Quick Facts
Biography
Abu Hashim Muhammad bin Abdul Rahman al-Ibrahim was the third leader of Ansar al-Islam, an Islamic militant group operating in Iraq.
History
He is a native of Baghdad. He originally used to be Shia before he disavowed their beliefs and became a Sunni. He had good Islamic knowledge and he studied hadith at the hands of the distinguished scholar Sabhi al-Samarra'i.
Ansar al-Islam
He joined Ansar al-Islam in 2006 through Abd al-Raheem Abu Anwar, one of the most important preachers of Baghdad and close to Abu Wa'el Sa'adun al-Qadi. Abu Wa'el vouched for him.
He was working in the Shari'i investigations department affiliated with the group's Shari'a Committee and then became the right hand to Abu al-Abbas al-Kurdi, leader of the Shari'a Committee. Abu Hashim took over the Shari'i Committee in the time of Abu al-Abbas' sojourn. Later he became one of the members of the Majlis Shura, the council managing the group.
He was subject to more than one assassination attempt at the hands of the Islamic State of Iraq.
At some point he moved from Baghdad to Tikrit, but he was advised to depart Tikrit because foreigners stood out. He was living in Mosul with his family in 2008.
Leadership
He was elected to the leadership of Ansar al-Islam by consensus of the Majlis Shura on 15 December 2011.