Jihadiship: From Radical Behavior to Radical Beliefs

Abstract

Jihadism is a complex social phenomenon that changes people, but not always uniformly. This article argues that cognitive and behavioral radicalization can be seen as a discursive journey or jihadiship involving (e)merging ideas, problems, and solutions that change with encounters with new circumstances-both material and immaterial. The differences observed between various generations of jihadists are one manifestation of this complexity. Especially in a jihadi group, the processes of radicalization are bound to continue and take new forms, compared with those experienced in the West. Another example of the complexity of jihadiship is that not only can radical ideas lead to radical behavior, but also radical behavior can increasingly give rise to radical ideas in jihadi groups. ARTICLE HISTORYWhy do some Muslims residing in the West become radicalized, harboring extremist beliefs and a desire for fast and fundamental sociopolitical change (i.e., cognitive radicalization) and even resorting to violence to achieve this change (i.e., behavioral radicalization)? 1 Can knowledge of this radicalization process help us understand the prospects and challenges of deradicalization when fighters return from foreign conflict zones? Personal and collective grievances, networks and interpersonal ties, political and religious ideologies, and enabling environments and support structures have been associated with radicalization. 2 Still, we know little about Islamic radicalization in the West and the results of various studies are sometimes conflicting, often as concerns the role of education, class, family situation, and prior criminality. 3 Even less is known about why people become deradicalized. 4 The possible variables associated with radicalization are many. One group of scholars, with roots in French sociology, concentrates on sociological background factors such as globalization and the dissolution of traditional communities and identities. From this perspective, radicalization takes place when individuals try to reconstruct their identities in a hostile and perplexing world. In particular, second-generation Muslim immigrants can experience a double sense of non-belonging, if they do not feel part of their parents' communities in their home countries and experience socioeconomic exclusion and racism in the West. 5 This can lead them to opt for an identity involving membership in the abstract community of the ummah, the global Muslim nation, whom the jihadist group claims to represent.

Motivations for Jihad and Cognitive Dissonance – A Qualitative Analysis of Former Swedish Jihadists

“…Thus, radicalization can be seen as a discursive journey, jihadiship, consisting of (e)merging ideas, meanings, problems and solutions that change with individuals' encounters with new circumstances-both material (e.g., people and place) and immaterial (e.g., ideas). 40 Lacking access to people during the early stages of their radicalization, and not always being able to trust the motives of those who have joined a jihadist group, a researcher may find the next best option is to interview people who have had time to reflect on their jihadiship or are in a position to do so during an interview. The rest of the article studies how three former Swedish jihadists analyze, in retrospect, their motivations before they had travelled to a conflict zone and when they were in the conflict zone.…”

“…This variation in how individuals opt for jihad is an example of the complexity of jihadiship, consisting of (e)merging ideas, meanings, problems and solutions that change with individuals' encounters with new circumstances-both material (e.g., people and place) and immaterial (e.g., ideas). 78 Amir felt that there was wide variation in the fighters' motivations: "Some prayed extra prayers and asked to become shaheed [martyrs], but I did not have the same will to die. You will die when your time has come.…”

“…As radicalization is a multifaceted and dynamic process, often occurring in response to the events and people surrounding the radicalizing person, 21 it is analytically important to gain empirical access to its different phases. While research into radicalization has mostly been conceptual and theoretical rather than empirical, some interesting interview studies have been conducted.…”

Dreaming of The Peaceful Ways: An Evaluation of The Indonesian Deradicalisation Program

“…The ultimate goal of deradicalization is to create a sense of nationalism so that the targets participants will be willing to fully participate and function as the parts of the Indonesian society (Golose, 2010). Several academic literatures have attempted to define deradicalization, such as an effort to cast doubts regarding an ideology (Nilsson, 2021), a substantial change for the transformation of ideology and attitudes (Muhammad & Hiariej, 2021), a cognitive shift and level of ideological control (Horgan, Meredith, & Papatheodorou, 2020), and a process in which radicalized individuals slowly (re)process and eventually abandon extremist views (Baaken, Korn, Ruf, Walkenhorst, 2020). In the Indonesian context, the implementation of deradicalization has involved the roles of CSOs in mitigating the shortcomings of government-sponsored deradicalization programs (Agastia et al, 2020).…”

Peran Kecenderungan Berpikir Tertutup dan Kecenderungan Kebersetujuan pada Potensi Perilaku Radikal Mahasiswa

“…Aspek psikologis yang berkaitan dengan faktor risiko dan potensi yang dapat meradikalkan, perlu penyelidikan lebih lanjut untuk berkontribusi sebagai satu perspektif yang terintegrasi dalam teori yang lebih komprehensif (Mandel, 2009;David Webber & Kruglanski, 2018). Penyelidikan aspek psikologis seperti itu dihubungkan dengan dinamika motivasi pada radikalisasi, termasuk penelitian yang dilakukan secara personal (Kruglanski et al, 2014) seperti perasaan ketidakpastian diri (Hogg, 2007), berjuang untuk kepastian, dan mengurangi ambiguitas melalui penutupan kognitif (Nilsson, 2018).…”