مقاله سال ۲۰۱۶

Islamic State’s relentless combat-driven rise has been fuelled by a savvy media-driven war, fought not with bullets but with bulletins, not with rockets but with reports, not with tanks but with timely theological thought-pieces. Western audiences (and many Muslim ones) are appalled at videos depicting choreographed spectacles such as beheadings, immolations and the carrying out of punishments such as stoning. Yet the high-order production skills involved in mediated bloodletting seem very effective in reaching the predominantly young Muslim target audiences, judged by both social media responses and by migration to Islamic State controlled regions. Many Western analysts see the IS performances as mere propaganda. Yet the Islamic State media output is more than this, even though some aspects of propaganda as the West knows it are discernible.

Rather, IS media should be seen as a form of outreach designed to advance the cause of an extremist religious ideology and framed as Islamic. This outreach is based on dynamic integration of messaging on multiple media platforms, along with careful communication analysis and strategizing. These and other elements, while not new to public relations practice, deserve PRprofessionals’ attention not only because ofthe expertise with which they are being implemented but also because of the turbulent context in which they are being deployed. It is noteworthy that while Islamic State is an emerging politicoreligious entity that wants to publicise its brutalities and its victories, it also seeks to brand itself through communication as capable of operating the infrastructure of a state, such as health and social services. Therefore, there is a breadth to the IS media output that often is not recognized. For example, issue nine of the IS online magazine Dabiq includes not only an article (pp. 14–۱۹) on “Conspiracy theory Shirk (the sin of idolatry)” with a picture showing “the blessed raid on the twin towers in New York” but also a feature (pp. 24–۲۶) on “Heathcare in the Khilafah ¯ (Caliphate), with a list showing how many operations, births and scans were carried out in one month at two IS hospitals.

At a time when ‘media war’ is being waged not only in the Middle East but also in eastern Europe (Ukraine and Russia) it is important to pay critical attention to the communication craft in use, not only as inherently worthy of study, but also because it appropriates public relationsmethods and strategies.Although Islamic State-friendly scholars warn of “bewitching media” (Dabiq 6, p. 39) that does not stop jihadist groups such as IS from using media extensively to promote their religious interpretations, trumpet their successes and excoriate their enemies. Often, their reportage offers highly topical analyses of what westerners would call terrorist events, such as an attack on a café in Sydney, Australia. These media productions show a mature appreciation of the levers of influence, stretching beyond the voyeuristic audience for beheading videos. By making advanced use of communication techniques to help attack the foundations of liberal societies, the full panoply of Islamic State’s jihadist media challenges western audiences, including public relations practitioners. IS has multiple media departments leading communication initiatives and responding adaptively to opponents’ counterblasts with detailed argumentation and confronting images. With Islamic State possibly “the wealthiest terror group in history” (Lock, 2014) and well able to fund its media activities, western communicators can no longer take for granted that activist use of media will be rudimentary and therefore relatively easily countered. PR people – as well as governments, NGOs and mass media workers – should take note.