Salafi-Jihadism and Digital Media

The Nordic and International Context

Magnus Ranstorp, Linda Ahlerup, Filip Ahlin, Magnus Ranstorp, Linda Ahlerup, Filip Ahlin

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9781000596113
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politik & Internationale Beziehungen
• Subtopic: Terrorismus

This book explores the online strategies and presence of Salafi-Jihadi actors in the Nordic as well as the international context.

Global Salafi-jihadism has been at the epicentre of international focus during the past decade. This book explores how the Swedish and other Nordic Salafi-jihadist sympathisers have used social digital media to radicalise, recruit, and propagate followers in relation to foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) and online communities. The chapters in this volume unpack different perspectives of Salafi-jihadi communications strategies, as well as how the international Salafi-jihadi community has constantly reconfigured and adapted to changing security conditions. The case studies of the Nordics constitute a microcosm of wider Salafi-jihadi narratives in relation to the rise and fall of the Islamic State's so-called 'digital caliphate'.

This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism studies, counter-extremism and counter-terrorism, social media and security studies.

1Introduction

Magnus Ranstorp, Linda Ahlerup and Filip Ahlin

DOI: 10.4324/9781003261315-1

Introduction

The Swedish Salafi-jihadi milieu has gradually emerged since the early 1990s, evolving in symbiosis with international events and transnational connectivity to foreign conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Early on, Sweden became a refuge for some Salafi-jihadi figures who were closely involved in these foreign conflicts and who simultaneously became key radicalisers within the Swedish Muslim communities. The emergence of the Swedish Salafi-jihadi ecosystem has been greatly influenced by rapid technological advancements within the digital arena, connecting the global with the local. Global mobility and greater digital connectivity, provided by an array of new and expanding social media platforms, have been skilfully exploited by Salafi-jihadi milieus everywhere to more effectively spread their ideology, to radicalise and recruit followers, and to unite the disparate parts of the archipelago of the Salafi community. The use of various forms of digital media has constituted an essential component in the progress and growth of the Swedish Salafi-jihadi milieu throughout the last two decades.

For example, during the early 21st century, and prior to the breakthrough of iPhones and smartphones, the communications platform Paltalk was widely used among Swedish Salafi-jihadi actors – both in terms of internal communication, as well as interactions with international counterparts. One of the channels used was the so-called “Paradise of Allah”¹ which was moderated by one of the most central and influential Swedish Salafi preachers at the time, Anas Khalifa. By gathering Salafi-jihadis from Sweden, Norway, and Denmark, the “Paradise of Allah” enabled live interactions with like-minded individuals across borders – something rather uncommon at this point in time. In addition, by using additional channels within Paltalk, Swedish Salafi-jihadi actors were further given the opportunity to interact with several prominent international Salafi-jihadis – including the hate preachers Said Mansour and Anwar al-Awlaki.²

A more contemporary example, which further illustrates the importance of digital media in relation to the Swedish Salafi-jihadi milieu, as well as the intersection between the local and the international context, is the notorious Swedish Salafi-jihadi recruiter and preacher Michael Skråmo. Acknowledged as one of the most visible Swedish propagandists on site in the then-declared Islamic State (IS) Caliphate, Skråmo used platforms such as Facebook and Telegram in order to call upon Swedish individuals to commit acts of terrorism on Swedish soil, as well as joining IS. In one of his many videos, Skråmo can be seen wearing a military uniform, carrying a Kalashnikov, proselytising to his followers and proclaiming that “Islam is about sacrifice – what can you sacrifice for Islam?”.³ Being a part of the Swedish contingent in Iraq and Syria, Skråmo has further been seen posing in pictures with another Swedish IS terrorist Osama Krayem, currently being prosecuted for his role and involvement in the Brussels terror attacks in 2016.⁴

These two cases clearly highlight two important aspects. Firstly, these specific examples are only two out of many more, demonstrating that Swedish Salafi-jihadi supporters use digital media for different purposes. It also shows the degree of connectivity between the local, Swedish elements with other parts of the global Salafi-jihadi movement. This digital interconnectivity has worked to facilitate the radicalisation, recruitment and travel of 300 Swedish individuals who largely joined Salafi-jihadi terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq between 2012 and 2017.⁵ From these conflict zones, key Swedish IS figures have interacted with IS sympathisers and followers within Sweden and elsewhere, encouraging recruitment and even urging terrorist attacks. As such, Sweden, and by extension the Nordic region, continuously contributes to the growth and development of the global Salafi-jihadi milieu.

Secondly, these two examples further point to the importance of examining and understanding the online activities of Salafi-jihadi actors. While there is a tendency to focus on how terrorist organisations disseminate their propaganda, and how such activities affect the local milieus in different countries, there is also a reverse relationship – how the online activities of local actors may contribute to the strengthening of the international milieu as such.

Aim and research questions

Few topics have captured the public interest to the same extent as global jihadism during the last decade. The recent advancement and growth of the Islamic State (IS) and their recognition of the power of digital media have further spurred increased scholarly attention to the interrelation between Salafi-jihadism and the digital sphere. However, while the interest in Salafi-jihadism and the digital arena is not a new phenomenon, a limited amount of research has focused on the specific strategies and narratives disseminated by local groups and online supporter communities at the national and the international level. By examining and analysing a number of empirical cases in the Nordic region, and specifically in Sweden, this book seeks to contribute to greater knowledge of Salafi-jihadism and digital media within this specific context. Furthermore, this book contextualises these Nordic case studies within recent developments with the collapse of IS in Syria and Iraq, as well as Salafi-jihadi reconfiguration and adaptation. This book unpacks the intersection between the digital- and physical milieus, as well as how they mirror each other. An increased understanding of how such platforms are used, what narratives that are disseminated and promoted, as well as how the digital and physical milieus mirror each other, may in turn improve our knowledge about some of the specific push- and pull factors within the Salafi-jihadi milieu, specifically relating to Sweden. In turn, this may provide a window into a greater understanding of the behaviour of Salafi-jihadi sympathisers on digital media and ways to craft potential counter-measures.

Over 300 foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) have travelled from Sweden to Syria and Iraq, making Sweden one of the highest suppliers of FTFs among the EU member states, proportionate to its population size.⁶ In 2017, the Swedish Security Service further announced that the number of individuals adhering to the violence-promoting Islamist extremist milieu had increased tenfold during the last decade, from 200 to approximately 2,000 individuals.⁷ Accordingly, Sweden constitutes an interesting starting point for creating an in-depth understanding of how social media and other digital milieus are exploited by Salafi-jihadists in order to disseminate propaganda, as well as attracting and recruiting new followers.

By focusing on Sweden and the Nordic region, and further connecting it to an international context, this book thus seeks to answer the following questions:

• How do Swedish Salafi-jihadists and online supporter communities use social media, and what are their narrative strategies in relation to precursor organisations to IS and after the establishment of the Caliphate in 2014?
• What has been the role and function of Swedish support for IS, in relation to the digital social media dimension?
• How does non-violent Swedish Salafi narratives, disseminated on social media, challenge democratic norms?
• In neighbouring Denmark, what has been the Salafi-jihadi social media strategy?
• What role do female IS-supporters play, in Sweden and internationally, in the dissemination of official and unofficial propaganda?
• How are the Salafi-jihadi messages and narratives constructed in relation to gender?
• How has IS official social media machinery evolved and how has its media strategy changed over time?
• How can we understand IS digital behaviour and influence campaigns in relation to changing conditions on the ground?

Definition of key concepts

Jihad

The concept of jihad is both complex as well as contentious and may allude to various meanings, depending on context and use. The very term comes from the root verb jahada, which means “to labour, struggle, or exert effort”.⁸ For most of the Muslim population, jihad is a legitimate task and refers to the perpetual, non-violent inner struggle against oneself, emotions, or desires, with the aim of achieving religious devotion and authenticity. This is sometimes also referred to as “the greater jihad”⁹ and constitute the most noble, common, and widespread usage. On the other hand, there is also “the lesser jihad”, which refers to the struggle against the so-called enemies of Islam. This form of jihad may occur using both violent and non-violent means.¹⁰

The conflation of the term jihad, both violent and non-violent, has been problematic both for scholars and for Muslims. As astutely pointed out by Thomas Hegghammer, when Muslims speak about militant Islamists who use illegitimate violence, they do not call them “jihadists” but rather use delegitimising terms such as “terrorists” (irhabiyyun), Kharijites (khawarij), “deviants” (munharifun), or members of the “misled sect” (al-fi’a al-dhalla).¹¹

The evolution and interpretation of the concept of jihad is complex, and there is disagreement within Muslim jurisprudence and among the scholarly community as to the permissible circumstances for engaging in violent jihad against enemies. For example, the leader of the Arab-Afghan mujahideen in the 1980s, “Abdallah” Azzam, argued that the linguistic meaning of jihad failed to recognise the distinct legal implication of the term – fighting (al-qital). As explained by Shiraz Maher, the very definition of jihad as “fighting” can partly be derived from its rather frequent coupling with the phrase fi sabil Allah (in the path of Allah) within the Qur’an. As such, the term “fighting” is linked with the entity it should be conducted for – God.¹² However, it is important to emphasise that there are few Muslims that legitimise violent struggle against perceived enemies of Islam.

While constituting a minority within Islam, the main part of this book nevertheless focuses on those Salafi-jihadi groups and individuals who not only perceive the use of violence as legitimate, but also as necessary. Accordingly, within this context, the use of the terms jihad and jihadists refer to those that justify the use of violence against the perceived enemies of Islam.

Salafism

Within the field of Islamic studies, the concept of Salafism has been the subject of much debate. In similarity...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title Page
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• List of contributors
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Swedish jihadists on social media
• 3 Swedish “media jihad”: The active role of Swedish terrorists and supporters in Islamic State media
• 4 The attractions of Salafi-jihadism as a gendered counterculture: Propaganda narratives from the Swedish online “sisters in deen”
• 5 Puritan Salafis in a liberal democratic context
• 6 Militants and media in Denmark: Addicted to Facebook?
• 7 IS’s global digital arenas: Strategy and platforms
• 8 The propaganda and narratives of the Islamic State: A gender perspective
• 9 Making sense of the Islamic State’s post-territorial (d)evolution: From “remaining and expanding” to “erosion and struggle”
• 10 Conclusion
• Index