Visual Analysis of ISIS Discourse Strategies and Types in Dabiq and Rumiyah Online Magazines

Abstract

Dabiq and Rumiyah are two professional online magazines that the Islamic State in Iraq and Sham (ISIS) established between June 2014 and September 2017 to support its broadcasting media. This study examines the visual discourse strategies used in Dabiq and Rumiyah and the association between the discourse types and the visual resources in the two magazines. The study finds that Dabiq and Rumiyah communicate ISIS's messages through five common visual strategies: legitimation, false dilemma, obligation, derogation, and persuasion. Distinctively, Dabiq augmented ISIS discourse, while Rumiyah strove to reassure ISIS's imagined community of ISIS victories. The study concludes that while the discourse of both magazines is mostly descriptive, Rumiyah evoked instructional discourse to educate readers on lone-wolf terror techniques.

ORCID

Yasser Abuelmakarem A. Abdelrahim https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2927-477X

Notes

¹ Dabiq is a place in Aleppo, in northern Syria. Dabiq was selected for the magazine name because it is mentioned to be the place of “great battles” between Muslims and Romans, according to one Islamic saying (Hadith). This statement indicates that the last hour in life would not come until the Romans would land in Dabiq.

² Rumiyah refers to the city of Rome that ISIS claims to conquer. The choice of the name for its magazine was based on a statement of Prophet Mohammad, in which he indicated that Muslims will conquer Rome. He was asked about the city that Muslims will conquer first. He replied: “Constantinople.” Constantinople was invaded by the Ottoman army on May 1453, under the reign of Sultan Sultan Mehmed II. Therefore, it was ISIS's objective to conquer Rome.

³ Salfism or “Salfiyah” refers to the first generations of Muslims, particularly the generations that followed Prophet Mohammed and the first four caliphates in Islam. A Salfi-Jihadi refers to someone who believes in “Salfiyah-Jihadiyah” ideology that embraces violence to retain power to Islam. “Salfiyah-Jihadiyah” encourages attacks against what they consider to be anti-Islamic, allegedly known as “crusaders,” “tyrannies,” and “apostates.”

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Yasser Abuelmakarem A. Abdelrahim

Yasser Abuelmakarem A. Abdelrahim is an assistant professor of Visual Communication at the Gulf University for Science and Technology. He obtained his PhD from McGill University in 2006. His doctoral dissertation focused on the representation of Arab Identity and the Arab Diaspora. Dr. Abdelrahim worked for the Departments of Mass Communication at Qatar University and Balamand University in Lebanon. His research focuses on digital and new media, visual framing, and visual discourse. His recent research, published in Visual Communication Quarterly, entitled “Demonstrations in Visual Frames: Syntagmatic Analysis of Online Photo Albums of Two Egyptian Revolutions,” explored the visual aspects of demonstration photo albums during the political conflicts in Egypt that led to two Egyptian revolutions. His new media research that was published in 2017 in Mobile Media & Communication discussed the motives of selfie-taking and social psychological dispositions among university students in Kuwait. E-mail: [email protected]