936.3
New Technologies, Therapeutic Zones and Islamist Groups
Communication and entertainment technologies over the last decade have transformed sociopolitical activism. Ayman Al Zawahiri, in his book ‘Knights Under the Prophet’s Banner’ states: 'We must ... get our message across to the masses and break the media siege imposed on the jihad movement ... This can be achieved through the use of the Internet’. In most cases the new technologies were first developed for military purposes and later modified for civilian use –Internet, mobile phones, and military games. However over the last two decades Islamist groups have started to use the technologies in ways that they were first intended for –build secret communication networks, attract and train new recruits. For the most part the use of these technologies, especially Internet has been well documented in academic literature, and think tank and government reports. However, there is little written about how the aforementioned technologies are used to create psychosocial environments that act as precursors to one joining and acting on behalf of Islamist groups.
In this paper I will detail how social networks, videos, and video games can foster and be used by Islamists to create what I call ‘therapeutic zones’, which make acquiring and acting upon extreme ideas more amenable. I consider these zones as an essential part in cultivating the desire among some individuals to acquire extreme ideas and in some cases act upon them, either with or without the involvement of Islamists. These zones are important because they are spaces where what I call militarized emotions can be cultivated and secondary trauma imparted. The emotions act as disclaimers to circumvent ethical and legal references and make Islamist explanations and solutions expectable.