Revolution Muslim: The Precursor to ISIS’s Virtual Caliphate

Revolution Muslim was a virtual terrorist group, before the term “virtual caliphate” became the en vogue way to conceptualize the future trajectory of ISIS following its loss of territory in Iraq and Syria. As a result, analyzing the history, operations and the means of thwarting Revolution Muslim is essential to understanding the challenge of ISIS’s “virtual caliphate.” This report provides a unique, multifaceted lens into Revolution Muslim’s ctivities and how it catalyzed the jihadist scene in America and the West. It was written by Mitch Silber, the director of intelligence analysis at the NYPD at the time that Revolution Muslim was operating, and Jesse Morton (aka Younus Abdullah Muhammad, as he will be referred to throughout this paper), a founder of Revolution Muslim and now a former extremist.   Silber and Morton present an informed insiders’ account. Between 2006 and 2011, the two were working directly against each other.

1. A history of Revolution Muslim and its origins.
2. A description of Revolution Muslim’s innovative approach to radicalization.
3. A review of Revolution Muslim’s success in applying its new approach.
4. A detailed examination of how Revolution Muslim’s efforts online foreshadowed and built foundation for ISIS radicalization and recruitment efforts.
5. A concluding discussion of what lessons Revolution Muslim holds for future counterterrorism efforts.

Revolution Muslim emerged out of a broader tradition of Islamist organizing that called for the reestablishment of the caliphate, years before the inception of the Islamic State.

• Revolution Muslim was the result of the splintering of prior Islamist political organizations due to disputes over leadership and tactics.
• By embracing more radical tactics, the founders of new groups, including Revolution Muslim, generated media coverage and thereby expanded their influence.
• Revolution Muslim and other Islamist groups in the West presaged and established a reservoir of support for the reestablishment of a caliphate, which ultimately aided ISIS.

• Revolution Muslim promoted a more explicit advocacy of jihadist terrorism than any prior organized manifestation of Islamism in the United States.
• Revolution Muslim spread its material more extensively than prior groups through an integrated and public-facing media effort that pioneered the use of online, social media and in-person activities.

Revolution Muslim’s new approach was the most extensive and effective jihadist mobilization effort in the United States on behalf of al-Qaeda and its allies.

• In at least 15 different cases, individuals who engaged in terrorism or attempted to engage in terrorism were connected to Revolution Muslim.
• Revolution Muslim encouraged individuals to radicalize and enact theirviews through direct and passive interaction.
• Revolution Muslim’s efforts reshaped the original al-Muhajiroun movement that it emerged out of, encouraging al-Muhajiroun’s move toward more explicit jihadist extremism and more sophisticated online activities.

ISIS developed its own powerful online, English-language radicalization and recruitment efforts by drawing upon the foundation RevolutionMuslim had developed.

• Revolution Muslim pioneered the integrated use of English-language propaganda magazines, interactive media and online direct communication platforms, which ISIS would later adopt to great success in its communications efforts.

• ISIS drew upon the human networks that Revolution Muslim had nurtured to recruit fighters to travel to Syria and individuals to conduct attacks in the West.

As ISIS loses its physical territory in Iraq and Syria, the threat from ISISwill increasingly resemble that recently posed by Revolution Muslim.

• Undercover officers, including those operating online, will be essential to track a fluid network like Revolution Muslim or a virtual ISIS.
• The template developed first by Revolution Muslim and later by ISIS willcontinue to pose a threat regardless of the fate of ISIS as a group. Preventing futureattacks and recruitment will require action beyond the arrest of key leaders to address the power of the template.

Younus Abdullah Muhammad and Yousef al-Khattab, two prominent  figures within the Islamic Thinkers Society, split off and established Revolution Muslim. In doing so they changed the jihadist ecosystem through a more explicit advocacy of terrorism and a more adept online propaganda effort while establishing the United States,previously thought of by many as immune toradicalization, as an important node in international jihadist networks.

Yet, Revolution Muslim did not emerge out of nowhere. Instead the group was the product of a series of splits within the Islamist Hizbut-Tahrir (HT) movement and a long tradition of Islamist organizing. Revolution Muslim’s history as having emerged from these splits to transform existing networks illustrates the potential for online communities to sustain jihadism even as terrorist groups overseas face setbacks.