Islamic State plans to reinstate the ancient Islamic dinar by minting its own gold, silver and copper coins, according to SITE Intelligence Group.
IS, which is thought to be the wealthiest terror group in the world, controls large swathers of Iraq and Syria, announced on Thursday its plans to reinstate an ancient Islamic dinar currency using gold and silver coins in a move "purely dedicated to God."
The currency will free IS members from the "tyrannical monetary system that was imposed on the Muslims and was a reason for their enslavement and impoverishment, and the wasting the fortunes of the Ummah, making it easy prey in the hands of the Jews and Crusaders."
IS will circulate six different coin denominations of its currency, the dinar or dirham, which it said will help buy supplies for the allegedly expanding caliphate, according to a statement issued on a jihadi forum.
The militant group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdady recently issued an audio recording claiming the Caliphate had spread to Yemen, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Egypt's Sinai peninsula. Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the most active militant group fighting against Egyptian security forces in Sinai, has recently pledged allegiance to IS.
A US-led international coalition is leading military air operations against IS stronghold in Iraq and Syria.
However, paying for it will not be a problem. IS is thought to make as much as US$2.5 million a day from the oil refineries under its control in Syria and Iraq, as well as receiving funding from supporters in the Gulf.
