Alwaght- The measures that ISIS has been taking have surprised the world with regard to its form and content. On the one hand, ISIS claims to revive the early periods of Islam, and on the other hand it has a complex organization and is equipped with advanced weapons and technology to attain its objectives.
This group makes use of some networks to quickly publicize its actions and behavior. The ISIS terrorist group broadcasts the images of its worst crimes to provoke fear and panic among the people of the region or even the world, and to expand its control over more areas. Unfortunately, as they have benefited professionals, they have largely been successful.
According to a research conducted by Sabra al-Qasemi, an Egyptian researcher and former commander of the al-Jihad organization in Egypt, "the ISIS terrorist group has allocated a three billion dollar budget for directing its huge media activities."
The research paper titled "The Seven Media Wings of ISIS’s Communication Department" notes that: "ISIS has seven distinct media outlets through which it publicizes its radical ideas. These are Ajnad, Al-Furqan, Al-I’tisam, Al-Hayat, Makatib al-Velayat, Al-Bayan Radio, Dabiq Magazine and media offices in each of its provinces. In addition, ISIS has published around 90,000 pages on social media platforms, mostly on Facebook and Twitter.
Each of the above-mentioned channels has a specific mission; the political purposes of these channels are described briefly in the following lines:
Those seven wings market ISIS’s radical ideas all over the world, aiming to recruit as many young people as they can. Extremist youth are main target audience of the ISIS media than any other groups. Those media put emphasis on the Islamic caliphate state and broadcasting war propaganda against the US and Europe and achieving total dominance over the whole world. The videos attributable to ISIS also spoke about such goals.
The research has shown that ISIS allocated $3 billion from its budget to fund its media operations. The terror group controls many oil-rich areas in Iraq and thus can easily fund its media activity. The ISIS terrorist group spends significant amounts of money to import the latest hi-tech equipment for its media operations from neighboring countries such as Turkey.
Turkey has been collaborating with the ISIS and has equipped ISIS with the latest media technology. As a result, the sound and video quality in ISIS videos are somewhat equal to those of Hollywood movies.
"Ajnad Studio" is the main media wing of ISIS. Epic anthems including religious and Jihadist songs are produced in this studio. The studio is equipped with the best high quality sound recording technology. ISIS has spent almost one billion dollar to set up this studio.
The group also equipped itself with advanced cameras that can be installed on cars or any vehicle to shot the field operations of the ISIS militants.
ISIS has spent about 200 million dollars on "al-Furqan Foundation" which serves as the second media wing of the ISIS. It was established several years ago with the help of al-Qaeda, but the ISIS took the possession of the al-Furqan Foundation after declaring its existence.
"Al-I’itisam Channel" is the third media wing of the ISIS which has been established with a fund of 500 million dollars. This television channel has many reporters and correspondents in Iraq and Syria whose missions are to produce news reports from field operations.
Al-Hayat Media Center is the fourth media wing of the ISIS founded with a budget of more than $ 500 million. Al-Hayat is dedicated to television interviews with the heads of ISIS. Al-Hayat is the main center for editing the videos which are shot from the ISIS crimes. The videos produced in this channel have excellent sound and video quality, which makes use of epic anthems. Al-Hayat was in charge of producing the video of the beheading 21 Coptic Egyptian Christians.
A group of psychologists, sociologists, theologians and jurist of the ISIS monitor the activities of al-Hayat. Al-Hayat media products are often accompanied by a set of Qur'anic verses and Hadiths of the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), as ISIS misuses the Qur'anic verses and the Prophet's Hadiths to justify its despicable crimes.
"Makatib al-Velayat" is the fifth media wing of ISIS, which was established with a budget of $ 200 million. It broadcasts a series of programs whose audience are the people in provinces ruled by ISIS (or 'Velayat' a term used by ISIS which denotes the provinces of the alleged Islamic State).
"Al-Bayan Radio" is the sixth media wing of ISIS used for war propaganda whose programs are broadcasted in Mosul and al-Anbar in Iraq as well as al-Raqqa in Syria. It is also broadcasted on the Internet. This radio network that broadcasts Qur'anic recitations and Jihadist epic songs has cost $ 100 million for ISIS. Between Qur'anic recitations and Jihadist epic songs, they broadcast some reports and news to play with the audience's feelings. It seems that the main audience of this radio is the ISIS fighters in the battlefields of Iraq and Syria, and the main mission of al-Bayan Radio is to keep them particularly encouraged.
"Dabiq" website is the seventh media wing of ISIS. This website serves as a weekly online magazine which is very well edited. ISIS has allocated $ 500 million for Dabiq to further its aims.
ISIS leaders call this website "Dabiq", as they believe the Holy Prophet has reiterated in a Hadith that there would be a battle between Muslims and infidels in Dabiq region in Iraq, then Jesus (PBUH) would appear in Dabiq and he would kill the pigs (it may refer to infidels) and warn the West. The material on Dabiq are also based on this idea, as Dabiq primarily addresses the people in the US and Europe.
This e-Journal is published in four languages, and what is published on this website is also translated into 12 languages.
Al-Masalah news website recently reported that ISIS is going to inaugurate Dabiq TV channel headquartered in Mosul. It is aimed to cover all the recent fights that have been fought between the Iraqi army and the ISIS terrorists.
Saudi Arabia had reportedly sent some experts to Mosul to set up TV channels for ISIS. Saudi Arabia granted its support when ISIS had seized control over two buildings which broadcasted television channels of "Sama al-Wasl" and "Naynawa Alghad" in Mosul, and had held its staff hostage.
Recently, ISIS is reported to have plans for inaugurating a cinema town called "Jihadism Media" in Homs, Syria. "Bavabah Photo", an Egyptian news agency has reported that ISIS terrorist group is just equipping a building for developing and editing media products including photos, posters, CDs, etc., to disseminate its radical Takfiri ideas.
It is worth mentioning that ISIS plans to equip this cinema town with the latest and most advanced cinematic tools, to film the acts of slaughtering, beheading and torture it has been committing.
ISIS has also released a new video for the deaf, in which two militants were using sign language and invited the Western people to join the ISIS. According to the Daily Mail, the video clip contends that disability is not a good excuse for not serving the ISIS.
This video shows two mute and deaf brothers, who serve as traffic police in Mosul. In the final section of the video, the brothers are shown assembling a propellant for rockets, in the final seconds of the video, one of those guys pulled the trigger and the rocket was fired.
ISIS makes use of all the media tools to serve the groups that are trained for nine months in ISIS camps in Iraq. It is reported that in every nine-month training course in the camps, 2,000 people learn the so-called Islamic principles and military science.
In addition, ISIS terrorist group makes use of social networks and web sites to publicize its radical ideas.
ISIS has published around 90,000 pages on social media platforms, mostly on Facebook and Twitter, which are managed by advocates of the ISIS in different countries and volunteers from ISIS Central Organization in Syria and Iraq.
Those who work for such social media and Web sites spend 12 hours a day in front of computer screens releasing the statements and news related to ISIS, and at the same time monitoring the related news and reports in the world media, and they may also respond to them if necessary.
A part of the media activity of ISIS is allocated to responding to reactions against the videos ISIS has released. Many of those who are active in such networks and work for ISIS are from Tunisia, Sudan, Britain, Germany, Algeria, Nigeria, Somalia and Chad.
However, people and the media should recognize the goals of the ISIS terrorist group and refrain from its proliferation, while discussing the brutality and anti-religious nature of what they do.
