Militant Imagery Project

The use of propaganda and imagery by terrorist groups has long been an understudied dimension of the broader field of political violence. This project explores the use of imagery and visual themes by militant groups, focusing largely on jihadist media production. Jihadist organizations and individuals inspired by their message are prolific producers and distributors of visual propaganda, and their efforts have expanded exponentially online. However, these images frequently utilize themes which can be inscrutable to those not familiar with the sub-culture. It is our hope that this project will provide academics, practitioners, and students with a basic contextual understanding of the ideas these images convey before they turn to the larger questions of why they are employed, how they work, and what responses they may elicit.

The First Edition of this project was completed in 2006. The second phase (2010-2013) included indexing the project’s initial images, expanding and incorporating new images, and putting all of the images online in a searchable format. Particular attention was given to groups who use images to further financial, material, and ideological support for violence. The imagery dataset provides not just a textual analysis, but also full translation, if texts are part of the image, and a search engine for those interested in specific visual motifs. While by no means an exhaustive list, we feel it provides a sample of the most influential and prominent images and themes. We hope it will serve as a useful tool for practitioners, academics and the general public. Contingent upon funding and interest, we hope to update the dataset to highlight visual themes of additional militant groups in the future.

Jaish-e-Muhammad Banner
The Urdu-language Pakistani weekly magazine Haftroza Al-Qalam, which belongs to the al-Qa’ida-linked jihadist organization Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM), published an article in...
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Abu Mus‘ab al-Suri DVD Cover
The image here is a DVD cover of a recording of Abu Mus‘ab al-Suri, a top jihadi strategist. He is...
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Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi & American Flag
The image portrays Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi, the former head of al-Qa`ida in Iraq, shooting the American flag, cutting out the...
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AQAP “Christmas Day” Banner
The image is taken from an al-Qa‘ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) statement that celebrates the would-be “Christmas Day” suicide-bomber...
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Elif Medya Enformasyon Grubu Image
This image was produced by Alif Media, the Islamic Jihad Union media company. At the top appears the media company’s...
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Islamic Jihad Union Video Capture
While participating in jihad gives a jihadist important religious credibility, death in battle provides immortality, as the deceased is ranked...
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AQAP Badr al-Riyad Video Cover
While participating in jihad gives a jihadist important religious credibility, death in battle provides immortality, as the deceased is ranked...
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Al-Jama‘a Al-Islamiyya Propaganda
The image is the cover of a document analyzing/describing the failures of American intelligence, particularly the CIA. As provided in...
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