Recruitment Poster

Clearly intended for the purpose of recruitment, the dominant element in the image is the bottom caption, which against the dripping pool of blood reads: “jarah al-umma al-thakla tunadi…fa-habu ya bani qawmi usudan” (“the injuries of a bereaved nation call out…so grant [me] lions [fighters], O my people”). The text on the left tries to further appeal to new recruits: “ni‘ma qatil, li-annaka nasruna, qatil nida’ al-kufr fi kull al-husun; ni‘ma qawim, li-annaka fajruna, qawim wa-amtir min sulalat sahyun” (“What an excellent warrior you are! Because you are our victory, fight the call of infidelity in every stronghold; what an excellent fighter you are! Because you are our daybreak [i.e., new beginning], fight and rain out the scions of Zion”).

The armed figure in the center is raising his right index finger in a motion carried out during the utterance of the shahada (Islamic testimony of faith holding that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger), which is spelled out in the image no less than five times: in the top right logo, on the black banner behind the center armed fighter, on his black head scarf, and twice in top left picture. On the black flag behind the armed fighter appears an additional caption, which is a partial quote from Qur’anic verse 3:160: “in yansurukum Allah fa-la ghaliba lakum” (“if God assists you, there is no one who would be victorious over you”). The logo in the top right has an interesting twist to it. While it appears to be the logo of the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI)/al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI)/Jama’at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (JTJ), at its bottom it bears the words: “al-battar al-shami” (“the Syrian sharp-edged sword”). This is likely a reference to the creator of the image.