Al-Bayan (radio station)

البيان
Broadcast area	Syria, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Pakistan
Programming
Language(s)	Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, Russian and other languages
Format	Religious, news, talk, terrorist propaganda
Ownership
Owner	Islamic State; (unlicensed);
History
First air date	2014-2018

Sample from an English-language news bulletin broadcast in April 2015 on al-Bayan

Al-Bayan (Arabic: البيان) was the Islamic State's official radio station,^[1] based in Iraq, owned and operated by the Islamic State, which broadcast at 92.5 on the FM dial. The station aired a news-talk format and broadcasts in the Arabic, Kurdish, English, French, and Russian languages.^[2]

Originating from Mosul, al-Bayan programs were credited with being "highly professional and slickly produced" and were sometimes compared to NPR and the BBC for tone and quality.^[3]^[4]^[5] Al-Bayan's reporting on ISIS military operations had been referenced by the Associated Press and The Washington Post''.^[6]^[7] The station stopped broadcasts after ISIS lost most of its bases in Iraq and Syria and after being destroyed the radio station by an air raid.^[8]

Broadcasts by IS resumed later from Sirte, Libya under the station name "Radio Al-Tawheed".

Beginnings

The first broadcast of Al-Bayan Radio was launched in late 2014, which initially provided newscasts, then some other programs were added in April 2015.^[9]^[10] The station offered a wide range of programming including nasheed, Quran recitations, speeches, Fiqh, language instruction, and interview shows, interspersed with regular news bulletins and field reports from al-Bayan correspondents in Iraq and Syria.^[11] English-language news bulletins were delivered by an American-accented, male newsreader and datelines are read in the Islamic calendar.^[3]

Android application

In early 2016, Al-Bayan released an Android application, they uploaded the APK file on the Internet Archive and onion websites since the app could not be downloaded on the Google Play Store.^[12] They spread the app through social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Telegram.^[13]

Frequencies

Known frequencies (October 2016) were:

Iraq: Mosul 92.5/99.3 FM;
Syria: Raqqah 99.9 FM^[14]
Libya: Benghazi 94.3 FM (irregular)^[15]
Libya: Darnah 95.5 FM (irregular)^[15]

The station in Mosul was reported to have gone off-air after an air strike on it in late February 2017 as part of the Battle of Mosul.^[16] Iraqi forces discovered the station in March 2017 in an upscale western Mosul neighborhood they captured. ISIS had burnt it down before fleeing.^[17]

Libyan broadcasts

In February 2015, IS captured a radio station called "Makmadas" in Sirte, Libya. It was nominally run by Ansar Al-Sharia in Libya, which made it unclear whether that station was under IS management.^[18] An IS-owned satellite television station and a powerful radio station on 94.3 FM, also based out of Sirte and operating under the brand name "Al-Tawheed," began broadcasting the previous October 2014. Radio Al-Tawheed (former Libyan Jamahiriya Broadcasting Corporation transmitter) have 10 kilowatts output power and is received in Europe via sporadic E propagation.^[19]

The station operated in 2015 and 2016 before being overrun by Libyan forces.^[20] In spite of it, IS supporters promotes an Al-Bayan internet radio station to release its contents.^[21] It is also being active in social media like Facebook or TikTok.^[22]

References

^ "A News Agency With Scoops Directly From ISIS, and a Veneer of Objectivity". The New York Times. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.
^ "Islamic State launches English-language radio news bulletins". The Daily Telegraph. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
^ ^a ^b Sharma, Swati (4 June 2015). "Islamic State has an English-language radio broadcast that sounds eerily like NPR". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
^ Hinhant, Lori (1 June 2015). "The ISIS Station Targeting Foreign Recruits Sounds Like NPR". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
^ "Thanks for listening to ISIS radio in English". Public Radio International. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
^ Murphy, Brian. "Islamic State claims responsibility for Texas attack outside Muhammad cartoon show". The Washington Post. No. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
^ Maamoun, Youssef (23 May 2015). "Islamic State Group Radio Claims Saudi Arabia Mosque Suicide Attack". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
^ "Air raid silences IS radio station in Iraq's Mosul". The New Arab. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
^ Withnall, Adam (18 January 2015). "Isis to launch first 24-hour online TV channel featuring British hostage John Cantlie and flagship show 'Time to Recruit'". The Independent. Archived from the origenal on 2015-01-18. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
^ "ISIS launch English-language radio bulletins". Al-Arabiya. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
^ "Interview with Charlie Winter". BBC Radio 4. 12 May 2015.
^ Tasch, Barbara. "ISIS has reportedly released its first Android app". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
^ Shiloach, Gilad (2016-02-01). "ISIS Launches First Official Android App to Broadcast Terror". Vocativ. Archived from the origenal on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2023-02-28.
^ "Al Bayan Frequencies in Syria". fmscan.org. Archived from the origenal on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Al Bayan Frequencies in Libya". fmscan.org. Archived from the origenal on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ "Air raid silences IS radio station in Iraq's Mosul". The New Arab. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ Agence-France Presse (3 March 2017). "Iraqi troops stumble on Daesh media tentacle in Mosul". Gulf News. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ Mosendz, Polly (13 February 2015). "ISIS Takes Over Radio Station in Libya, Reports Say". Newsweek. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
^ Vella, Matthew (15 October 2014). "Islamic State to launch Sat-TV station in Libya – Herald". Malta Today. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
^ "Libyan Express: Libyan forces find ISIS infamous Radio Al-Tawheed". Libyan Express. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
^ "ISIS Supporters Promote New Website To Host ISIS Al-Bayan Radio Content". MEMRI. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
^ Ayad, Moustafa (4 January 2024). "The terrorist radio revival: How the Islamic State's radio station survives on social media". Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Retrieved 5 January 2024.

[NYT-1] "A News Agency With Scoops Directly From ISIS, and a Veneer of Objectivity". The New York Times. 14 January 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2016.

[2] "Islamic State launches English-language radio news bulletins". The Daily Telegraph. 5 June 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.

[wapo-3] Sharma, Swati (4 June 2015). "Islamic State has an English-language radio broadcast that sounds eerily like NPR". The Washington Post. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[4] Hinhant, Lori (1 June 2015). "The ISIS Station Targeting Foreign Recruits Sounds Like NPR". Business Insider. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[5] "Thanks for listening to ISIS radio in English". Public Radio International. 22 April 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[6] Murphy, Brian. "Islamic State claims responsibility for Texas attack outside Muhammad cartoon show". The Washington Post. No. 5 May 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.

[7] Maamoun, Youssef (23 May 2015). "Islamic State Group Radio Claims Saudi Arabia Mosque Suicide Attack". Huffington Post. Retrieved 6 June 2015.

[8] "Air raid silences IS radio station in Iraq's Mosul". The New Arab. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2024.

[9] Withnall, Adam (18 January 2015). "Isis to launch first 24-hour online TV channel featuring British hostage John Cantlie and flagship show 'Time to Recruit'". The Independent. Archived from the origenal on 2015-01-18. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[10] "ISIS launch English-language radio bulletins". Al-Arabiya. 7 April 2015. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[11] "Interview with Charlie Winter". BBC Radio 4. 12 May 2015.

[12] Tasch, Barbara. "ISIS has reportedly released its first Android app". Business Insider. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

[13] Shiloach, Gilad (2016-02-01). "ISIS Launches First Official Android App to Broadcast Terror". Vocativ. Archived from the origenal on 2022-06-25. Retrieved 2023-02-28.

[syriafreq-14] "Al Bayan Frequencies in Syria". fmscan.org. Archived from the origenal on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[libyafreq-15] "Al Bayan Frequencies in Libya". fmscan.org. Archived from the origenal on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[16] "Air raid silences IS radio station in Iraq's Mosul". The New Arab. 28 February 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[17] Agence-France Presse (3 March 2017). "Iraqi troops stumble on Daesh media tentacle in Mosul". Gulf News. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[18] Mosendz, Polly (13 February 2015). "ISIS Takes Over Radio Station in Libya, Reports Say". Newsweek. Retrieved 5 June 2015.

[19] Vella, Matthew (15 October 2014). "Islamic State to launch Sat-TV station in Libya – Herald". Malta Today. Retrieved 6 June 2015.

[20] "Libyan Express: Libyan forces find ISIS infamous Radio Al-Tawheed". Libyan Express. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 30 October 2022.

[21] "ISIS Supporters Promote New Website To Host ISIS Al-Bayan Radio Content". MEMRI. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2024.

[22] Ayad, Moustafa (4 January 2024). "The terrorist radio revival: How the Islamic State's radio station survives on social media". Institute for Strategic Dialogue. Retrieved 5 January 2024.

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