Putting A "Face" On ISIS

       Mohammed Emwazi, otherwise known as "Jihadi John," is a masked fighter from extremist group ISIS, who notoriously appears in many of their propaganda videos, demanding ransoms and beheading journalists. How does putting a name to this lead ISIS figure affect the way we view the group? Journalists have gained insight in some of Mr. Emwazi's motives, such as what ultimately lead him towards his radicalization: "describing harassment by police officers at airports, pressure on Kuwait to cancel a visa and on one occasion, Mr. Emwazi being “roughed up” and “strangled by a police officer” before being sent home." So how does finding out interior motives and underlying causes affect our views towards this Jihadi John and inevitably towards ISIS as a whole? Many would agree that police harassment is not an excuse to go about beheading people. “Malcolm X and Martin Luther King got a lot more pressure from police, and neither decided that decapitating people is the right response,” However, these news stories covering interviews with Mr. Emwazi might stir up sympathy in certain alienable audiences, which could, in extreme cases, lead to some wanting to join in the ISIS effort.  (On multiple occasions) 

      Pros to identifying the lead figure in ISIS, Jihadi John, are that we, as viewers, are able to hear the voice of ISIS. This voice can lead us to a better understanding of ISIS's goals, especially if they are dangerous in nature and let us become aware that their goals are much more closer to home than we thought: "To Obama, the dog of Rome, today we’re slaughtering the soldiers of Bashar, and tomorrow we’ll be slaughtering your soldiers. And with our last mission, we’ll bring this final and last crusade and the Islamic Sate will soon, like your puppet David Cameron said, we’ll begin to slaughter your people on your streets." Inspiring fear in some, and even illuminating in others the determination to battle ISIS before gaining global expansion, this personal and intimate coverage of Mr. Emwazi has served to further form a binding representation towards the extremist group. 

       Cons to putting a face on ISIS could be that if Jihadi John is ever exterminated, many would assume that the war on terrorism in the Middle East is over. However, that could not be farther from the truth. Surely another figure would take Jihadi John's place, and with ISIS's tens of thousands of followers, the extremist group would continue and with the same threat level as before.  

       The media should be meticulous on how it chooses to present Jihadi John, making sure to use his willingness to speak as an asset in discovering information on ISIS. They should also make sure not to paint him as an as their ultimate leader, as him being the only popular extremist figure identified with a nickname, it could cause some to draw some false assumptions. Overall, we should be wary of how the media covers ISIS and make sure we are meticulous in the media coverage process. 

Erlanger, S. (2015, February 26). ‘Jihadi John,’ Executioner in ISIS Videos, Had Early Encounter With British Intelligence. Retrieved February 27, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/27/world/europe/british-intelligence-services-had-early-encounter-with-man-identified-as-isis-fighter.html