Jeffry R. Halverson

Youths in Violent Extremist Discourse: Mediated Identifications and Interventions

This article examines the discursive strategies employed by violent extremists to build a persuasive collective youth identity, drawing from strategic communication, social movement, and membership categorization theories to analyze youth references from texts disseminated by Al Qaeda from 1996–2009. “Youth” is constructed via (a) ascriptions of allegiance to a common belief system whereby militant actions are directed toward establishing a new sociopolitical order, (b) descriptions of pious youth as “true believers” apart from “apostate” state regimes, and (c) references to hagiographies of extremist martyrs that serve as moral exemplars. This article concludes with research directions to facilitate counternarrative interventions.

The curious case of Colleen LaRose: Social margins, new media, and online radicalization

This article examines the case of the American terrorist Colleen LaRose, known as ‘JihadJane’. By employing social theories and psychological approaches to terrorism, the authors argue that the online radicalization of marginalized individuals like LaRose must be understood through personal histories and existing social and cultural tensions, rather than the seductive power of extremist ideologies. Therefore, in the age of new media, countering the emergence of such individuals requires societies to face challenges akin to preventing other forms of domestic extremist violence, such as school shootings.

Islamist Feminism: Constructing Gender Identities in Postcolonial Muslim Societies

This article analyzes the emergence of female Islamist leaders in the Middle East and North Africa, and the glaring contradictions between their feminist views and their roles as political activists for the Islamic State. The two Islamist leaders who form the primary focus of this analysis are Zaynab al-Ghazali (d. 2005) of Egypts Muslim Brotherhood and Nadia Yassine of Moroccos Justice and Charity Society. Our analysis reveals the existence of “ Islamist feminism,” distinguished from broader secular-oriented Islamic feminism, as a logical, albeit unique, extension, and expression of Muslim anti-colonial discourse rooted in the intellectual currents of twentieth century independence movements that still resonate today.

What is a Master Narrative

As noted in the introduction, the term “narrative” is not very clearly defined and it is often used interchangeably with story. However, we contend that it is important to make a pragmatic distinction between narrative and story. We do so because in our analysis of Islamist extremist communications, we have found a useful structural relationship among three types of accounts: stories, narratives, and master narratives. We begin this chapter by defining those terms and elaborating on their structural relationship.

The Battle of Khaybar

Treachery and betrayal are common motifs in the narratives of many cultures. In the Gospels, we read that one of Jesus’ twelve disciples, Judas Iscariot, betrayed him and led the Romans to his location at Gethsemane where he was arrested and ultimately crucified at Golgatha (see, e.g., Matthew 26). Overcome by his guilt, Judas reportedly committed suicide. In Christian thought, Judas is the archetypal betrayer or traitor. His name has become synonymous with treachery. In the United States, the archetypal traitor is Benedict Arnold, who unsuccessfully conspired with the British Empire against the American colonies during the Revolutionary War. He lived out the rest of his life in exile.

The Battle of Karbala

Thus far the master narratives we have explored lack any distinctive Islamic sectarian character, even though the extremists we have focused on so far come mostly from within the Sunni branch of Islam (broadly speaking). The Battle of Karbala, however, is a distinctly Shi‘ite master narrative. It forms the basis for a decidedly sectarian and dualistic worldview upon which other Shi‘ite narratives and master narratives are founded (e.g., al-Mahdi). It is also arguably the most vivid and powerful of all the master narratives examined in this book, one that has been expressed continuously over the centuries through elaborate rituals, art, poetry, and dramas. It has also been convincingly argued that the Battle of Karbala master narrative forms the basis for modern Iranian nationalism.1

The Battle of Badr

The stories and myths of ancient civilizations are rife with tales of great and epic battles. In many cultures, even the gods themselves took part in military confrontations. The chief deity of the pre-Christian Norsemen, Odin, rode a horse, wore battle armor, and carried a spear. When the Norse achieved victories in battle, they attributed those victories to Odin. Norse warriors who died bravely in battle also joined Odin in Valhalla, the great golden hall of the next world.

Shaytan’s Handiwork

The problem of evil in the world has long perplexed believers in the Abrahamic religions. Monotheism is a difficult concept to reconcile with the innocent suffering, death, disease, and devastating catastrophes that plague our world. Innocent suffering seriously challenges the comforting notion of a just and loving God that deserves our devotion. Long before the historical emergence of Abrahamic monotheism, polytheistic and henotheistic traditions, such as those in ancient Egypt or Canaan, attributed innocent suffering to rival deities and cosmic forces in conflict. Ascribing evil to a particular deity or supernatural being proved to be a popular explanation for the problem of evil (i.e., theodicy) and a fixture of the religious imagination. The idea persevered in modified forms in the theodicies of all three of the Abrahamic religions (to varying degrees) despite the problems that the idea of the “Evil One” poses for monotheistic belief systems.

Master Narratives and Strategic Communication

The foregoing chapters describe thirteen master narratives of Islamist extremism, most based on stories from the Qur’an, but some with roots in more contemporary events. In each case, we have identified the narrative elements at work, as defined in Chapter 1. While up to thispoint we have focused on describing the master narratives, their evolution, and application in contemporary extremist discourse, there remains an open question about how extremists use the narratives strategically. In this concluding chapter, we look at the issue of how master narratives are used in communication by extremists to accomplish (or facilitate the accomplishment of) strategic goals.

Seventy-Two Virgins

The emergence of Muslim suicide-bombers in the final decades of the twentieth century transformed otherwise obscure Islamic traditions(ahadith) into a topic of sensational public interest, as well as ridicule. According to these traditions, Muslim men that die waging jihad against the enemies of Islam will be rewarded by Allah in heaven (jannah) as martyrs (shuhada) and receive seventy-two virgins to enjoy in blissful ecstasy. This notion seems to be particularly attractive to young males who live in otherwise sexually repressive societies (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan), perhaps due to stifling economic limitations, and are yet to marry.