Who is the old man in the photo depicted on Shami Witness' twitter page? He is Omar al- Mukhtar, a leader of the Muslim resistance in North Africa in the 1920's and 30's, against Mussolini and the Italian army. He was the subject of a Hollywood movie, The Desert Lion, starring Anthony Quinn and Oliver Reed. Here's an interesting description of his life, capture and execution.

One famous quote from al-Mukhtar:

I shall not cease to fight against you and your people until either you leave my country or I leave my life...

Here's a photo of his execution by hanging in 1931.

Many prominent researchers and analysts followed and quoted Shami Witness. When he first started writing, he wrote mostly about Libya. Then he expanded to Egypt, Syria and ISIS. It may be that their endorsement of Shami propelled his popularity on Twitter. Aymenn Jawad al-Tamini wrote yesterday:

Those who say that Shami’s rise was partly facilitated by analysts giving him space to express his views are right: regardless of agreeing with his views or not, his prominence was increased.

al-Tamini also says:

Prior to January 2014, I had given Shami two opportunities for guest posts, one on the emergence of 'Jaysh al-Islam' ... and the other for his more general view of where jihadis fitted into the Syrian civil war dynamics.

In an article about ISIS and Jabhat al Nusrah at Jihadology (cached version here), al-Tamini wrote:

However, it must be recognized that the boundaries between these groups is not at all clear-cut, rather analogous to the fact that Iranian proxy groups in Iraq can serve as mere fronts for one another. In this context, my friend Shami Witness rightly points out that Baghdadi had appointed Shishani as emir of Aleppo, Idlib and Lattakia.(my emphasis.)

In hosting this article by Shami Witness which I've quoted on Talkleft several times, Pieter Van Ostaeyen, an expert on Arabic and jihadi affairs in Belgium, who has had at least one op-ed published in the New York Times, introduced Shami as "a rising star as it concerns Syrian Jihadism."

More praise:

Shami has also been quoted in The Telegraph and the Daily Mail, which describe him as an activist.

I've followed Shami Witness on Twitter since June or July. But for Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi, van Ostaeyen and other reputable writers quoting him, hosting his articles and representing he was knowledgeable (even while stating they didn't agree with him) I probably wouldn't have followed him. But I'm interested in learning what ISIS believes and what it wants. I don't think the U.S. government is a reliable source for that, nor do I think the U.S. media, which gets most of its information second hand since it doesn't fraternize with ISIS, really knows. ISIS leaders don't speak to the media and ISIS fighters and fanboys don't speak for ISIS.

While ISIS official media releases and videos are in my view the best source for understanding ISIS and its beliefs and goals, I think a writer like Shami, who is reported by reputable experts to be knowledgeable about ISIS, Syria and Iraq, and who is respected by journalists, analysts and ISIS fighters, is a good secondary source.

Shami Witness did not recruit for ISIS. He was not a member of ISIS. There's no indication he got his information from any official ISIS source. He was followed by so many Western militants, researchers, analysts, journalists and bloggers because of his reputation as being knowledgeable and because (1) his English was very good and (2) he knew who to follow on Twitter to get and tweet out the news faster than most. There's no indication he was paid or compensated by ISIS. Yes, he took ISIS' side in his tweets. But he also disagreed with them at times. Yes, he communicated with some British ISIS fighters and retweeted the accounts of ISIS fighters. Yes he is a propagandist of ISIS views. But as al-Timini says, his role on Twitter was really just one of a disseminator and aggregator of ISIS news.

Can Shami's mere inclusion of his opinion in his reporting of events be against the law? India has not even declared ISIS a terrorist group. I don't recall Shami ever telling readers to go to Sham and sign up to fight with ISIS. Hundreds of tweeters besides Shami posted the beheading videos minutes after they were reported. What's his crime?

Indian authorities held a press conference on Shami's arrest and confirmed that the person who tweets as Shami Witness was arrested at his home. They did not use his name. [Added: In a written press statement, the police did use his name.]

I find ISIS' actions as abhorrent as everyone else does. I think ISIS' views are a twisted interpretation of Islam and that Sharia law is barbaric. But I still say Free Shami Witness. Expressing one's support for an unpopular group one isn't a member of and hasn't provided tangible assistance to should not be a crime.