Online Library

Brief analysis of how terrorists use the Internet, implications of Jihadism online, recruitment and radicalisation on the Internet, and counterterrorism and Jihadism online.

This article argues that similarities between jihadism and far-right radicalism are increasing, particularly with regard to the spectacularisation of violence. Spectacularisation means representing and performing violence in the form of a show, for instance through live-streaming, with a renewed emphasis on captivating symbols and much less attention paid to the ideological foundations on which the radical project is supposed to rely. After the March 2019 shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, the spectacularisation of racist, anti-Islamic and anti-Semitic violence increased, thus consolidating that event as a turning point in the evolution of the contemporary far right and the history of jihadism—which has far-right affinities. Lured by the performance of violence, the number of contemporary far-right sympathisers is steadily growing in a virtual environment that closely resembles that of jihadists, where patterns and mechanisms of online recruitment and grooming are proliferating.

Large amounts of jihadi video content on YouTube along with the vast array of relational data that can be gathered opens up innovative avenues for exploration of the support base for political violence. This exploratory study analyses the online supporters of jihad-promoting video content on YouTube, focusing on those posting and commenting upon martyr-promoting material from Iraq. Findings suggest that a majority are under 35 years of age and resident outside the region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with the largest percentage of supporters located in the United States. Evidence to support the potential for online radicalisation is presented. Findings relating to newly formed virtual relationships involving a YouTube user with no apparent prior links to jihadists are discussed.

This volume examines “jihadi” content on the Internet by drawing on both Arabic and English primary source materials. After examining this content as digital media, the work looks at how it is productively consumed by online communities, including how “jihadi” individuals construct themselves online and how jihadism is practiced and represented as an online activity. The work also discusses the consumption of such jihadi media by those who are hostile to radical Islam and the relation between fantasy, pleasure, ideology, and ordinary life.

This unique survey features case studies, such as the cyberjihadi “Irhabi 007,” pro-US and Israeli “patriots” who are often openly Islamophobic, and “Infovlad” –a forum that became the meeting place for radical Islamists and radical freelance “counter terrorists.”

This innovative approach to studying violent content on the Internet is a significant contribution to the literature that will appeal to anyone interested in political violence, terrorism, and political communication. – See more at: http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/jihadi-culture-on-the-world-wide-web-9781441124395/#sthash.xLqzzYZE.dpuf

In recent years, the Islamic State terror organization has become notorious for its evil brutality. The brutal nature
of its propaganda (distributed mostly online) inspires Jihadi sympathizers around the world, encouraging them
to use violence against “the enemies of Islam”. This form of violent behavior has also been adopted and imitated
by others – including non-Muslim individuals and groups – regardless of their geographic location, worldview,
religion, ethnicity, or nationality. Drawing from numerous examples, this article illustrates two processes: first,
the “mainstreaming” of beheadings among Jihadists, and second, the imitation of this method (decapitation)
by individuals motivated by other kinds of extremism.

Spätestens seit der Kosovo-Albaner Arid Uka Anfang März 2011 am Frankfurter Flughafen zwei US-Soldaten tötete, hat das Bewusstsein für die Gefahren jihadistischer Internetpropaganda stark zugenommen. Der 21-Jährige erklärte, zu der Tat habe ihn ein Internetvideo bewogen. Wie soll man in Deutschland mit der Propaganda im Internet umgehen und ihrem radikalisierenden Einfluss entgegensteuern? Sie völlig aus dem Netz zu entfernen ist unmöglich. Ohnehin sollte eine gewisse Anzahl für durchschnittliche Internetnutzerinnen und -nutzer schwer zugänglicher Webseiten toleriert werden, um hier relevante Informationen zu gewinnen.
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Bei dem in dieser Studie vorgeschlagenen Konzept sollte die Bundesregierung federführend in Kooperation mit den Landesregierungen vielversprechende Initiativen identifizieren oder anregen, sie finanziell und logistisch fördern und lose, aber effizient koordinieren. Um diesen schwierigen Balanceakt zu bewältigen, sollte eine unabhängige Struktur geschaffen werden, etwa in Form einer Stiftung oder eines Instituts.