Islamic State Biography: Manaf al-Rawi
Manaf al-Rawi
The Facebook page that posted Yassin al-Kurdi’s biography (now un-paywalled) is still up and regularly sharing Islamic State biographies and other propaganda. It now has over 6,000 followers, but Facebook’s moderation team hasn’t taken notice. In a recent installment in the ‘Hidden Important Figures of Iraq’ series, the page has shared a biography of Manaf al-Rawi, whose lasting prestige and reverence in the IS movement is very striking, for reasons which will soon be clear.
Rawi was a member of the jihadist network at the Rawah Camp, which was the earliest nucleus of the IS movement. The biography reveals that he trained with IS cofounders Abu Muhammad al-Lubnani and Abu Ayyub al-Masri (later called Abu Hamza al-Muhajir). This detail is quite eye-catching. Years later, while in Iraqi government detention, Rawi supplied vital information for the raid that killed Masri and Abu Umar al-Baghdadi, betraying both. In addition to being IS cofounder, Masri had been a longtime veteran of jihadism, while Abu Umar was the first IS emir. Both men were vital to keeping the movement alive during the Sahwa (Awakening) years, when it was nearly annihilated.
Unsurprisingly, Rawi’s treachery is among the most embarrassing and un-acknowledged facts within the IS movement. Official propagandists and supporters–like the Facebook page that published this biography–simply pretend this didn’t happen. The biographer make no mention or hint of it, despite noting that Rawi and Masri trained together, making his betrayal even worse–yet, as this biography shows, he is still extremely revered. To this day, IS supporters will defend him, usually by claiming he betrayed Masri and Baghdadi while under torture. This excuse is not granted to anyone else in the movement, let alone outside of it. Recall: IS declared war on the Taliban for simply refusing to declare loyalty to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, but Rawi is allowed far more leeway.
I initially thought that it was Rawi’s original member status that gave him this special prestige, but I realized Masri was a cofounder. I suspect that the real reasons are (1) his participation in the Nick Berg execution video and (2) his Iraqi nationality. For IS, it would be too embarrassing to publicly denounce one of the five men who helped make the video that set so much of IS’s grisly style. Similarly, although IS would never admit it, the movement is very Iraqi-centric, which is unsurprising given that so much of its identity and history is rooted in Iraq. Rawi’s Iraqi background establishes lineage to the country before even Zarqawi. However, this is still an unsatisfactory answer, as Umar Hadid (an Iraqi IS cofounder) accomplishes the same thing. I think Rawi’s role in the Nick Berg video is what seals it for the movement.
My thanks to my friend Maosh for translation corrections.
Governor Engineer Manaf al-Rawi
He was one of the first mujahidin in Jama'at al Tawhid wal Jihad. He trained with the two shaykhs, Abu Muhammad al-Lubnani and Abu Ayyub al-Masri. He joined the Rawah Camp shortly after the American invasion and participated in its preparations. He entered Fallujah to participate in the battle of the parties with al-Khalayla [Zarqawi]. He left the city for security work and was captured and placed in Camp Bucca Prison [in late 2004]. He was busy teaching for a few years inside, then he led a few debates with the Murji’ah and eliminated some of the leaders of the Awakening1 and the non-Islamic Party.2 He left and gave orders to some of the sectors, then he was assigned to the righteous governorship of Baghdad [in 2008]. His tenure witnessed the worst campaign against the foreign infidels and the Rafidah3 by attacking the most powerful ministries and breaking into the strongest fortifications. He was arrested, with the puppets of the Crusaders proud of his arrest.4 In a kangaroo court, he was sentenced to death.
Shortly before the demolition of the walls,5 Manaf al-Rawi was executed in Baghdad in Jumada al-Awwal6 of the year 1434 AH [corresponding to April 2013].
Pro-US Sunni tribal movement against IS.
Referring to the Islamic Party, the Iraqi branch of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Sectarian slur against Shia.
Note that the author makes no mention or even allusion to Rawi’s betrayal of Abu Hamza al-Muhajir and Abu Umar al-Baghdadi
Referring to IS’s ‘Breaking the Walls’ campaign in 2013, which was a series of major prison breaks. Rawi was executed by hanging right before the campaign commenced.
Fifth month in the Islamic calendar.