Five Things That Managed to Surprise Me in al-Qaida’s Latest Issue of Inspire Magazine
If you have been living under a rock and didn’t know, jihad has moved into the modern age. Terrorist groups push out propaganda using the same mediums available to the rest of us (perhaps even using the medium of Medium?).
One method of mass disseminating their propaganda and messaging is through the use of online published magazines. ISIL has Dabiq. The Taliban has Azan. And AQ has Inspire. These are not amateur publications — they are glossy and eye catching and stylized. And they are available everywhere.
Earlier this month, AQ released their 15th issue of Inspire, their Spring 2016 edition. The magazine contains the regular little tidbits of religious callings, jihadi Betty Crocker bomb recipes, and detailed accounting of American atrocities. But there were a few things I noticed this time that surprised me, even 15 issues down the road.
5. The Imagery Is Stunning
I don’t know if they steal these pictures from the Internet (5 ‘n Dime searches far and wide, too, but in our case it’s fair use) or if they are creating them through their Al-Malahem Media unit, but they are eye catching and highly professional. The time lapse image of the ticket booth in Times Square stopped me dead in my tracks (although I do think that one is repurposed) and the blood splatter image of Bill Gates is disturbing and impactful. I hate to admit it but these guys know publishing.
4. The Are Watching Us, Watching Them
Apparently the folks of AQ putting together Inspire have a group called Open Source Jihad (OSJ), who when they aren’t on a Starbucks run, are pulling quotes said about them by our leadership and journalists. They even have a section titled “government and media responses: Inspire Issue 14” which highlights summaries and analysis of the previous publication. Hopefully this article doesn’t make the list for “government and media responses: Inspire 15.”
3. They Think Hitler and Stalin Were Bad Guys
This one really shocked me. Hitler and Stalin killed people who weren’t like them to expand their political influence. Hitler killed Jews! And AQ thinks he’s a bad guy? In an article in the current issue of Inspire, AQ tries to make the argument that President Obama is all about “managing America’s injustice towards Muslims.” Which could be seen as funny considering the argument of Obama’s critics in America is that he is Muslim and supporting his own kind. Anyway, in making the argument, the article states, “You only had to look and hear the words of Hitler, Stalin and other past dictators to make your mind [sic] on their hideous acts.”
2. They Are Still Really, Really Hung Up on Their Dead Leaders And Past Actions
Sprinkled throughout the magazine are references to Osama bin Ladin, who was killed in a raid in 2011 (I counted six pictures of him), and Anwar al-Awlaki, the American imam also killed in 2011. There are pictures of the burned out Pentagon and smoke billowing from the Twin Towers (I found four of these). They have a picture of the Tsarnaev brothers who bombed the Boston marathon in 2013. There is a picture of Nadal Hasan, who perpetrated the Fort Hood attack in 2009. They have a picture of Faisal Shahzad, who tried-and failed-to bomb Times Square in 2010. They even highlight a profile of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — mastermind of the 1993 and 2001 World Trade Center attacks, and the 1994 Bojinka plot — who has been in U.S. custody since 2003.
1. They Know We Are Scared
In big, bold, red letters they highlight a statistic from The Washington Post. Did you know that 77% of Americans are not confident that their government can protect them from a lone wolf attack?
They did.
And they are absolutely marketing that fear.
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