By Mark Ellis – Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA (ANS) — In northern Syria near the Turkish border lies the relatively small, nondescript town of Dabiq, home to about 3,300 people. It came as somewhat of a surprise last August when Islamic State (IS) suddenly targeted the city, which seemed to have little strategic importance.
But some may not have realized Dabiq figures prominently in Islamic eschatology – somewhat analogous to Armageddon in the Book of Revelation. It seems the ancient Hadith, which contains the teachings and deeds of Muhammad, prophesied that in the “last hours of history” the forces of Islam will face a horde of infidels at Dabiq in a decisive battle presaging the return of their Messiah.
The importance of this prophecy to IS was revealed in the recent video released November 16th announcing the beheading of American aid worker Peter Kassig.
“Here we are, burning the first American crusader in Dabiq, eagerly waiting for the remainder of your armies to arrive,” declares an IS fighter in the video. The militant condemns U.S. involvement in Iraq and pledges to defeat “this final and last crusade.”
It may seem incredible to some that ancient prophecies delivered 1,400 years ago have guided the rise of IS and continue to propel their recruitment of young fighters in the Middle East, Western Europe, and beyond.
“Dabiq is the most important village in all of Syria for them…especially the foreign fighters,” a rebel who fought against IS told the Wall Street Journal. “They take it (the prophecies) very seriously,” he said.
Hadith 6924 states: “The Last Hour would not come until the Romans would land at al-A’maq or in Dabiq. An army consisting of the best (soldiers) of the people of the earth at that time will come from Medina (to counteract them)…They will then fight and a third (part) of the army would run away, whom Allah will never forgive. A third (part of the army) which would be constituted of excellent martyrs in Allah’s eye would be killed and the third who would never be put to trial would win and they would be conquerors of Constantinople.”