EXTREMISMIslamists Launch Three New Magazines to Succeed Notorious "Inspire"

Published 16 August 2022

Islamist extremists online are taking note of three new English language publications—two linked to Al Qaeda and one from ISIS. All three magazines are positioned to fill the void left by the dissolution of Al Qaeda’s notorious Inspire magazine. 

Islamist extremists online are taking note of three new English language publications—two linked to Al Qaeda and one from ISIS. All three magazines are positioned to fill the void left by the dissolution of Al Qaeda’s notorious Inspire magazine.  

Founded by American jihadist Anwar al Awlaki, Inspire quickly gained the attention of Islamist extremists and the researchers who monitor them. The first English-language, Western-focused jihadist magazine, Inspire included religious screeds, commentary on current events, and incitement to lone wolves to commit attacks. It also gave detailed instructions for how to carry them out. One of the most notorious articles, “How to Build a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom,” featured recipes for explosive ordnances made from common household chemicals.  

After a U.S. drone strike killed Anwar al Awlaki and counterterrorism efforts both online and in the real world pushed Al Qaeda and its ilk into relative obscurity, the publishing of Inspire became sporadic and mostly trailed off. The most recent editions were published in August 2017 and June 2021. 

Apparently sensing an opportunity, entrepreneurial ISIS and Al Qaeda supporters have created new publications, the most consistent and influential of which are: 

1. The Wolves of Manhattan magazine, created by an online group loosely affiliated with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).  

2. Mujahideen in the West, the invention of an Al Qaeda-affiliated extremist who goes by the name Abu Yahya al Khurasani on Al Qaeda social forums.  

3. Voice of Khurasan, an English language ISIS publication which promotes ISIS activity in Central and South Asia while also encouraging supporters around the world to commit attacks on behalf of the group. 

These three publications appeal to younger extremists who may not have a formal affiliation with an extremist group but are sympathetic to the missions of both ISIS and Al Qaeda. These individuals represent a particularly acute threat, in part because they may have no intent to act on those beliefs absent of encouragement from these publications, and their limited interactions with extremist groups online makes it easier for them to remain undetected by law enforcement.