The caption at the top reads: “jaljalat ‘aliyan, fi al-ufq sayhat al-ubat, wa-inbarat tusmi‘ al-baghin angham al-mamat” (“high up on the horizon the screams of the unwilling loudly shrill, and they sound to the willing [like] melodies of death”). This is the first verse of a famous nashid (religious a capella song), sung by Abu ‘Ali. Watermarked in the background is the text of the shahada (Islamic testimony of faith holding that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger) and a representation of fighters wielding a black banner, also bearing the text of the shahada.
In the bottom right corner appears an image of the Dome of the Rock and the al-Aqsa mosque. Reverence for these sites is shared by all Muslims across sectarian lines, though they hold special significance for Palestinian groups (symbolizing Palestinian statehood). The Dome of the Rock was built in 692 A.D. by the Umayyid caliph ‘Abd al-Malik on the site where Muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven in his mi‘raj (night journey), and it is considered the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and al-Madina. The image includes a picture of the silhouette of fighters progressing in the direction of the holy sites.
The caption at the bottom reads: “nuqatil fi al-‘iraq wa-‘uyununa ‘ala bayt al-maqdis” (“we are fighting in Iraq while our eyes are on Jerusalem”). This caption and the appearance of the Dome of the Rock tie together the two theaters of jihad, Iraq and Israel/Palestine, as part of the global jihad movement. Furthermore, coupling the caption with the black banner logo at the top left could also mean that the image may also be representing al-Qa’ida in Iraq. The caption in red, on the right side of the image, reads: “jaljalat wa-inbarat” (“shrills and cadences”). The red is significant, as it is the color fire, blood, passion, impulse and danger.
