Dire straits: How ISIS uses quranic hymns to win jihad
Multimedia has become an indispensable part of propaganda for young jihadis in the Middle East. These extremely appealing ISIS hymns, known as anasheed jihadiya or simply nasheed, have added a brand value to the propaganda of the terror organisation. The nasheeds have given the soundtrack to most of the IS videos and are played in cars in the areas controlled by them.
It has helped create a common cultural asset, connecting people all over the world and thus nurturing a global jihadi community.
These are religious songs with high-quality multitrack sound often autotuned with imposing chorus of masculine voices of a production quality that can give competition to any commercially produced record. Their mystical theme, magnified by the beauty of Arabic prosody, makes them timeless. Nasheeds have a triggering effect on the cause, they materialise it by unleashing the images of divine accomplishments encapsulated in a call for arms towards the pursuit of the Caliphate. The vision of the grand battle of good over evil, which is said to unravel at a place in Northern Syria, fulfills deep physiological needs.
The most popular nasheed relased by Islamic State "Umma Qad Laha Farjun" has become an officially undeclared anthem for ISIS. This nasheed has been played during the Caliphate establishment celebration in Raqqa, Syria, on the frontlines as well as featured in ISIS video releases like the documentary "Flames of War".
Its English translation says:
"The Islamic State has arisen by the blood of righteous,
The Islamic State has arisen by the Jihad of pious,
They have offered their souls in righteousness with constancy and conviction,
So that the religion may be established in which there is law of the Lord of Worlds"
This professionally produced nasheed is melodious and graphic, and one can hear the clanging of swords, and the march of soldiers and gunfires in the background. It leaves one seduced, perplexed and terrified. This has been very effective for ISIS to channel their modus operandi, philosophy of war and international publicity.
Nasheeds date back to the era of Islamic resurrection of the 1970s in Syria and Egypt when fundamentalists started writing them to inspire their supporters and disseminate their message. But the Islamic State's hymns are different from those of past Islamist revivalists in a way that it is a mighty song with a powerful and hopeful message from a position of strength, not weakness. These are songs where a small opposition resists a mighty state and its security forces.
The older nasheeds, which have been produced by small Islamist groups are defensive in nature, with the message that "They can torture us but we are holding to our beliefs", but Islamic State's nasheeds are far from being defensive. On the contrary, one nasheed says, "the fighters will crush the skull of enemies".
ISIS' nasheeds fill the extremists with positive energy, strength and confidence to crush the "infidel" enemy and see a new revolution coming.
The terror outfit has used the nasheed as a very important branding tool to get more recruits. These hymns are targeted towards a batch of profiles, including unemployed frustrated youths, the disenfranchised soldiers, the converted, the fanatical to war savvy and so forth. Nasheeds, with their emotional and intellectual appeal - full of quranic verses - and abundantly available online, work as an excellent tool for radicalisation.
If one searches for the word "nasheed" on YouTube, they get 1.3 million results. Behanam T Said, a researcher at University of Jena, who focuses on jihadist nasheeds says, "easy accessibility and availability of nasheeds play a role in the new forms of militant activism and a tool for virtual self recruitment". According to him, no one can be radicalised on their own just by listening to nasheeds, but they do have effect on an emotional and rational level.
The Islamic State has smartly moulded the religious hymns to cater to the modern audience, not only in the Middle East but also well in Europe and Africa. The terror outfit is winning hearts and minds of radicals there and increasingly gaining ground in this physiological warfare.