or acts) urging women to dress modestly by covering their faces. The edict stresses that a woman’s eye must not be visible unless absolutely necessary – the deliberate use of the singular word ‘eye’ emphasizes the rule’s rigidity. It also argues that women’s eyes should be hidden more strictly “in our times” than in previous Islamic societies, because thin, gauzy material is now available: “The predecessors only excluded one eye due to the necessity of seeing, and when we found in our times something that covers the eye while still allowing sight, it had to be adopted, since the beauty of a woman is in her face, and the beauty of her face is in her eyes.”

The document states that any woman who violates the decree must be held accountable. Women were indeed detained and flogged on the charge of not covering their eyes. Male shopkeepers were also detained for serving women whose eyes were visible. (The story of one such man can be found in the 3D tour of the Muawiyah School Prison.)

Procedures for Improving Women’s Clothing

تغيير عباءة المرأة المخالفة

How should Hisba patrols handle women who violate the dress code? This question is answered in a document specifying how to replace a woman’s ‘revealing’ dress or cloak (abaya) with another, more ‘appropriate’ garment.

The edict specifies two situations:

1. The dress should be replaced in the presence of the woman’s male guardian, who should enter the Hisba headquarters with her in order to witness the procedure.
2. Or the dress should be replaced in the presence of the Hisba-affiliated Women’s Division, either inside the Hisba headquarters or in a Hisba vehicle (a large bus whose interior is completely concealed by blacked-out or curtained windows).

Enforcing the Sharia (or Legal) Veil

فرض الحجاب الشرعي

This document cites verses from the Quran and hadiths that call for modesty in dress. It stresses that anyone violating the imposed dress code should be punished accordingly.

The statement specifies conditions that must be met concerning the veil. First, the veil must cover the entire body, including the face, hands, and eyes. Second, it must not be decorated in any way. Third, it must be thick, opaque, wide, loose, and of one uniform color. Finally, the veil cannot be perfumed, resemble men’s clothing, or resemble the clothing of those described as “infidel women.”

Women who violated this regulation were punished with imprisonment and flogging. In addition, they were usually obliged to attend a sharia course in which the importance of veiling was taught.

Restricting Women’s Movements and Work Opportunities

ISIS forbade women from traveling or even leaving their homes without a ‘mahram’ – that is, a male guardian, who could be a husband, father, brother, or adult son. This meant that women could be arrested simply for walking alone in the street. And Hisba patrols regularly checked if the men walking alongside women were actually their relatives.

But even those who strictly followed ISIS directives could find themselves in trouble. In some cases, women were arrested even when they were accompanied by their husbands. A witness interviewed by the IPM reported being imprisoned by Hisba officials in these circumstances. On occasion, men were arrested for walking with or enjoying picnics with female relatives. (The stories of two such men can be explored in the 3D tour of the Wadi Street Prison.)

“Controls on Women’s Travel Without a Mahram”

ضوابط سفر النساء

This document explains the rules of travel for women who had no mahram. In these cases, women were sometimes permitted to travel in the company of other women, but Hisba officials had to give their permission first.

The document does not require women to provide evidence for the loss of their mahram, such as a death certificate, but emphasizes that women should “be pious and chaste” and “fear God and observe decency.” The rules exclude young women, who were generally banned from travel, as well as those whose travel was deemed unnecessary, and women who wished to travel to areas outside of ISIS control, which was in any case forbidden.

The document quotes hadiths related to the rules of women’s travel and a set of opinions from Islamic jurists on the subject from the four Sunni Islamic schools of thought: the Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, and Hanbali.

The document is addressed to ISIS governors, beginning with the phrase: “To the honorable governor…” with an empty space where the governor’s name can be added. A copy of the document is addressed to the sheikhs of the General Supervising Committee for review.

Banning the Employment of Women as Secretaries

منع استعمال النساء في السيكرتارية

In the circumstances of war, many women were widowed or, for other reasons, left without adult male relatives. They became the sole breadwinners for their families. They and their dependents were particularly hard hit, therefore, by restrictions on women’s movement and employment.

ISIS banned women from doing many jobs that had previously been available to them, usually on the basis of enforcing sexual segregation in workplaces. One decree, issued jointly by the Hisba and Health Diwans, specifically banned women from working as secretaries or receptionists at the clinics of male doctors. It also banned doctors from treating sick women without the presence of a male relative.

ISIS also banned women working in the medical field from interacting with male patients. Only female doctors, nurses, and paramedics were allowed to interact with female patients. Male gynecologists were forbidden from seeing women patients and were ordered to change their medical specialty.

Resistance

Despite the dangers, women often resisted ISIS repression by small acts of disobedience as well as by active protest.

Some women continued to violate ISIS regulations by smoking, selling cigarettes, wearing colorful clothes under the mandatory abaya, wearing makeup and perfume, and sneaking out of their homes without a male guardian. Some women kept in contact with men who were colleagues, friends, or lovers. In some cases, they did these things even after repeated arrests.

Other women refused to collaborate or to provide information during interrogation sessions – the IPM archive includes audio recordings of such sessions. Some vehemently refused offers to work as informants or to join the Hisba Women’s Division.

A particularly courageous example was that of Souad Nowfal, a teacher who stood outside ISIS headquarters in Raqqa, holding signs that called for an end to tyranny. Surprisingly, she wasn’t arrested – perhaps ISIS was embarrassed and didn’t want to show it was bothered by her protest. The organization ignored her and told others to ignore her. But Souad returned to protest day after day. Eventually, ISIS threatened to kill her, so she fled to Turkey.

Such spontaneous forms of resistance were simple and uncoordinated, but they continued without interruption during the years of the organization’s control. However harsh the measures it took against the populace, ISIS was never able to make society submit entirely to its vision.

Trade and Consumption of Drugs and Alcohol

The narcotics trade in Syria had been expanding since the 2000s, boosted by rising unemployment and political instability. As the situation in the country degenerated towards war from 2011 on, more and more people either used drugs or sought to make money by selling them. As well as individuals and criminal gangs, the Syrian regime and various armed militias turned to narcotics as an important source of income.

After ISIS seized power in Raqqa and other parts of Syria in 2013, it made significant efforts to combat drugs and alcohol. Pharmacists were arrested for selling narcotics without prescriptions. Yet, in some cases, ISIS members were implicated in the narcotics trade by suspects in custody.

ISIS wished to present itself as a pious authority capable of enforcing the law, so its crackdown on drugs and alcohol was both severe and well documented. This report is based on documents retrieved from the Hisba Diwan in Raqqa by the ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM). The documents include written records of arrests as well as audio recordings of interrogation sessions.

The names of suspects and detainees have been omitted from this report. Some of these people are still missing, while others wish to remain anonymous.

Overview of the Documents

Following the ISIS retreat from Raqqa in October 2017, the IPM team obtained a number of relevant documents abandoned by the Hisba Diwan. They cover 67 cases concerning male suspects as well as 45 audio recordings of interrogation sessions.

Each file includes summaries of the interrogations as well as forms containing prisoners’ personal details, including their full name, work, marital status, the reason for their arrest, and so on. Most cases involve only a small amount of drugs, and only 36 of the cases list a verdict.

The documents cover a period of only around nine months, from June 2016 until March 2017.

Case Specifics

The documents show that the Hisba Diwan arrested eight people on charges of trading narcotic pills and marijuana. No alcohol traders were arrested. This may be because transporting and selling alcohol in ISIS-controlled areas was more difficult than transporting pills or marijuana. The documents do not show any evidence of land, cars, or other property being confiscated, despite the stipulations in the “General Regulations” allowing for this.

The types of narcotics confiscated included amphetamines, benzodiazepines, and others including Captagon, Sedivet, Zolam, and Tramadol.

Most of the cases were ruled on by a Hisba judge, and only seven cases were referred to a sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan. The recorded sentences include mandatory sharia courses, imprisonment, and floggings of 40 to 90 lashes. The number of lashes ordered seems arbitrary, and was perhaps subject to the judge’s mood, or to the recommendations made by interrogators. The documents show that many of those accused of using and trading in narcotics had been arrested on the same charges previously. Some of their arrests date back to the time when the Assad regime controlled Raqqa.

Out of the 67 arrests recorded in these documents, almost half of the detainees were born between 1980 and 1989. Another quarter were born between 1990 and 1999. According to the documents, those born in the eighties and nineties were the most active in trading and consuming narcotics. This fact hints at the huge pressures put on this generation by the war.

The Cigarette Trade in Raqqa

ISIS imposed strict rules on the populace of the areas it controlled. One rule in particular led to many arrests, as well as to hefty fines that padded the coffers of the Hisba Diwan: the banning of cigarettes.

ISIS banned tobacco absolutely. The demand for tobacco remained high, and traders could therefore make a living smuggling and selling cigarettes. The large-scale traders were men – usually men who had lost their previous employment due to the war. The smaller scale traders were usually women, especially hard-pressed widows and single parents. For an insight into the lives of these people and their travails in the Hisba prison system, museum visitors are advised to explore the 3D tours of Hisba prisons, and especially the Rumaila Prison, where both men and women were detained and tortured.

Hisba patrols in Syria and Iraq were instructed to keep close tabs on anyone who smoked, traded, or smuggled cigarettes. The department kept files on these individuals, including detailed lists of personal information and comprehensive records of their detention.

When ISIS was forced out of its strongholds, it burned or in some cases simply abandoned many of these files. The ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) collected these documents from former prisons and administrative offices, and has studied them to better understand this aspect of the organization’s rule.

The research summarized here casts light on the network of Hisba officials in Raqqa and Mosul, as well as the action they took against people involved in the cigarette trade. It includes detailed descriptions of documents related to Hisba laws, interrogations of detainees, and information concerning the nature of Hisba prisons. It also includes interviews conducted by the IPM with former prisoners who were detained on cigarette-related charges.

Description of the Documents

The documents are concerned with people who worked in the cigarette trade in Raqqa between 2016 and 2017. They include cases against 189 individuals as well as 93 audio recordings of interrogations. The duration of the recordings range from two to 30 minutes and total over 15 hours. Ninety four of the documents indicate the sentences handed to detainees, most of which were decided by a Hisba judge named Abu Hamza al-Tunisi. Some detainees were released, while others were imprisoned, fined, or sentenced to corporal punishment. The remainder of the documents were lacking information, and were likely left incomplete, or had been partially destroyed.

Most cases were decided by Hisba judges, but Hisba agents referred some others to the sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan. Cases sent to the sharia court were usually handled by a judge named Abu Farouq al-Muhajir. In some instances, high officials intervened in tobacco-related cases. For example, the ISIS governor of Raqqa intervened to release two groups of seven cigarette traders. In one of the harshest recorded sentences, Abu Hamza al-Tunisi sentenced a woman to 70 lashes and eviction from her house for a month.

Record Keeping

The Hisba Diwan kept detailed accounts, and filled most files with the following types of documents:

1. Klishat al-Taharri.

This was the standard investigation form. It included the detainee’s name, place and date of birth, mother’s name, tribe, marital status, workplace, address, phone number, health status, number of previous arrests, the previous arresting authority, the name of the arresting officer, arrest date, arrest reason, seized items, the quantity of cigarettes, and personal belongings taken from the detainee, like money or documents. The men’s forms include a photograph but the women’s forms do not.

1. The minutes of interrogations, sometimes in written form and sometimes as audio recordings.
2. Reports and other information submitted by informers and collaborators.

The sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan judged repeat offenses. According to these documents, 24 cases were referred to the sharia court, all involving repeat offenses or large amounts of cigarettes.

Interrogations

Most of the 93 audio recordings of interrogations in the museum’s possession were made in the Hisba center and prison in the Rumaila neighborhood of Raqqa. The center was originally a house owned by a Kurdish family. ISIS confiscated the house when the family fled the city.

The recordings suggest that physical torture was generally not practised during interrogations, but it seems that detainees were blindfolded during questioning. Interrogators also threatened detainees that they would be beheaded or sent to solitary confinement. The latter threat was frequently fulfilled. The tone of interrogations was almost always aggressive, and it seems clear that several confessions were forced.

The interrogators were locals. This can be deduced from their dialect, and the statements made by some detainees, who use phrases like, “You’re from this place and you know how things are,” or “You’re from here and you know the circumstances.” It’s clear that the interrogators also knew the detainees and their relatives. They knew where some lived and worked.

By this time, ISIS had controlled Raqqa for almost three years, so interrogators had extensive information on cigarette traders and their networks. They asked specific, targeted questions about customers, sellers, or smugglers by name, as well as smuggling routes and details of the cars used. According to former cigarette traders, the routes and vehicles used by smugglers were frequently altered to avoid detection.

Documents and audio recordings also show that large-scale smugglers and traders kept their stock at different places, often with relatives, friends, or people who were paid a fee for their silence.

Traders and Smugglers

The evidence suggests that some detainees had worked in the cigarette trade long before 2011. Cigarettes were smuggled from Lebanon or Iraq, where they were generally cheaper than in Syria. It was a common practice in Syria to make ends meet like this on a small scale, but there were also traders and smugglers who worked on a larger scale, with networks to facilitate and protect their work.

Audio recordings and interviews show that many detainees resorted to selling and smuggling cigarettes due to a lack of work opportunities during the war. Even in the face of ISIS’ notorious severity, people had to eat and parents had to feed their children.

Some detainees were arrested merely for smoking. In those cases, they were usually detained for a maximum of two days. If the offense was repeated, they were sentenced to a mandatory sharia course, or to flogging.

Interrogations show that most cigarettes were brought to Raqqa from Hasakah and Deir Ez-Zor, cities to the east. Some came from Bukamal on the Iraqi border or Azaz in the Aleppo countryside. In one case, a vehicle smuggled cigarettes all the way through the Syrian desert from Zaatari Camp in Jordan.

Once the cigarettes were confiscated, ISIS destroyed them, sometimes by burning them in public. According to the documents, 54,684 cartons of cigarettes were seized, as well as five cars.

ISIS fined cigarette traders heavily, and confiscated any profit that was admitted. The largest recorded fine was 6400 USD, when the trader was found guilty of trading 350 cartons after 60 cartons had been found in his possession. In one recording, a detainee mentions that he had been fined 9000 USD after a previous arrest. These fines were an important source of income for the organization.

One of the more successful tools ISIS had at its disposal was a network of informers. In some cases, traders cooperated with ISIS in exchange for their release from prison. In one document, the following was written in red: “Note: Other traders in prison offered to do business with him after his release. He voluntarily told us that and a lot more.” Upon reviewing the interrogation recording of the detainee in question, he can be heard giving information about other prisoners who offered to do business with him.

In some cases, traders and smugglers were blackmailed by Hisba officials. One detainee tells an interrogator that he was repeatedly threatened with imprisonment unless he paid an ISIS member named Abu Breij 25,000 SYP (approximately 75 USD)^[1] each time.

Documents Concerning Rape, Homosexuality, and Child Abuse

ISIS banned homosexual activity absolutely, and persecuted gay or effeminate men in the territories under its control. According to OutRight Action International, 41 gay men were executed by ISIS in Iraq and Syria between December 9 2014 and May 7 2016. But ISIS executed gay men – or those it accused of being gay – even before that period. On November 23 2014, two young men were stoned to death – one in Deir ez-Zor and one in Mayadeen – apparently for committing homosexual acts. The men were known opponents of ISIS, however, and some suggest the accusation of homosexuality was only a pretext for the killing. As well as stoning gay men to death, ISIS also executed them by throwing them from high buildings.

Documentary evidence suggests that ISIS made no distinction between consensual homosexual acts on the one hand, and rape, or child abuse, on the other.

A Rape Case in Raqqa

The ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) holds several documents related to a sexual abuse case in Raqqa. The case was opened when five boys aged eight to ten submitted a complaint to Hisba officials. They described suffering repeated rape and sexual assault by three men at al-Rowdah mosque. In each case they were lured from the mosque’s ablutions area to either the women’s section or the nearby cemetery, where the assaults occurred.

One boy also witnessed one of the abusers attacking five young girls. He was playing with his cousin at the mosque when he heard screaming. When the boys approached the sound, they saw the predator trying to rape the girls. The boys threw stones at him until the mosque’s imam arrived and the predator ran away. The IPM found no evidence of an investigation into the abuse of the girls – the documents obtained were brief written statements from the boys, a few lines each, which didn’t contain many details. There were no audio recordings, nor any evidence of similar incidents.

In the reports, the boys describe how they were lured with money or requests to help with cleaning. One boy describes arriving at the women’s section with the abuser, when the man undressed and asked him to undress as well. When the boy refused, the predator forcibly undressed him before raping him. The child’s statement indicates that the man raped him five more times after that. The other four boys had similar experiences.

Two of the three men were brothers, and the third was their friend. The written investigation record shows that two of the men confessed to the abuse. One of them admitted to luring the boys and girls to the women’s section of the mosque and giving them 100 SYP (approximately 0.19 USD) each time. The other predator only admitted to assaulting one child. There is no information about the third man except his arrest warrant, dated May 10 2016. The footnotes of the record state that the criminals were referred to a sharia court, but do not indicate if disciplinary action was taken.

“The Act of Lot’s People”

The investigation record does not refer to the crime as ‘rape’ or ‘pedophilia’, but uses the terms “sodomy” or “the act of Lot’s people.” Both phrases refer to the Quranic prophet Lut (or Lot), who was sent to the twin cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to preach against immorality, including sexual misconduct. This story is usually interpreted as a condemnation of homosexuality.

The IPM holds 11 case files categorized by the Hisba Diwan under “acts of Lot’s people.” The cases date back to 2016. Some of them – involving jokes and suggestive gestures made by traders – do not necessarily involve homosexuality.

One is a complaint submitted by a boy against two young men who harassed him at the restaurant where he worked. One includes two allegations that were not confirmed. Another involves a rape allegedly committed by a minor.

In one case, a group of boys were arrested because they were supposedly engaging in homosexual acts while working in a workshop. A 12-year-old boy admitted to homosexual acts and was sentenced to 150 lashes and a mandatory sharia course. Since he was in charge of the boys, the workshop owner was also sentenced to attend a sharia course. He pledged to report the boys if the offenses ever occurred again, and he was sentenced to 15 days in prison.

The “General Regulations” does not mention pedophilia as part of the Hisba Diwan’s remit. Article six of chapter seven only mentions four categories of sexual crime: adultery, sodomy, lesbianism, and pimping. There is, however, one case in which an 18 year old was reported for abusing children at the Khalid ibn al-Walid mosque. The investigation report shows that he did not admit to the crime, but the judge sentenced him to three weeks in prison, 70 lashes, and a mandatory sharia course. According to the “General Regulations”, the Hisba Diwan was not authorized to pass judgment on these cases, so they were referred to a sharia judge of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan.

Documents Concerning Informers

In the short time ISIS ruled over parts of Syria and Iraq, it employed a wide network of informants and collaborators. In this respect, ISIS continued the practices of the Assad regime, which also relied on a comprehensive surveillance system to control society. Now the ISIS informants played an important role in keeping society compliant with the organization’s extreme rules, either directly, by reporting violations to the authorities, or indirectly, by creating an atmosphere of fear and secrecy. Informants were embedded in local communities, making it hard for people to trust their neighbors.

The ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) has discovered a large number of internal ISIS documents pertaining to informants and collaborators, the issues they reported on, the areas they operated in, and the rewards they received. This research seeks to understand how the Hisba Diwan handled those reports, and thus to gain a deeper insight into the ISIS administration. The documents include pictures, audio recordings, and written reports.

Many of the documents were discovered in files dedicated to informants, while others were kept in the files of former prisoners. The IPM team also interviewed former prisoners who had been implicated by informants.

The Informants

Seven of the documents obtained by the IPM are concerned with ISIS informants who gathered information in 2016 for the Hisba Diwan in Raqqa. These informants were called ‘russad’, or ‘observers’. Their details were kept in a file called “Bayanat al-Rassid”, or “Observer Details”. The file included each informer’s full name, father’s name, title, date and place of birth, mother’s name, tribe, marital status, children’s names, current job, workplace, previous jobs, address, phone number, and area of operation.

Six out of seven of these observers were born in the 1990s, and one in 1981. Five were single and two were married. As for their occupations, the group included three unemployed, a township administrative clerk, a flour trader, a blacksmith, and a porter. Their areas of operation included the Rumaila, al-Annou and al-Mashlab neighborhoods, and the city center.

Amongst the documents are nine money orders made out to the informants, and a photograph of a payslip. ISIS attached great importance to documenting payments and income sources, the better to fulfill the bureaucratic functions of a state. The payments ranged from 1000 to 8000 Syrian Pounds (SYP), but most informants received a fixed amount of 5000 SYP.

It is worth noting that the “General Regulations” does not mention informants, their work, or their compensation.

The Reports

The informants accused people of things such as prostitution, cigarette trading and smuggling, and smuggling people out of ISIS-controlled areas. An informant called Abu al-Mutassem, for example, submitted a report on a group of cigarette and narcotics smugglers. The report mentions their names and specifies the traders who helped them sell their goods. It explains how the contraband was transported from Hasakah, and it details the models and appearances of the transport cars.

Abu al-Mutassem also submitted three audio recordings, a combined duration of one hour and 50 minutes. The recorded conversation is relaxed in tone, including jokes and expletives of the sort banned by ISIS. This suggests that Abu al-Mutassem was a friend of the traders who visited them regularly. The men discussed private matters with ease, apparently completely unaware of the informant in their midst.

Informants often supplemented their accusations with evidence. In addition to audio recordings, this included photographs, retrieved cigarette packets, and (especially in cases of contact between men and women) screenshots of phone or social media chats. Evidence was not a requirement, however. An accusation from an informant was enough for muhtasibs to arrest and investigate a suspect.

Though a Hisba informant’s primary duty was to report on violations of behavioral regulations, he wasn’t limited to these areas. Documents in the IPM’s keeping show that informers were often given other surveillance tasks, such as monitoring conversations and behavior in mosques, and monitoring followers of religious traditions which ISIS persecuted – Sufism, for instance.

Interviews with former prisoners show that the community was well aware of the existence of informants. ISIS jailors and investigators from outside the Hisba Diwan often taunted prisoners that they had been arrested because of reports made by their friends and family members.

Other Collaborators and Complaints

Paid informants were not the only ones to collaborate with the Hisba Diwan. ISIS members reported on each other, and civilians could submit complaints without entering into any contractual arrangement. The IPM team has found 38 such reports submitted to the Diwan: 26 of these were submitted by ISIS members, and the rest by civilians.

Each report was taken seriously. ISIS investigators annotated each one with a request to further investigate the matter and the individuals concerned. Even reports prompted by family disputes were treated seriously. For example, if a minor reported that his father and uncles were playing cards at home, they were arrested and charged with gambling, even if there were no further evidence of their crime.

The reports also covered the kind of domestic complaints that would usually fall under the jurisdiction of a normal police department. For example, a man reported his son for abusive behavior after the son had verbally and physically assaulted both of his parents. Other reports were more unusual – one describes a girl casting a spell on a house in order to cause marital problems.

While there is no evidence of female informants being formally enlisted, many complaints were nevertheless submitted by women. Some of these involved women accusing other women of witchcraft, or of harassment in the street or over the phone. One woman reported two men for having sex with her daughter, who had since left Syria. The two men were arrested for fornication – one was sentenced to flogging, and was forced to move out of the area afterwards. Reports were also submitted on behalf of the wives of ISIS members. The wives would pass information to their husbands after meeting with other women, and the husbands would file the complaints.

Conclusion

The use of informants helped ISIS to subjugate the areas over which it ruled. It spread a sense of fear within communities, discouraged free speech and any form of dissent, and displayed the organization’s omnipresent authority to the public. Combined with the brutality of ISIS prisons, the strategy was very effective.

The organization became the de facto authority, with a monopoly on judicial power and a penchant for violence when its rules were broken. In the absence of alternative governance structures, people sometimes sought help from ISIS in solving domestic and work disputes.

Documents Concerning Prostitution and Fornication

For the first time in their lives, a little after the isha (night) prayer on Thursday, 17 July 2014, the people of Tabqa witnessed a woman being stoned to death. The woman was in her thirties, and she was being punished for ‘fornication’. This incident in Tabqa – a town in the western countryside of Raqqa – happened just weeks after ISIS had first declared its state. In the years to come, many others would be punished by stoning.

This report analyzes those Hisba Diwan documents obtained by the ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) which are concerned with the charges of prostitution, fornication, “semi-fornication”, and pandering. It aims to understand how the Hisba Diwan handled such cases, to examine the religious sources used as references, and to ascertain the circumstances surrounding investigation and sentencing. The documents cover the period from May 2016 until January 2017.

The Documents

The Hisba documents include 41 cases of people charged with prostitution, fornication, “semi-fornication”, or pandering. Thirty-nine cases pertain to males and two pertain to females. Several of those charged were minors.

The names of two women who had been punished by stoning in the past were also found by the IPM team, but no other details concerning these two incidents have been retrieved.

There are 23 relevant audio recordings: 21 cover interrogation sessions and two record complaints. One complaint was made by an ISIS member against his wife, and the second was made by two teenagers against their neighbor. The total length of the audio files is a little over three hours. The individual recordings range from 90 seconds to half an hour.

The remaining documents include the standard investigation form (Klishat al-Taharri), minutes of interrogation, and verdicts. Not all of these documents are in the IPM archive, and there are no audio recordings of some interrogations. Not all the cases include verdicts.

Interrogations and Complaints

In one of the audio-recorded complaints, an ISIS member nicknamed Abu Omar al-Dagestani says that his wife admitted to entertaining a man in their home. (Al-Dagestani is likely a foreigner, considering his broken Arabic – his name links him to the Russian Republic of Dagestan.)

Al-Dagestani says that as he approached his home, he heard a man talking on his house phone. This man quickly hid or fled. Al-Dagestani checked the house phone’s incoming call log, which showed the number of the grocery store located on the building’s first floor. His wife then confessed that the grocery store owner had called to warn the unidentified man that al-Dagestani was on his way home. This narrative is corroborated by the minutes of an interrogation with the grocery store owner.

The other complaint was made by two individuals, one of whom was a minor. They reported their neighbor for spending time alone with a girl.

In other recordings, interrogators repeatedly demand that suspects divulge their sexual encounters in precise, embarrassing detail. They take a superior tone, freely using foul language and cursing the detainees. In the case of a man accused of pimping, the interrogator repeatedly curses the detainee’s sister and wife, using very vulgar terms.

There is no indication that detainees were beaten or physically tortured while the recordings were being made. Of course, it is possible that torture was inflicted at other times.

The voices of two main interrogators, Abu Saif al-Maqas and Abu Huthaifa al-Salafi, can be heard in these recordings. The following names appear next to these two in the minutes of interrogations: Abu Hamza al-Shari, Abu Anas al-Furati, Abu Jihad al-Gharib, Abu Zaid al-Sakhni, and Abu Fahd al-Aamiri.

Sentences

On December 7 2016, the criminal judge at the sharia court in Raqqa, Abu al-Farouk al-Muhajir, sentenced a married woman to stoning for prostitution – to which the woman had confessed during interrogation – but the judge delayed the execution of the punishment because the woman was pregnant. According to the sentencing document, the punishment was scheduled for after her baby had been weaned. Given the average duration of a pregnancy and then a breastfeeding period, the stoning would not have occurred until after ISIS was expelled from Raqqa. It seems unlikely, therefore, that the sentence was implemented.

It is noteworthy that the man accused of paying this woman for sex was sentenced to 100 lashes and a one-year banishment from Raqqa to the town of Mayadeen. His sentence was lighter than the woman’s because he was unmarried at the time, even though he had a previous criminal record of theft and drug dealing.

In the audio recording and according to the interrogation minutes, the man says he had had relationships with two other women who had then been stoned to death. No further information has been found about these women.

The pander who facilitated the relationship was also interrogated. A blind man, he claimed that he had become involved in sex work as a result of poverty related to his disability. Poverty was also offered as an explanation in two prostitution cases. In one recording, a woman can be heard pleading with the interrogator to understand that her first concern was to provide for her daughter’s basic needs, since her husband was unable to do so.

No document sentencing the pander was found. The minutes of his interrogation suggest that he likely received a lighter sentence than the others involved. He can be heard telling the interrogator that he was fully repentant and would not return to such work.

Only 13 out of 41 cases record sentences. Eight were issued by the Hisba Diwan^[2] and five were issued by the sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan in Raqqa. The sentences include imprisonment, mandatory sharia courses, and floggings of 40 or 70 lashes. Most sentences combined punishments, such as a 15-day imprisonment, 70 lashes, and mandatory attendance at a sharia course. The sentencing documents issued by the Hisba Diwan either bear the seal of Judge Abu Hamza al-Tunisi or bear no seal. The documents do not include a sharia justification for the ruling.

Of the five cases that were referred to the sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan, one was the aforementioned case of the woman who was sentenced to stoning. In another case, a girl was acquitted by the judge after she had been charged with eloping with her cousin. She was 14 years old at the time of the incident. Her cousin was sentenced to 100 lashes and a one-year banishment from Raqqa to Madan.

The sentences issued by the judges of the sharia court of the Judiciary and Grievances Diwan are based on verse 32 of chapter 17 (Sura al-Isra) of the Quran, “Do not go near fornication. It is truly a shameful deed and an evil way,” and verse two of chapter 24 (Sura al-Nur), “As for female and male fornicators, give each of them one hundred lashes, and do not let pity for them make you lenient in the law of Allah, if you believe in Allah and the Last Day. And let a number of believers witness their punishment.”

The sentences also referenced three other sources. The first was a hadith attributed to Prophet Muhammad:

“If a woman kills someone deliberately, she should not be killed until she delivers what is in her womb, if she is pregnant, and until the child’s sponsorship is guaranteed. And if a woman commits fornication, she should not be stoned until she delivers what is in her womb and until her child’s sponsorship is guaranteed.”

The second source was a quote attributed to Omar ibn al-Khattab:

“Beware of ignoring the verse of stoning, that one will say, ‘We do not find two punishments in the Quran.’ The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stoned and we have stoned after him. I solemnly swear that had it not been that people would say that Omar has added to the Quran, I would have written it, ‘The full-grown man and the full-grown woman, stone them absolutely.’ We have certainly read that.”

The third and final source was a hadith attributed to the Prophet Muhammad:

“Receive from me, receive from me. Allah has appointed a way for those women. If the parties are unmarried, they shall receive a hundred lashes and be banished for a year.”

Age Demographics

There are 41 cases in the available documents. Of the 39 male cases, six are minors. Of the two female cases, one is a minor and the other is a woman in her late 30s.

Here is a breakdown of the suspects by age:

Date of birth	Number of suspects
1960/1970	3 males
1970/1980	4 males and 1 female
1980/1990	7 males
1990/2000	16 males
2000/2010	2 males and 1 female

The age breakdown shows that most suspects were teenagers or young adults. ISIS members arrested them sometimes based on the mere suspicion of flirting with the girl next door, walking with her in the street, or spending time alone with her on a house roof.

Conclusion

The documents show that ISIS did not hesitate to dole out harsh sentences to those involved in relationships deemed inappropriate. And the interrogations show the impact of poverty and war on people who otherwise would have made different choices. Many family breadwinners had died or fled, which left some women with no other option but to sell sexual services.

Documents Identifying Sufism with Sorcery

ISIS rigorously repressed all the religious and social practices it disapproved of. One such practice was the Islamic mystical tradition known as Sufism. This had a long and influential history in Raqqa, and had in fact been the dominant form of Islam there for several centuries. But the Hisba Diwan identified Sufism with sorcery, and imposed strict punishments and restrictions on Sufi sheikhs and their followers. The repression extended even to the execution of a respected 90-year-old cleric.

This investigation is based on documents that the ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) collected from abandoned Hisba prisons in Syria. It is also informed by the testimonies of Raqqa residents, including the former head of the Awqaf (Islamic endowments) Directorate, an authority on the religious landscape of Raqqa.

The IPM also studied documents related to sorcery and popular superstitions in order to understand the religious bias behind the anti-Sufi campaign.

Sufism in Raqqa

The Sufi tradition and its sheikhs enjoy significant religious and social standing in Raqqa. Some Sufi sheikhs are also economically influential, with abundant financial resources at their disposal.

Sufism has held this high standing since the days of the Ottoman Empire. Historically, Sufi sheikhs usually distanced themselves from political power struggles, preferring to focus on spiritual matters. As a result, Sufi orders such as the Rifaiyya, the Qadiriyya, the Naqshbandiyya, and the Khaznawiyya, flourished in Raqqa.

One of the most prominent figures of Sufism in Raqqa was Sheikh Muhammad Tawfiq Ajjan al-Hadid. The epithet ‘Ajjan al-Hadid’ (kneader of iron) was given by his grandfather, who was considered a person of ‘karamat’^[3]. Sheikh Muhammad Tawfiq became a follower of Sufi orders in the early 1960s. He studied under other sheikhs, including his brother, Mahmoud Tawfiq Ajjan al-Hadid, who was Mufti of Raqqa from 1970 to 1982.

Sheikh Muhammad Tawfiq Ajjan al-Hadid rose to prominence in the broader community in Raqqa even as Sufism was dwindling in popularity due to increased education, tensions with Salafism,^[4] and the rise of secular political parties. Despite the decline, Sufi social traditions concerning burials and celebrations remained prevalent.

Some Sufi sheikhs enjoyed friendly relations with the Assad regime, especially after the regime’s armed confrontation with the Muslim Brotherhood (1979-1982) and the rise of Salafi influence. The regime generally supported the Sufi tradition so long as it remained quietist and made no political demands. But in other cases, Sufi sheikhs lost their jobs, particularly during and after the 2003 Iraq War. And followers of the Khaznawiyya order were persecuted in the late 1990s, probably because of their links to Kurdish social circles.

Persecution, Execution, and Migration

After ISIS seized Raqqa in 2014, it declared war on Sufism. It started by destroying the graves and mausoleums of Sufi sheikhs and other Islamic historical figures, such as Ammar ibn Yasser, Wasibah ibn Mabad al-Asadi, and Oweis al-Qarni. Gravesites are important to many Sufi traditions, so ISIS derided Sufis by calling them ‘qubouriyeen’, or grave worshippers.

ISIS imposed strict rules banning decorated gravestones and memorials, and often destroyed them using explosives or hand tools. As for graves inside mosques, if the mosque had been built before the grave, the grave was exhumed and any remains were reburied in a cemetery. If the grave preceded the building of the mosque, both were blown up.

ISIS further persecuted Sufis by banning common cultural items such as amulets, charms, and beaded talismans. ISIS members also destroyed books owned by Sufis, confiscated their properties, and imprisoned them. This escalation peaked with the arrest and execution of Sheikh Muhammad Tawfiq Ajjan al-Hadid in December 2014. The sheikh was 90 years old at the time of his execution. All of his property, including houses, land, and shops, was confiscated.

Sheikh Muhammad al-Maght, known in Raqqa for his religious singing, also met death at the hands of ISIS. It seems he died under torture, and ISIS members prevented his family from collecting his body or holding a mourning ceremony. The organization claimed he had died of heart failure, and the family was only permitted to see his body in a hospital morgue.

Due to such severe repression, most Sufi sheikhs fled to Turkey, and advised their followers to do the same.

Documents

As well as the “General Regulations” – which deals with sorcery and witchcraft in section one, chapter six – the IPM discovered several Hisba documents in Raqqa concerning sorcery and heresy, spanning from the fall of 2016 until early 2017. Among these documents are 16 cases brought against people accused of sorcery, five of which are reports submitted by ISIS members, as well as nine audio recordings totaling an hour and 40 minutes. Four recordings are reports submitted by ISIS members against people accused of witchcraft, while the rest are recordings of interrogation sessions. There is also a file containing 89 photographs of papers covered with scribbles or spells, as well as various other objects used for sorcery, such as beads, shells, and animal teeth.

Three categories of documents were found in the files on those accused of witchcraft:

1. Klishat al-Taharri, a standard investigation form, which included the following information: the suspect’s full name, place and date of birth, mother’s name, tribe, marital status, workplace, address, phone number, health status, number of previous arrests, previous arresting authority, name of arresting officer, date of arrest, reason for arrest, seized items, and personal belongings like money or documents.
2. Details from interrogations, including audio recordings and minutes of the sessions.
3. Reports submitted by informants or Hisba officials concerning those accused of sorcery.

Some of the reports seem to be vexatious. For example, an ISIS member called Abu Khalid al-Tunisi reported a former “female slave” for casting a spell on him and his wife that apparently caused marital problems.

وثائق الحسبة-02.jpg

Another ISIS operative, Abu Hafs al-Shami, accused the wife of another member of casting a spell on his own wife. In one case, a man was in possession of a paper that included names of women he hoped might fall in love with him. This is known locally as love magic.

However ridiculous the cases appeared, ISIS took all reports of Sufi practices and sorcery very seriously. Thorough investigations were made, and the relevant documents are often annotated with requests for further information.

Investigation, Interrogation, and Sentencing

The audio recordings of interrogations suggest that sessions were generally carried out without torture. Still, detainees can be heard repeating phrases of loyalty during the interrogations, probably hoping to avoid the types of punishment that ISIS prisons were notorious for. Two interrogators can be heard in most recordings: Abu Saif Maqas, nicknamed ‘the cutter’, and Abu Huthaifah al-Salafi. Both are locals, judging by their dialect and knowledge of the detainees’ families, neighborhoods, and jobs.

Sentences are only recorded in four cases: two men were released and two women were imprisoned. In the latter cases, two sisters were referred to court and brought before a judge named Abu al-Farouk al-Muhajir. Evidence against them included photographs of papers with scribbles dated 25 December 2016. The sentence was issued on 7 January 2017.

Al-Muhajir ruled that the women would be released after time spent in prison, since they showed contrition for their actions. He based his ruling on the following verse of the Quran: “But whoever repents after their wrongdoing and mends their ways, Allah will surely turn to them in forgiveness. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (5:39) The IPM has not been able to ascertain how long the sisters had spent in prison, but it was likely around two weeks.

وثائق الحسبة-14.jpg

While ISIS documents indicate that ‘sorcery’ should be punished by death, no instances of execution have been found other than that of Sheikh Muhammad Tawfiq Ajjan al-Hadid. It is worth noting that the documents in the museum’s possession are limited in number, time, and location, covering a period of only six months, and only in Raqqa.

The period of ISIS rule was disastrous for followers of Sufi traditions. Some of those who fled have since returned. In the absence of ISIS, normal religious debate and disagreement has resumed in Raqqa.

Circulars

This section of the investigation describes and sometimes displays correspondence sent within the hierarchy of the Hisba Diwan. These documents reveal the bureaucratic mechanism responding to matters pertinent to the Diwan as they emerged in several sectors, from health and finance to funerals and supposedly blasphemous phrases. Some circulars deal with the specialized Women’s Division of the Diwan. Several declare specific activities or items illegal – the Nike brand, for example.

Administrative and Organizational Documents

Cooperation with the Military Industries Authority

التعاون مع هيئة التصنيع العسكري

The Hisba Diwan confiscated satellite dishes and alcohol from homes and individuals. This document shows how ISIS used what it confiscated, as well as how it justified the Military Industries and Development Authority’s need for the confiscated materials.

Instructions for Data Records

Coalition military operations targeted ISIS bases and operations with increasing success. In response, ISIS sought to better protect its information. This document requests:

“As guidance from the Hisba Diwan, and in an effort to develop work and regulate the database of detainees, we ask you to circulate the data record attached on a CD, and to alert all offices and branches to adopt it quickly at the date of arrival, to follow-up and supervise the activation of the data record.”

This suggests that ISIS was wary of circulating information across the internet, preferring to use hard disks to prevent hacking or loss of information.

The Muhtasib Preparation Institute

ترشيح أخوة لمعهد إعداد المحتسبين

The Hisba Diwan set up a Muhtasib Preparation Institute in order to train muhtasibs.

This document asks each Hisba center Emir to nominate five ISIS ‘brothers’ for the institute, which is to function as a Hisba-related administrative body. The candidates must fulfill the following conditions:

• To have worked for the Hisba Diwan for at least four months.
• To have memorized at least one part of the Quran.
• To be known for good manners and conduct.
• To have leadership qualities.

The document also states that an interview should be conducted to ensure candidates meet the requirements.

Providing screens to display video productions

توفير شاشات لعرض الإصدارات

ISIS installed plasma screens in its prison cells on which it broadcast video productions of its military operations and executions. It also installed loudspeakers which played propaganda material. This document, issued by the Hisba Diwan, requests that the Hisba centers’ Emirs provide those screens to prisons.

Praying on Time

توقير شعيرة الصلاة

This document emphasizes the obligation for ISIS members to abide by the prayer times, and bans their presence in the streets and markets during prayers. It warns that violators will face punishment.

Requesting a Report on Prisons

طلب تقرير عن السجون

This document instructs the Hisba centers’ Emirs to report on the logistics of the Hisba prisons in their areas. The following information is required:

• Number of prisons
• The conditions in the prison
• The period of time prisoners are held
• The number of prisoners during the (Islamic) month of Dhu al-Qada
• The sharia courses held in prisons
• Prison oversight bodies
• The mechanism of prison work, from arrest to release

Banning Provincial Hisba Officials from Issuing Statements

عدم إصدار بيانات من قبل حسبة الولايات

While ISIS attempted to consolidate power via its administrative bodies, it also kept a tight leash on subordinates within the organization. This circular issued by the Hisba Diwan bans provincial Hisba officials from issuing statements. If these officials wished to issue a statement, they were to write to the central Hisba authorities about the matter.

Documents concerning Public and Personal Freedoms

The ISIS Prisons Museum (IPM) has archived, categorized, and analyzed thousands of documents collected from abandoned ISIS sites since 2018. Many of these documents concern the Hisba Diwan’s interference in almost every aspect of public and private life. They show, for example, how ISIS prohibited clothing decorated with images or brand names, prevented people from giving their children certain names, and tried to change important cultural traditions such as burial and mourning ceremonies, celebrations, and marriages. The new legislation represented an assault on the cultural and religious identity of Syria and Iraq. The punishments for violators were often extremely cruel.

Some relevant documents are described below.

Funeral Rites

ISIS attempted to change long-standing customs and traditions which contradicted its interpretation of Islam. This document is addressed to the Emirs of the Hisba centers. It explains how to handle funerals and mourning practices.

It specifies that it is permissible for the deceased’s family – after obtaining permission from the Hisba Diwan – to set up a tent to accept condolences. But muhtasibs should only grant permission for a tent in certain circumstances, for instance if the family home is too small to receive guests. It is forbidden for the mourners to wail loudly, and officials are directed to deal strictly with those who wear black.

Forbidding the phrase ‘Ya Muhammad’

الاحتساب بالتلفظ يا محمد

This circular demands the punishment of those who utter the phrase ‘Ya Muhammad’. The phrase is commonly used in local culture to express disbelief or surprise, to show distress, or to ask for help.

The circular sets the penalty as follows:

“Whoever is proven to have uttered the phrase to express disbelief, the sharia ruling shall be explained to him, he shall sign a written undertaking, and be enrolled in a sharia course.

“If the act is repeated, he shall receive ten lashes. Upon a third offense, he shall be referred to court.”

Censorship of Books and Media

ISIS banned many books and other types of publications. The ban covered religious books that did not conform to the organization’s interpretations of Islam, including any media published by religious or political groups it declared to be infidels.

The document titled “How to Handle Books, Audio, and Video Recordings of Heresy and Insubordination” is divided into three sections:

1. Books on atheism, witchcraft, and sorcery. ISIS considered Islam’s Sufi tradition to be a form of sorcery, and accused followers of all interpretations of Islam except its own of being infidels and apostates, so this category potentially covered a wide range of religious texts. Such books were to be confiscated and destroyed, and the shop owner was not to be compensated for the loss.
2. Books and publications of heresy and insubordination. These books were not to be confiscated until they were presented to the Committee of Research and Fatwas. A ruling would then be issued.
3. The registration and storing of confiscated books. Confiscated books were to remain in the keeping of the authority that confiscated them, rather than being destroyed. The confiscating authority had to inform the Hisba Diwan of its confiscations.

Penalties for Violators of Satellite Dish Regulations

تعزير المخالفين في قضية الدشات

This document stipulates punishments for those who do not hand over their satellite dishes. The penalties include imprisonment for two days, ten lashes, and enrollment in a sharia course.

ISIS made efforts to prevent the people under its rule from communicating with other parts of the world, which it called ‘dar al-kufr’, or ‘the realm of unbelief’. It banned satellite TV, in part to prevent people from being exposed to rebuttals of its extremist ideology. It also strictly regulated use of the Internet, which could only be accessed in ISIS-run cybercafes.

A Circular regarding Clothes bearing Images of Animate Beings

تعميم بشأن الملابس التي عليها صور لذوات الأرواح

This circular stresses the importance of holding traders accountable for displaying clothes bearing images of human or animal figures, which are called “beings with souls.” Punishment is stipulated for anyone who wears or sells these clothes.

Prohibiting the name Tabarak

حرمة التسمية باسم بتبارك

This circular prohibits naming either children or shops ‘Tabarak’. It explains that the word, meaning ‘blessed’, is applicable only to God.

Declaring Nike ‘haram’

حرمة ماركة نايك

The document titled “The Brand Nike is Haram” prohibits Nike products because of the brand’s supposedly sacrilegious reference to the Greek god of victory.

The circular specifies that shop owners must swear not to sell or buy goods bearing the name. It also states that disciplinary procedures should not be initiated until the public have been informed of the prohibition.

Requesting Research into Certain ‘Vices’

رفع دراسة حول بعض المنكرات

ISIS severely restricted women’s movements and work opportunities. One circular asks the Hisba Emirs in the various provinces to submit research related to “the phenomenon of women working on farms.” It requests that the research include the following points:

• The most common vice committed by the women.

• The presence or absence of a dress code.

• Whether or not it is possible to replace the women with male workers.

Further research was requested regarding the mechanism of removing satellite receivers. The Hisba Diwan specified that the provincial Emirs should include the following in their report:

• Recommended steps to eliminate these devices.

• Recommended procedures to seize these devices from private homes.

A Circular requesting Clarification of the Mechanism for Dealing with Possession, Trade and Smuggling of Cigarettes

25-10-2014

ISIS banned smoking and the trade of cigarettes. This circular asks Hisba officials to submit a report clarifying “the way the Hisba Diwan will deal with cases of cigarette trading or smuggling, with detailed instructions on how to deal with the trade, whether in shops, between vehicles, or anywhere else.”

It also asks the provincial governors to enclose “copies of the decrees or decisions on the process.”

The circular set 20/01/1436 (Hirji calendar) as a final deadline for completing the task.

Punishment for Abandoning Fasting in Ramadan

عقوبة تارك الصيام في رمضان

This document sets the penalty for those who break the fast in Ramadan. It quotes verse 183 of the Quran’s Surah al-Baqara, which indicates the importance of fasting. It also includes sharia rulings and other texts which chastise those who abandon fasting without justification.

This document was issued by the Hisba Diwan and addressed to the General Supervising Committee of Sheikhs in Syria, the General Supervising Committee of Sheikhs in Iraq, and the governors of Raqqa, Aleppo, Homs, Khair, the Euphrates, Baraka, Mosul, the Tigris, Jazeera, Anbar, Fallujah, and Kirkuk provinces.

Prohibition of non-Islamic Holidays

This document cites Quranic verses, hadith, and historical incidents in order to prohibit the celebration of non-Islamic holidays. It defines correct Islamic holidays as the two Eids of al-Adha and al-Fitr, and deems all other holidays deviant. It specifically forbids, “Christ’s Day, Nowruz, Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Day, Independence Day, Ghadir Khum, Christmas, National Day, and the Prophet’s Birthday.”

In addition to prohibiting these holidays, the document stresses that those who do celebrate them must not be greeted, and that they should be punished.

Prohibition of Dancing

The title of this document is “Prohibition of Shaving Beards for Men”, but the content does not match the title. In fact, this circular prohibits men from dancing at weddings. It also prohibits specific types of dance that are popular in Syria and Iraq.

منع الرقص في الأفراح

Banning Imported Meat

منع اللحوم المستورد

This document, also issued by the Hisba Diwan, prohibits people from importing meat from areas not under ISIS control. It quotes Quranic verses and hadith to justify the ruling.

The document stipulates the following:

1. The sale of imported meat is prohibited in the areas under ISIS control.
2. Traders are to be notified of the prohibition.
3. Moving imported meat to areas outside of ISIS control is to be allowed. (ISIS called all parts outside of its control ‘dar al-kufr’, or ‘the realm of unbelief’.)
4. Traders were given a deadline to comply.

Prohibition of Shaving Beards

منع حلق اللحى

This document cites several hadith to explain that the Prophet recommended growing beards and caring for them. The statement then prohibits men from shaving their beards. It emphasizes the need to punish violators.

Banning Billiard Halls

منع صالات البلياردو

This document is addressed from the Hisba Diwan to the Hisba Emirs, and requires them to ban billiard halls. The document instructs Hisba centers to inform the owners of such halls to change the activities available in the halls, and to move the billiard tables outside of ISIS territory. It stipulates a deadline, and allows hall owners to claim compensation from the Justice and Grievances Diwan.

Documents of the Women’s Division

آلية عمل الفرقة النسائية

The Women’s Division of the Hisba Diwan was a volunteer all-female division dedicated to handling cases which involved women. The Women’s Division arrested, searched, and often beat and otherwise tortured women of the community.

Women of various nationalities staffed the squad. Though Syrian women, mostly from the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib, joined the group, several former female prisoners testify that those who arrested and interrogated them included foreigners. In Raqqa, many women from the Maghreb countries were active in the Women’s Division.

Reporting the Work of the Women’s Division to the Emir

In this document, the Emir of the Diwan orders the Emirs in the Hisba centers to report everything related to the Women’s Division, including work and administrative details. He also requests “a comprehensive report on the work of the Women’s Division in the past, including the negatives, positives, and obstacles.” The Emirs were given one week to send in their reports.

Banning the use of the Women’s Division for non-Hisba purposes

منع استخدام الفرقة النسائية لغير الحسبة

This document prohibits “the use of the Women’s Division for any purposes other than Hisba tasks.” The statement was addressed by the Hisba Emir Abu Ali al-Sudani to the Hisba centers’ Emirs in the provinces.

Documents Concerning the Health Sector

The documents displayed here were issued by the Hisba Diwan, and relate to the health and medical sector.

Banning the term ‘Legal Midwife’

استخدام لفظ القابلة القانونية

This document is addressed to the Emir of the Hisba Center in Aleppo. It requires him to abandon the term ‘legal’ for midwives, usually called ‘legal midwives’.

The document points out that the term ‘legal’ had been used by the Syrian regime, which it calls “the infidel Nusayri regime.” It explains that the term indicates that a midwife obtained a license to work under “man-made law,” and this “is a foreign concept to Islam.” All claims to human law are considered violations of divine law.

The document orders that the term ‘legal’ be replaced by the term ‘authorized’ or ‘licensed’, following the practice of the Health Diwan.

An appendix contains Quranic verses and a set of hadith and stories to show that the Prophet changed certain names and titles which he deemed in violation of sharia, including names that direct worship to anyone other than God, or titles such as ‘King of Kings’ or ‘Shahan Shah’.

Banning Male Gynecologists

إيقاف أطباء النسائية الذكور عن العمل

This circular is addressed to the provincial governors. It stipulates that male physicians be banned from practicing gynecology, and transferred to work in surgery or anesthesia instead. To justify this decision it attaches a document approved by the General Supervisory Committee, which shows that there are enough female physicians to fill the gap.

Ta‘zir for violating physicians

تعزير الأطباء المخالفين

This document is addressed to the Emirs of the Hisba centers. It orders that male gynecologists be monitored to ensure that they do not examine women.

The document calls for ta‘zir, or discretionary punishment, to be applied against these physicians. Attached to the circular is a request from the Health Diwan to the Hisba Diwan demanding ta‘zir for male physicians who examine women.

Documents Related to Economic and Financial Affairs

These documents, both issued by the Hisba Diwan, relate to economic and financial affairs.

Prosecution for the use of Syrian Currency

آلية الاحتساب على العملة السورية

ISIS established its own currency and banned the use of all others.

This circular is titled “Mechanism of Prosecution for the New Syrian Currency.”

It lists the penalties for those caught using Syrian 500 and 1000-pound banknotes. It specifies that such notes must not be used in exchange offices, given to goldsmiths or shop owners, or traded between members of the public.

It determines penalties as follows: if the amount seized is less than 5000 pounds, and if it is a first-time offense, the violator is cautioned and ordered to sign a written pledge.

For a second offense, or if over 5000 pounds is seized, the offender is referred to the Economic Security Office.

Registering Contracts Between Muslims

إحصاء العقود بين المسلمين

This document is addressed to the Hisba Emirs. It outlines the Hisba Diwan’s responsibility to register sales contracts made between members of the public. It stipulates that copies of all contracts should be sent to the Hisbah Diwan to be checked for sharia violations.

1. Calculated using the 2017 currency conversion rate according to the US Fiscal Treasury. ↑
2. The rulings issued by the Hisba Diwan pertain to cases of suspicion only. They were not referred to the sharia court, as stated in the “General Regulations”. ↑
3. A person of charisma or supernatural powers, considered a spiritual gift from God. ↑
4. A revival movement within Sunni Islam, characterized by a fundamentalist and literalist approach to scripture. ↑