Jihadism Transformed

This edited text, a collection of essays which emerged from a 2014 FCO convention of experts, pitches al-Qaeda and Daesh as oppositional movements competing for the hearts and minds of misguided Muslims. While there are distinct operational differences with al-Qaeda providing the subtlety to Daesh’s sledge hammer approach to co-opting the allegiance of local tribes and populations, the genesis of the shared ideology remains to the fore, with Daesh providing the bastardised version. However, more attention needs to be given to the differences apparent between al-Qaeda and Daesh than the book’s input provides. Al-Qaeda has always been more a series of ideas than an organisation, whereas Daesh offered substance, and according to Awan has ‘changed abstract utopian aspirations to worldly realities’ serving to revitalise an ‘ailing jihadist narrative for a whole new generation,’ premised on the concept of a ‘tangible and realised caliphate.’ The appeal of one organisation over the other may also be generational with media-savvy Daesh attracting a larger cohort of the young, whose frequent reliance on uneducated interpretations of Islam, along with a pornification of adventure/excitement/violence provides significant motivators for alignment. Awan seeks to determine why westerners, particularly those who have adopted Islam are attracted to Daesh.