QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On October 3, Islamic State Organization (ISIS) blew up a currency exchange office in a town east of Deir ez-Zor, east Syria, after the owner refused to pay Zakat (Islamic taxes) to the organization’s militants.
A local source told North Press that ISIS militants blew up al-Iman office for currency exchange located in the center of al-Izba “after the owner refused to pay them the Zakat multiple times.”
On September 18, a military engineering team of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) dismantled an improvised explosive device (IED) intended to explode nearby a money transfer office in the center of a market in the town.
“ISIS, through Whatsapp messages, kept threatening the owner to kill him in case he did not pay the Zakat,” the source added, citing a relative of the owner.
ISIS terrifies capitalists
Recently, ISIS activities have increased, forcing traders to pay fees under the name of “Zakat” as central regions in Deir ez-Zor (al-Busayrah, al-Shuhail, and Diban) witness notable moves by its sleeper cells.
Abdullghani al-Ahmad, a pseudonym for a teacher in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, said, “The organization charged me a fine of 700 US dollar as a Zakat since I am a teacher.”
ISIS requires capitalists, traders, investors of oil wells and even farmers and teachers pay money or they will be killed or blown up if they refuse to pay.
Al-Ahmad added that the militants of ISIS had contacted him three times via fake numbers on WhatsApp, demanding him pay Zakat or he would be killed.
“I tried to have one militant to reveal his identity, but he kept threatening me, the thing that prevented me from informing security authorities about the issue,” he said.
He went further saying, “After I accepted forcibly to pay the money I borrowed from relatives, I asked the militant about the way to hand over the amount of money, and in the next day a woman dressed in the ISIS Islamic style came with a sealed paper from the organization to deliver the money to her.”
He added, “I handed the amount to the woman after that ISIS blocked me on the app.”
The organization adopts terrifying and threatening policy in their dealing with traders in case of refusing to pay the Zakat.
Days ago, the ISIS militants set an oil well on fire in the town of Rwaished after the investor refused to pay the Zakat.
Ali al-Kheder, a pseudonym for a food stuff trader in the town of al-Busayrah, 35 kilometers east of Deir ez-Zor, said, “Five days ago, when I was on my way after performing dawn prayer in a nearby mosque, I was shocked to see a paper hanged against the door of my house, bearing the organization’s slogan.”
“The paper demanded me pay 100 USD as a Zakat,” he added.
He noted, “In the next day, they contacted me on WhatsApp and required me pay the money, but I refused to pay for fear of repeating such a practice for the future in light of dire economic conditions in the country.”
“So I moved my shops and goods to the city of Hasakah for fear of the organization’s reaction after I refused to pay,” he said.
ISIS lost its final stronghold in Syria in March 2019. The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the US-led Global Coalition, defeated ISIS after fierce battles in the town of Baghouz in the eastern countryside of Deir ez-Zor, bringing an end to the so-called caliphate declared by the terrorist ISIS.
After Baghouz, thousands of ISIS fighters were transferred to prisons, while their families were transferred to Hawl and Roj camps in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)-held areas.
Issue of the family members of the ISIS held in camps in northeast Syria constitutes an ongoing challenge for the non-internationally recognized AANES, which repeatedly demands that the concerned countries repatriate their nationals.
Also, the AANES continues to call on the international powers to provide support for establishing rehabilitation centers and help in tackling the security situation in the facilities were ISIS foreign nationals are held.
Despite many calls, the majority of countries, including those participating in the Global coalition, refuse to repatriate their nationals.
The countryside of Deir ez-Zor witnesses an increase in cases of assassination, targeting members of the SDF, employees of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), tribal leaders and civilians, despite the intensive security operations launched by the SDF.