Islamic State Health Service

Islamic State Health Service
Islamic State Islamic State
Geography
Location Iraq
 Syria
Organisation
Religious affiliation
Islamic State ideology
History
Constructed2014
Closed2019

Islamic State Health Service (ISHS) (Arabic: الخدمات الصحية للدولة الإسلامية, romanized: al-Khidmāt al-ṣiḥḥīyah lil-dawlah al-Islāmīyah) was a health care service run by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. It was first shown in a propaganda video, with the video presentation and logo resembling those of the NHS.

History

Anonymous IS blogger "Bird of Jannah", a doctor originally from Malaysia, said she was invited to work for ISIL shortly after her arrival in Syria in the spring of 2014, before ISIL declared a caliphate. They offered to provide her a building and all the equipment necessary to use as a clinic. She agreed to work in primary care, giving vaccines to children and assessments to pregnant women.

The health service was shown in 2015 in a propaganda video which said the "western media" was lying, and to show health advancements that the Islamic State had done. The service was explained by a Melbourne-born Australian, under the alias of Abu Yusuf. He was subsequently identified as pediatrician Tareq Kamleh. He appealed to Muslim medical personnel to join him in ISIL's Syrian capital of Raqqa because, he said, "Muslims are really suffering from not lack of equipment or medicine but lack of qualified medical care."

The first buildings to be established by ISHS were constructed in Raqqa, Syria and Mosul, Iraq. It would then start growing in Iraq more in places like Mosul and Tikrit, this would also boost more propaganda calling for Sunni Muslims, specifically British and Australian to join the Islamic State and join the medical forces there. The service provided mass polio vaccines and cancer treatment for people living under Islamic State rule in Mosul hospitals. The United States Air Force would launch attacks against hospitals used to treat militants to degrade the Islamic State's fighting capabilities.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The extraordinary power of the NHS brand". The Economist. 2021-09-04. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-01-06.
  2. ↑ "Islamic State NHS-style hospital video posted". BBC News. 2015-04-24. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  3. ↑ "'Malaysian Isis member' shares Syrian experiences on social media". Yahoo News. 2014-09-18. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  4. ↑ "Diary Of A Traveler". diary-of-a-muhajirah.tumblr.com. Archived from the original on 2015-06-19. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
  5. ↑ Webb, Sam (2015-04-25). "Does the ISIS health logo looks a bit familiar?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  6. ↑ Hatch, Patrick (2015-04-25). "Australian doctor Abu Yusuf in Islamic State video promoting health service". The Age. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  7. ↑ Shanahan, Roger (April 27, 2015). "Tareq Kamleh: A medical jihad? | Lowy Institute". The Lowy Institute. Retrieved 2026-05-26.
  8. ↑ Bacchi, Umberto; Limam, Arij (2015-04-24). "Isis mimics Britain's NHS with 'Islamic State Health Service ISHS'". International Business Times. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  9. ↑ Gardham, Duncan (2015-06-30). "Islamic State creates jihadi health service". BMJ. 350 h3487. doi:10.1136/bmj.h3487. ISSN 1756-1833. PMID 26130227. S2CID 3170231.
  10. ↑ Bennhold, Katrin (2015-03-22). "Medical Students From Britain Are Sought in Syria". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  11. ↑ Baskaran, Archit (2015). "The Islamic State Healthcare Paradox: A Caliphate in Crisis". Inquiries Journal. 7 (7).
  12. ↑ Dreazen, Yochi (19 August 2014). "From Electricity to Sewage, U.S. Intelligence Says the Islamic State Is Fast Learning How to Run a Country". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 2023-01-05.