Inside IS’s bureaucratic new world

WHEN the Islamic State’s (IS) religious police arrived at his door, Ahmooda Abu Amood feared he would never see his family again.

The two militants drove up in a beige sport-utility vehicle, Abu Amood said, the kind used to transport anyone who broke the rules to an office to pay a fine, to get a whipping – or to jail.

But the men didn’t come to arrest him that cool February evening. They offered him a job.

They told Abu Amood, who had been a traffic officer in the city before the group seized it last year, they were launching a traffic police department, and they wanted him to be its head. “They wanted to eventually issue driver’s licences to all the people who live inside the Islamic State,” Abu Amood said.

Even as they ruled through fear and brutality, IS officials in Libya aspired to create a government with a functioning bureaucracy, public services and a credible judicial system.

With its defences crumbling in Iraq and Syria, IS increasingly saw Sirte as a possible substitute capital, although that goal now appears distant as pro-government militias, backed by the US and other allies, have captured key positions that were held by IS and are pursuing hundreds of militants remaining in Sirte.

But what unfolded in Sirte opens a window into IS’s vision of a nation run by a harsh interpretation of ancient Islamic codes and a carrot-and-stick approach to ruling the populations under its control. After IS fighters entered Sirte early last year, men were forced to grow beards and women were told to wear black niqabsthat covered their faces and eyes. Residents were ordered to attend mosques five times a day, and stores and businesses were required to close during prayers. Satellite TV dishes were taken down to prevent residents from watching Western and “immoral” programmes.

“They killed anyone caught drinking or taking drugs right away,” said Rawad bin Sawood, 27, a tyre shop owner.But they also employed workers to clean the streets and treated shopkeepers with respect.

By the end of last year, the state-building had grown more sophisticated. Doctors, engineers and lawyers who practised Sharia law were recruited to help run the state. In Sirte, black stamps with the words “Office of General Services” were on the walls of every business. They meant the owner was registered with the IS revenue-collection department and paid taxes. – Washington Post