The American flag, or parts thereof (such as the stars and stripes), are widely used in jihadi propaganda to evoke negative sentiments towards U.S. foreign policy and military campaigns. The stars and stripes are also used to color other symbols in an image, thereby linking the symbols to U.S. foreign policy and military intervention in the Muslim world. Here, the idea is portrayed through the image of coffins draped with U.S. flags and spelled out in the slogan: “narfudu al-ihatilal bi-hadd al-sayf, wal-sura shahida” (“we resist the occupation by the blade of the sword, and the picture attests to that”). The red of the phrase “bi-hadd al-sayf” is the color of fire, blood, passion, impulse and danger. It is fundamentally linked to the vital force and to warlike qualities.
