Report: Islamic State Textbooks Teach Boys to ‘Fight Jihad for the Sake of Allah’

Textbooks the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) left behind in an Iraqi town reportedly confirm that the jihadist organization is indoctrinating boys to become the next terrorist generation committed to its cause.

Referring to the textbooks found on the outskirts of the recently liberated Iraqi town of Hawija, the Daily Mail reveals in an exclusive report:

Children’s exercise books for practicing handwriting and grammar depicted faceless family units, showing Dad as an AK-47-wielding jihadi and Mum wearing a veil. Teaching children a warped version of what a normal family should look like as soon as they were starting to read and write, Dad was pictured as a stereotypical jihadi fighter, with a full beard, no mustache, and a scarf wound around his head, holding a Kalashnikov with magazine pouches strapped over his traditional robes.

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The pages’ sinister images defy the brightly colored covers, some of which show flower-filled gardens, town landscapes, or floating Arabic letters, all crowned with the black flag of ISIS. Giving the images an even creepier feel, the faces of the ISIS family unit were left as empty blank spaces because the terror group deems depictions of human or animal faces idolatrous.

According to the Daily Mail, Shiite paramilitary fighters that belong to the Iran-allied umbrella organization known as the Popular Mobilization Forces/Units (PMF/PMU) or al-Hashd al-Shaabi “unearthed the sinister tomes” near Hawija:

“All the books, pamphlets, and associated propaganda have been gathered by members of the Hashd al-Shaabi force … which has played a vital role in eradicating ISIS in Iraq — to avoid them falling into the wrong hands, and for further investigation,” notes the news outlet.

Amnesty International and other human rights advocates have accused the PMF of committing war crimes against Sunni civilians.

Some analysts, including the Institute for the Study of War, have also linked Shiite fighters affiliated with the Iran-backed organization to U.S. military casualties after the 2003 invasion.

Nevertheless, the American military has praised the PMU’s contribution to the U.S.-supported fight against ISIS in Iraq.

“The most frightening book they [PMU] discovered was a booklet for boys, entitled Read, Understand and Apply, aimed at 11-year-olds and featuring a range of lessons for young men of the Caliphate,” often referred to as “lion cubs of the caliphate,” the Daily Mail reveals.

“Just seven pages in, the book features images of the three most important lessons for any young boy growing up in the Caliphate to learn – praying at the right times, being good to his parents, and fighting jihad for the sake of Allah,” it adds.

Analysts, including the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, have noted that ISIS employs an “unprecedented” system to methodically brainwash children by exposing them to its Islamic extremist ideology, by force if necessary.

Children, many of them kidnapped by the jihadist group, are brainwashed at very young ages, lured with sweets before they are required to practice beheadings on dolls and shown videos filled with violence.

ISIS has reportedly brainwashed some kids from the Yazidi minority group in Iraq, which has been a victim of genocide at the hands of ISIS, to attack and kill their own family.

“Understanding the inner workings of ISIS, those behind it and how they brainwashed ISIS fighters, adherents and especially children, will be crucial to de-radicalizing Iraqi youth both now and in the future,” an unnamed PMF member told Daily Mail.

The textbooks teach the children to attack Shiites, which the Sunni ISIS group considers one of their top enemies.

“In dramatic and poetic language, the text describes the [ISIS] men’s mission [against Shiite fighters] in heroic terms,” reports the Daily Mail, adding that the children are urged to embrace martyrdom in the form of suicide attacks.

Furthermore, the books reportedly encourage oral hygiene and denounce gluttony and obesity as diseases.