The Discursive Construction of a Religious Terrorist Group Identity
Abstract
Terrorist groups use their own websites in order to recruit novices, distribute propaganda and build a specific identity. In our paper we describe this form of strategic communication from a theoretical perspective and then expose the methodological design and results of a critical discourse analysis by which we examined texts from the websites of Hezbollah, Gama’a al-Islamiyya and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. Findings show that the groups use different strategies of identity building. However, the strategies of construction and justification play a major role in each group.References
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[17] National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (2014). Terrorist Organization Profile: al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (GAI). College Park: University of Maryland. Retrieved March 03, 2014. Available: http://www.start.umd.edu/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=3760
[18] A. R. Norton, Hezbollah. A short history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009.
[19] Oxford Islamic Studies Online. (2014). Taliban. Available: http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com
[20] J. A. Piazza, Is Islamist Terrorism More Dangerous?: An Empirical Study of Group Ideology, Organization, and Goal Structure. Terrorism and Political Violence, 21(1), 62-88, 2009. DOI: 10.1080/09546550802544698
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[22] A. P. Schmid & J. de Graaf, Violence as Communication. Insurgent Terrorism and the Western News Media. London u.a., England: Sage Publications, 1982.
[23] A. P. Schmid, The Definition of Terrorism. In A. P. Schmid, (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research (pp. 39 – 157). London, England/ New York, NY: Routledge, 2013b.
[24] N. C. Schneider & B. Gräf, Eds., Social Dynamics 2.0: Researching Change in Times of Media Convergence. Berlin, Germany: Frank & Timme, 2011.
[25] The Institute for the Study of Violent Groups (2012). Al Gama'a Al Islamiyya. West Haven, CT: University of New Haven. Retrieved March 03, 2014. Available: http://vkb.isvg.org/Wiki/ Groups/Al_Gama%27a_Al_Islamiyya
[26] Transnational Terrorism, Security and the Rule of Law (2008 a). Concepts of Terrorism: Analysis of the rise, decline, trends and risk (Deliverable 5, Work package 3). Retrieved September 8, 2013. Available: http://www.transnationalterrorism.eu/ tekst/publications/WP3%20 Del%205.pdf
[27] T. A. Van Dijk, Ed., Discourse Studies. A multidisciplinary Introduction, 2nd ed. London et al., England: Sage, 2011.
[28] P. Waldmann, Terrorismus: Provokation der Macht. München, Germany: Gerling Akademie Verlag, 2001.
[29] J. B. Walther, C. T. Carr, S. S. W. Choi, D. C. De Andrea, J. Kim, S. Tom Tong & B. Van Der Heide, Interaction of Interpersonal, Peer, and Media Influence Sources Online. A Research Agenda for Technology Convergence. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), A Networked Self. Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites, (pp. 17-38). New York, NY/ London, England: Routledge, 2011.
[30] R. Wodak, R. de Cillia, M. Reisigl & K. Liebhart, (2009). The discursive construction of national Identity, 2nd ed. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
[2] M. Castells, The Power of Identity. Malden/Oxford, England: Blackwell, 1997.
[3] Council on Foreign Relations (2014). Jamaat al-Islamiyya. New York: Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved March 03, 2014, from http://www.cfr.org/egypt/jamaat-alislamiyya/p9156
[4] Council on Foreign Relations (2014). Jamaat al-Islamiyya. New York: Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved September 20, 2014, from http://www.cfr.org/egypt/jamaat-alislamiyya/p9156
[5] W. Damon, Social and personality development. New York, NY: Norton, 1983.
[6] E. H. Erikson, Dimensions of a new Identity. New York, NY: Norton, 1974.
[7] C. Heath-Kelly, L. Jarvis & C. Baker-Beall, Editors’ introduction: critical terrorism studies: practice, limits and experience, Critical Studies on Terrorism, 7:1, 1-10, 2014. DOI: 10.1080/17539153.2014.881198
[8] K. Hirschmann, Terrorismus. Wissen 3000. Hamburg, Germany: Europäische Verlagsanstalt/Sabine Groenewold Verlage, 2003.
[9] A. Hodges & C. Nilep (Ed.), Discourse, War and Terrorism. Amsterdam et al., Netherlands: John Benjamins, 2007.
[10] G. Kepel, Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
[11] P. E. King, Religion and Identity: The Role of Ideological, Social, and Spiritual Contexts. Applied Developmental Science, 7(3), 197-204, 2003.
[12] G. Kress, Ideological Structures in Discourse. In T. A. van Dijk, (Ed.), Handbook of Discourse Analysis: Discourse Analysis in Society (pp. 27-42). London et al., England: Academic Press, 1985, vol. 4.
[13] E. Laclau, Metaphor and social antagonisms. In C. Nelson & L. Grossberg (Eds.), Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture (pp. 249-257). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois, 1998.
[14] E. Laclau & C. Mouffe, Hegemony and socialist strategy. Towards a radical democratic politics. London, England: Verso, 1985.
[15] J. L. Lemke, Identity, Development and Desire: Critical Questions. In C. R. Caldas-Coulthard & R. Iedema (Eds.), Identity Trouble. Critical Discourse and Contested Identities (pp. 17-42). Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
[16] S. V. Marsden & A. P. Schmid, Typologies of terrorism and political violence. In A. P. Schmid, (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research (pp. 158 – 200). London, England/ New York, NY: Routledge, 2013.
[17] National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (2014). Terrorist Organization Profile: al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya (GAI). College Park: University of Maryland. Retrieved March 03, 2014. Available: http://www.start.umd.edu/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=3760
[18] A. R. Norton, Hezbollah. A short history. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009.
[19] Oxford Islamic Studies Online. (2014). Taliban. Available: http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com
[20] J. A. Piazza, Is Islamist Terrorism More Dangerous?: An Empirical Study of Group Ideology, Organization, and Goal Structure. Terrorism and Political Violence, 21(1), 62-88, 2009. DOI: 10.1080/09546550802544698
[21] A. Rashid, Taliban. Militant Islam, oil and fundamentalism in central Asia, 2nd ed., New Haven; CT: Yale University Press, 2010.
[22] A. P. Schmid & J. de Graaf, Violence as Communication. Insurgent Terrorism and the Western News Media. London u.a., England: Sage Publications, 1982.
[23] A. P. Schmid, The Definition of Terrorism. In A. P. Schmid, (Ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism Research (pp. 39 – 157). London, England/ New York, NY: Routledge, 2013b.
[24] N. C. Schneider & B. Gräf, Eds., Social Dynamics 2.0: Researching Change in Times of Media Convergence. Berlin, Germany: Frank & Timme, 2011.
[25] The Institute for the Study of Violent Groups (2012). Al Gama'a Al Islamiyya. West Haven, CT: University of New Haven. Retrieved March 03, 2014. Available: http://vkb.isvg.org/Wiki/ Groups/Al_Gama%27a_Al_Islamiyya
[26] Transnational Terrorism, Security and the Rule of Law (2008 a). Concepts of Terrorism: Analysis of the rise, decline, trends and risk (Deliverable 5, Work package 3). Retrieved September 8, 2013. Available: http://www.transnationalterrorism.eu/ tekst/publications/WP3%20 Del%205.pdf
[27] T. A. Van Dijk, Ed., Discourse Studies. A multidisciplinary Introduction, 2nd ed. London et al., England: Sage, 2011.
[28] P. Waldmann, Terrorismus: Provokation der Macht. München, Germany: Gerling Akademie Verlag, 2001.
[29] J. B. Walther, C. T. Carr, S. S. W. Choi, D. C. De Andrea, J. Kim, S. Tom Tong & B. Van Der Heide, Interaction of Interpersonal, Peer, and Media Influence Sources Online. A Research Agenda for Technology Convergence. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), A Networked Self. Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites, (pp. 17-38). New York, NY/ London, England: Routledge, 2011.
[30] R. Wodak, R. de Cillia, M. Reisigl & K. Liebhart, (2009). The discursive construction of national Identity, 2nd ed. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press, 2009.
Published
2014-09-15
How to Cite
ROTHENBERGER, Liane; KOTARAC, Mihailo.
The Discursive Construction of a Religious Terrorist Group Identity.
Култура/Culture, [S.l.], v. 5, n. 11, p. 91-102, sep. 2014.
ISSN 1857-7725.
Available at: <http://journals.cultcenter.net/index.php/culture/article/view/167>. Date accessed: 15 jan. 2025.
Section
English Articles
Keywords
Terrorism, Identity, Religion, Critical Discourse Analysis, Strategic Communication
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