Online Library

VOX-Pol Blog post.

Since the declaration of the Caliphate in 2014, the Islamic State became a prominent protagonism of contemporary political debate, especially for its unprecedented media flow. Moving from an already vast literature on the topic, the chapter will analyze the video-testaments produced by IS as an internal propaganda format, able to build a sense of community between the fighters and to inspire new generations to join the jihadi effort. After connecting this visual practice with its immediate predecessor (al-Qaeda martyrs’ video-testaments), the chapter will provide an in-depth analysis of these videos, stressing the role of memory and inspiration, as well as their ability to produce a certain narrative of what it means to be a true Muslim.

Responding to critical questions on the al-Hebah Forum in 2007, the leading chief ideologue of AQIM, Abu ‘l-Hassan Rashid, provides a chilly look on the jihadists practical understanding and definition of deploying suicide-bombers and the potential of killing innocent Muslim bystanders during such operations. The 2007 document is based on comprising Arabic sources that have been over the years disseminated and amended by the means of the internet. The article intends to provide an assessment of alleged Islamic principles used for such attacks and draws on a comprising database of jihadist writings and videos. Rashid cites and builds his arguments on writings that can be in the meantime termed as common understanding and knowledge by most sympathizers on- and offline. By including AQIM videos the article intends to further analyze the practical incorporation of the language and notion of the jihadists as portrayed and disseminated by AQ’s video outlets.

Discussion of how the war in the Balkans (1992-95) attracted the attention of Muslim foreign fighters, who had mostly participated in a proclaimed defensive-jihad against communist occupation forces in Afghanistan. Chapter in Gunther Hauser, Franz Kernic & Sven Gareis, ‘The European Union: A global actor?’,

An introduction to Jihadism online

Jihadistische Inhalte haben sich im Internet seit den Terroranschlägen vom 11. September 2001 massiv verbreitet. Trotz vielfacher Bemühungen, die jihadistische Webpräsenz zu bekämpfen, finden sich entsprechende Medien seit nunmehr knapp zwei Jahrzehnten in den virtuellen Welten. Ironischerweise nutzen die Jihadisten das modernste Mittel der Kommuni- kation, um im Namen einer primitiven Theologie gegen die Moderne zu kämpfen.1 Das jihadistische Online-Corpus besteht aus Schriften, Videos und Audiodateien, die von Unterstützern und Sympathisanten verbreitet werden. Dieses Material bietet der jihadistischen Szene weltweit ein kohä- rentes Wertesystem und ein Lebensmodell, dem es nachzueifern gilt. Seit 2005/2006 werden die jihadistischen Online-Inhalte auch ins Deutsche übersetzt, was das schnelle Anwachsen einer Szene in der Bundesrepublik begünstigt hat. Der Prozess wird von Predigern und Aktivisten voran- getrieben, die gezielt versuchen, jihadistische Konzepte auf die Lebens- wirklichkeit in Deutschland anzuwenden und damit junge Menschen zu rekrutieren.