American al Qaeda member has harsh words for ISIS

Adam Gadahn.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

An online al Qaeda publication has published an interview purportedly conducted with the late Adam Gadahn, an American citizen who had sharp words for the Islamic State.

In an interview spanning more than 80 pages believed to have taken place last fall, Gadahn discussed growing up in California and how he came to join al Qaeda. He spoke at length about ISIS, praising the group for its "considerable strength and prowess...in military terms," but adding that he condemned the "crimes it has committed against Muslims," saying they "cannot simply be overlooked or forgotten with time, because in Islam there is no statute of limitations. ... All of us used to be sympathetic to varying degrees towards the Islamic State of Iraq — despite its mistakes — when it was seen as a weak and oppressed force valiantly fighting brutal tyrannies. But now that it has become clear that it has — unfortunately — adopted some of the traits, methods, and tactics of those same tyrannies, it no longer holds the same place in our hearts that it did once upon a time."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.