Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi

“	There is no excuse for any Muslim not to migrate to the Islamic State... joining [its fight] is a duty on every Muslim. We are calling on you either to join or carry weapons [to fight] wherever you are.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. It is the war of Muslims against infidels.	„
	~ Abu Bakr al-Baghadi

File:ImagesW9KKA7KD.jpg

Ibrahim ibn Awwad ibn Ibrahim ibn Ali ibn Muhammad al-Badri al-Samarrai, better known as Abu Bakr al-Baghadi is the leader of ISIS, whom they proclaim as their caliph. He was born in 1971 and is currently 43 years old. According to many sources, he has a doctorate in Islamic Studies, which he got from an Iraqi university.

Militant Activites

After the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, al-Baghdadi helped to found the militant group Jamaat Jaysh Ahl al-Sunnah wa-l-Jamaah (JJASJ), in which he served as head of the sharia committee.

He was captured and taken to Camp Bucca in 2004, but was later released. He and his group joined the Muhidjeen Shura Council two years later. It was later renamed the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI). In 2010 he was proclaimed its leader. As leader of ISI, al-Baghdadi was responsible for masterminding large-scale operations, such as the August 28, 2011 mosque suicide bombing in Baghdad that killed Sunni lawmaker Khalid al-Fahdawi.

In April 2013, he announced the formation of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), because the group now moved into Syria. Disagreements between ISIS, al-Qaeda, and the al-Nusra Front formed, and in February 2014 al-Qaeda and ISIS split up.

Trivia

• According to many sources, al-Baghdadi's wife is/was Saja al-Dulaimi. The couple met online and married in 2000
• He has an 11 year old son and an alleged 4-6 year old daughter