What Drives Well-Educated Professionals And Even Prosperous Muslims To Join Islamist Terrorist Organizations? How Isis’s Propaganda Strategy Works To Motivate Alienated Muslim Minds

By Ornella Sukkar, New Age Islam 6 April 2022 One of the most intriguing questions before the world and particularly Muslims is what motivates well-educated, well-settled, even prosperous Muslims to join Islamist terrorist organizations and perpetrate brutality on others and even give up their own lives. One can probably gain some insight from Faysallah Jan's book, Islamic Discourse in Extremist Groups, which analyses how these terrorist groups play a critical role in securing and maintaining public support for militant organizations. The book examines how these organizations discursively construct the social and political reality of their world, in the process of defining the self and the other. The self becomes a nation, or the global Muslim community, while the other becomes the West, including the United States, Israel, and India. This book presents an analysis of three historical moments, being the assassination of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, the controversial YouTube video "Innocence of Muslims", and the shooting of the Pakistani child activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai. This analysis reveals the rhetorical strategies used by militant organizations to create what the French philosopher Michel Foucault calls “systems of truth, and the expression of self and other identities” [1]. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Engineers Of Jihad: The Curious Connection Between Violent Extremism And Education: Why More Engineers Are Attracted To Jihad? --------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the outset, it must be clarified that terrorism has nothing to do with the educated or the uneducated, and is not limited to a sect, race, or race. Rather, it is a trans-religious culture that is linked in many aspects to tendencies that go back to the background of the formation of the new world order and the clash of civilizations. This is preached by Samuel Huntington in his book “The Clash of Civilizations” in which he expressed both failure and discretion in describing other people on the basis that they are uncivilized and that they need someone to open them. The arrogant rhetoric that the imperialist West used to describe the world, and which today translates into a discourse of racism and intolerance in the Ukrainian war, repeats itself and encourages many terrorist groups to exploit these grievances in order to incite people to join those groups. They emphasize the propaganda supporting the fight against the infidels in order to cleanse the earth of their infidelity. They created justifications and narratives that exaggerate the grievances and suffering that the Muslim world suffers from in order to achieve their goals. They use this to gain sympathy from Muslims. This has resulted in their capturing the minds of some believers and the return of terrorism again in a deadlier form. They do this through the exploitation of religious ideology and Islamic texts and the traditional theology that came in an entirely different historical context. A justification is made for jihad for the sake of defending Islamic identity and existence. We cannot ignore that Islam contains vast theological literature that can be exploited for inciting people by taking things out of context and applying them to circumstances that it is not suited for. The crisis of Islam is in the interpretation of its sacred texts and scriptures. The religious text in the Qur’an does not call for the caliphate, the killing of a soul unjustly, punishment for blasphemy, deviation from the faith, or what is called apostasy. Rather, God calls for the believer to do righteous deeds and believe in God. No justification exists in Islam for violence, terrorism, and bloodshed. What motivates an educated person with academic degrees, such as an engineer, a doctor, and a scientist, to join terrorist organizations such as Al-Nusra Group, ISIS, and Al-Qaeda? Some academics blame this on marginalization, oppression, tyranny, a feeling of grievances, and the grievances of others who belong to the same religion and group. Many Muslim citizens in Western societies feel discriminated against, feels that they are second-class citizens, that their sanctities are subjected to abuse and humiliation, and that Western societies merely pay lip service to democracy and human rights, they practice duality on the other hand through the discourse of Islamophobia and hostility to the culture of foreigners as represented by the discourse on the veil and religious fanaticism. According to some academic researchers, it is this sense of alienation among some Muslims that has led to extremism and terrorist operations like what we have seen in Madrid, London, Germany, Ireland, France, and Denmark. Some academics also blame the Western and particularly American policy blunders in the Middle East, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan, which contributed to more security tensions and conflicts to which Muslims are exposed. In addition, the settlement and occupation in Jerusalem, the neighbourhood of Al-Jarrah, and Iranian expansion in the region are all factors that are supposed to have prompted these people to search for the revival of Jihad and in order to defend those rights and grievances that Muslims and Islam are subjected to everywhere. This orientation comes through belief in the jihadi faith and in Islam, which they think is the solution to their problems. The Jihadi interpretation of Islam calls for fighting the enemies in defence of the faith and religion. From here, we understand that the reason for the attraction is the search for clear answers and affiliation with those terrorist organizations that gives them a sense of belonging and affiliation to a superior cause. Sometimes the matter is personal, dictated by personal motives or by collective factors. These groups may be more vulnerable to extremist ideologies, because it is very clear that the reliance of these groups on amplifying the narrative and discourse of oppression and persecution is what drives and stimulates the attraction of these young people to these organizations, according to Dr. Othman, a researcher in historical studies and Islamic faith. Not every sort of extremism turns into a violent and terrorist act. The media too plays a significant role in emphasizing and encouraging those grievances and discrimination by spreading hate speech and linking false and distorted terms based on the assertion that Islam is synonymous with terrorism. Amplifying incidents like the burning of the Qur’an by a pastor and justification of invasions, as happened in Iraq in 2003, 2008, and 2014, 2022 in the Gaza war, Syria in 2011 also give impetus to some Muslims to join terrorist organisations. For example, in 2011, National Geographic Channel published a documentary report stating that California includes military bases of MS-16 and that the media played a role in encouraging the use of these weapons which led to the rise of terrorist attacks on the second day after the report was broadcast. The media plays a key role in the rise and influence of these terrorist organizations and inflaming violence. They are supporting and amplifying concepts related to emotional issues and mimicking the suffering of those who recruit according to an ideological discourse in which they adopt suspicious religious and ideological terms and concepts with the aim of manipulating and brainwashing their affiliates. Extremist groups’ propaganda strategy: Propaganda is constituted as "a deliberate and systematic attempt to shape perception, manipulate consciousness, and direct behaviour to achieve a specific, desired response on the part of a particular actor". Propaganda is one of the types of strategic communication that includes all forms of communication directed to achieve the goals of a particular organization in the public sphere by influencing the behaviour of individuals. The most important foundations of strategic communication are as follows: 1- Deliberate directing: for any organization, strategic communication represents a deliberate and deliberate process directed to achieve the organization’s goals, and is no less important than any other function that is performed. This makes the formulation of the discourse issued by the organization among its priorities to build a positive image in the public sphere. 2- Selection of goals: strategic communication seeks to achieve desired results that were previously determined by those in charge of planning for the organization so that these goals contribute to achieving its major goals which are to maintain its survival and cohesion, and enhance its ability to compete in the face of opponents, in addition to expansion and strengthening its influence in its surroundings. 3- Centralization of specialization: strategic communication is not managed by the entire organization, but a group of individuals specialized in managing strategic communication is delegated, as it is a very complex and precise field, and requires multiple experiences and knowledge in the areas of marketing, discourse, communication, and message design. 4- Interaction with the public sphere: strategic communication focuses on interacting with the public sphere to influence the behaviour of individuals and strengthen the foundation's support bases to build social incubators that support its survival and expansion. This includes the need to formulate messages that are acceptable to the expected audience and lead to the consolidation of existing convictions or the building of new ones. Pillars of ISIS propaganda: The study included a content analysis of the magazine "Dabiq" which is issued by ISIS in the English language and published on the organization's electronic platforms. The starting point in ISIS propaganda represents the re-formation of the followers' perception of the world through an ideal vision of the world that was extracted and interpreted from Islamic history in order to receive acceptance among sects of the target audience. The organization adopts a simple binary vision of the world based on the perception of a historical conflict between the “believers” and the unbelieving forces of evil according to the organization’s vision while imposing a choice on the public between joining the organization or bearing the huge cost of joining other sects. At the same time, they are depriving the public of the third option of neutrality, or not to join any denomination. In this regard, the most important foundations of ISIS propaganda are as follows: 1- Monopolizing the legitimacy of the Caliphate: The main focus of ISIS propaganda is to monopolize the legitimacy of the Caliphate, and to demand all Islamic currents and sects pledge allegiance to the organization and its leaders. They want them to join it. Otherwise, they will become “Khawarij,” (those who have been excluded from Islam) according to the organization’s expressions in the “Dabiq” magazine. The texts issued by the organization focus on the monopoly of the Caliphate, its centrality, its complete association with ISIS itself, and its denial of all other religious organizations and currents. 2- Addressing Muslims: An analysis of the content of the English-language "Dabiq" magazine reveals a focus on addressing English-speaking Muslims who have a knowledge base of religious terms. This means that "Dabiq" is directed to three categories: the foreign fighters inside the organization in Syria, the Muslim minorities in Western countries, and the English-speaking Muslim community in all countries of the world. "Dabiq" includes religious words and terms in the Arabic language, various references from the Holy Qur'an, and events from Islamic history that non-Muslims will not understand. ISIS repeatedly uses terms such as "legacy", "Satan", "the abode of unbelief", "loyalty and disavowal", and other concepts and terms that non-Muslims do not understand. 3- Reviewing religious commitment: ISIS expected that accusations would be levelled against it for breaking Islamic law and not representing Islam which prompted it to display its religious commitment and portray itself as a representative of Muslims around the world. ISIS’s writings in the “Dabiq” magazine focus on its commitment to the Hanbali school of thought, and its sponsorship of the application of Islamic law in the areas it controls according to the organization’s vision. 4- Redefining concepts: The organization seeks to redefine concepts and terminology in line with its vision of the world. At the forefront of these concepts is the concept of migration, as the organization mobilized religious texts extracted from their historical context to condemn the migration of Muslims from conflict areas to Western countries and to invite Muslims in all parts of the world. The world is to migrate to Syria and Iraq, and join ISIS. In an article published by the organization in “Dabiq” magazine in 2015, entitled “The Danger of Abandoning the House of Islam,” the organization reviewed the story of the Prophet’s migration, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, from Mecca to Medina. It had its interpretation according to what serves the organization’s purposes and the call of Muslim communities in Islamic countries to immigrate to join the organization in Syria and Iraq. 5- Re-formulation of reality: “Dabiq” focuses on framing events and facts and reinterpreting them according to what serves the purposes of the organization. Where the magazine "Dabiq" dealt with the clashes between the police and some minorities in the United States, and the rise of racism in American society. The organization took advantage of these events to portray the West as a fragmented and unstable entity, and to build an image of a unified, cohesive, and non-racist society under the organization’s rule. It also criticized Western liberalism and its values, accusing it of causing the fracture of states in the Islamic world. In conclusion, it can be said that the application of strategic communication by extremist groups in the formulation and dissemination of its propaganda did not fully achieve the basic objectives set by the organization due to the lack of flexibility and the dominance of ideological extremism over the discourse issued by the organization, in addition to localism in formulating its discourse, and fuelling conflicts with groups. Also, researchers should study and understand the religious text in the Qur’an and determine the reasons and motives of those verses and their goals, not to give preference to the Western trend over it. This disgrace that extremist groups have fallen into is an insult to Islam and jihad, which constitutes a fundamental pillar of this religion. It is also necessary for countries to cooperate in drying up the funding of these groups financially to limit their spread and spread a culture of peace and dialogue through objective media that takes into account national security and does not incite violence, hatred, and racism. References: [1] Faizullah Jan. “The Muslim Extremist Discourse constructing Us versus Them”, Rowman and Littlefield, 2015, p180 2. Douglas Wilbur, Propaganda's Place in Strategic Communication: The Case of ISIL's Dabiq Magazine, International Journal of Strategic Communication, May 2017, DOI: 10.1080/1553118X.2017.1317636 ---- A columnist for New Age Islam, Ornella Sukkar is a Lebanese journalist specialising in Oriental and Islamic studies and dialogue between cultures and civilizations. URL: https://www.newageislam.com/radical-islamism-jihad/islamist-terrorist-organizations-isis/d/126736 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism