In the summer of 2024, a leader of American Muslims for Palestine’s chapter in Richmond, Va., spray painted “Hamas is Comin” on a statue in front of Union Station in Washington, D.C.

Asra Q. Nomani: A Propaganda Expert

Asra Q. Nomani is a seasoned expert in propaganda, with a career spanning decades of studying, investigating and exposing the techniques used by Islamist networks. Her expertise is grounded in academic study, journalistic experience and investigative work.

Nomani specializes in decoding propaganda, using her deep experience as a business and investigative reporter for the Wall Street Journal and other publications to uncover and expose propaganda tactics across ideological and geopolitical landscapes.

More importantly, Nomani then traces their sources of funding both domestic and foreign and explains the role of malign foreign influence in the new “propaganda industry.” She quickly breaks down complex money flows to reveal the money, power and influence behind the new age of propaganda and their threats to U.S. democracy and beyond.

Nomani began her formal study of propaganda at American University, where she earned an MA in international communications. In one of her early projects, she investigated how Ayatollah Khomeini utilized mass media and messaging to mobilize Iran’s Islamic Revolution of 1979.

Building on this foundation, Nomani spent 15 years as a journalist at the Wall Street Journal, where she covered branding, marketing, and media strategies and the business of propaganda. Her work at the Journal sharpened her understanding of how narratives are shaped and disseminated in corporate and political spheres.

Following the Sept. 11 attacks, Nomani turned her focus to exposing Islamist propaganda. She played a key role in investigating the murder of her colleague, Daniel Pearl, by Pakistani militants, including members of al Qaeda. Her analysis of the video depicting Pearl’s execution provided critical insights into how terrorist groups use media to spread fear and advance their ideological goals.

Her work extended beyond al Qaeda, encompassing investigations into the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic State, and Hamas. She studied their use of propaganda to recruit followers, shape public perception and influence global politics. Nomani has also exposed the complex network of Islamist organizations operating within the United States and their alliances with leftist movements, revealing how these groups collaborate to shape public opinion and policy.

Throughout her career, Nomani has combined academic rigor, journalistic integrity and fearless investigative tenacity to uncover the mechanisms of propaganda. Her work continues to shed light on the narratives and networks that influence societies worldwide, making her a leading authority on the subject.

Propaganda Analysis

Campus and Street Protests

Jewish Journal – Dispatches from Chicago

Unmasking the Web of ‘Malign Foreign Influence’ Behind #MarchonDNC. Aug. 19, 2024

How the Media Misreports the Malign Intent of ‘Pro-Palestinian Protestors.’ Aug. 20, 2024

Comrades’ Burning U.S. and Israeli Flags and Using Soviet-Style Tactics. Aug. 21, 2024

Protesters Are Baffled They Can’t Make It On DNC Stage After They Rally to #ShutItDown. Aug. 22, 2024.

Anti-Israel Network Now Bird-Dogs Anyone Who Supports Israel. Aug. 23, 2024.

Islamic State

MSNBC, “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell“

“The worst speech of Obama’s presidency,” Feb. 5, 2015 – “In his National Prayer Breakfast speech, President Obama condemned the Islamic State. Lawrence O’Donnell discusses his remarks with Zainab Salbi, Jerry Coyne, and Asra Nomani.”

Feb. 9, 2015: Transcript, Asra Nomani: I have Post-It notes here on every citation that the Islamic State has used to justify their violence…We have to take passages from inside of our Koran, those war verses that are used by the militant, and we have to take them on. And we need liberals on our side. We need them.”

Feb. 16, 2015: Transcript, Asra Nomani: “I watched a video of the sad burning of the Jordanian pilot earlier this month. And last night, I watched the video, every second of it, of the beheading of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians. And while people may say that these are actions and the actions in Copenhagen are part of a network, there is a network of ideology that is fueling this kind of violence. It`s very clear that these men who are acting in the name of Islam are using the theology of the Koran and the Hadith, the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. But something else, Lawrence, is happening. If viewers think they`re in the twilight zone, it does feel a little like that. These folks are literally chasing the apocalypse. They are chasing their vision of eschatology or the belief of what end times should look like. The video of the Coptic Christians beheading was just filled with so many symbols and signals from Islamic theology, from the return of Jesus praying behind the Muslim messiah, to so many other accounts, that we have to be very clear that the danger we have before us is very real and of a kind that we have to take very seriously.”

Challenging Islamic extremist: “How Muslims can be proactive in their community,” Dec. 15, 2015

Extremism

ISIS: Christians Worse Than Murderers, Feb 27, 2015: MONSTROUS VISIONS. ISIS is using a harsh interpretation of a verse in the Quran to justify its attacks on Christians.

Admit It: ISIS Is an Islamic Death Cult, Feb. 20, 2015. “THE END. Obama’s tap-dance around whether ISIS is ‘Islamic’ or not is completely wrong.” Asra Q. Nomani, Hala Arafa

The Daily Beast, “How the Saudis Churn Out ‘Jihad Inc’,” Jan. 4, 2016.