On November 10, 2014, the Sinai-based group, Jama‘at Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis (Supporters of Jerusalem Group - JABM), was one of several jihadi groups that declared allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after he was designated as “Caliph” by the group that calls itself the “Islamic State.”1 In doing so, JABM responded to Abu Muhammad al- ‘Adnani, the Islamic State’s spokesman, who had called upon all Muslims, including jihadi groups worldwide, to unite behind the Islamic State when he proclaimed its establishment on June 29, 2014.2 On November 13, 2014, al- Baghdadi accepted JABM’s bay`a (and those of others who did so on the same day). By virtue of accepting (qubul) the pledges, al-Baghdadi claimed “the expansion of the Islamic State to new countries.” This action annulled the names of the groups and declared them to be new provinces for the Islamic State. 3 Accordingly, JABM’s name was dropped, replaced by “wilayat sina,” the Islamic State’s province of Sinai (PS).