There is a rich visual component to the online activities of the global jihad, a component that the translation and/or analysis of text will obviously miss. These images do not place themselves on jihadi websites. On the forums, users may use imagery to augment a discussion, or the imagery may be the focus of the discussion. Such imagery serves as a graphical representation of the issues of interest to the community at that time. In addition, some forums allow users to adorn their posts with signature images in addition to the more common signature text (e.g. a quote from the Quran or from a jihadi leader). These images are clearly a form of self-expression, though we should not rush to a conclusion about the intentions of any particular user without first trying to correlate the visual imagery with other data (e.g. text they have posted, frequency/duration/intensity of involvement on the forum, not to mention their offline activities and associations). Ideally one would combine an analysis of visual content with analysis of text, survey's of forum members, and interviews with individual forum activists. The last two items are particularly problematic. For the academic researcher there are potentially insurmountable ethical and regulatory issues, while for the intelligence agent it may be undesirable to gain a reputation as one who asks many questions. Nevertheless this visual data is readily available, easily interpreted, and it would be foolish to not take advantage of it to increase our understanding.
300 forum discussions were collected from ten jihadi forums last week. The discussions were selected solely on the basis of their having activity (e.g. someone said something, posted some information) in the 24-hour period prior to the researcher arriving at the particular site. The archived discussions were searched for file extensions associated with common graphic files (.jpg and .gif). Images that make up the structure of the websites were eliminated from consideration, as were duplicates. The remaining files were roughly categorized as user icons; action/after-action; tradecraft; enemies; historical figures; shmoop; banner ads; logos and letterhead; individual jihadi leaders; groups of leaders; Islamic imagery; and agitprop. These categories are very tentative, but they suffice for the week in question. User icons, logos, and letterheads will not be addressed at this time.
The category of terrorist tradecraft was represented by an extensive series of images related to orienteering both by compass and by GPS.
Action/after-action imagery included two communiques presented as images instead of as text:
Additional images in this category include an examination of damage done to a mine-resistant patrol vehicle in Afghanistan, a scene of armed young men in the street (Iraq?), a photoshopped image of what it would look like if jihadis leafleted cars at a US military base, and images from the recent attack on a NATO logistics center in Pakistan:
Historical figures came about as a category because of a discussion of a particular book - I'm not sure if in a larger study such a category would be needed. In the enemies category both Shia and Sunni enemies of the jihad are represented:
What, you may ask, is shmoop? Shmoop is a colloquial term that is frequently a reference to excessively sweet interactions between a pair of humans. I extend the meaning of shmoop to imagery appearing from time to time on jihadi forums, imagery that despite it's seemingly feminine nature may not, in fact, be the work of a woman. In short, shmoopy images are those which are very "pretty" in what is an otherwise not very pretty environment. The following are representative.
Banner ads are just that - horizontal images, usually animated, which advertise something of importance, such as a new message from an acknowledged leader of the jihad. On being clicked the forum visitor will be directed to the discussion that was created in order to post links to the new message. Banner ads during the collection period included those promoting messages from bin Laden, Zawahiri, al-Libi, the Taliban, the remnants of AQ in Iraq, among others. Due to the size of these files, only one is presented here:
Most of the remaining graphics I will discuss were posted either as a particular user's signature file, or as a file which other members of the community might use for the same purpose. The images of various jihadi leaders will be discussed separately, though they are also used primarily as signature files.
First we have a graphic which appears to tell the viewer to put down his school books, pick up a Quran and an AK-47, and follow in the footsteps of the perpetrators of the 9-11 attacks:
The next image also features a reference to 9-11, along with images of selected members of the cell that carried out the attack as well as a couple of prominent jihadi leaders:
Next we have two images that are indicative of both jihadi fascination with weapons, and their lack of real knowledge of same. The image on the left is problematic for anyone who knows a thing or two about firearms, and the image on the right mates the black flag of jihad with a halberd, a quintessentially Christian/European weapon that would have done a find job of slaying Mohammedans:
As individual jihadis become more active on the forums and they receive more positive feedback from their companions online, it is not unusual for them to develop signature files that effectively turn their online identity into a kind of brand. Certainly Irhabi007 did that - as did a number of other members of his cohort - and today we see something similar with an individual who goes by the name Insurgent:
Finally, some users avail themselves of classic Islamic imagery, such as this:
I have on more than one occasion accused jihadis of practicing a kind of idol worship - something which ought not to be done by members of an Abrahamaic religious tradition. One might expect such adoration to be discouraged by the leaders who are the object of such worship, but I can't recall the last time any of them actually did so.
Leaders venerated in the past week include Abdullah Azzam, President Bashir of Somalia, Emir Doku, Qutb, the Blind Sheikh, Osama bin Laden, and Zarqawi.
I find three things of interest in this regard: first, images of bin Laden occurred only slightly more often than those of the Blind Sheikh during the week in question, despite the former's recent communiques and the latter's imprisonment and silence; second, images of Zawahiri were totally absent among signature files, and appeared only once in a banner ad; and third, images of Zarqawi were three times more common than images of bin Laden.
I don't think it is too much of a stretch to suggest that Zawahiri fails to inspire, and that bin Laden is barely able to keep up with a dead man.
Posted on 23 March 2009 @ 00:25