ISLAMIC STATE Seven Impressions of A Difficult Journey Dear friends, we are slowly recovering from the stress the journey into the Islamic State has induced on us. Frederic, my son, has lost several pounds. Of course, I have been aware that both, meeting with ISIS and American and Syrian bomb attacks, could put me into high risk.In Mosul, low-flying US aircraft circled over us numerous times. And our apartment in the Syrian town Raqqa was largely destroyed by a Syrian bomb while we were staying in Mosul, Iraq. Hence, our last night in Raqqa had to be spent in a bombed-out and glass-splattered apartment.Its difficult to uncover the truth without taking a risk, and I had needed authentic footage for a planned book about the ISIS. Thats something you only get by going there. In fact, I have done so for each of my books and thus traveled to areas of conflict many times. Moreover, I had received a security guarantee from the caliphate. There just was no way to know if it was genuine! Hence, all of my friends and family smelled a rat and tried to discourage me from taking the journey. But I always follow my gut feeling.The guarantee turned out to be genuine, and the ISIS stuck to their agreement during our visits to Mosul and Raqqa. Though, we were under surveillance by the secret service for most of the time and had to hand over our mobile phones and laptops. Also, all of our pictures and photos were inspected at the end of the journey. ISIS deleted 9 out of approximately 800 photos to protect relatives of foreign fighters. Thats what censorship is.

On several occasions, ISIS and I ran into heated disagreements about details of the journey. Let me tell you that arguing with heavily armed ISIS fighters isnt exactly the easiest thing to do. I was close to abandoning the journey twice during that time. In view of the acute danger that all of the involved were dealing with daily, they often were short tempered. Yet, overall, I was treated correctly.HERE IS A SUMMARY OF MY 7 STRONGEST IMPRESSIONS OF ISIS:1.) THE WEST IS DRAMATICALLY UNDERESTIMATING THE THREAT EMANATING FROM ISIS, and ISIS fighters are much more intelligent and dangerous than our politicians realize. The Islamic State is drenched in almost infectious enthusiasm and confident of victory something I have never before experienced in a warzone. More importantly, the ISIS fighters are convinced that their totalitarian faith and demonstrative brutality will help them move mountains. In Mosul, less than 400 ISIS fighters routed many as 25,000 Iraqi soldiers and militias despite their ultra-modern equipment. Within months, the ISIS has conquered a territory larger than Great Britain and dwarfed Al Qaeda.Occasional losses or changes of terrain dont seem to concern ISIS in any way. While some media outlets tend to exaggerate those events, ISIS considers them as normal in guerilla warfare.2.) THE INFLUX OF NEW FIGHTERS JOINING ISIS IS GROWING DAILY. I spent two days in an ISIS reception camp close to the Turkish border. On both days, more than 50 fighters from all over the world arrived. In fact, not all of them were young men who had failed in their home countries. Contrary to common belief, there were many successful and enthusiastic young people from countries like the USA, England, Sweden, Russia, France and Germany. One of them had recently passed his state examination in law and been admitted to the court as a lawyer. Yet, he preferred to fight for the Islamic State.3.) AS FAR AS I CAN TELL FROM 10 DAYS OF OBSERVATION, THE ISLAMIC STATE SEEMS TO FUNCTION AS WELL AS ANY OTHER TOTALITARIAN COUNTRY IN THIS REGION. This is particularly true in terms of internal security and social welfare; while many things differ greatly from our or particularly my ideas on how such institutions should be run, they do exist. The Sunni population living in the Iraqi part of the Islamic State seems to now have accepted the new state without further resistance, preferring it to the discrimination and oppression they had previously suffered from the Maliki regime in Bagdad. However, after all of the Christians, Shiites and Yazidis have fled the city, and after countless executions, they are now the only religious group inhabiting Mosul.4.) ISIS ISNT JUST AIMING AT CONQUERING THE MIDDLE EAST AND, EVENTUALLY, THE REST OF THE WORLD. RATHER, THEY WANT THE LARGEST RELIGOUS CLEANSING IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND. With the exception of the so-called religions of the book that is, ISIS version of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity ISIS wants to kill non-believers and apostates and enslave their women and children. This means that all of the Shiites, Yazidis, Hindus, Atheists and Polytheists are supposed to die, and that hundreds of millions of people would be eliminated in the course of this ethnic cleansing.Additionally, all of the moderate Muslims approving of democracy are supposed to be killed, as they from ISIS point of view put human laws above Gods laws. Upon successful conquest of the West, this would also apply to democratically-minded Muslims here.A non-believers only chance to escape death are voluntary repentance and voluntary conversion to true Islam which, allegedly, is represented by ISIS only. He or she must do so before their country is conquered.ISIS does tolerate Jews and Christians. Though, they have to pay a fixed protection tax of several hundred dollars per year. Muslims would have to pay the zakat (Islamic tax), which may be higher for wealthy Muslims and lower for poor Muslims.It needs not be said that ISIS and I disagreed in all of these points, and that I clearly expressed my opposition numerous times.5.) IN MY OPINION, ISIS IS A 1-PERCENT MOVEMENT WITH THE EFFECT OF A TSUNAMI. The movement preaches a type of Islam that is being rejected by 99 percent of the worlds 1.6 billion-strong Muslim population. Being a Christian who has read the Quran several times, I cant wrap my head around how anyone could consider ISIS doctrine compatible with Islam. In fact, my lecture of the Quran has made me see Islam as a religion of compassion. 113 out of 114 suras start with the following words: In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. Yet, I havent perceived ISIS as particularly merciful.6.) ISIS CANNOT BE DEFEATED WITH BOMBS OR MISSILES. The three-million-city Mosul, for instance, is being controlled by 5,000 ISIS fighters. Whoever wants to eliminate them with bombs would have to first turn all of Mosul into rubble and kill thousands of civilians. Bombarding the Middle East has always been and still is a way to breed terrorism. Take ISIS as an example! This organization is a direct result of George W. Bushs illegal Iraq War.THE MODERATE SUNNI ARABS ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN STOP ISIS, NOT THE WEST. Thats exactly what the Sunnis did 2007. Back then, they chased away the Islamic State in Iraq (ISI) the predecessor of ISIS, which was much weaker than todays ISIS.However, the moderate Iraqi Sunni would only oppose ISIS if they were allowed to completely re-integrate into Iraqi society, from which the Americans and the Iraqi Shiites had excluded them after the US 2003 invasion of Iraq. It doesnt currently look like things are going to change anytime soon. Yet, this is the only conceivable solution to stop ISIS.There also exist solutions for Syria. Though, the West would need to correct its utterly unrealistic view of the situation. They have truly gotten on the wrong track in Syria.7.) THERE IS A LOT OF GUESSING ABOUT THE TERRORIST THREAT EMANATING FROM RETURNING ISIS FIGHTERS. I cannot rule out that there may indeed exist a threat. But due to the Islamic State considering those returnees as losers that failed in their life in the Islamic State, they may, in fact, not present a major risk. Although Brussels did suffer an attack from a returnee, sympathizers of ISIS who have not yet left the country might present a larger threat.Germany, as well as the rest of the world, must neither trivialize nor exaggerate the terrorist threat. In Germany, for instance, no German has ever been killed by an Islamist while, on the other hand, many Muslims were killed by German right wing extremists. Extremist movements like Germanys PEGIDA are misrepresenting the facts. And in doing so, they are unwittingly playing into the hands of the ISIS. The Islamic movement has stated numerous times that escalations between Muslims and Non-Muslims in Germany and other countries of the West are in its interest.I firmly believe that ISIS currently is the largest threat to world peace since the Cold War. We are now paying the price for George W. Bushs act of near-unparalleled folly; the invasion of Iraq. To date, the West remains clueless as to how this threat is to be addressed.Yours, JT

Dear friends, this afternoon, I returned from the Islamic State. I had received the necessary safety guarantee after months of Skype negotiations with the leaders of the Califate. According to them, I was the first Western publicist in the worldwho was allowed to visit the Islamic State.

The ISIS knew that I had expressed harsh criticism about the Islamic State several times already both here on Facebook and in the German media. Therefore, I never underestimated the dangers of this journey.The discussions and experiences in the Iraqi and Syrian regions of the Islamic State were dramatic, and so was the security situation. I will go more into detail in the next days. Yesterday evening, while hurrying into Turkey with my luggage on a smugglers path in the vicinity of a Turkish watchtower (!) -, I felt like the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. I feel very happy to be safely back home in Germany. And so is my family; we were all in tears!I didnt undertake this difficult journey because Pope Francis recently called on world leaders to start a dialogue with ISIS. I did it because I have never closed the door on dialogue with any side in more than 50 years. Despite heavy criticism from some office bureaucrats, I not only talked to President Assad while in Syria, but also to Al Qaida and the FSA. In Afghanistan, I had several meetings with President Karzai and with leaders of the Taliban. Also, I fostered a dialogue with the Shia government of Iraq and with the Sunni resistance during the Iraq War.The US involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other countries ended in a catastrophe because the USA werent open to talk to their opponents and because they often didnt know anything about them at all. Lack of knowledge must by no means stay the woeful trade mark of Western policy in the Middle East.Those who want to defeat their enemies should know them well. The ISIS is more powerful and dangerous than many Western politicians think.In the next days, I will go more into detail about my ten-day research in the Islamic State. Yet, for now, I am tired to death.Yours, JT

How German Writer Jrgen Todenhfer Reported From Inside The Islamic State NEW YORK -- Weeks after returning from a 10-day reporting trip in Mosul, Iraq and Raqqa, Syria, two cities under Islamic State control, Jrgen Todenhfer still isn't completely sure what the extremist group known for beheading journalists had hoped to gain by allowing him inside.But Todenhfer, a 74-year-old author and former German parliamentarian, suggested one possibility in an interview with The Huffington Post.For them it was important to show that there was a state, not only an occupied territory, he said. And maybe the invitation of somebody was a step to show that, like other states, they are inviting journalists and these people are protected.Todenhfer was in Islamic State territory from Dec. 6 to Dec. 16. His ability to get into -- and, vitally, out of -- the region was surprising, given how the terrorist organization, like similar extremist groups, has shown little regard for journalists' lives in recent months.The Islamic State beheaded American journalistsJames FoleyandSteven Sotlofflast summer and circulated the videos online, signaling that international press wasn't welcome inside the self-proclaimed Islamic caliphate. On Wednesday, gunmen reportedly linked with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsulaattackedthe Paris offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper known for lampooning political leaders and religions, including Islam. The next day, an Islamic State affiliate in Libyaclaimedto have killed two Tunisian journalists who have been missing since September.The relationship between journalists and Islamic extremists wasn't always this way, as The Atlantics Jeffrey Goldbergrecently detailed. Some jihadis of an earlier era would court international journalists in hopes of getting their messages out to the world. But the Islamic State has largely bypassed Western news outlets in favor of pushing propaganda on social media. Vice Newswas granted accessto report in Raqqa last June, but since the beheadings and the start of the U.S.-led bombing campaign, no Western journalist has reported from inside the territory in Iraq or Syria controlled by the militant group.Todenhfer, who spoke by phone to HuffPost on Dec. 31, said the Islamic State might be starting to think propaganda will always be propaganda, not a high degree of credibility, and inviting journalists is probably more intelligent than beheading journalists.It remains to be seen whether the Islamic State, in an effort to present itself as an actual state rather than as terrorist occupiers, will change the way it deals with the press -- or if Todenhfer and his son Frederic, who shot photos and videos on the trip, will be the exception.Todenhfer isnt a typical journalist, and he balked at being described as one in an interview. A former judge, media executive and member of German parliament, Todenhferhas written booksbased on his journeys into war zones, from Afghanistan under Soviet control in the early 1980s to the Iraq War. He's publicly expressed anti-war opinions, having spoken out in favor of disarmament in the 1980s and against the U.S. invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.The German writerignited controversyin 2012 after interviewing Syrian President Bashar Assad and expressing skepticism about some claims made by rebels fighting Assad's regime. Last month, Foreign PolicydismissedTodenhfer as an America-hating, Assad-loving journalist."Todenhfer told HuffPost that even after he embedded with the mujahedeen fighters in Afghanistan in the 1980s, he spoke to the Russians; that he spoke to both former Afghan President Hamid Karzai and the Taliban; and that he has spoken to Syrian rebels, too.What I have learned as a judge is that you should always speak to all sides, Todenhfer said. Otherwise, your life is a long list of false judgments, of mistakes.Todenhfer said he was motivated to make the reporting trip because he wanted to write a book on the Islamic State, but found there was "almost no information from the ground. Last spring, he contacted 80 German jihadis on Facebook with questions about the groups ideology. Fifteen responded. Through these conversations, Todenhfer eventually reached a representative from the Islamic States media office. What followed were seven months of Skype discussions with the militant group, some lasting a few hours each.I was discussing the ideology. I was discussing what was happening. I was discussing the killings, Todenhfer recalled. I told them I could really not understand. I had read the Quran. I didnt understand how they could justify these innocent killings with the Quran.Despite disagreements, Todenhfer recalled the media officer saying the group had come to believe the German writer would be objective and not want to be sensational and invent things. Todenhfer received an invitation from the office of the caliphate, though he couldnt be completely sure it was legitimate until he actually took the trip.Todenhfer offered his impressions in a fewTVinterviewsafter returning, as well as ina poston his website.The West, he wrote, is dramatically underestimating the threat from the group, which he described as drenched in almost infectious enthusiasm and confident of victory." He described seeing the influx of new fighters at an Islamic State reception camp, with recruits coming from Western countries like the U.S., the U.K., Russia, France and Germany.I firmly believe that ISIS currently is the largest threat to world peace since the Cold War, he wrote on his website, using another term for the Islamic State. We are now paying the price for George W. Bushs act of near-unparalleled folly; the invasion of Iraq. To date, the West remains clueless as to how this threat is to be addressed.Todenhfer described to HuffPost both the access and the restrictions put in place by his Islamic State minders. The writer recalled a dispute the first day after being told he and his son could visit Raqqa, but not Mosul. The Islamic State relented, but upon arriving in Mosul, Todenhfer said, he was told to spend the day in an apartment.I wanted to go down to the streets, Todenhfer recalled. I said, So Im your prisoner now? You dont allow me to leave your room? We had many hard discussions. Its a war and certain things had to be decided by them.Todenhfer said he and Frederic went down to Mosuls streets that evening. Initially, Islamic State minders were nearby, he said, but after 10 minutes, they lost their interest. And after 15 minutes, we were discussing with people from Mosul. No one was listening."

My son could take photos. I could speak with everybody, Todenhfer said. There were sometimes strong restrictions. Sometimes there was a surprising freedom to speak to fighters. I had never had the impression the people had to say what they wanted them to say.

The Islamic State inspected Frederics camera at the end of the trip and deleted nine of 800 photos, citing concerns about family members of the fighters. Todenhfer said the group helped arrange several interviews, including with a captured peshmerga fighter, but declined to make available the man who appears in the beheading videos.He interviewed several Islamic State fighters, including German jihadis familiar with his books on the Middle East. Todenhfer said the fighters exhibited an enthusiasm and belief that they were doing something historic. He met one new recruit from New Jersey and another, from the Caribbean islands, who'd passed his law exam shortly before signing up.In August, Kevin Sutcliffe, Vice's head of news programming in Europe,explained to HuffPostthat while filmmaker Medyan Dairieh was allowed inside Islamic State-controlled Syria, his access was restricted. These are managed trips, so you are there with their permission, Sutcliffe said. While they are, to some extent, keeping you safe... you are also an interloper.Similarly, Todenhfer wasnt permitted to roam freely around Syria and Iraq. He lived alongside Islamic State fighters, which allowed for many conversations but also accentuated the fact that he was an outsider.We slept in the same houses, on the same floor, Todenhfer said. The discussions have always been hard, because I wanted to find out what was their motivation. I wanted to find out what they thought about the Quran, to behead, to kill all the unbelievers. I have read the Quran several times and I have never read a line that says you can kill all the Shias and kill all the Hindus. How can you say, Yeah, but Muhammad has said this?The distance, he said, was "getting greater, bigger and bigger every day" and eventually Todenhfer and his son were eating separately from the group. At the end," he said, "the atmosphere changed."But provoking Islamic State fighters wasnt the only danger. There were also the ongoing threats from the U.S.-led air campaign and from Assads forces.At one point in Mosul, Todenhfer said, an American drone was coming down, lower and lower over the area. The group he was with headed to a soccer field where a game was in progress, believing the drone was less likely to strike there.And one night, the Raqqa apartment Todenhfer was staying in was struck by the Syrian Air Force while Todenhfer and his party were out. They returned later and stayed one more night in the bombed-out apartment, he recalled, sleeping on broken glass.