BY, REIGHAN FISHER PUBLISHED IN, "THE NEVADA SAGEBRUSH," HTTP://NEVADASAGEBRUSH.COM Our culture has familiarized itself with a wide variety of popular magazines ranging from Reader’s Digest, ESPN, Cosmopolitan, People, and Vogue; all pertaining to a certain niche of people. But now our pool of interests are expanding and it is becoming easier to discover and absorb ideas from people outside of the United States through social media and the world-wide web. With easy access to outside opinion, it’s easier to drift away from biased opinion and close-to-home propaganda. Although this is true, throughout history propaganda has been used in the media to inflict a great deal of influence on our thoughts and has seeded into our beliefs overtime without being able to easily recognize it happening. Now the same concepts are being used by ISIS to entice their readers, recruit, and be heard globally. But what does this mean for us? “Perhaps the grossest ongoing censorship of all is the culturally conditioned, narrow range of opinion fed to the vast majority of Americans by their own media. The differences in story lines and opinions in the “news” given by well-watched television channels such as ABC, CBS, NBC and CNN, or those of the nation’s major newspapers and newsmagazines, is minuscule,” Lawrence Davidson, a professor at West Chester University in Pennsylvania explains. Although we may think we are well informed on worldly issues, our opinions are not a pure thought and our idea of the truth usually has another side to the story, especially if you're somebody who only gets information from one news source. “The difficulty we've had defeating ISIS suggests that, maybe, we don't really understand who and what they are. Everything we hear is filtered through politicians and pundits, each with their own agenda,” explains Robert Evans of Cracked news. Perhaps Dabiq Magazine was created by ISIS with good intention (in their eyes) to show us the reasoning behind their actions that can’t be manipulated or interpreted wrongly by outside media outlets. Dabiq gives ISIS full control on the message they are eager to display and take full advantage of doing so by writing in a strategic way. “Fortunately, it turns out that finding out what ISIS wants is like finding out what a vegan eats: They'll tell you.” Evans says. Dabiq, ISIS’s propaganda magazine is published in many different languages including English, and they have a critical plan in place to recruit more followers. If an extreme religious terrorist group is able to recruit individuals around the world with a propaganda magazine, does this make us susceptible to their influence? “Reading the magazine, one can see that, in a general way, ISIS wants land and resources, a recognized state, a caliphate that dominates the Middle East. It wants to slaughter Christians, Jews, and Yazidis. It wants to slaughter Muslims who do not believe in its version of Islam. It wants revenge against the Western presence in Arab lands. It wants to “defend the Prophet.” Most of all, it wants power. That is, it wants the future,” David Denby of the New Yorker says. Dabiq, explains what ISIS wants and portrays their message through a series of lessons and stories. While we view ISIS as terrorists, they view themselves as doing God’s work and want to overthrow the current status quo, like many rulers have done in the past throughout history. Dabiq, gives ISIS a chance to explain their purpose from a point of view without interference from outside sources. With this being said, it is important to remain informed on their publications but also take into consideration that Dabiq can manipulate readers the same way our news outlets has presented rhetoric information to us in the past. “In order to combat extremist groups, it is critical to understand their underlying ideology. Therefore, Clarion Project will continue to post the issues of Dabiq here as they are released,” The Clarion Project states on their website. I want to make clear that I am not taking sides with ISIS, I’m reminding the public how propaganda has influenced everyone around the world into to picking and choosing a side to belong to. Almost every country has an army backing them up, willing to kill those who are not on their side and defend their nation without question. We are all victims of influence and our beliefs are shaped by the reality we live in. Dabiq, is able to persuade and recruit their followers by hitting relatable areas within us by using religion, power, and their idea of what God’s plan is to them to inspire incautious individuals seeking a group to belong to. Dabiq is honest with their message and does not try to portray themselves to be on anyone’s side but their own. With that, they are able to persuade readers into potentially believing that their actions are a call from God, therefore their way is the only way to salvation. Of course this is not stated as obviously in Dabiq magazine. Their writing is done in a rhetoric way so the reader believes they are creating an interpretation of their own. ISIS believe’s their actions are God’s will and hold close to this argument truthfully through Dabiq Magazine.
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Thanks for being hereI feel my purpose is to show readers and viewers different perspectives of the world through the eyes of others. Everyday I challenge myself to think of new theories and concepts, change-up my routine and viewpoints, and allow myself to be creative both mentally and physically. I feel knowledge is power and when we choose to evolve and understand ourselves, we choose to understand our world and the people in it. Topics
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