Pro-Islamic State Al-Isabah Media's Dangerous Propaganda Targeting India and Hindus

From Poster Campaigns to Rhetoric of Hate: Jihadist Media Unleashes Multilingual Threat Campaign in Arabic, Hindi, Tamil, and Urdu targeting India and Hindus.

The seeming resurgence of the Pro-Islamic State jihadist unit Ansar-ut Tawheed fi Bilad Al-Hind (hereafter AuT) through its media arm, Al-Isabah Media, represents a heightened threat to India's internal security and communal harmony. Al-Isabah's recent propaganda campaigns using AI tools and social media leverage sophisticated messaging, historical narratives, and sectarian incitement to radicalize vulnerable segments of Indian society. With the upcoming Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh—a significant Hindu religious festival/pilgrimage attracting millions of devotees—the timing and intent of these campaigns are particularly concerning. It seems AuT has officially merged with Islamic State Khorasan or Hind province, as it the media unit is using IS related graphics in its poster campaigns which suggest it works with the Islamic State's India-centric strategy.

AuT’s Reemergence in 2024?

After a long propaganda quiescence, November-December 2024 marked a resurgence of Al-Isabah Media's activities, with the release of propaganda materials, mostly posters, targeting India and exhorting its Muslim population for jihad and martyrdom. The campaign, disseminated through encrypted platforms like Telegram and RocketChat, included posters invoking "Ghazwa-e-Hind (Holy War against India) ", glorifying historical Muslim invaders and conquerors, and stoking communal tensions. Al-Isabah Media has released its threat posters in multiple languages, including Arabic, Hindi, Tamil and Urdu. Some of the posters circulated in this ongoing campaign include (See picture collages):

November 13: A Poster featuring a handgun, bullets, and a grenade alongside a map of India was released on the encrypted messaging platforms. The imagery signals a call to arms, underscoring hitherto dormant pro-Islamic State entities like AuT's violent stance against Hindus in India.

November 14: A bilingual poster (English and Arabic) titled 'O Muwahid Brothers and Sisters' incites violence against India, using Quranic verses and religious rhetoric to lend divine legitimacy to its message. It explicitly calls for jihad, framing violence as a sacred duty of Muslims. It urges followers in these words: "If you are unable to reach Mosul or the blessed lands of the Caliphate, then let your jihad be in the land of Hind." Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is prominently depicted in the poster reinforcing the Islamic State's narrative of the Indian political leadership. The messaging aligns with jihadist narratives encouraging decentralized acts of violence in the name of global jihad, emphasizing religious obligation, sharia law and martyrdom.

November 14: The poster titled 'What Has Deluded You' targets Indian Muslims, urging them to question their loyalty to the state and nationalist symbols like the Indian flag. Framed with religious rhetoric, it seeks to provoke disillusionment by emphasizing faith over national identity.

November 14: This poster calls for religious purity and denounces assimilation within India's Muslim community, accusing them of adopting Hindu customs and betraying Islamic values. Starting the message with, 'O you, who have stooped so low that you differ from the Hindus in name[…],' it targets Muslims who, according to Islamic State, have compromised their identity. Issued in multiple languages, including Arabic, Urdu, and Tamil, the campaign seeks to resonate across India's diverse Muslim population. The poster criticized Islamic clerics and leaders for alliances with Hindu customs.

November 25: A poster titled ‘Slaughtering you is Easier for Us than Slaughtering a Cow' uses provocative language and violent imagery to incite hatred against non-Muslims, particularly Hindus. Exploiting the cultural and religious significance of cows in Hinduism, it amplifies with visuals of a militant holding a decapacitated head.

December 12: Release of the poster, ‘Preparation of Ghazwa-e-Hind’, underscores Islamic State Khurasan Province's (ISKP) plan to expand its brand of jihad across the Indian subcontinent. The map highlights ISKP's presence in Khurasan, Kashmir, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives, aiming to inspire and mobilize supporters in the Subcontinent. By emphasizing doctrines like 'al-Wala'a wal Bara'a' (Loyalty and Disavowal-loyalty to Islamic law and rejection of non-believers), the poster serves as Ppropaganda to recruit and assert Islamic State’s regional aspirations.

December 14: The Al-Isabah Media poster, titled 'O Muslims of Hind!' targets Indian Muslims by framing Hindus as a unified enemy of Islam, stoking sectarian tensions. Invoking historical figures like Muhammad ibn Qasim and Mahmud al-Ghaznawi, it glorifies a legacy of jihad and conquest, urging Muslims to embrace armed struggle to "throw away the shackles of humiliation."

January 4 (2025): This poster addresses Kashmiri Muslims directly, portraying them as oppressed and emphasizing the promise of victory through jihad and Shari'ah law. It says, 'Allah is most Powerful among all.'

January 6 (2025): The "My Right Hand is on the Button!" poster directly threatens Uttar Pradesh, underscoring IS's intent to use the vehicle-borne suicide bombing/ramming attack. The poster is released in multiple languages.

Analyzing the Propaganda and the Threat

Al-Isabah Media's campaigns continue to prioritize recruitment and radicalization, framing Indian Muslims as victims of systemic oppression and urging them to adopt jihad as a path to liberation. The Pro-IS group seeks to inspire jihadist ideals by connecting its audience to a glorified legacy of conquest and resistance through evocative messaging like, for example, "O Muslims of Hind!" and the invocation of historical figures such as Muhammad Qasim. This narrative positions jihad as both a historical obligation and a means to restore dignity and justice for perceived wrongs against the Muslim community in India.

The Propaganda posters also aim to amplify sectarian divides within India's diverse social fabric by emphasizing grievances about the socio-political marginalization and perceived religious persecution of Muslims. These rhetoric may fuel communal tensions, especially during events like the Kumbh Mela, which symbolizes Hindu unity and national pride. Additionally, Al-Isabah Media leverages regional grievances to deepen its outreach. It portrays Kashmiris as oppressed under Indian rule, exploiting historical and political conflicts to incite unrest. Similarly, its criticism of cultural assimilation accuses Indian Muslims of compromising their religious identity by adopting Hindu customs, positioning itself as the defender of a "pure" Islamic identity while reinforcing divisive ideologies that undermine India's pluralistic society.

Why the Kumbh Mela is a Vulnerable Target

The Kumbh Mela, a globally renowned Hindu festival held in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj city, represents a significant target for extremist groups like the Islamic State (IS) and Ansar-ut Tawheed (AuT). With millions of devotees, including international visitors, converging for the event, its symbolic value and scale make it highly vulnerable. For groups like IS or Al Qaeda, an attack on the Kumbh Mela would serve as a symbolic strike against Hindu traditions, aligning with their ideological stance against non-Islamic practices. Beyond its symbolic importance, the sheer size of the gathering poses logistical challenges for law enforcement, creating opportunities for lone wolf or coordinated attacks to exploit security gaps. Moreover, any incident at such a high-profile event risks triggering nationwide communal unrest, amplifying the destabilizing objectives of these groups.

Adding to this threat is the emerging tactic of vehicle-ramming attacks, popularized by IS in global operations (e.g. recent Bourbon Street in New Orleans (USA) and Christmas market in Magdeburg, Germany), by encouraging or inciting its sympathisers to use cars or trucks to run down civilians indiscriminately. The vehicle could also be used to trigger massive explosions to maximise fatalities in a crowded marketplace or community gatherings. Given the dense crowds and constrained movement at the Kumbh Mela in India, such tactics could prove devastating, causing widespread casualties and panic. AuT or other like-minded jihadist entities active in India, with a history of mimicking IS or AQ’s violent strategies, may attempt a copycat attack in Uttar Pradesh, further amplifying fears. Even the threat of an attack or deliberate scaremongering through Propaganda could disrupt the festival, inciting community fear and mistrust. This combination of symbolic targeting, practical vulnerabilities, and psychological impact makes the Kumbh Mela a critical focus for enhanced security measures and pre-emptive counterterror efforts.

Indicators of a Rising Threat

The rising threat from Al-Isabah Media and affiliated groups is evident in their intensified propaganda campaigns targeting India. The multilingual outreach, with Arabic, Urdu, and Tamil messages, reflects a calculated effort to penetrate diverse linguistic and cultural demographics. Uttar Pradesh, in particular, has emerged as a focal point, as highlighted in the chilling "My Right Hand is on the Button!" poster and other recent threats. This focus is no coincidence; the state's history of communal tensions and its symbolic importance make it a strategic target for extremist narratives. The recent Sambhal case, involving disputes over occupied Hindu temples, adds to the volatility. Sambhal has gained notoriety as a hub for Al-Qaeda and IS-inspired operatives, with fugitive militants reportedly using the area as a base for recruitment and planning, amplifying the region's susceptibility to radicalization and violence.

The reliance on encrypted platforms like Telegram and TechHaven servers for outreach demonstrates the operational adaptability of groups like Islamic State and its affiliates like AuT / Al-Isabah Media. These platforms enable extremists to evade counter-surveillance efforts while reaching a broad audience for recruitment and radicalization. Uttar Pradesh's communal backdrop, combined with its symbolic resonance for extremist Propaganda, presents a fertile ground for both recruitment and potential attacks. The Sambhal region's notoriety as a hideout for terror operatives, coupled with ongoing propaganda efforts, underscores the urgent need for targeted counterterrorism measures and community engagement to mitigate this escalating threat.

Background: Ansar-ut Tawheed fi Bilad Al-Hind and Al-Isabah Media

1. Origins and Allegiance to Islamic State (2014–2016)

Ansar-ut Tawheed fi Bilad Al-Hind (AuT) formally emerged in early 2014 as a coalition of fugitive Indian Mujahideen operatives and SIMI activists who fled to Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the Gulf following counterterror operations in India between 2012-2013. Despite issuing at least four audio-visual messages since October 2013, the group gained prominence with a May 17, 2014 video in which its leader, Maulana Abdur Rahman al-Hindi, called for global jihad against India. He urged leaders like Mullah Omar (Taliban), Ayman al-Zawahiri (Al-Qaeda), and Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi (ISIS) to protect Indian Muslims and target India's government and economic hubs globally. By October 2014, AuT pledged allegiance to ISIS, signalling a shift in its operations, and by 2016, members had migrated to Afghanistan and Iraq to join IS Khorasan Province (ISK).

AuT/Al Isabah Media's messaging found resonance when suspected Taliban militants attacked the Indian Consulate in Herat, Afghanistan, on May 23, 2014, aiming to embarrass the newly elected Modi government, prominently vilified in AuT propaganda. This attack coincided with the rise of the nationalist BJP party in India, which Islamists blame for the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition and subsequent communal violence, including the 2002 Gujarat riots. AuT’s propaganda sought to exploit this Hindu-Muslim divide, leveraging grievances to incite violence.

2. Leadership: From Indian Mujahideen to Islamic State

Mohammed Shafi Armar ( Yusuf-al-Hindi), a former Indian Mujahideen (IM) militant and co-founder of AuT, along with his brother Sultan Armar, were among the first to pledge allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The brothers, who fled to Pakistan after the 2008 crackdown on IM, established AuT to unite all the fugitive IM and SIMI sympathizers. Through its media arm, Al-Isabah Media, AuT focused on recruiting Indian-origin fugitives for combat in Syria and Afghanistan.

Sultan Armar (Abdul Rehman al-Hindi) reportedly died in March 2015 on the Syrian battlefield, after which Shafi Armar assumed leadership of AuT and Al-Isabah Media. Shafi aimed to expand operations within India by funding and using online platforms like Facebook and Trillian for recruitment, primarily targeting ex-IM and SIMI members. He also spearheaded the creation of ISIS-linked groups, including the "Ratlam Module" in Madhya Pradesh, which was dismantled following arrests in April 2015.

Shafi Armar is absconding (and his present status is unknown), reportedly ‘killed in a U.S. drone strike in Syria in late April 2016 and again in 2019. This Bhatkal (Karnataka) born jihadist, Shafi Armar, was declared a global terrorist by the US in mid-June 2017.

The group's media arm, Al-Isabah Media, debuted with the October 2013 video "In the Land of Hind: Usood al-Hind," urging Indian Muslims to join global jihad. A follow-up video, Kandahar Se Dehli Ki Taraf (From Kandahar to Delhi), highlighted anti-Muslim violence in Gujarat, Assam, and Muzaffarnagar, portraying al-Hindi alongside armed fighters. Subsequent releases, such as the March 2014 video "Na Samjhoge To Mit Jaoge" (If You Don't Understand, You Will Perish), invoked historical events like the Babri Mosque demolition and Gujarat riots to fuel communal anger. This 18-minute video reiterated that since independence from British yoke (1947), 'Indian Muslims are living in fear and dread under the Hindus […] who worships Cow.' Most of these narratives framed Indian Muslims as oppressed under Hindu rule, urging retaliation in the name of faith. Some of the members of AuT/IM have been identified then with their nom de guerre Abu Talha al-Hindi, Abu Umar al-Hindi, Ahmad Farouqe al-Hindi, Abu Taraab al-Hindi and Abu Salman al-Hindi.

Conclusion

The resurgence of Al-Isabah Media's Propaganda underscores the evolving nature of the threat posed by extremist groups in India. By leveraging historical grievances, religious narratives, and modern communication tools, these campaigns aim to incite violence and destabilize societal harmony. With major events like the Kumbh Mela ongoing, a robust, multi-pronged approach is essential to safeguard India's social fabric and prevent extremist exploitation. Combining intelligence, community outreach, and digital counter-radicalization, proactive measures are imperative to mitigate this rising threat.

Further readings:

1-For a detailed background of AuT, See Animesh Roul, “Ansar-ut Tawhid and the Transnational Jihadist Threat to India”, Terrorism Monitor, Volume: 12 Issue: 12, June 13, 2014.

2-Animesh Roul, “How Islamic State Gained Ground in India Using Indigenous Militant Networks”, Terrorism Monitor Volume: 14 Issue: 9, April 29, 2016.