ISIS lets people play foosball but only if heads are removed from figurines
Documents and witness accounts from inside the Islamic State (IS) reveal how the terrorist group functions as a pseudo-government, and the control the organisation has over its subjects.
IS issues birth certificates, vaccination records, and other official documents, and regulates everything from rental disputes to recreational choices.
There is an IS Health Department that runs hospitals, mobile clinics, maternity wards, and a vaccination unit.
"This is one thing that distinguishes ISIS from groups like the Taliban, which forbids vaccinations," Aymenn Al-Tamimi, of the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya Middle East Forum, told CNN.
"Polio is a problem in Pakistan because the Taliban believes the vaccines are a forbidden substance. But ISIS is not that primitive," he explained.
"This is also reflected in education: The Taliban, forbids all girls' education. But ISIS allows girls to go to school, albeit in a segregated environment."
According to CNN, IS allows girls to attend school until the age of 15.
The extremist Muslims also allow chess, billiards, and other "contemporary games" to be played as long as the leisure activities do not distract from religious obligations and there is no gambling. Foosball is permitted if the heads of the figurine footballers are removed to prevent idol worship, CNN reports.
Al-Tamimi explained IS' insistence on regulating every aspect of their subjects' lives.
"One of ISIS' goals is to present this very religiously learned image, showcasing their knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence to justify to their following that they are the moral authority," he said.
"It's clear that ISIS and their religious clerics and scholars are extremely familiar with religious texts and use them to convince and persuade ISIS followers, which also makes them impervious to any religion-based counterargument."
Despite its posturing as a legitimate government, IS secured its power by murdering, enslaving, and driving out entire cities across Iraq and Syria. Thousands have been killed and millions displaced by the terrorist group.
