Harmony Program

The CTC launched the Harmony Program in 2005 in order to release and analyze documents from the Department of Defense’s Harmony database. The focus of this program is to contextualize the inner-functioning of al-Qa’ida, its associated movement, and other security threats through primary source documents. Harmony products released by the CTC are typically accompanied by an analytical report and the primary source material from which its conclusions are based. By releasing this material, the CTC aims to make these sources, which are captured in the course of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other theaters, available to other scholars for further study.

While captured documents offer unique insight into the decision-making process of terrorist groups they are most valuable when contextualized with information drawn from other sources. Scholars and practitioners should be aware that analyzing such data is fraught with risk. Documents in the Harmony database were collected on the battlefield unscientifically. There is no way to know just how representative documents captured by U.S. forces are of the larger body of information produced by al‐Qa`ida or other insurgents. Likewise, the vast database in which they are stored is imperfect and virtually impossible to search systematically. Readers and researchers should therefore be wary of conclusions drawn from Harmony documents alone.

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Untitled [Memorandum from the Office of the Wali, Raqqa Province]

The document is a memorandum issued by the provincial leader’s office in the Islamic State’s Raqqa province. Numbered 6202, it...

NMEC-2017-115525
Letter from Abu Fahd al-Tunisi

This document is a letter written by Abu-Fahd al-Tunisi that addresses whether a woman who lives in IS territory can...

NMEC-2015-311501
Written Pledge: Raqqa Province

This document is a pledge signed by an individual who is transporting female workers and includes several rules the driver...

NMEC-2017-110372
Subject: The Reactivation (of the Female Division) in Some Cities of the Islamic State: Department of the Hisba

This document is a letter sent by the Diwan of Hisbah to a number of leaders in the Islamic State’s...

NMEC-2017-406558
Guidance: Commanding General Committee

This is a memorandum issued by the General Commanding Committee of the Islamic State. Numbered 117, it requests that all...

NMEC-2017-111961
Fatwa 56 – Question: What is the ruling on wearing western clothing that incorporates ‘images of human beings’ and clothing that exposes private parts?

A fatwa issued by the Islamic State’s Committee on Research and Fatwa Issuance answering the question “What is the ruling...

NMEC-2015-203984_Fatwa56
Fatwa 55 – Question: What is the ruling on low-hanging clothing?

A fatwa issued by the Islamic State’s Committee on Research and Fatwa Issuance answering the question “What is the ruling...

NMEC-2015-203984_Fatwa55
Fatwa 48 – Question: What is the ruling on permissibility of travel for Muslims at large?

A fatwa issued by the Islamic State’s Committee on Research and Fatwa Issuance answering the question “What is the ruling...

NMEC-2015-203984_Fatwa48

Harmony Program

Featured Documents

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Zawahiri’s Letter to Zarqawi

Letter from UBL to `Atiyatullah Al-Libi 4

Lessons Learned from the Jihad Ordeal in Syria

Filter Harmony Documents

Untitled [Memorandum from the Office of the Wali, Raqqa Province]

Letter from Abu Fahd al-Tunisi

Written Pledge: Raqqa Province

Subject: The Reactivation (of the Female Division) in Some Cities of the Islamic State: Department of the Hisba

Guidance: Commanding General Committee

Fatwa 56 – Question: What is the ruling on wearing western clothing that incorporates ‘images of human beings’ and clothing that exposes private parts?

Fatwa 55 – Question: What is the ruling on low-hanging clothing?

Fatwa 48 – Question: What is the ruling on permissibility of travel for Muslims at large?

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