The Islamic imagery project

de Combating Terrorism Center (U.S.)

The Internet is a critical means of communication for the newest generation of terrorist groups. The salafi jihadi movement in particular has used the Internet to pass strategic, operational, and tactical instruction to its followers, becoming adept at utilizing the anonymity and global reach of online communications to promote its message. Visual imagery provides a key aspect of the terrorists' message in that it allows these groups to paint a picture of their objectives, their enemies, and their strategy through graphics, photographs, and symbols. The Combating Terrorism Center at West Point has provided an open source catalogue of these images and their meaning. The Islamic Imagery Project: Visual Motifs in Jihadi Internet Propaganda provides analyses for one-hundred key motifs that appear throughout the jihadists' visual propaganda.