From 'blood type' to 'special skills': The 23 questions asked to prospective jihadis upon entrance into 'Islamic State'
Prospective jihadis were asked to list their 'understanding of Sharia law' and 'previous jihadi experience'
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A cache of leaked "surveys" given to would-be jihadis joining Isis show the 23 questions that make up the terror group’s rigorous “entrance interviews”.
The documents ask new recruits to detail a host of information in 23 fields, including their birth date, nationality, blood type and “previous jihadi experience”.
Tens of thousands of the forms, obtained by Sky News, reveal the names of 22,000 people from at least 51 countries, including the UK, who gave up personal information as they joined the militant group.
The forms showing the 23-question survey in Arabic were previously published online by Zaman Al Wasl, a pro-opposition Syrian news website.
Zaman Al Wasl’s report claimed the personal details of 1,736 fighters from 40 countries had been revealed, showing that a quarter were Saudis and the rest predominantly Tunisian, Moroccan and Egyptian.
The documents, written in Arabic and stamped with logos used by the so-called Islamic State, allegedly contain details of 16 British fighters.
In addition to their names, the forms show prospective Isis recruits were asked to give their “fighter name” as well as their “mother’s maiden name”.
They were asked to list their “level of education”, “level of Sharia understanding” and whether they had “fought before”.
Potential members of the group also revealed whether they had “special skills” and what “role” they would take, with applicants asked to choose if they wanted to be used as suicide bombers, soldiers or in another role.
Their “level of obedience” is also noted on the forms and, chillingly, a field is also designated for their “date and place of death”. A final field is left for "notes" about the candidates.
According to Sky News they include prominent names of figures already known to be members, such as Britons Abdel Bary from London, Junaid Hussain and Reyaad Khan from Cardiff.
They also reveal the identities of a number of previously unknown jihadis in the UK, across northern Europe, much of the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in the United States and Canada.
The 23 questions in full:
1. Name
2. Fighter name
3. Mother’s maiden name
4. Blood type
5. DOB and nationality
6. Marriage status
7. Address and place of residence
8. Level of education
9. Level of Sharia understanding
10. Previous job
11. Countries travelled through
12. Area entered from
13. Who recommended
14. Date of entry
15. Have they fought before
16. What role will they take
17. Any special skills
18. Current place of work
19. Security deposit
20: Level of obedience
21: Contact numbers
22: Date and place of death
23: Notes
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments