The world got its first look Saturday at the shadowy, self-proclaimed "caliph" of all Muslims — Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
"Obey me," the Islamic terror kingpin demanded in what appears to be his first public appearance, a videotaped sermon.
As head of the Sunni extremist group Islamic State, al-Baghdadi has previously shunned the limelight, even as his militia rampaged for a month through northern Syria and Iraq.
Only two photographs were known to exist of the creepy jihadi, despite his group's wide use of Twitter, Facebook and other social media to spread images of executions and calls to war.
On Saturday, he emerged from the shadows in a 21-minute video posted on Web sites known to be used by Islamic State.
Senior Iraqi intelligence officials say that an initial analysis of the video confirms that the speaker in the video, believed to have been produced Friday, is indeed al-Baghdadi.
At the beginning of the video, al-Baghdadi slowly climbs the pulpit at the Great Mosque in Mosul, an Iraqi city of 2 million overrun by his militants last month.
He is dressed in black robes and a black turban — a sign that he claims descent from the Prophet Muhammad. He has dark eyes, thick eyebrows and a full black beard with streaks of gray on the sides.
As the call to prayer is heard, he cleans his teeth with a miswak, a special type of stick that devout Muslims use to clean their teeth and freshen their breath.
"God has enabled your fighter brothers, and supported them with victory," the robed man says in Arabic. "If you find me right, support me, and if you find me wrong, advise me."
"It is a burden to accept this responsibility to be in charge of you," he says. "I am not better than you or more virtuous than you. If you see me on the right path, help me. If you see me on the wrong path, advise me and halt me. And obey me as far as I obey God."
He goes on to demand holy war, the strict interpretation of Islamic law, and the philosophy that the establishment of an Islamic caliphate is a duty incumbent on all Muslims.
Al-Baghdadi's previous failure to appear in public had weakened his stature, according to Aymenn al-Tamimi, an expert on militant factions in Syria and Iraq.
"He had declared himself caliph, he couldn't hide away. He had to make an appearance at some time," al-Tamimi said.
Traditionally, a Muslim ruler is expected to live among the people, and to preach the sermon before communal Friday prayers.
"The fact that he has done this without any consequences in Mosul's biggest mosque is a sign of [Islamic State's] power within the city," added al-Tamimi.
Also Saturday, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki fired the chief of the army's ground forces and the head of the federal police as part of his promised shake-up of Iraq's security apparatus, which had nearly collapsed in the face of the militants' surge.
An Iraqi government military spokesman, Lt. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said al-Maliki signed the papers to retire Lt. Gen. Ali Ghaidan, commander of the army's ground forces, and Lt. Gen. Mohsen al-Kaabi, the chief of the federal police.
Al-Moussawi said both men would leave their jobs with their pensions in place. No replacements have been named.
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