behind the

public relations campaign

of

isis

The actions of the radical Islamist group ISIS in Syria and

Iraq have drawn international condemnation and military
intervention. Why have thousands of Muslims, domestic
and foreign, pledged their lives and deaths to the cause?

by Will True
October 10th, 2014

n mid-July, a video featuring

Canadian-born Andre Poulin
began spreading around the
Internet. Poulin, who converted to the religion of Islam six
years prior and vaguely resembles
John Lennon, looks directly into
the camera with an assault rifle
resting against his right shoulder
and the flag of the Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) waving
over his left. He implores Muslims
of the Western world to abandon their lives and come to Syria
to fulfill their religious obligation and fight against the kuffar
(non-Muslims).
Later in the video, Poulin is seen
firing a rocket toward a Syrian
airfield before storming the battlefield. The camera is rocked by an
explosion, and a dust cloud covers
the screen. In the next scene,
Poulin is found slumped against a
wall, unmoving. His death is celebrated as that of a martyr by the
faceless narrator of the video.
Since their declaration of statehood in June, ISIS has experienced an influx of foreign-born
fighters. By mid-September, ISISs
foreign mujahideen (soldiers of
Islam) numbered 15,000 in Syria,

ISISs claim to religious authority

is explicitly stated in their propaganda, and relies on passages from
the Quran and widely known hadiths. Using these core texts, ISIS
creates complex logical arguments
supporting the formation of a true
khilafa (caliphate, or supreme
Islamic state).

including 2,000 Westerners. These

outsiders join the ranks of Iraqi
and Syrian radical Islamists in
their 12,000-plus square miles of
conquered territory.
But what prompts people to fight
for ISIS? How does the Islamic
State convince Muslims to abandon their daily lives and take up
arms against their ideological
opponents? What do they have to
offer to the citizens of their state?
The Institute for the Study of War
(ISW) has done extensive research
on the ideology and reasoning
behind ISISs publicity campaign
and internal machinations, and

the answer is deceptively simple: a

strong claim to religious authority,
and effective government.
As the media is fond of noting,
ISISs public relations campaign is
of an extraordinarily high quality.
The propaganda videos produced
by ISIS, which is also known as the
Islamic State, are expertly edited and place a high premium on
emotional manipulation. However,
their most impressive work can
be found in their monthly publication Dabiq, an English-language
magazine. It is beautifully crafted,
brutally graphic and an intricately
detailed representation of ISIS activity and their Islamist ideology.
In her report Dabiq: The Strategic Messaging of the Islamic State,
Harleen Gambhir analyzed the
first two editions of the magazine
for the ISW. The small town of
Dabiq is located in Syria, where
the West and Islam meet in apocalyptic battle according to hadith
(traditional Islamic literature).
Titling the magazine with this endof-days rhetoric implies that ISIS
wants to be seen as the jihadist
group that will lead the Muslim
community into worldwide domination as the result of the Wests
destruction at Dabiq.

Aside from justifying their religious authority, Dabiqs secondary

purpose is to bring Muslims into
their ranks from all over the world.
In the beginning of each issue,
Dabiqs staff asserts that it is every
Muslims religious duty to perform
hijrah (migration) and come to the
Islamic State.ISIS assures immigrating Muslims that they and
their families will be well taken
care of.
To emphasize this, Dabiq features
accounts of their military victories, assuring their readers that this
is what awaits them in the Islamic
State. By contrast, Dabiq also publishes graphic photographics of
dead opposition fighters, sending
the message that apostates and

nonbelievers are destined for the

same fate.
If a Muslim cannot perform hijrah,
it is their duty to hold localized
bayat (pledges of allegiance) to
ISIS and its khalifah (religious
leader) Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. If
possible, these bayat should be recorded to promote a sense of unity
among Muslims and fill the hearts
of the kuffar with painful agony.
This is a sentiment echoed by

If you cannot
fight, then you can
give money. If you
cannot give money,
then you can assist
in technology.
-- Andre Poulin, deceased
Canadian-born ISIS fighter

Andre Poulin in his posthumous

propaganda video: If you cannot
fight, then you can give money. If
you cannot give money, then you
can assist in technology.
In its Middle East security report
ISIS Governance in Syria, the
ISW examines the government
that was installed in their regional capital of Raqqa, which
was captured in January of 2014.
Authors Charles Caris and Samuel
Reynolds find that ISIS has built
a holistic system of governance,
offering services and goods once
offered by the Syrian government before civil war threw the
country into turmoil. This model
of government is touted by ISIS
as a significant reason for fellow
Muslims to join them in their war
against the kuffar.
Unlike similar radical Islamist sects
like al-Qaeda, which try to establish
religious authority first and foremost, ISIS believes that a functional government is the first step
toward establishing a legitimate

caliphate. To ensure that their state

is home to like-minded Muslims
only, ISIS forces rival rebel groups
out of newly conquered territory
and either excommunicates or
executes apostates and dissenters.
One of the first things ISIS does
upon entering a new location is
hold an outreach meeting called a
Dawa, in which ISIS teaches the
public about their brand of Islam in
a welcoming manner, so as not to
stir up controversy.
When ISIS informally conquers
a city or province, they establish
rudimentary governmental offices
in two branches: administrative
and service-oriented. The administrative branch establishes their
brand of Islam as law among the
people, establishing a court system, a police force, and an Islamic
education system.
Additionally, the citizens of wartorn regions benefit greatly from
ISIS Muslim services, their
term for human services. They
provide their Muslim constituents
with any basic needs they require,
including food, gasoline and medical aid. They also control several
bakeries which provide cheap
food for the local population.

more technical services. Incoming

Muslim professionals could bolster
the sustainability of the Islamic
State and further increase the
power of their caliphate.
Every week, it seems, a new twist
in the ISIS propaganda narrative
rears its head. Whether it be a new
issue of Dabiq, a journalist reciting
ISIS talking points under threat of
death, or the brutal beheading of
a Western aid worker, ISIS finds
new ways to spread their message
across the world.
This brutal message of religious
extremism appears to be working
anecdotally, giving the messengers
that much more power. In one
story, a Chicago teen was arrested
on October 6th at the airport for
attempting to join the extremist
group. In another, two teenage
girls fled their home country
of Austria to join ISIS, and are
now married to ISIS fighters and
expecting children. These stories
help spread ISISs content through
more traditional media, and play a
significant factor in their recruitment of Muslim extremists worldwide.

After gaining full control of the

territory, ISIS tightens its grip
with stricter religious enforcement
and further-reaching human service efforts. Instead of letting electricity and water systems fall to
ruin, they repair damaged power
lines and dams, keeping the local
population somewhat complacent.

On September 10th, President

Barack Obama announced to
the public that the United States
would begin conducting airstrikes
on strategic ISIS locations in
Iraq and Syria. Joining the US in
action against the perceived international threat is a coalition of
forces from countries as diverse
as the United Kingdom, Australia,
Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

However, in eliminating ideological opposition, they often eliminate the technical expertise that
would be needed to expand their
efforts. To address this, ISIS calls
upon foreign Muslims not only
to fight but to help maintain their

Just prior to that, ISIS released

the third issue of Dabiq. In the
following month, no new editions
of the magazine appeared online,
leading some to conclude that
ISISs propaganda efforts had
taken a hit. However, on October

14th, the fourth issue of Dabiq

hit the web, this time covered
by a picture of the Vatican with
the flag of the Islamic State flying
overhead. For the time being, the
war against ISIS will be fought on
two fronts: on the battlefield, and
in digital media.