Isil tries to lure Italian jihadists with offer of a free fridge
Islamic State pamphlet extolling the apparent merits of live in jihadist-ruled regions of Syria circulated on extremist online forums
Islamic State fighters marching in Raqqa, Syria Photo: AP
Alice Philipson, Rome
3:47PM GMT 01 Mar 2015
Isil is attempting to lure Italian would-be jihadists away from the country's world-famous cappuccinos, pizza and gelato with the promise of a free fridge and bread.
Jihadists have lauded the benefits of life in Raqqa, an Isil-controlled town in Syria, in a 64-page recruitment document translated into Italian and circulated on extremist online forums.
Citizens of Raqqa "are now truly safe", the brochure declares, thanks to a "police that orders good and prohibits evil". The document even lists a number to call should you feel swindled by a market trader.
Every needy family in the town also receives free bread, petrol and a fridge, it says.
It comes weeks after Isil warned in a video: "We will conquer Rome, by Allah's permission."
Despite the chilling message, delivered by a khaki-clad man pointing a bloodstained finger in view of the camera, Italians chose to laugh off the terror threat by offering the jihadists a number of cheeky travel tips under the hashtag #We-Are-Coming-O-Rome.
Mauro Giulivi posted a picture of a huge traffic jam on Twitter and wrote: "#We-Are-Coming-O-Rome are you sure?"
Another Twitter user posted a reference to the Costa Concordia disaster and its captain Francesco Schettino, who was sentenced to 16 years in jail after he abandoned the sinking ship.
"#We-Are-Coming-O-Rome – don't let Schettino steer your ships", 'Sara' tweeted. "He he has a tendency to get too close to islands".
The new manifesto, which was uncovered by Italian investigative journalism website Wikilao after it began circulating on jihadist forums in November, is entitled 'The Islamic State, an group that wants to reach out to you'.
The pamphlet's author begins: "I decided to write this text to try to briefly explain an organisation that is widely talked about: the Islamic State, which everyone knows through the media of the accusers and not through the media of the accused."
Several Syrian activists have given accounts of life in Raqqa, reporting that many residents barricade themselves in their homes, only venturing out to buy necessities. They said that price of basic goods had skyrocketed.
But the recruitment document, complete with interviews, pictures, and documentation gathered in the self-proclaimed Caliphate, lists reasons why new citizens should feel safe in the town.
The Islamic police "controls the price of goods, watches over the citizens' safety, resolves disputes over theft, property, threats, or provocation among Muslims", it says, declaring that crime rates usually drop by 90 per cent in Isil-controlled territories.
The brochure, which is divided into 13 chapters, then goes on to explain that bread made in the bakeries of Aleppo is brought to distribution centres in the centre of Raqqa, "far from the areas exposed to bombing".
There is a final call to arms for all potential terrorists. "Hurry, supporters of the Islamic Caliphate; with the permission of Allah, we will conquer Constantinople and Rome as Muhammad prophesied," the document says.
