Images of mountains are a common motif in jihadi visual propaganda and may allude to regions with completed or ongoing operations, such as Afghanistan, Chechnya and Kashmir. More generally, however, mountains evoke divine omnipotence, eternity and grandeur.
According to hadith, the black flag was the battle flag of the Prophet Muhammad and it was carried into battle by many of his companions. The image of the black flag, usually bearing the shahada (Islamic testimony of faith holding that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger), has been used as a symbol of religious revolt and engagement in battle (i.e., jihad). In the contemporary Islamist movement, the black flag is used to evoke notions of jihad and of reestablishing the Islamic Caliphate.
Although not shown here, this image initially appeared with the words: “ud‘u li-ikhwanikum al-mujahidin fi mu’assasat al-malahim lil-intaj al-i‘lami, al-masdar: markaz al-fajr lil-i‘lam” (“pray for your mujahid [fighting] brethren at al-Malahim Media Production Foundation; source: al-Fajr Media Center”). The caption in the image is a partial quote from a Qur’anic verse (Q 30:47), which reads: “wa-kana haqqan ‘alayna nasr al-mu’minin” (“it is our duty to assist/render the believers victorious”).
