TEL AVIV – A central part of the ISIS terrorist subculture and its recruitment of fighters is original songs written and produced by Al-Ajnad, the jihadist movement’s media company specializing in audio productions.
The songs serve as the soundtrack for most ISIS videos, which include gruesome beheadings, and many tunes are released on their own.
The musical propaganda effort suffered a significant blow last month when Maher Meshaal, the chief singer-songwriter for ISIS, was killed in an airstrike in Syria. Also known as Abu Zubair al-Jazrawi, Meshaal was a well-known Islamic chant singer who lived in Saudi Arabia before departing for Syria and joining ISIS in 2013.
Still, much of his work continues to be utilized by ISIS, while its media company is hard at work producing new jihadi melodies.
The songs themselves are not accompanied by any musical instrumentation, which is banned in the Salafist stream of Islam. Instead, the lyrics, often in first person, are sung in classical Arabic as hymns, usually by a lead singer backed up by men who provide harmonies.
The lyrics are presented in poetic form, usually with rhyming verses.
The verses “glorify the organization’s fighters and present them as models for emulation; urge Muslims to join the jihad and seek martyrdom; depict the Islamic State as an existing reality and its leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, as the legitimate leader of all Muslims” and threaten ISIS’ enemies, according to M. Shemesh, a research fellow at the Middle East Media Research Institute, or MEMRI.
MEMRI provided a translation of ISIS more popular songs.
A song published this year called “We Have Arrived, Arrived as Soldiers for Allah” opens with lyrics depicting a bloodthirsty sword that inflicts terror on the populace.
We have arrived, arrived, arrived as soldiers for Allah
We have marched, marched, marched out of love for Allah
We adhere to our religion, according to which we live, we construct a lavish edifice that will elevate us
We rid ourselves of the humiliation we have tasted, and put an end to tyrants
We rattle the sabers that we once abandoned
The sword that quenches its thirst [with blood]
Those who are near it will scream from it, and those who are far from it will shriek from it.
The main anthem of ISIS apparently is the song “My Nation, Dawn Has Arrived,” which describes the Islamic State as a reality.
Here are the lyrics, according to a MEMRI translation:
My nation, dawn has arrived, await the clear victory.
The Islamic State has risen by the blood of the righteous,
The Islamic State has risen by the jihad of the virtuous,
Those who truly sacrificed their lives, with steadfastness and utter faith,
To instate the faith in which the shari’a of the Lord of the Worlds shall prevail.
My nation, take heart, do not despair. Victory is nigh,
The Islamic State has risen, wondrous glory has appeared.
It has risen and it is penning its glory. The era of decline has ended,
With loyal men who do not fear war,
Who have forged an eternal glory that shall not end or fade.
My nation, Allah is our Lord, so give of your blood.
Victory shall not be regained but through the blood of the martyrs,
Those who have gained [martyrdom], asking their Lord to attain the Hall of the Prophets.
They sacrificed their souls to Allah and their bodies for the sake of the religion.
The men of sacrifice and giving, the men of generosity and honor.
My nation, take heart. The sun of steadfastness has risen.
We marched en masse to exalt the ancient glory,
To bring back light, faith and lofty honor,
With men who renounced life but gained eternal life,
While reviving the nation of glories and certain victory.
Another ISIS mainstay is “O Islamic State, You Have Illuminated The World,” which accompanied a propaganda video showing ISIS fighters taking over Hama, Syria, in mid-2014.
The song says:
O Islamic State, you have illuminated the world, your skies rained blessings upon us
When you revived the faith and spread its fragrance, and I enjoyed its perfume and its [refreshing] winds.
They spread the light of the Caliph of [Allah] the Merciful across the land of Iraq, which enjoyed His mercy.
Then the courageous among our warriors smiled and raised the loftiest of banners in Syria,
Following the straight path, while proclaiming that our emirs are beyond all suspicion.
O seekers of truth, support the state that rose upon the [severed] limbs of the best of preachers.
O those who possess a seeing and listening heart, choose your way, O my brother on the front.
This is no time for discord, my arena is full of barbed wire and hurdles.
One song that has been popular in ISIS videos this year is titled “Soon, Soon,” and apparently aims to instill fear in enemies.
The lyrics include:
Soon, soon you shall witness wonders, a fearsome struggle you shall see.
The battles shall be waged within your home, my sword has been sharpened to destroy you.
We marched through the night to cut and behead, with the blade of revenge that attacks those who deserve it.
With the spirits of night and the young men of terror, and a grievous explosion to defeat [the enemy].
You launched a war against me, O misguided coalition, so have a taste of the calamity that shall befall you.
You shall spend a long time suffering under my sword, and who shall you face? The young men who cry ‘Allah Akbar.’
When the steeds travel, lift up their heads and storm [the enemy], the spark ignites.
And when the bullet flies and the punishment comes, where shall you find refuge, you worst of creatures?
We shall arrive to slaughter and kill, silently and fearsomely severing the wick [of your lives].
You have failed openly, so taste the taste of defeat. You shall flee in a night of fleeing.
When heresy rages and froths, we shall fill the roads with crimson blood,
With the thrust of the spear and the severing of necks, [killing] the pack of dogs as it marches.
We have arrived, we have arrived, we have marched with determination andattained the summit of summits.
We shall dive into death to unite the ranks, and die standing tall, like courageous lions.
A song produced after ISIS’s victories in Iraq in 2014 contains a verse that refers to President Obama as a “dog.” Titled “Al-Maliki Is Vanquished,” it refers to former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki.
The lyrics include:
Today the world is stuck with astonishment, including America and Obama, the dog of the Romans.
And Al-Maliki is vanquished.
O son of Al-Ramadi, rise up against them, against the Rawafid [Shi’ites], and defend the oppressed.
And Al-Maliki is vanquished.
Praise Allah, I have triumphed, I am no longer afraid and humiliated after today.
And Al-Maliki is vanquished.
We took the beloved Al-Fallujah
And crossed Zuba’ and Abu Ghraib.
We gained all of Al-Ramadi
And took Samarra and Al-‘Awja.
We liberated Tikrit and Al-Dour
And stormed Baiji and Kirkuk.
We vanquished Rawa and ‘Ana
And in our [city] Al-Qaim we enforced the law of the shari’a.
