This is/was the Facebook page of the group Fath al-Islam, whose name means Islam’s conquest/triumph. The captions read, from top to bottom: “nusrat al-gharib fi ard al-salib; al-an, fath al-islam; ana laha an ta‘uda…wa-tahizza arkan al-wujud” (“aiding the foreigner in the Crusader’s land; and now, Fath al-Islam; it is time for it to return…and shake the foundation of existence”). The page introduces the group’s goals and tactics (see http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=146750058722229&set=t.100002175486195&pid=293925&id=145444058852829).
The image includes common jihadi visual elements to express the group’s religious identity and militant nature, including two images of a Qur’an with an assault rifle flanking the top slogan. Also significant is the fact that the name of the group appears in red and is dripping drops of blood against a yellow background. The red is the color of fire, blood, passion, impulse and danger and it is fundamentally linked to the vital force and to warlike qualities. The yellow expresses a broad range of symbolism, both heavenly and infernal. It is the color of gold, the sun, butter and honey, but it is also the color of sulfur and flames that consume. Thus, yellow can refer to negative attributes as cowardice and treason of the enemy, or positive ones, like divine strength.
The bright rays of the sun are present to the right of the bleeding caption, reinforcing the notions of divine presence, intervention and life after death for those who are martyred.
The figure in the image looks like one of the group’s leaders, ‘Abd al-Rahman ‘Awad. He was killed on 13 August 2010 by the Lebanese military, three years after the long battle in Nahr al-Bared near Tripoli in northern Lebanon in 2007.
