The Monetary System of the Umayyads in the Territory of ISIS

Radio Farda - According to international media reports, the group known as the "Islamic State" or "ISIS" has minted its own coins and challenged the international monetary system. Mir Ali Hosseini asked Fereydoun Khavand in an interview what characteristics does ISIS's currency have? Fereydoun Khavand: Minting coins has been a sign of power since the beginning of governance in human societies, and the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria," which claims to govern and controls a relatively large territory with a population of about six to seven million on both sides of the international border between Iraq and Syria, has introduced its own currency instead of the Syrian pound and Iraqi dinar. According to media reports from Paris on Thursday morning, including "Le Figaro," the monetary system of ISIS has minted two gold coins, the first being a dinar equivalent to 4.25 grams of gold, approximately 164 dollars, and the second a five-dinar coin worth about 820 dollars. Then, there are three silver coins of one, five, and ten dirhams, followed by copper coins. Various symbols are embossed on the coins, including a minaret, Al-Aqsa Mosque, and a world map. ISIS claims that with these metal coins, it aims to establish a global Islamic monetary system and end the dominance of the dollar and the "imperialist" monetary system. Typically, currency relies on the economic resources of a state. How does ISIS sustain its economic resources? ISIS is the wealthiest mafia and terrorist group in history, claiming an annual income of about two billion dollars, a figure that does not seem far from the truth. If we consider the reports from Paris's economic media, about one-third of ISIS's income comes from oil, from eight fields in Iraq and Syria that have fallen into the hands of this organization. Another third of ISIS's financial resources comes from taxes. It seems that fifteen to twenty percent of its revenues are also due to agriculture in the fertile lands along the Tigris and Euphrates that have fallen into the hands of this organization, with the products of these lands, especially wheat and barley, being sold on the black market. ISIS has other important resources, including the sale of antiquities and remains of archaeological sites, kidnapping, selling organs harvested from prisoners and executed individuals, as well as selling women and children of war captives. Do the Gulf Arab countries also, as rumored, provide financial assistance to ISIS? Before ISIS became a powerful military, political, and financial organization at its current level, wealthy Saudis and Qataris were likely the most important source of funding for this organization. However, currently, the share of Saudis and Qataris in providing resources for ISIS has decreased and seems to have fallen below five percent.