TheIslamic State (IS) is known for its extensive and effective use ofpropaganda.[1] It uses a version of the MuslimBlack Standard flag and developed anemblem which has clear symbolic meaning in the Muslim world.[2] TheIslamic State, attempts targets younger audiences, such as teenagers and young adults, since they are more vulnerable topropaganda. TheIslamic State, is known to exploit the internet, to spread it'spropaganda by establishing websites, such as the Al Fustat domain.
Videos by theIslamic State are commonly accompanied bynasheeds (chants), notable examples being the chantDawlat al-Islam Qamat, which came to be viewed as an unofficial anthem of theIslamic State,[3] andSalil al-Sawarim.[4]
Academic research has emphasized the scale and volume of Islamic State media production beyond its flagship magazines. A quantitative study cited in R. Malash’s academic work documented 1,373 distinct Islamic State media products released over a six-month period between 1 August 2017 and 28 February 2018, including magazines, newsletters, reports, photographic releases, audio recordings, and other media formats. Scholars have used such datasets to illustrate the breadth and intensity of the group’s media output, particularly during periods of territorial decline, when propaganda activity remained high despite military pressure.[5]
In January 2006, shortly after the group's rebranding as the "Islamic State of Iraq", it established the Al-Furqan Foundation for Media Production (Arabic:مؤسسة الفرقان للإنتاج الإعلامي,romanized: Muasasat al-Furqān lil'īntāj al'ilāmī), which produces CDs, DVDs, posters, pamphlets, and web-related propaganda products and official statements.[6] It is the primary media production house of theIslamic State and responsible for production of major media releases, including the statements of the spokesmen and leaders of the group.
On January 10, 2006, Al-Furqan released its very first video, titled (Arabic:زحف الأنوار,romanized: Zahf al-Anwār)
It was founded by the Iraqi man Dr Wa'il al-Fayad, known asAbu Muhammad al-Furqan. He got his name "Al-Furqan" from his role in founding this media house, which was named after the 25th surah of the QuranAl-Furqan.[7] It is the oldest media production house for the Islamic State, being founded in November 2006 to release media for the Islamic State of Iraq. The earliest release indexed by theSITE Intelligence Group is on 21 November 2006, documenting the storming of a police station in the Iraqi town ofMiqdadiyah.[8][9]
Al-Furqan is considered to be a considerable innovation in jihadist media, withKavkaz Center describing it as "a milestone on the path of jihad, a distinguished media that takes the great care in the management of the conflict with the crusaders and their tails and to expose the lies in the crusader's media."
In October 2007, theLong War Journal reported on United States Army raids targeting Al-Furqan media cell members across Iraq, including in Mosul and Samarra.[10] Between August 2013 and March 2014 they released the 22 part seriesMessages from the Land of Epic Battles.[11] On 2 September 2014 SITE Intelligence Group discovered thebeheading video calledA Second Message to America,[12][13] about the death ofSteven Sotloff.[14][15][16]
Since then, Al-Furqan has released videos of their operations across Iraq and Syria, as well as execution videos directed to governments around the world. In April 2019, Al-Furqan released a video InterviewingAbu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Al-Furqan also produces media in the form of audio, which consists mostly of recordings of IS leaders and spokesmen giving speeches, as well as producing a single nasheed under their name called "Ya Allah Al-Jannah" (O Allah, (we ask you for) Paradise), sung by now-dead member of IS, Uqab Al-Marzuqi.
The Islamic State of Iraq founded a second media foundation -Al-I'tisam Media Foundation - around 2011,[17][18] marked by their first video release, titled "The Conqueror of the Murtaddin: Abu Ahmad Al-Ansari". The foundation has since released a few series of videos, 50 parts of "Windows on the Land of Battles", 9 parts of "Pictures from the Land of Battles", a 9-part series quoting leaders about the establishment of the Islamic State, and other series before their last release, "Deterring the Safavids in Salah ad-Din" in 2015.
Since then, there were no further releases from their behalf.
In mid-2014, IS established theAl-Hayat Media Center, which targets Western audiences and produces material inEnglish,German,Russian,Urdu,Indonesian,Turkish,Bengali,Chinese,Bosnian,Kurdish,Uyghur, andFrench.[19] When IS announced its expansion to other countries in November 2014 it established media departments for the new branches, and its media apparatus ensured that the new branches follow the same models it uses in Iraq and Syria.[20] Then FBI DirectorJames Comey said that IS's "propaganda is unusually slick," noting that, "They are broadcasting... in something like 23 languages".[21]
In July 2014, Al-Hayat began publishing a digital magazine calledDabiq, in a number of different languages including English.[22] According to the magazine, its name is taken from the town ofDabiq in northern Syria, which is mentioned in ahadith aboutArmageddon.[23] Al-Hayat also began publishing other digital magazines, including the Turkish languageKonstantiniyye, theOttoman word for Istanbul,[24] the French languageDar al-Islam,[25] and the Russian languageIstok (Russian:Исток).[26] By late 2016, these magazines had apparently all been discontinued, with Al-Hayat's material being consolidated into a new magazine calledRumiyah (Arabic for Rome).[27]
While the group's glossy, foreign-language magazines likeDabiq andRumiyah ceased publication as the group lost territory, the weekly Arabic newsletterAl-Naba (The News) has continued to publish regularly, becoming the central pillar of the group's "media jihad" in the post-territorial phase. Recent scholarship, including studies published in 2025, suggests thatAl-Naba serves a dual purpose: maintaining internal cohesion among dispersed fighters and projecting a narrative of endurance to enemies.[28] Unlike the earlier magazines which were designed for recruitment,Al-Naba focuses on bureaucratic reporting, military statistics, and religious instruction. These are then translated and disseminated by decentralized supporter networks ("media mujahideen") to reach non-Arabic speakers.
TheAl-Furat Media Center is another media center established in around 2015 to cater towards non-Arab speaking audiences. However, unlike the other organizations, the production wasn't as professional as ones made by the other media centers. Instead, they partially relied on local media departments and foreign communities of the Mujahideen to produce short-form videos. However, some professional long-form videos were also made under their behalf.
As of now, the media center is the only known active branch of all the media centers of the Islamic State, after heavy losses from past campaigns against them. Their last release was "The Resolve of Muwahhidin in Russia", where videos from theSurovikino penal colony hostage crisis were edited and released.
.svg)
It began to expand its media presence in 2013 with the formation in March of a second media wing,Al-I'tisam Media Foundation, and another IS media foundation, the Ajnad Foundation for Media Production (Arabic:مؤسسة أجناد للإنتاج الإعلامي; muasasat ajnād lil'īntāj al'ilāmī), established in January 2014, which specialises in acoustics production fornasheeds with no music, as to adhere to the prohibition of music instruments in Islam,[29] andQur'anic recitation.[30][31]
The organization notably starts its career around in August 20, 2013, when the Islamic State started gaining territory.[32] After Al-Furqan used the nasheed "Ya Dawlatal Islam, Ya Dawlatal Iqdam" as the sole intro for its 22-part series, the famous nasheed "Ummati Qad Laha Fajrun", one of the first nasheeds made by the Ajnad Foundation appeared in the last 2 parts of the series. Later on, the nasheed "Ya Dawlatal Islam, Ya Dawlatal Iqdam" would be recorded once again by Ajnad, featuring a brand-new melody and minor alteration of the original lyrics, as well as being sung byMaher Meshaal.
Ajnad Foundation would once again rise to fame when Al-Furqan released Salil al-Sawarim 4 in 2014, which documents IS operations in Iraq and Syria, as well as premiering the famous nasheedSalil al-Sawarim.[33] Another nasheed, called Qariban Qariba (Soon, Soon) would be released, often played alongside the group’s more unusual executions, including the burning of a Jordanian pilot, the burning of a Turkish and a Kurdish soldier, an execution where several prisoners of war were put into a car then shot with a rocket, and another execution where several prisoners would be drowned in a cage.[34] Since then, more famous nasheeds would be released by Ajnad until its hiatus during 2020, when the last known nasheed released by then is "Gharibun Dammani Sha'uthul-Bawadi".
In the beginning,munshideen (singers) like Al-Mo'taz bil-'Aziz sang for the foundation. Uqab al-Marzuqi sang 3 nasheeds, 2 recorded under Ajnad and another under Al-Furqan. After his death, Ajnad released a nasheed to commemorate him.
Some of the known later Ajnad munshideen (singers) are Abu Yasser, who produced more than 40 nasheeds under the labels of Al-Ma'sadah, As-Siddiq, Masami' Al-Khayr Media Centre(s) (all affiliated with Al-Qaeda) and Ajnad Foundation. Abu Mu'awiya Al-Najdi was another prominent mushid of the Islamic State, producing countless nasheeds before being imprisoned; and he remains imprisoned as of now. Khilad al-Qahtani is also a symbol for Ajnad, as he produced more than 10 nasheeds which is frequently used by IS media centers, as well as getting the honor of being mentioned by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in an interview with Al-Furqan Media Production.[35] Maher Meshaal is another Internet-famous munshid who emigrated to the Islamic State from Saudi Arabia in 2013, and sang for Ajnad until his killing in 2015.[36]Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir also was a munshid and the narrator for most Ajnad intros and in this case, other IS official releases; before he was promoted to spokesman of the Islamic State.Abu Hamza al-Qurashi, the spokesman for the Islamic State until his demise in 2021 also produced around 15 nashids during his Ajnad career.[37] Others like Abu Ghuraba' al-Yamani, Abu Bara' al-Madani, Nimr al-Muhajir, Abu Usamah At-Tunisi and others are also IS members that emigrated and joined the organization; though their career is not as famed as other munshids. As of now, some of the munshids still remain anonymous to this day.
Ajnad Foundation also produces full Qur'an recitations, which are recited by Abul-Hasan al-Hasani, Abu 'A'ishah, and other unknown people. They have produced 114 Surahs in the recitation of Hafs 'An Asim, and Surah Al-Ra'd in Warsh 'An Nafi'.
As of now, Ajnad is currently inactive, but some unreleased nasheeds are currently in the hands of most of the Islamic State's media department, particularly in Somalia and Africa; and are still unreleased to this day.
On 4 May 2016 Al-Battar Foundation (IS-supporter media) launched an application on Android called "Ajnad" that allows its users to listen to the songs of the Ajnad Foundation on theirmobile phones.[38] The foundation has many singers, the most famous of whom are Abu Yasir and Abul-Hasan al-Muhajir.[39]
Like the Ajnad Foundation, the Asdaa Foundation (Arabic:مؤسسة أصداء) or Asedaa Foundation producesAnasheed (Islamic chants).
The foundation is the closest counterpart to Ajnad in producing Islamic State nasheeds, only difference being Ajnad is directly linked to the Islamic State while Asdaa is only classified as a "supporter organization" (munaser/munasera).
The foundation had humble beginnings possibly in Yemen, where low-quality nasheeds were produced at first by 2 munshids, Abu Layth Al-Iraqi and Abu Ya'qub Al-Yamani. After that, the quality had improved a bit (possibly with new equipment and increased recognition) and eventually had its nasheeds included in the Islamic State's official media releases.
One of its munshids, Abu Hafs is a renowned munshid who sings around 70 nasheeds, who as well works with Ajnad Foundation in some instances. He is currently alive, and working under Ansar Production Center (مركز إنتاج الأنصار), another Munasir foundation and Asedaa. Another Yemeni munshid, Abu Musab al-Adani, worked temporarily with Asdaa Foundation before defecting back toAQAP, from which he previously defected from.
Some of their anasheed is used in IS's execution videos, a popular one is their human slaughterhouse execution video released during the time ofEid Al-Adha in 2016.[40] The background nasheed they used was "We Came To Fill The Horizons With Terror", produced by the Asdaa Foundation.
As of now, Asdaa' Foundation currently has 3 confirmed munshids, Abu Hafs, Abu Bakr and Abu Nouf and are currently theorized to be running inside France. Abu Nouf, also known as Abu Nawaf, has collaborated with Abu Hafs on multiple occasions through the Asedaa Foundation and the Ansar Production Center. He has also been known to produce nasheeds within the munasir circles of the Islamic State. His work has extended to several other media foundations, including the Sunni Shield Foundation (مؤسسة الدرع السني) and the Khattab Foundation (مؤسسة خطاب). Abu Nouf, is the only active of these munshids, continuing to release media for al-Battar and the Ansar Production Center, with his latest release being on November 23, 2025.
The group also runs a radio network calledAl-Bayan, which airs bulletins in Arabic, Russian and English and provides coverage of its activities in Iraq, Syria and Libya.[41]
The IS also has an official library - Maktabah Al-Himmah - which releases books, posters, pamphlets, and apps to further spread their ideology.Huroof is one of the 3 apps created by Maktabah Al-Himmah[42] in order to teach kids Arabic, the Qur'an, prayers and to recruit young children into becoming Islamic State soldiers.[43]
IS's use ofsocial media has been described by one expert as "probably more sophisticated than [that of] most US companies".[1][44] It regularly uses social media, particularlyTwitter, to distribute its messages.[44][45] The group uses the encrypted instant messaging serviceTelegram to disseminate images, videos and updates.[46]
According to a 2025 study in the *CTC Sentinel*, the Islamic State's propaganda strategy has evolved into a "Virtual Caliphate Complex" which decouples the ideology from physical territory. This strategy specifically targets adolescents through "low-threshold" platforms likeTikTok and gaming environments such asRoblox andMinecraft, creating an "Alt-Jihad" subculture that blends extremist ideology with internet aesthetics.[47][48]
Research by Moustafa Ayad identifies over 93 "unofficial" Islamic State support groups that operate across these platforms. These "supporter-based feeder groups" repackage official content into short-form videos, memes, and gaming content, effectively creating a decentralized "media mujahideen" network. This network relies on a "victimhood-revenge" narrative, often amplified by algorithmic recommendations on platforms like TikTok, to radicalize minors who then carry out "inspired" rather than "directed" attacks.[48] The use of encrypted apps and decentralized platforms allows these networks to remain resilient despite content moderation efforts.[47]
The group is known for releasing videos and photographs of executions of prisoners, whetherbeheadings,bombings,shootings, cagedPOWs being burnt alive orsubmerged gradually until drowned.[49] JournalistAbdel Bari Atwan described IS's media content as part of a "systematically applied policy". The escalating violence of its killings "guarantees" the attention of the media and public.[50]
Alongside images of brutality, IS presents itself as "an emotionally attractive place where people 'belong', where everyone is a 'brother' or 'sister'". The "most potent psychological pitch" of IS media is the promise of heavenly reward to dead jihadist fighters. Frequently posted in their media are dead jihadists' smiling faces, the Muslim 'salute' of a 'right-hand index finger pointing heavenward' (pointing towards whereAllah is), and testimonies of happy widows.[50] IS has also attempted to present a more "rational argument" in a series of videos hosted by the kidnapped journalistJohn Cantlie. In one video, various current and former US officials were quoted, such as then-US PresidentBarack Obama and formerCIA officerMichael Scheuer.[51]
IS has also encouraged sympathisers to initiatevehicle-ramming andstabbing attacks worldwide.[52]
As of late 2016, Rumiyah has apparently supplanted other internationally oriented publications, as al-Hayat has ceased publishing them
