In a sleek propaganda video complete with special effects, the Islamic State’s (IS) Raqqa authority targets Kurdish audiences. Four bearded IS militants seated in a serene setting rail at the Kurdish political leaders and groups in Iraq, Turkey and Syria, promoting the cause of jihad against IS' long list of enemies in the region and beyond.

Exercising due diligence, the video's producers have been careful not to make this appear as an attack on the Kurdish people and instead have attempted to build a case to lure Kurds to their cause. The video includes an echoing sound bite from Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the deceased leader of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, IS' predecessor, in which he praises Kurds for their contribution to Islamic civilization.

Resurrecting the memory of such prominent Kurdish scholars in Islamic studies, such as Ibn Salah al-Shahrazuri, Baghdadi then mentions Salahaddin al-Ayubi (Saladin), whom he describes as the “conqueror of al-Quds [Jerusalem] and the breaker of the cross,” referring to the Kurdish Islamic leader's defeat of the crusader armies in the 12th century.

By invoking Saladin, IS propagandists clearly aim to present a role model for today's Kurds and encourage them to follow his path of confronting Western armies in the region, which IS and other jihadi groups often refer to as crusaders in their literature.