This public oath is about the only requirement that the Islamic State imposes on followers who wish to carry out acts of terror in its name. In an annual speech, the terror group’s spokesman, Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, last month incited its supporters to carry out killings abroad during the holy month of Ramadan.
No attack is too small, he advised, specifically naming the United States as a target. “The smallest action you do in the heart of their land is dearer to us than the largest action by us,” he said, “and more effective and more damaging to them.”
As early as September 2014, Mr. Adnani made clear that anyone and everyone could, and should, carry out acts of terror in the group’s name. “Do not ask for anyone’s permission,” he said, and suggested that sympathizers who could not buy weapons should instead use rocks, knives or even cars to kill infidels.
Since then, the group has worked hard to create a mechanism for inciting terror in situ. It floods the internet with gory propaganda, and employs an army of keyboard jihadists to push the deadly message on Twitter, Facebook and other social media.
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