"Islam was never a religion of peace, Islam is the religion of fighting" - Jihadi leader says in new audio

oge okonkwo

May 15, 2015 2:26 PM

The audio message was said to be posted on militant websites which features a sound like al-Baghdadi's exhorting all Muslims to take up arms and fight on behalf of the group's self-styled caliphate

ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

In a rare audio recording released by the Islamic State (ISIS), leader of the terror group declared that is the religion of fighting', calling on all Muslims to 'fight for the caliphate'.

ISIS released the message yesterday claiming that it was from its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, as the extremist group executed 26 civilians before reaching the gates of an ancient Syrian city amid fears they could destroy it, Daily Mail reports.

The audio message was said to be posted on militant websites which features a sound like al-Baghdadi's exhorting all Muslims to take up arms and fight on behalf of the group's self-styled caliphate.

The terror group's leader hasn't been seen or heard from in months after reports had it that that he was gravely injured in an airstrike.

In the recording, he was heard saying: 'Islam was never a religion of peace. Islam is the religion of fighting. No one should believe that the war that we are waging is the war of the Islamic State.'

'It is the war of all Muslims, but the Islamic State is spearheading it,' he said. 'It is the war of Muslims against infidels.

'O Muslims go to war everywhere. It is the duty of every Muslim.'

It was not immediately possible to verify whether the voice was al-Baghdadi's.

The last audio message purportedly from the Iraqi-born fanatic came in November, days after Iraqi officials said he was wounded in an airstrike on a town near the Syrian border.

Al-Baghdadi has only appeared in public once, in a video showing him delivering a Friday sermon in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul last July, shortly after it was captured by his group.

In the latest message, al-Baghdadi blasted Arab rulers, calling them 'guarding dogs' and saying the war in Yemen will lead to the end of the Saudi royal family's rule.

oge okonkwo