The Cloud Caliphate: Archiving the Islamic State in Real-Time

The report analyzes the 'Cloud Caliphate,' a 2.2 terabyte digital archive of Islamic State content hosted via NextCloud and Cloudflare. It examines the repository's composition, its role in maintaining a 'national biography' for a decentralized global movement, and its integration into a broader ecosystem of pro-Islamic State websites. The authors detail the archive's contents—ranging from historical 'genesis' files to tactical manuals—and provide policy recommendations for marginalizing such repositories by disrupting the networks and tools used to promote them.

• The 'Cloud Caliphate' is a massive digital repository that grew from 1.3 terabytes in June 2019 to 2.2 terabytes by February 2021, utilizing the open-source file hosting service NextCloud and Cloudflare for hosting.
• The archive serves a sociological purpose by creating a 'national biography' and a shared sense of identity for a decentralized global movement, acting as a site for the 'collective will to remember'.
• The repository is integrated into a 'constellation' of pro-Islamic State websites that act as funnels; the top three referring sites between May and July 2020 were al-Bayan, 'Muslim News', and 'The Punishment', accounting for 46 percent of referral traffic.
• The archive's composition is vast, containing 97,706 folders and files as of June 30, 2020, including 58,898 image files, 10,092 video files, 9,038 applications, 8,963 audio files, and 2,972 text files.
• The archive contains specific folders dedicated to the 'Genesis of the Islamic State' (including Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad and the Mujahideen Shura Council of Iraq) and 'Emirs of Jihad', featuring curated 'seerah' (prophetic biographies) of leaders like Abu Abdallah al-Jabouri and Abu Anas al-Shami.
• The repository includes a 'New Folder' containing slanderous material and curated social media posts designed to discredit al-Qa`ida and its leadership, specifically Ayman al-Zawahiri.
• The archive provides tactical and dangerous information, including instructions for explosive materials, creating chloroform, and guides on surveilling, stabbing, and kidnapping.
• The case of Muhammed al-Azhari, an American charged in May 2020, demonstrates real-world usage of the archive, as FBI searches of his devices revealed he accessed the 'Cloud Caliphate' to consume propaganda.
• The authors recommend that stakeholders marginalize such repositories by identifying and disrupting the individuals administering them and by curbing the dissemination of problematic URLs on social media and messengers.

APA

Ayad, M., Amarasingam, A., & Alexander, A. (2021). The Cloud Caliphate: Archiving the Islamic State in Real-Time. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Cloud-Caliphate.pdf

Chicago

Ayad, Moustafa, Amarnath Amarasingam, and Audrey Alexander. The Cloud Caliphate: Archiving the Islamic State in Real-Time. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2021. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Cloud-Caliphate.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ayad |first1=Moustafa |last2=Amarasingam |first2=Amarnath |last3=Alexander |first3=Audrey |title=The Cloud Caliphate: Archiving the Islamic State in Real-Time |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=May 2021 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Cloud-Caliphate.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ayad2021cloud, author = {Ayad, Moustafa and Amarasingam, Amarnath and Alexander, Audrey}, title = {{The Cloud Caliphate: Archiving the Islamic State in Real-Time}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Cloud-Caliphate.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }