Abstract
As an anecdote to loss and humiliation, radical Islamic militancy offers rebirth, retribution, and honor with the acceptance of tribal affiliation. To White Supremacists, White Supremacy or White Nationalism offers an America that is “Great Again,” meaning White, Christian, and a reversal of liberal values that have characterized America over the last several decades. For both Radical Jihadist Islam and White Supremacy, the percentage of people who will commit acts of extreme violence is small. But the support for their militancy, or some basic aspects of their cause, are often widely held. They, and a much broader group that supports their ideals, are propelled increasingly by internet-based propaganda that develops alternative truths that idealize a rigid alternative reality. Increasingly, these outlets are listened to and read by millions, and despite their basis in falsity and exaggeration, they become the substitute to a legitimate free press, which they call “fake news.” They begin with arguments that seem reasonable, but quickly escalate to hatred toward the outgroup, a deeply felt need to protect the tribe, and a sense of urgency to move toward militancy. Our behavioral genetics energizes talk of the “war on Islam,” and the “war on Christianity” to rapidly transform from a metaphor to a call to armed struggle and violence.
“We call upon every Muslim in every place to perform hijrah [to migrate] to the Islamic State or fight in his land wherever that may be… This is because the battle is one between the allies of the Merciful and the allies of Satan, and so Allah …will support His soldiers, grant His slaves authority, and preserve His religion, even if the days alternate between victory and loss , even if war is competition, and even if wounds afflict both parties…. We call upon you so that you leave the life of humiliation , disgrace, degradation, subordination, loss , emptiness, and poverty, to a life of honor , respect, leadership, richness” [bold added]. (Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, May 14, 2015 [1])
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Hobfoll, S.E. (2018). Radical Jihad and Paranoid Supremacists. In: Tribalism. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-78405-2_6
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