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On September 4, 2024, the pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Hadm Al-Aswar Media Foundation released a poster titled "Jihad in Europe!" The poster depicts a masked figure with an ISIS flag and a map of Europe in the background. Two stylized hands are also depicted, one grasping a bloody knife and the other with its index finger pointing upward in a gesture which signifies the “oneness of God” in Islam.
The lower third of the poster displays a quote from an editorial that appeared in issue 458 of the ISIS weekly Al-Naba’ magazine, published on August 29, 2024,[1] which was also titled “Jihad in Europe.” The excerpt is directed at “young zealous [regarding their religion] Muslims” and asserts that “the most terrifying and sustained killing operations in the history of Europe and the U.S., which wore down the crusader investigative agencies, were carried out with a knife, a hammer, and perhaps even less than these.”
The poster also states that the investigations of these attacks went on for many years and occupied “generations of investigators and officers.” It urges young Muslims to perpetrate similar attacks “for the sake of Allah, in the framework of jihad, fighting, and terrorizing Christians and Jews, and with the aim of wearing down government institutions and security agencies, especially in Europe and the U.S.”
It is notable that the editorial where the quote first appeared was written following the knife attack in Solingen, Germany, on August 23[2] for which ISIS claimed responsibility, and the attack that was perpetrated on the same day by ISIS inmates in a prison in Russia's Volgograd region.[3] The editorial asserts the importance of waging jihad against the Jews and "crusaders" worldwide, claiming that that is the most effective way to extend support to the Palestinians in Gaza.
The poster released on September 4 is yet another in the series of posters released by the Hadm Al-Aswar Media Foundation in recent months, which exhort Muslims to attack Christians and their property across the world.[4]
[1] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Islamic State (ISIS) Weekly Editorial Glorifies ISIS's Recent Knife Attacks In Germany, Russia, Incites Similar Attacks Against Jews, Christians Globally In Solidarity With Palestinians, Offers Tips On Use Of Weapons, August 30, 2024.
[2] See MEMRI JTTM Report: In Video, Perpetrator Of Solingen Stabbing Pledges Allegiance To The Islamic State (ISIS) Caliph, Says Attack Is Vengeance For Crusaders' 'Massacres' Of Muslims, Support To Israel, August 26, 2024.
[3] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Outlet Celebrates Knife-Wielding Attack Staged By ISIS Prisoners In Russia's Volgograd Region, August 26, 2024.
[4] See for example MEMRI JTTM Reports: Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Outlets Call For Arson In West, Threaten To Target, Kill, Extort Christians Worldwide, August 9, 2024; Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Outlets Release English-Language Posters Threatening Drone Attack On Real Madrid Stadium: 'Recreate The Glory Of The Paris 2015 Raid And Subdue The Crusaders In Masses', April 10, 2024; and Posters By Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Media Groups Threaten Attacks On Western Sports Stadiums, Particularly Allianz Arena In Munich, 2024 Paris Olympics, April 4, 2024.
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