Abu Muhammad al-Adnani and the Art of Violent Incitement
Author: Lucas Webber — a researcher focused on geopolitics and violent non-state actors. He is cofounder and editor at militantwire.com
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani sits high on Daesh’s pantheon of legendary jihadi leadership figures credited with playing a prominent role in the establishment of the caliphate, the movement’s historical development, and its broader global expansion. Al-Adnani built an extraordinary and diverse militant pedigree in Syria and Iraq — emerging as a fiery and highly bellicose propagandist excelling at inciting violence, directing operations, and recruiting supporters. When it comes to encouraging and influencing jihadis to conduct autonomous attacks, al-Adnani is in the highest echelon with Anwar al-Awlaki, the now-deceased Yemeni American imam and member of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
A November 2014 biography of al-Adnani written by Turki al-Binali tells of how by 2000 he was involved in a Salafist militant group and was arrested three times for preaching jihad in Syria. Al-Adnani reportedly pledged allegiance to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in the early 2000s and was one of the first foreign fighters to join the defensive jihad against the Americans following the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Over time, he became seasoned in guerilla warfare and fought against US forces in the battle of Fallujah. Al-Adnani was later imprisoned from May 2005 until 2010, but upon his release, he continued climbing the ranks of what would become the Islamic State, eventually becoming the top spokesman and the authority chosen to announce the establishment of the ‘caliphate’ in 2014. His reputation during life and legacy after death looms large in Daesh’s lore. He is exalted as an exemplary figure due his Zarqawi-style bellicosity, religious background, battlefield experience, time served in prison for the cause, talent for media and communications, and fervent devotion to the Daesh.
Al-Adnani was highly skilled in the art of incitement but also in guiding sympathisers on how exactly to execute attacks. His rhetorical and tactical innovation is encapsulated in a single passage where he called upon any Muslim in the West “who has the ability to shed a single drop of crusader blood” to do so “whether with an explosive device, a bullet, a knife, a car, a rock, or even a boot or a fist”. He sanctioned acts of violence in the name of the organisation and told supporters to forego asking anyone else for religious permission. In this spirit, “kill them wherever you find them” became a recurrent phrase throughout Daesh propaganda and was even the title of a January 2016 video released by the group.
This seemingly simple tactical instruction to target the citizens of Western coalition nations anywhere and any way, without asking anyone for approval, created significant difficulties for intelligence agencies and security forces around the world. Daesh as a movement, with al-Adnani largely at the rhetorical helm on such matters, further streamlined the attack process and made it less susceptible to disruption. Often sympathisers answered the call and acted alone in less detectible ways than when whole groups of individuals plot attacks. Particularly since 2014, Daesh supporters have been studying his instructions and have conducted attacks using a wide assortment of weapons including golf clubs, knives, axes, guns, Molotov cocktails, various types of IEDs and vehicles, plus more.
Al-Adnani was likewise a savvy recruiter and leveraged the gravity of the physical caliphate – established through armed force by ‘Islamic’ warriors – to present hijra as an obligation and duty for Muslims. In his speech “So They Kill and are Killed”, he declared the caliphate to be “the land of Islam” where “there is jihad for the cause of Allah” and “Shariah is implemented”. Further, he says the caliphate is a place bereft of “paganism”, “ethnic partisanship”, “nationalism”, “pagan democracy”, and “infidel secularism.”
Having conceptually constructed Daesh controlled territory in Iraq and Syria in such a way, he homed in on how the “Crusaders” launched a military campaign to destroy the caliphate – framing it as a direct attack on Muslims and the religion of Islam as a whole. He crafted potent propaganda narratives and harnessed the authority of the caliphate to command supporters to emigrate and fight the invading enemies of Islam until their last drop of blood.
Abu Muhammad al-Adnani was killed by a US airstrike on August 30, 2016, but his legacy and influence lives on within the global Daesh movement. The group’s eulogy spoke of his prominent status, saying: “After a journey filled with sacrifice and defense against disbelief and its party, the lion-like Abu Muhammad al Adnani al-Shami dismounted, to join the caravan of martyred leaders, the caravan of heroes who waged jihad . . . and spoke the truth aloud while the death lied in wait for them.”
Since his death, his statements and quotes have been widely disseminated, clipped, spliced, and translated into many languages. In online Daesh communications spaces, his photo and words are regularly shared by the organisation’s supporters. He is highly revered and placed alongside figures like Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi as one of Daesh’s greatest historical contributors.
In police raids throughout the West and beyond, al-Adnani’s writings and audio statements have been found in the possession of perpetrators and plotters of terrorist violence – demonstrating the weight of his words in motivating said individuals to act in support of the organisation. When all is considered, it seems almost certain that his rhetoric will continue to inspire sympathisers to conduct attacks both inside and outside of conflict zones long into the future.
