Analyzing the poetical techniques employed by ʿAli al-Imāra in resisting the IS (Dāʿish)

Latterly, IS, a Salafist-Takfiri movement, has been regarded as a significant threat to the Middle East, especially Iraq and the Levant, near the terrorist group. The issue is second only to the point of Palestine in attracting the attention of contemporary Arab poets. Consequently, they have devoted very poetically purified pieces to the resistance movement. One such poet, ʿAli al-Imāra from Iraq, has used his poetry to fight the group and contribute to the famous military resistance. His poems, rebellious and provoking in nature, have played an essential role in raising consciousness about the group and exposing the true nature of the IS to the world. Using a descriptive and analytical method, the study sheds light on the poet’s expressive resistance techniques against the IS. The findings suggest that the tumultuous socio-political milieu of Iraq and the persecution of the Iraqi nation by the terrorist group, including the latter’s horrendous massacres, have left an indelible mark on the poet’s mind, inciting him to stage resistance and express his deep feelings of gloom for these events. The research indicates that the poet paints his resistance themes with a myriad of techniques to increase the richness and effect of his poetry on readers. Among the methods he uses for this purpose are religious intertextuality, fiction model, anthropomorphism, and symbols.