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ISIS releases online propaganda in Italian

(AGI) Rome, Feb 28 - A 64 page document aimed at recruiting aspiring Italian terrorists for the Islamic State (IS) was discovered online by WikiLao on Saturday, a few days after it apparently began circulating in jihadist forums. The propagandist text, written in flawless Italian and titled "Lo Stato islamico, una realta' che ti vorrebbe comunicare" (The Islamic State, an entity that wants to reach out to you), was signed by "Your brother in Allah, Mehdi". "I decided to write this text to try to briefly present an entity that is widely talked about: the Islamic State, which everyone knows through the media of the accusers and not through the media of the accused," the pamphlet's author begins. The document, complete with interviews, pictures, and documentation gathered in the self-proclaimed Caliphate, focuses on life in the province of al-Raqqa, which has been under IS control for months. It describes the application of Sharia law, the creation of various Islamic tribunals under Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi's reign, and the tasks of the hisba - "the police that orders good and prohibits evil" and "destroys any temple or temple or tomb which venerates anyone outside of Allah". The Islamic police "also controls the price of goods, watches over the citizens' safety, resolves disputes over theft, property, threats, or provocation among Muslims", the text declares. "Thanks to Allah, the mujahideen, who years ago lived hidden in the desert of Anbar in Iraq, now control a vast and ever-expanding territory. With the application of Sharia law, citizens are now truly safe: it is proven that crime rates usually drop by 90 percent in the territories we control," the author states. The document claims that the situation in IS territories "is generally positive despite the coalition bombings and the number of enemies". The Islamic State, it says, "supports the citizens' needs" as it has obtained and continues to obtain "large quantities of weapons, equipment, and military vehicles, which allows it to concentrate its economic resources on offering services to the citizens". The text proceeds with a hagiography of the various protagonists of the jihad, and incites the reader to join the "struggle" and support the Caliphate. "The soldiers of the Islamic State are in Algeria, Nigeria, Chad, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and even more nations. And with the will of Allah, the Caliphate will conquer Constantinople and Rome, as Muhammad prophesied." . .