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Radicalization and media The Role of New Technologies and the Media Ico Maly Content • Radicalization & Context • General remarks • New Media • Rise of the clash of civilization paradigm • Mass media & radicalization • New media & radicalization Radicalization & context • Radicalization • • • • • Is not an Islamic problem It is not a religious problem either It is not a cultural problem It can not even be located in one party only It is a process/a relation • Radicalization doesn’t come out of the blue: • it is nurtured in specific contexts and by specific persons and organizations who use specific instruments • Media take an important role in the creation of context and as instruments for ideological strive Radicalization & context • Two historical evolutions since the nineties • The rise of ‘the clash of civilizations’-paradigm in mass media • The rise of new media-technologies • Match these with • the current reporting and the discourses of important politicians on the conflict in Syria • And the mobilization by radical jihadist movements online • And we start to see the contours of the context of radicalization Radicalization & Mass Media • The rise of the Clash of Civilizationdiscourse • Since the fall of the Berlin Wall, new discourses on the world arise • Francis Fukuyama’s end of history and Huntington’s clash of civilizations • Islam is being portrayed in these discourses as ‘the other’, the dangerous ‘other’ • Islam and Islamic countries are portrayed as the mirror image of our self-glorificated image as the carriers of democracy, human rights, equality, … Radicalization & Mass Media • These discourses serves on a globalized level for the ‘legitimation’ of the wars against Iraq (2X) and Afghanistan • Democracy became for many Muslims a synonym for an occupying force • The War on terror became a synonym for war against Islam • These discourses also had big effects in other western countries like Belgium • Since the end of the eighties and certainly in the beginning of the nineties, we saw the rise of the extreme right Flemish Bloc on the basis of anti-migrant-discourse • The response of the mainstream parties was the development of the integration paradigm • This installed an ideology of homogeneism: we have to share the same norms and values if we want to be a society • Migrants (others) are a menace to this homogeneity and thus a threat to our society. That why they should integrate and develop • These demands will have an increasing influence, on the left wing as well. Radicalization & Mass Media • The result was Culturalizing ‘the Other’ • • • • • • • • The Other is just a culture Integration is a cultural problem Criminality is a cultural problem Unemployment is a cultural problem Gender inequality: cultural problem Macho behavior: cultural problem School results: cultural problem Homophobia: cultural problem • The other was seen as a Muslim and so by default imagined as antidemocracy, anti-human rights, … • Such discourses create and legitimizes racism and exclusions and fuels radicalization: the message is: you don’t belong here, democracy is not for you, freedom of opinion is for us, not you, … Radicalization & New media • Rise of new media • Globalized gaming • E-mail, Skype, Satellite, … • YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, … • New media results in globalized identities & movements • Hip hop, Skaters culture, emo, … • Anonymous, Occupy movement, … • Not different for Islam: Al Qaeda used the web, but also fashionable Muslims us it: hijabista’s, European Islam & radical Islamic movements Radicalization & New media Radicalization & New media • If you look at mobilization towards the conflict in Syria by Islamic movements you see that is mainly based on social networks • The best known example is the Sharia4Belgium network • You see a ‘small’ number of youngsters that are fan of these pages that pop up from different European countries • In Belgium: Free Abu Imran (148) & Jean Louis Le Soumis Page Pour Mes Rappel (399 likes) or in Holland: Nederlandse Mujahidin in Syrië (1523 likes) • On these pages youngsters are engaged in political –Islamist talk and sometimes even openly celebrate jihadi culture and people like Bin Laden • These pages are closely linked tot international pages that celebrate Jihad on Facebook like • for example Nûr El Jihad • Nûr El Jihad is active on Facebook an YouTube • Celebrates Jihad, violence and Bin Laden Radicalization & New media Radicalization & New media Radicalization & New media Radicalization & New media • Also in Holland we see similar pages appear on these social media like Facebook • Nederlandse Mujahidin in Syrië (1523 likes) • The page celebrates the Dutch Mujahidin and the Martirs • They also engage in political talk on the relation between ‘the West’ and ‘Islam’ • This discourse is quite similar as the western version of the clash of civilizations but with reverse roles Radicalization & New media Radicalization & New media Radicalization & New media • On these pages we see a mixture of islamist talk and the celebration of violence • Notice; a lot of these pages use Dutch, French or English: • By this we can conclude that are set up by Europeans and are aiming to reach Europeans • The discourse is often an mixture of religious as well as political talk with references to the clash-of-civilization-discourse • • • • • The West (ergo: democracy, freedom of speech, … ) is against US Strong US vs Them-discourse: West=bad vs Islam(=jihadist islam) =good Political mobilization against Assad Condemning Western non-intervention The gruesome images of the behaviour of American Soldiers and the Assad regime are used to underline the idea that ‘the west’ is anti-Muslim and is waging a war on islam Conclusion: Radicalization & media Conclusion: Radicalization & media • Mass media and new media have played a role in the radicalization of Muslims in Europe: • In the last decennia media broadcasted politicians, intellectuals and experts that voiced the same discourse (but in different gradations) on the clash of civilizations • That created a polarization between Muslims an non-Muslims • It also had as an effect a rise in racism and exclusion of Muslims in our society • On a global scale this discourse was the legitimation of three wars against ‘Muslim countries’. Conclusion: Radicalization & media • Mass media and new media have played a role in the radicalization of Muslims in Europe: • In the last decennia media broadcasted politicians, intellectuals and experts that voiced the same discourse (but in different gradations) on the clash of civilizations • That created a polarization between Muslims and non-Muslims • It also had as an effect a rise in racism and exclusion of Muslims in our society • On a global scale this discourse was the legitimation of three wars against ‘Muslim countries’. • It is in this context that we should understand ‘radicalization’ • It is a process were ‘our radicalization’ matches ‘their radicalization’
