Mohamed Elgohari
@elgohari.com
I am a sociologist, policy researcher, and scholar-practitioner whose work bridges critical sociological inquiry with applied policy analysis.
Rubio, speaking to reporters at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, hadn’t even been asked about the propaganda campaign. That a sitting U.S. secretary of state felt compelled to address a cartoon campaign produced by a small group of individuals... is itself revealing.
The Akhbar Enfejari model shows that a small, cheap, plausibly deniable team can now produce propaganda that matches the reach of a state media apparatus. foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/21/i...
Why Iran’s Lego Clips Are Anything but ‘Stupid’
Marco Rubio should not dismiss this new and highly effective form of propaganda.
foreignpolicy.com
September 22, 2026 at 2:16 PM
Rubio, speaking to reporters at a foreign ministers’ meeting in Manila, hadn’t even been asked about the propaganda campaign. That a sitting U.S. secretary of state felt compelled to address a cartoon campaign produced by a small group of individuals... is itself revealing.
🧵On July 24, without even being asked about it, Marco Rubio described Iran’s Lego propaganda as “stupid.” Why did Rubio feel compelled to respond?
Read full analysis on @foreignpolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/21/i...
Read full analysis on @foreignpolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/21/i...
Why Iran’s Lego Clips Are Anything but ‘Stupid’
Marco Rubio should not dismiss this new and highly effective form of propaganda.
foreignpolicy.com
September 21, 2026 at 3:46 PM
🧵On July 24, without even being asked about it, Marco Rubio described Iran’s Lego propaganda as “stupid.” Why did Rubio feel compelled to respond?
Read full analysis on @foreignpolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/21/i...
Read full analysis on @foreignpolicy.com: foreignpolicy.com/2026/09/21/i...
1/5 My latest BFTS issue asks: Who gets to define the words through which militant organizations claim religious and political authority? The August corpus reveals a widening contest over hijra, jihād, obedience, and legitimate Islamic rule. elgohari.com/2026/09/14/w...
Who Gets to Define the Words
August’s militant propaganda reveals a widening contest over who possesses the authority to define hijra, jihād, political legitimacy, and the boundaries of Islamic rule.
elgohari.com
September 14, 2026 at 3:02 PM
1/5 My latest BFTS issue asks: Who gets to define the words through which militant organizations claim religious and political authority? The August corpus reveals a widening contest over hijra, jihād, obedience, and legitimate Islamic rule. elgohari.com/2026/09/14/w...
Defending my PhD last year allowed me to return to my research on Egyptian Ultras and the politics of sport. I am completing a book chapter on sport securitization that extends my “paradox of legalism” framework—and finding recent scholarship citing the work I first published in 2013.
August 20, 2026 at 5:22 PM
Defending my PhD last year allowed me to return to my research on Egyptian Ultras and the politics of sport. I am completing a book chapter on sport securitization that extends my “paradox of legalism” framework—and finding recent scholarship citing the work I first published in 2013.
Extremist propaganda can work through the household as much as the battlefield. This #BFTS explainer shows how militant media places grievance and ideological mobilization alongside motherhood, childcare, and ordinary domestic life—making the family part of the recruitment infrastructure.
August 17, 2026 at 1:02 PM
Extremist propaganda can work through the household as much as the battlefield. This #BFTS explainer shows how militant media places grievance and ideological mobilization alongside motherhood, childcare, and ordinary domestic life—making the family part of the recruitment infrastructure.
The IEA is trying to rebrand #Afghanistan: from a country defined by war and isolation to a regional “connecting state” built around trade, infrastructure, diplomacy, and regional connectivity.
Watch how that narrative is being constructed.
Read latest #BFTS analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
Watch how that narrative is being constructed.
Read latest #BFTS analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
August 12, 2026 at 12:44 PM
The IEA is trying to rebrand #Afghanistan: from a country defined by war and isolation to a regional “connecting state” built around trade, infrastructure, diplomacy, and regional connectivity.
Watch how that narrative is being constructed.
Read latest #BFTS analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
Watch how that narrative is being constructed.
Read latest #BFTS analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
New BFTS: One Government or an Apostate Militia?
1/5 The Taliban presents itself as a functioning Islamic state. ISIS calls the same government apostate.
July’s propaganda reveals a deeper struggle over who gets to define legitimate Islamic political authority.
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
1/5 The Taliban presents itself as a functioning Islamic state. ISIS calls the same government apostate.
July’s propaganda reveals a deeper struggle over who gets to define legitimate Islamic political authority.
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
August 11, 2026 at 8:20 PM
New BFTS: One Government or an Apostate Militia?
1/5 The Taliban presents itself as a functioning Islamic state. ISIS calls the same government apostate.
July’s propaganda reveals a deeper struggle over who gets to define legitimate Islamic political authority.
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
1/5 The Taliban presents itself as a functioning Islamic state. ISIS calls the same government apostate.
July’s propaganda reveals a deeper struggle over who gets to define legitimate Islamic political authority.
elgohari.com/2026/08/11/o...
New BFTS: June's jihadist propaganda cycle shows ISIS quietly rewriting its own story — pivoting to Africa as its "center of gravity" while slipping in a dated call for lone-actor attacks during the World Cup.
Read the full breakdown: elgohari.com/2026/07/09/f...
Read the full breakdown: elgohari.com/2026/07/09/f...
From “Authority Is the Message” to Africa as Center of Gravity
A month of primary-source jihadist propaganda shows ISIS quietly trading its governance claims for a new story centered on Africa — and folding a dated, specific call to violence into a broader cam…
elgohari.com
July 10, 2026 at 2:07 PM
New BFTS: June's jihadist propaganda cycle shows ISIS quietly rewriting its own story — pivoting to Africa as its "center of gravity" while slipping in a dated call for lone-actor attacks during the World Cup.
Read the full breakdown: elgohari.com/2026/07/09/f...
Read the full breakdown: elgohari.com/2026/07/09/f...
April’s militant propaganda cycle tells a story of governance, not only violence.
BFTS April’s issue reveals three different models of legitimacy.
Read the full analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
BFTS April’s issue reveals three different models of legitimacy.
Read the full analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
May 12, 2026 at 8:15 PM
April’s militant propaganda cycle tells a story of governance, not only violence.
BFTS April’s issue reveals three different models of legitimacy.
Read the full analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
BFTS April’s issue reveals three different models of legitimacy.
Read the full analysis:
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
1/ I published a new BFTS post on the April 2026 militant propaganda cycle.
The core argument: this month’s materials were less about spectacular violence than about authority.
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
The core argument: this month’s materials were less about spectacular violence than about authority.
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
Authority Is the Message, What April’s Militant Propaganda Reveals
A cross-group reading of April 2026 militant propaganda shows ISIS, ISKP, al-Shabāb, and the Taliban competing less over spectacular violence than over authority: who can govern, punish, provide, a…
elgohari.com
May 4, 2026 at 1:36 AM
1/ I published a new BFTS post on the April 2026 militant propaganda cycle.
The core argument: this month’s materials were less about spectacular violence than about authority.
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
The core argument: this month’s materials were less about spectacular violence than about authority.
elgohari.com/2026/05/01/a...
1/ I published a new BFTS analysis: “What Jihadist Groups Said When Iran’s War Came Home.” elgohari.com/2026/04/12/w...
It examines how jihadist and militant groups processed March 2026: the reported death of ʿAlī Khāmanaʾī, the war involving against Iran, and the continuing war in Gaza.
It examines how jihadist and militant groups processed March 2026: the reported death of ʿAlī Khāmanaʾī, the war involving against Iran, and the continuing war in Gaza.
What Jihadist Groups Said When Iran’s War Came Home
What militant propaganda in March 2026 reveals about ISIS, AQAP, AQIS, Iran, Gaza, and the wider jihadist media ecosystem.
elgohari.com
April 13, 2026 at 1:11 AM
1/ I published a new BFTS analysis: “What Jihadist Groups Said When Iran’s War Came Home.” elgohari.com/2026/04/12/w...
It examines how jihadist and militant groups processed March 2026: the reported death of ʿAlī Khāmanaʾī, the war involving against Iran, and the continuing war in Gaza.
It examines how jihadist and militant groups processed March 2026: the reported death of ʿAlī Khāmanaʾī, the war involving against Iran, and the continuing war in Gaza.
AQAP used the Epstein files as a recruitment tool. Al-Shabab wrote civilian death counts like legal indictments. The Taliban issued a military communiqué claiming 55 Pakistani soldiers killed.
February's jihadist propaganda — new issue of BFTS. 🧵 elgohari.com/2026/03/11/t...
February's jihadist propaganda — new issue of BFTS. 🧵 elgohari.com/2026/03/11/t...
The World as Epstein’s Island, Jihadist Propaganda in February
This month’s militant media didn’t recycle old grievances. It read the same news cycle you did, and turned it into a recruitment pitch.
elgohari.com
March 12, 2026 at 2:19 PM
AQAP used the Epstein files as a recruitment tool. Al-Shabab wrote civilian death counts like legal indictments. The Taliban issued a military communiqué claiming 55 Pakistani soldiers killed.
February's jihadist propaganda — new issue of BFTS. 🧵 elgohari.com/2026/03/11/t...
February's jihadist propaganda — new issue of BFTS. 🧵 elgohari.com/2026/03/11/t...
The ISIS response to Khāmenīʾī's killing isn't just about Iran. It's about Israel, the Gulf, and Sunnī minorities inside Persia.🧵 #ISIS #Iran #Israel #Gulf #Normalization #ISKP #MENA
elgohari.com/2026/03/09/t...
elgohari.com/2026/03/09/t...
The Assassination ISIS Didn’t Need to Commit
ISIS played no role in the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader. However, the group is systematically converting it into a recruitment script, a mobilization call, and a strategic windfall.
elgohari.com
March 10, 2026 at 2:54 PM
The ISIS response to Khāmenīʾī's killing isn't just about Iran. It's about Israel, the Gulf, and Sunnī minorities inside Persia.🧵 #ISIS #Iran #Israel #Gulf #Normalization #ISKP #MENA
elgohari.com/2026/03/09/t...
elgohari.com/2026/03/09/t...
ISIS released two propaganda texts within days of Khāmenīʾī's assassination. The group isn't claiming credit for the killing. it's claiming the killing proves it was right all along. That's a more dangerous argument. elgohari.com/2026/03/09/t...
#ISIS #Iran #JihadiPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies
#ISIS #Iran #JihadiPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies
The Assassination ISIS Didn’t Need to Commit
ISIS played no role in the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader. However, the group is systematically converting it into a recruitment script, a mobilization call, and a strategic windfall.
elgohari.com
March 9, 2026 at 6:25 PM
ISIS released two propaganda texts within days of Khāmenīʾī's assassination. The group isn't claiming credit for the killing. it's claiming the killing proves it was right all along. That's a more dangerous argument. elgohari.com/2026/03/09/t...
#ISIS #Iran #JihadiPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies
#ISIS #Iran #JihadiPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies
November’s jihadist propaganda offers a coherent roadmap. These groups recast democracy as a rival religion, shift the center of gravity toward Africa, and stitch Sudan, Mali, Gaza, Yemen, and Afghanistan into one continuous narrative.
elgohari.com/2025/12/09/j...
#JihadistPropaganda #MENA #Africa
elgohari.com/2025/12/09/j...
#JihadistPropaganda #MENA #Africa
Jihadist Propaganda in November: Harder Creeds and Shifting Fronts
Jihadist media in November 2025 tightened doctrine against democracy, shifted the centre of gravity toward African battlefields, and stitched Sudan, Mali, Gaza, Yemen, and Afghanistan into a single…
elgohari.com
December 10, 2025 at 2:53 PM
November’s jihadist propaganda offers a coherent roadmap. These groups recast democracy as a rival religion, shift the center of gravity toward Africa, and stitch Sudan, Mali, Gaza, Yemen, and Afghanistan into one continuous narrative.
elgohari.com/2025/12/09/j...
#JihadistPropaganda #MENA #Africa
elgohari.com/2025/12/09/j...
#JihadistPropaganda #MENA #Africa
New in @foreignaffairs.com: I discuss how Palestinian opinion shifted since Oct 7—rally, correction, re-pluralization—and what a felt cease-fire plus Palestinian-led governance could change next.
www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/...
www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/...
Are Palestinians Ready to Shed Hamas?
How other factions might gain ground.
www.foreignaffairs.com
December 2, 2025 at 1:00 PM
New in @foreignaffairs.com: I discuss how Palestinian opinion shifted since Oct 7—rally, correction, re-pluralization—and what a felt cease-fire plus Palestinian-led governance could change next.
www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/...
www.foreignaffairs.com/middle-east/...
Reposted by Mohamed Elgohari
Read @elgohari.com on the arc of Palestinian public opinion before, during, and after the war in Gaza:
Are Palestinians Ready to Shed Hamas?
How other factions might gain ground.
www.foreignaffairs.com
December 1, 2025 at 8:53 PM
Read @elgohari.com on the arc of Palestinian public opinion before, during, and after the war in Gaza:
Jihadist outlets are turning Sudan into a hinge between three countries:
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇱🇾 Libya
🇦🇪 UAE
AQAP and ISIS use the same conflict to blame one, mobilize another, and bypass borders altogether. The article walks through how.
Link 👉 elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇱🇾 Libya
🇦🇪 UAE
AQAP and ISIS use the same conflict to blame one, mobilize another, and bypass borders altogether. The article walks through how.
Link 👉 elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
Sudan in Transnational Jihadist Storytelling
As Sudan’s war deepens and al-Fāshir becomes shorthand for unchecked atrocity, AQAP and the Islamic State are working to recast the conflict as a “forgotten wound” and an “open arena” for jihad.…
elgohari.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:45 PM
Jihadist outlets are turning Sudan into a hinge between three countries:
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇱🇾 Libya
🇦🇪 UAE
AQAP and ISIS use the same conflict to blame one, mobilize another, and bypass borders altogether. The article walks through how.
Link 👉 elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
🇪🇬 Egypt
🇱🇾 Libya
🇦🇪 UAE
AQAP and ISIS use the same conflict to blame one, mobilize another, and bypass borders altogether. The article walks through how.
Link 👉 elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
Published a new analysis on how AQAP and ISIS are narrating the Sudan war with Egypt, Libya, and the UAE in mind.
Read: elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
#Sudan #Egypt #Libya #UAE #JihadistPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies #Counterterrorism
Read: elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
#Sudan #Egypt #Libya #UAE #JihadistPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies #Counterterrorism
Sudan in Transnational Jihadist Storytelling
As Sudan’s war deepens and al-Fāshir becomes shorthand for unchecked atrocity, AQAP and the Islamic State are working to recast the conflict as a “forgotten wound” and an “open arena” for jihad.…
elgohari.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:14 AM
Published a new analysis on how AQAP and ISIS are narrating the Sudan war with Egypt, Libya, and the UAE in mind.
Read: elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
#Sudan #Egypt #Libya #UAE #JihadistPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies #Counterterrorism
Read: elgohari.com/2025/11/16/s...
#Sudan #Egypt #Libya #UAE #JihadistPropaganda #MENA #SecurityStudies #Counterterrorism
No Gray Zone in Khorasan
Fresh analysis of ISKP’s The Divided Tents of Disbelief and Islam. The publication sorts the world into two camps, brands rivals apostate, and sets conditions for escalation. I map the doctrine, audience strategy, and indicators to track next.
elgohari.com/2025/11/03/n...
Fresh analysis of ISKP’s The Divided Tents of Disbelief and Islam. The publication sorts the world into two camps, brands rivals apostate, and sets conditions for escalation. I map the doctrine, audience strategy, and indicators to track next.
elgohari.com/2025/11/03/n...
No Gray Zone in Khorasan
ISKP resurrects a hard binary—īmān vs. kufr—to delegitimize the Taliban, sort communities, and lower barriers to violence.
elgohari.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:16 PM
No Gray Zone in Khorasan
Fresh analysis of ISKP’s The Divided Tents of Disbelief and Islam. The publication sorts the world into two camps, brands rivals apostate, and sets conditions for escalation. I map the doctrine, audience strategy, and indicators to track next.
elgohari.com/2025/11/03/n...
Fresh analysis of ISKP’s The Divided Tents of Disbelief and Islam. The publication sorts the world into two camps, brands rivals apostate, and sets conditions for escalation. I map the doctrine, audience strategy, and indicators to track next.
elgohari.com/2025/11/03/n...
Patience, Signs, and Small Wars elgohari.com/2025/10/27/p...
Patience, Signs, and Small Wars
Al-Nabāʾ 518 frames patience as doctrine and repetition as strategy, stitching dispersed, low-cost operations into a campaign of attrition; the messaging prioritizes convoy interdiction, mobility t…
elgohari.com
October 27, 2025 at 4:21 PM
Patience, Signs, and Small Wars elgohari.com/2025/10/27/p...
New analysis: al-Nabāʾ 517 — doctrine over diplomacy
This week’s issue frames the Sharm al-Shaykh ceasefire track as collaboration and ties a portable veto on “peace” to dispersed, low-cost violence.
Full analysis: elgohari.com/2025/10/20/p...
This week’s issue frames the Sharm al-Shaykh ceasefire track as collaboration and ties a portable veto on “peace” to dispersed, low-cost violence.
Full analysis: elgohari.com/2025/10/20/p...
Peace as Betrayal, Endurance as Strategy
Al-Nabāʾ 517 pairs a veto on diplomacy with an Africa-led operations rhythm and Syrian attrition, reframing “peace infrastructure” as a target and complicating paths to expand Gulf normalization.…
elgohari.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:57 PM
New analysis: al-Nabāʾ 517 — doctrine over diplomacy
This week’s issue frames the Sharm al-Shaykh ceasefire track as collaboration and ties a portable veto on “peace” to dispersed, low-cost violence.
Full analysis: elgohari.com/2025/10/20/p...
This week’s issue frames the Sharm al-Shaykh ceasefire track as collaboration and ties a portable veto on “peace” to dispersed, low-cost violence.
Full analysis: elgohari.com/2025/10/20/p...
Strategic Narratives and the Battlefield of Perception: Hamas’s Bilingual Propaganda elgohari.com/2025/08/21/s...
Strategic Narratives and the Battlefield of Perception: Hamas’s Bilingual Propaganda
Hamas has perfected a form of combat that unfolds not on the battlefield but across screens and social‐media feeds. Since its October 7 operation, the movement has run two distinct propaganda campa…
elgohari.com
October 20, 2025 at 4:16 PM
Strategic Narratives and the Battlefield of Perception: Hamas’s Bilingual Propaganda elgohari.com/2025/08/21/s...
Why I violated the IHRA definition of antisemitism
url:https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/why-i-violated-ihra-definition-antisemitism?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR64TosOrWnrLpz2o8tkRZYWE4E4x8u78GQZ4Wc1t9CTmz9Gim927ecA4iehmQ_aem_qAfGP3UgVdmN2hIuadSC7A
url:https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/why-i-violated-ihra-definition-antisemitism?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR64TosOrWnrLpz2o8tkRZYWE4E4x8u78GQZ4Wc1t9CTmz9Gim927ecA4iehmQ_aem_qAfGP3UgVdmN2hIuadSC7A
April 25, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Why I violated the IHRA definition of antisemitism
url:https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/why-i-violated-ihra-definition-antisemitism?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR64TosOrWnrLpz2o8tkRZYWE4E4x8u78GQZ4Wc1t9CTmz9Gim927ecA4iehmQ_aem_qAfGP3UgVdmN2hIuadSC7A
url:https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/why-i-violated-ihra-definition-antisemitism?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR64TosOrWnrLpz2o8tkRZYWE4E4x8u78GQZ4Wc1t9CTmz9Gim927ecA4iehmQ_aem_qAfGP3UgVdmN2hIuadSC7A