In the image appear top officials of the al-Shabab group, including Muktar Robow, Sheikh Hasan Dahir ‘Aweys, Shaykh Abd al-Qadir Mu’min Al-Somali and U.S.-born Omar Hamami (also known as Abu Mansur al-Amriki). At this al-Shabab meeting that took place on May 12, 2011 in Afgoye town west of the Somali capital Mogadishu, the group vowed to avenge Usama bin Ladin’s death.
The black banner in the image, includes the seal of the Prophet. According to prophetic tradition (hadith), the black flag was the battle flag of the Prophet Muhammad and it was carried into battle by many of his companions. In the contemporary Islamist movement, the black flag with the shahada (Islamic testimony of faith holding that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger) is used to evoke notions of jihad and of reestablishing the Islamic Caliphate.
Behind the leaders is a large image of the al-Aqsa mosque and the slogans: (large red) “kulluna usama” (“we are all Usama”); and (small yellow print) “fal-sa‘id man ittakhadhahu Allah shahidan” (“and so, happy is he whom God has taken as a martyr”). The last saying has been used by Bin Ladin himself.
