The dominant element in this image is the short prayer, which reads: “allahumma, insir al-mujahidin fi kull makan, thabbithum wa-aghnimum wa-at‘imhum wa-kun ma‘ahum, ya Allah” (“O God, render the mujahidin [fighters] everywhere victorious, strengthen their resolve, give them the spoils of war, and be with them, O God”). The designer of the image put together a number of pictures from different jihadi theaters, including pictures of deceased Chechen leader al-Khattab and Usama bin Ladin, as well as unidentified masked figures. While participating in jihad imbues an individual with important religious credibility, death in battle provides immortality, as the deceased is ranked a martyr. This is particularly true for widely recognized jihadi leaders. With martyrdom, their personalities are elevated to the status of mythical heroes, on par with famous historical warriors and the martyrs of Islamic tradition. Indeed, their martyrdom not only further legitimizes their cause and their actions, but in many cases, the individuals become motifs in their movement’s visual propaganda.
