Have you seen how many Salafi jihadis lately have been making the sign of one index finger pointing upwards? I have seen this in many recent ISIS photos and was starting to wonder what it meant. The Net was no use until I finally Googled it correctly. The only website that told me the truth was the Islamophobic and reactionary Front Page Magazine, a sickening, repulsive and stupid mag that is nevertheless often correct about Islam.
According to FPM, the single index finger pointing upwards (photo of a jihadi giving this sign at the link) has been seen in photos of many Al Qaeda types, including bin Laden and his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri. Abu Musab al Zarqawi and Chechen jihadists, including leader Doku Umarav, has also been spotted making the gesture. The jihadis who attacked the US Embassy in Libya also made the sign, giving us a clue to their allegiances.
The gesture refers to one God (monotheism – an essence of Islam) and the willingness to fight and die for Islam, thereby attaining martyrdom and ascending to paradise in heaven which is skyward. A photo of “moderate” Syrian Islamists making this sign is here.
Allahu Akbar was spray-painted on the burned out US Embassy building. Jihadis often vandalize churches or war monuments with this phrase lately, so this gives us one more hint of the orientation of the attackers of Benghazi.
Another classic symbol of Al Qaeda is the black flag with the shehada and sword inscription is not really Al Qaeda’s flag – instead it is the flag of the earliest Muslims, popular during the Abbasid Caliphate in the 800′s. During this period, there was a great deal of jihad against the infidels, often operating with lightning speed and major terror similar to the recent stunning operations of ISIS. In addition, we see modern Salafi-jihadis using the phrase, “worshippers of the cross” to describe Christians. This phrase also goes way back in the history of Islam to the earliest days and strongly suggests contempt and hatred for Christians.
One more symbol is the buttless AK-47 backlit with flames. I am not sure if this is an Al Qaeda symbol or a symbol of Islamists in general.
Guerrilla groups and organizations are sort of like street gangs. They throw gang signs – see the index finger pointed upwards above – and have graffiti.
