Insyirah: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa Arab dan Studi Islam
Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026): June 2026

Cosmic War in Cyberspace: A Multimodal Analysis of Islamic State Posters on Social Media

Siti Aminah (Universitas Gadjah Mada)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jun 2026

Abstract

This study extends multimodal discourse analysis by demonstrating how Arabic verbal texts and visual grammar jointly construct ideological representations in extremist propaganda posters. In particular, this article examines the verbal and non-verbal (visual) dimensions of the posters disseminated by the Islamic State (ISIS) through internet media, including Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and YouTube. The data comprise posters released by the Islamic State and its affiliated organizations that circulate in cyberspace and are limited to Arabic-language posters. To uncover the dimensions of radicalism embedded in these posters, the study employs van Leeuwen’s multimodal analysis, treating each poster as a discourse approached through the perspectives of communicative events and the order of discourse. The analysis concludes that the propaganda posters employ a range of textual features, including the use of fi’l amr (imperative verbs), emphatic constructions, jumlah ismiyyah (nominal sentences), and jumlah fi’liyyah (verbal sentences). These propaganda posters are produced not only by the Islamic State itself but also by affiliated organizations such as al-Abd al-Faqir, al-Bawaba, and al-Furqan, with social media users as their intended audience both followers and the individuals or parties targeted by the propaganda. Through its posters, the Islamic State attempts to call for jihad, strengthen its existence, and spread terror among others.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

insyirah

Publisher

Subject

Religion Languange, Linguistic, Communication & Media

Description

Insyirah: Jurnal Ilmu Bahasa Arab dan Studi Islam (Journal of Arabic and Islamic Studies) is a refereed journal published by Universitas Ahmad Dahlan. It is a semi-annual journal published in June and December. The main objective of the publication is to create a platform to publish original ...