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THE BRIEF

Brand ISISThe sophisticated marketing machine of the Islamic State

BY NAHEED MUSTAFA

FROM THE MARCH 2015 MAGAZINE

extremism · Flames of War · Iraq · Islam · Islamic State · marketing · propaganda · social media · Syria

COMMENTS

HE SCENE OPENS with a group of fighters creeping toward thefront line. The cameraman follows them, his breathing

choppy. They push through the dry grass until they spot theenemy. Suddenly, the battle is on. The camera is shaky but closeto the action. We hear bullets whizzing by; we see them kick updust as they hit the ground. Then a fighter, dressed incamouflage, stands and balances a rocket propelled–grenadelauncher on his shoulder. The video slows down, and we watch,second by second, as a grenade hits the enemy’s tank, which goesup in a glorious explosion.

The entire film, Flames of War, runs just under an hour. It’s actionpacked and entertaining, complete with heroes, villains, and alinear plot. The camerawork is solid, the soundtrack rousing.And it’s a propaganda film, one of many made by the Islamic

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State of Iraq and Syria. It chronicles actual battles with ISIS’senemies—the film culminates in the capture of a Syrian militarybase near the city of Ar Raqqah—with all the attendant blood andgore. Flames of War is not only a recruitment tool; it’s also a wayfor ISIS to establish a narrative about itself.

Contrary to the perception that extremist propaganda is tuckedaway in hidden corners of the Internet, ISIS’s videos and picturesare easy to find. The group has amassed followings on Twitter,Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr. There are feature-lengthdocumentary-style videos, military anthems, short films profilinglocal and foreign fighters, and, of course, scenes from combatoperations. Then there are the tours of towns and citiescontrolled by the Islamic State, which show men chatting happilyin the streets while children play in parks (women and adolescentgirls are conspicuously absent). ISIS has even produced videosthat depict fighters handing out candy and gifts to kids during thefestival of Eid. Its multimedia offerings are sophisticated andprofessionally packaged. They are marketing efforts, and theyhave one goal: the creation of the Islamic State’s brand.

No other militant group has deployed twenty-first-century PRtechniques as effectively as ISIS. To understand its marketing, youhave to understand the broader narratives at play. Its mediawings produce for both local and Western audiences. The IslamicState exists as a geographic location, straddling Iraq and Syria,but it also exists as a kind of transnational, borderless state thathopes to draw future citizens from the global Muslim population.It presents itself as a multi-ethnic, multiracial society in which

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the common denominator is religion, specifically Sunni Islam.Outsiders—Shias, Yazidis, and Alawis—are ruthlessly excised. Itsmessaging emphasizes both its ability to fight and its ability torun a state. There are experts, administrators, and bureaucratswho keep the electricity running, the water pumping, the schoolsopen, and the oil fields producing.

For Muslims in the West, there is an additional layer to thenarrative: the Islamic State is a place where you can live a goodlife, safe from those bent on destroying the faith. Muslims whotake up residence in the Islamic State, the message goes, willescape the West’s Islamophobia: hate speech, burka bans,assaults on dietary practices, profiling, surveillance. Thisnarrative seems to have struck a chord. The Canadian SecurityIntelligence Service says there are about 130 “individuals withCanadian connections” suspected of terrorist activities abroad,some of whom are reportedly working with extremist groups inSyria such as ISIS.

What makes the message so effective? Amanda Rogers, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Wisconsin–Madison whostudies art and propaganda in the Islamic world, says the group’sstrategy calls to mind a corporate marketing manual. It usesproven formulas, sticks to what gets attention, employs a varietyof platforms, and changes strategies to sustain audience interest.According to Rogers, the video depicting the brutal beheading ofAmerican journalist James Foley functioned as a kind of beta test.ISIS released it into the market, pushed it via social media, andtracked the response. For the Islamic State, it was a success: it

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generated wall-to-wall media coverage and forced the USgovernment to act. The group continues to release similar videosperiodically. “The people in the beheading videos are carefullyhumanized so that they can become us,” Rogers says. “ISIS knowsthe beheading series will push the buttons of Western audiences.”

For its sympathizers, she says, the group’s appeal goes beyondideology. What’s more important is the extent to which ISIS hascreated an identity for itself—one with enough emotional loyaltythat it can “franchise out.” ISIS’s marketers mimic the trademarksof existing organizations—compare the logo of its English-language media wing, Al Hayat, with that of Al Jazeera—as a wayto create instant recognition and, they hope, scoop up a portionof the original brand’s base. Perhaps the most obvious example is ISIS’s adoption of Al Qaeda’s black flag.

This use of symbolism has allowed disparate groups andindividuals to associate themselves with the brand. Although so-called lone-wolf terrorists are not officially part of ISIS, they drawinspiration from it; see, for instance, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, theNational War Memorial shooter, who reportedly had read IslamicState material online. The group’s message also resonates withmilitants outside ISIS territory, in parts of Somalia, Pakistan,Afghanistan, and Chechnya, among other places. The youngpeople from Europe and North America who are making theirway to the Islamic State have all bought in to the brand. That’swhy it’s important to understand the intent and appeal of ISIS’spropaganda. Western governments, including Canada’s, are not

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just involved in a military conflict with the Islamic State—theyare also fighting the proverbial battle for hearts and minds. Anti-radicalization must become as slick and savvy as the propagandait aims to undermine.

Arguably, creating connections with Canadian Muslims is theweakest link in Canada’s current battle plan. The first step, asoutlined in the government’s official counterterrorism strategy,Building Resilience Against Terrorism, is prevention, whichincludes reaching out to vulnerable groups through the RCMP’sNational Security Community Outreach program. This involvesestablishing narratives that “emphasize the open, diverse andinclusive nature of Canadian society and seek to foster a greatersense of Canadian identity and belonging for all.” But that mightnot be enough. While the vast majority of Muslims aren’t taken inby extremist propaganda, there is a small minority that remainsvulnerable.

According to Rogers, ISIS is doing something unprecedented:building a nation-state in real time. To interpret its media effortsas anything less than the creation of a national foundation mythis to grossly underestimate its project. “Al Qaeda was building anidea, setting the scene for the potential existence of a state, of acaliphate,” she says. “What ISIS is doing is actually building thatnation-state.” Ultimately, the fight comes down to who does abetter job of selling its product. Canada must offer a compellingcounter-narrative—or go on losing citizens to extremism.

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Naheed Mustafa has produced documentaries for the CBC, and has written for The

Atlantic, The Walrus, and others.

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puskwakau • a month ago

"While the vast majority of Muslims aren't taken in by extremist..."I don't see a rally of condemnation by Muslims against these terrorists thatusurp the Islamic ideology either. While ISIL recruits their 'vulnerable minority', where is the affrontedMuslims rallying to protect their religion's usurpation by the terrorists?Is there none, or is no journalist reporting it?

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• Reply •

HelenRemp • a month ago

Here is an article that looks at who is to blame for the Islamic State'scurrent leadership:

http://viableopposition.blogsp...

The creation of a geopolitical vacuum in Iraq is now coming back to hauntthe world.

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G. Murphy Donovan • a month ago

"While the vast majority of Muslims aren’t taken in by extremistpropaganda, there is a small minority that remains vulnerable." Really,Naheed?

Not if you look at the number of nations providing ISIS recruits. The countis now upwards of 90 nations. And not if you take a hard look at Muslimpraxis (see World Health Organization statistics) and Muslim opinionsurveys (see PEW statistics). While I'm inclined to sympathize withMustafa's rosy worldview, her conclusions do not comport with the facts orreality. Phrases about what the "vast majority" or the "small minority" ofMuslims think or believe are meaningless without evidence. Indeed, theabsolution of the so-called "moderate" majority has become a kind of banaland apologetic cant among Media analysts after each new atrocity.

As long as we in the West continue to minimize the metastasizing Islamistcancer, I suspect that ISIS and fellow travelers will provide even moredramatic reality therapy. Truth is a b---h. She doesn't care whose feelingsget hurt.

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Thomas Zell • a month ago> G. Murphy Donovan

If such a considerable percentage of the worlds Muslims supportISIS, even the moderate ones in western countries, then ISIS simplycan't be all that bad. I know a lot of good hard working people whoare Muslims, if some of them support ISIS then I would have toassume that ISIS is actually a force for good in the world. Your posthas convinced me of it. Peace be upon you good sir.

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