ISIS issue warning via social media

ISIS the islamic terrorist organisation use numerous different social media techniques to strike fear into the west, but to also promote their ideas to others in order to gain their support for what they are doing and finally aim to recruit new members. The most infamous techniques they used in order to impose this fear would be the video footage captured of James Foley, in which Mr Foley was beheaded and the events captured on camera and distributed all over the internet for the world to see. The video begins with James Foley positioned on his knees in an orange jumpsuit which is supposed to represent the Islamic prisoners that the US are holding hostage (Stern, 2015).  The organisation then seem to force the American journalist to recite a speech that warns President Obama to cease air strikes and violence against the Islamic state, in a statement that includes 'my blood is on your hands', this technique used by ISIS intends to issue blame towards President Obama from the US citizens, for what ISIS are about to do to James Foley (M. Berner, 2015). James Foleys speech is used to create the illusion that they have turned him against his own country, but also more importantly to ISIS they intended that video to help turn more Americans against the government that 'put the last nail' in James Foleys coffin. It can also be argued when the man in the mask with the knife steps in to voice his opinion, that they are trying to reach muslims everywhere and to create the illusion that anymore future attacks on this 'terrorist' organisation are therefore attacks on 'all muslims, from different walks of life' (Perešin, 2015).  It can be argued that the aim of this video was to seriously intimidate the US government into not making another decision to attack the 'islamic state', in fact this could be argued to have done the opposite as such violent and graphic videos not just causing fear but instead a human desire to avenge Foley and other innocent victims deaths (Stern, 2015). When assessing what these types of behaviours show about this group we need to look at definitions given by experts of what terrorist organisations seek to achieve. It has been argued that terrorist organisation seek to destroy a way of life to persecute, to punish and strike fear, in order to impose the ideologies of the organisation to the group they are causing terror too (M. Al-Khattar, 2003). This perspective on terrorism clearly shows that this group are a terrorist one who do not just attack the west, but those who live within the islamic state who do not comply to their ideologies and rules. 


Reference list- 

M. Al-Khattar, A (2003). Religion and Terrorism: An Interfaith Perspective. Wesport Conneticut, London: Greenwood Publishing Group

Perešin, A. (2015). Fatal Attraction: Western Muslimas and ISIS. Perspectives On Terrorism . 9 (3), p1-36.

Stern, J and M. Berger, J (2015). ISIS: The State of Terror. London : HarperCollins.

van der Veer, P and Munsh, S (2004). Media, War, and Terrorism: Responses from the Middle East and Asia. London : Routledge.