EXPLORING AQ’S JULY 2014 STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN »
Analysis of al-Qa’ida’s strategic communications campaign launched in the wake of the Islamic State’s declaration of a caliphate - Read more...
ANALYSIS: AL-QA’IDA RENEWS ITS ALLEGIANCE TO MULLAH OMAR »
On 20 July 2014, al-Qa’ida’s official media wing, as-Sahab, announced the launch of a new publication. Titled al-Nafir, while the name of this new Arabic-language bulletin may be translated in a number of ways, as used by al-Qa’ida, this term is likely best translated as “a call to arms,” as sounded on battlefields of old by a horn. ... - Read more...
EMIR AL-MU’MININ MULLAH MOHAMED OMAR »
The relationship between the Afghan Taliban and al-Qa’ida has long been murky. But today, deference al-Qa’ida’s senior leaders offer to the so-called “Emir al-Mu’minin” is perhaps more important than at any point since bin Laden subordinated al-Qa’ida to Mullah Omar. ... - Read more...
ON ‘THE NEW JIHAD’ »
Last weekend, The Wall Street Journal published an essay titled “The New Jihad,” in which there are a number of factual and analytic problems. Some are minor; others are tremendously misleading for a public that pays little attention to Islam, Salafism, or Salafi-Jihadism (ie Salafiyya Jihadiyya). - Read more...
TWEE-HAD: ISLAMIC STATE LAUNCHES NEW ENGLISH-LANGUAGE TWITTER ACCT AND E-ZINE »
At a time when PR is a vital element of the Islamic State’s efforts to secure support for its “caliphate,” there are signs the Islamic State’s media wing is encountering problems with the Twitter accounts it uses to generate foreign interest in its endeavors. Still, an account launched several days ago by IS’s multi-language al-Hayat Media Center is helping IS broaden its reach to English-speaking audiences. So too might Dabiq ... - Read more...
‘CALIPH’ IBRAHIM’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS »
Following the Islamic State’s declaration it has established a caliphate, its newly-appointed “caliph” delivered his first address, titled “A Message to the Mujahidin and the Muslim Ummah in the Month of Ramadan.” As the message’s title suggests, jihad is the central theme ... - Read more...
GROWING DISCORDANCE WITHIN THE GLOBAL JIHAD MOVEMENT: ‘THIS IS THE PROMISE OF ALLAH’ »
In a message titled “This Is the Promise of Allah” that was issued on the first day of Ramadan, the Islamic State (formerly the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) declared its establishment of a caliphate ... - Read more...
YOUNG WOMEN FLOCKING TO THE SYRIAN JIHAD »
On April 10, two Austrian girls of Bosnian descent, Sabina Selimovic (age 15) and Samra Kesinovic (16), went missing from their Vienna homes. The two had purchased tickets and flew to Adana in southeast Turkey. Located just 100 km from the Syrian border, Adana is a key transit point for individuals seeking to join the Syrian Jihad. Three days later, they crossed the border with Syria. ... - Read more...
ISLAMIC NGOs AND THE JIHAD IN SYRIA — A LOOK AT FUKARA DER »
My first report about Islamic NGOs and their roles fueling the jihad in Syria did not mention names of the organizations I am currently studying. The following is the first report that reflects some of my findings pursuant research conducted by myself and others at Kronos Advisory, the focus of which is on an array of NGOs raising support for various elements active in Syria. ... - Read more...
ON AHMAD MUSA JIBRIL »
Breaking news this evening reveals Shiraz Maher and other ICSR (Kings College) researchers have published a report that provides substantial coverage of the activities of an individual we have been monitoring in recent months, Ahmad Musa Jibril, whom one of my colleagues and I assess has/had the potential to become the next online English-speaking jihadi cleric celebrity a la Anwar al-Awlaki. ... - Read more...