Scientists who studied 82 English-language Islamist magazines concluded that Al Qaeda and the Taliban regularly use parody and mockery.

A recent study demonstrates the use of humor in Islamic terrorist propaganda publications.

Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Tahrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) use situational humor, whilst Islamic State (ISIS) magazines use harsh and mocking humor. According to research, humor “creates a sense of internal cohesion based on shared experiences” and is important in the development of group identity.

Researchers looked at 82 English-language jihadi periodicals and discovered that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban in particular use parody and mockery to encourage the curious by emphasizing an “us-versus-them” mentality. Typically, this includes violent depictions of people or nations as animals.

Al-Qaeda changed Benjamin Netanyahu’s last name to “Rottenyahu,” which is probably a play on the name of the Rottweiler dog breed. Terrorists also used the words “dog” to characterize former US President George Bush, “donkey” to represent Americans, and “vermin” to describe American troops. ISIS referred to President Biden as “the Senile Crusader.” ISIS refers to former US president Barak Obama as “Robo-Obama.”

TTP is more prone to use irony and sarcasm than ISIS, the Taliban, or Al-Qaeda. The study discovered that Al Qaeda makes fun of its adversaries but is less likely than any other group to use sarcasm.

Dr. Weeda Mehran of the University of Exeter and her master’s degree students Megan Byrne, Ella Gibbs-Pearce, Archie Macfarlane, Jacob Minihane, and Amy Ranger conducted the research, which was published in the journal Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression.

A holy war of humor

“Propaganda is used to encourage jihad [holy war], but it serves a much bigger purpose – and humor is a key part,” remarks Mehran. “We found the use of three different types of humor – de-humanizing, sarcastic and situational. ISIS was more likely to use dehumanizing humor – portraying rivals as robots or animals and mocking them. This sets them apart from other groups who are more likely to use sarcasm and irony.

“Situational humor,” according to her, “is used strategically to enrich narratives of past events and develop a religious rationale for conducting jihad, as well as motivating individuals to carry out their own operations. 

“This humor emphasizes the comradery and brotherhood of carrying out ‘istishhadi’ [martyrdom, suicide] missions and depicts perilous and dangerous operations & efforts as peaceful, even joyful,” she adds.

Jihadi media strategy includes situational humor to foster unity; these inside jokes are frequently only understood by people who share the jihadi ideology and political viewpoint, therefore it fosters a sense of community. An atmosphere that promotes social bonding and internal cohesion is created by shared humor, according to the author.

Beyond mere military strategy

They claimed that a TERRORIST’S MILITANCY goes beyond tactical considerations and strategic planning. 

“Militancy,” as explained by the study author, “is about rituals, costumes and dress codes… music, film and storytelling. It is about sports, jokes and food… Looking inside any radical group, we can observe a range of daily social practices that have no obvious strategic purpose.”

She adds: “Jihadis use poetry, speak about dreams, weep openly and value personal humility, artistic sensitivity and displays of emotion. More recently, research has picked up on this topic and has explored various softer aspects of jihadi militancy.”

Other studies have examined how narrated stories are used in jihadi propaganda, emphasizing how they are used to enlighten, inspire, and provide guidance for carrying out jihad and hijra (migration).

According to the study, ISIS’s periodicals frequently contain demeaning humor, which is a reflection of their organization’s general aggressive and unyielding attitude against outsiders and rivals.

“When a jihadi militant who is about to go on an ‘istishhadi mission’ – suicide mission – is shown laughing and playing football with village children in a Taliban video, or militants are described to be laughing, smiling and joking in Al-Qaeda magazines, the question remains: what is the strategic purpose of depicting laughter, humor, jokes and smiling militants in jihadi rhetoric?” it asks. “After all, jihad is a serious business, and the pages of magazines and minutes of videos are finite. Why spend time showing smiling militants or writing about their jokes?”

The researchers went on to say that humor “as a means of popular communication, humor has the potential to enhance common-sense views on political issues. Political criticism is often encoded in humorous terms, softening the serious subject matter with playfulness and wit.”

Political fanatics have also employed humor’s subversive uses. For instance, a study of websites that supported the Ku Klux Klan revealed that the significant racism on such sites was downplayed by caveats that jokes and online dialogue were separate from actual bigotry. The Exeter researchers claimed that more lately, far-right organizations have used memes as comedic delivery systems, allowing them to repackage their views in ways that are more approachable and acceptable.

“At times, humor is expected to take the place of physical retaliation. As such, derogatory humor and ridicule are a ‘critical part’ of a delegitimization strategy in which people ‘are categorized into negatively valued social groups that are not afforded protection or rights otherwise considered normative, for the purposes of justifying maltreatment,’” they wrote, quoting a 2016 study by G. Hodson and C. Macinnis titled “Derogating humor as a delegitimization strategy in intergroup contexts.”

“Such disparaging inter-group humor works in tandem with processes such as dehumanization and system justification, with its specific function to label social groups as acceptable targets for devaluation. In this way, more mundane forms of disparaging humor can ‘play a key role in delegitimizing out-groups, trivializing their rights, concerns and right to protection.’”

While it is obviously wrong for Muslims to insult Islamic figures, they noted that hilarious content from opponents, notably Western nations and their citizens, is among the most serious sins.

Two French Muslim terrorists and brothers stormed the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris in January 2015. They used rifles and other weapons to cause 11 injuries and 12 deaths. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, an Islamic terrorist organization, claimed responsibility for the incident after the shooters identified themselves as members of their organization.

The report offers the following military analysis of the attack from the 14th issue of Inspire, the English-language online magazine issued by Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), as an insight of how jihadis justified their deadly attack on free speech:

“‘I do not see what happened at Charlie Hebdo as a tragedy. Rather, the tragedy is that people think it is OK to demean the sacred and belittle that which is more beloved to we [sic] Muslims than [our] own souls.’”

The report claims that all of these Islamic organizations “employ dehumanizing humor in varying degrees.” 

“By applying dehumanization techniques to a person or group, targets of the dehumanizing humor will no longer be seen to have hopes, feelings and concerns in the way a sentient human has. Instead, they will be considered subhuman entities. Research shows that dehumanizing humor deployed by extremist groups indicates mindlessness or an insentience within the targeted opposition.”

They came to the conclusion that despite the fact that their research provides insight on a less-examined component of jihadi rhetoric—jihadi humor—the results are restricted to the study of written text and English periodicals. 

“To provide a more comprehensive picture of the functionality of humor in jihadi rhetoric, future research ought to focus on non-English textual material.”

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