This specific image has all the trappings of the jihadist “language of death.” A framed image of the deceased appears against a sky blue background speckled with clouds. The figure’s name and title (al-Shaykh Abu Hamza al-Muhajir) appear under the frame, and end with the traditional prayer phrase for the dead: “rahimahu allah” (“may God have mercy on him”). At the bottom is a rhymed poem entitled “dawlat al-islam” (“the state of Islam,” or “the Islamic State” [i.e., Islamic State of Iraq (ISI)]). At the top left, a black banner partially conceals the logo for the al-Qa’ida in Iraq (AQI) media outlet al-Furqan.
Abu Hamza (also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri) assumed direction of AQI when Abu Mus‘ab al-Zarqawi was killed in July 2006. Abu Hamza was killed in April 2010. The text under the two larger captions is a nashid (jihadi song) that was included in a video production by al-Furqan entitled “‘aman li-dawlat al-islam” (“two years for the State of Islam”).
