This paper explores how the group that calls itself the Islamic State (IS) positions itself on the questions of nationalism and ethnicity by offering analysis of two Kurdish-language propaganda videos released by the group in 2015 and 2016. Released in the middle of IS’s battles with Kurdish nationalist movements in Iraq and Syria, the two videos attack Kurdish nationalist groups and ideology, seeking to discredit them in the eyes of average Muslim Kurds in the four Middle Eastern countries where the Kurds are divided: Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran. Interestingly, the videos also offer an interesting window into IS’s general position on nationalism and ethnic culture and its desired form of polity: ummah. The study argues that as a Salafi Jihadi organization fighting to establish an Islamic caliphate that would ideally span the Muslim world and beyond, IS categorically rejects nationalist ideology as it stands in stark contrast to its ideal, universal notion of pan-Muslim ummah. IS conceives nationalism, with its roots in modern Europe, as a form of jahiliyya or ignorance, thus in opposition to hakimiyyah or God’s rule that is manifested in the form of pan-Muslim ummah or caliphate. Based on this ideological attitude, IS strongly rejects Kurdish nationalism and nationalist groups, viewing the ideology as an attempt to split the Muslim ummah. However, the group signals a tolerant position toward ethnic culture and identity. This tolerance is projected through appreciation for Kurds’ contribution to the Islamic civilization, and the fact that the videos are in Kurdish language and some of the militants wear Kurdish costumes. This positioning is a calculated strategy with an eye to recruitment as IS seeks to distinguish itself positively from the dominant state nationalisms that have oppressed Kurds over the course of a century. This study seeks to go beyond the current scope of the bulk of the research on IS that tends to largely focus on the group from a counter-terrorism perspective and attempts to shed light on key tenets of the group’s ideology particularly insofar as it relates to nationalism and treatment of ethnic diversity of the Muslim populations.