Sociology of Terrorism: A Brief History and Overview of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) Propaganda Wing from a  Socio-Educational Perspective

Mohammad Husni  Abumelhim; Ramzy Mahmoud  Radaideh; Esra’a Omar  Abu-Alkeshek

doi:10.36941/jesr-2022-0061

Authors

Mohammad Husni Abumelhim Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Social Work, Ajloun University College, Al-Balqa Applied University, Ajloun, Jordan
Ramzy Mahmoud Radaideh Lecturer, King Talal School of Business Technology, Princess Sumaya University for Technology, Amman, Jordan
Esra’a Omar Abu-Alkeshek Assistant Professor, Department of Education, Arab Open University, Amman, Jordan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36941/jesr-2022-0061

Keywords:

Sociology of Terrorism, ISIS, Propaganda, Dabiq

Abstract

This study aimed at providing a brief overview of ISIS’s ideology and origins as starting points for an analysis of its propaganda strategy. How did ISIS utilize its ideological propaganda wing to achieve its socio-educational goals? An intrinsic case study is used to provide an overview of ISIS’s key multi-lingual propaganda documents and media modes. It is these documents and modes of media that ISIS uses as primary sources for its propaganda strategy, which is employed through vocabulary reinforcement, in addition to piece-meal usage of Qur’an and Hadith. Through the intrinsic case study, this study illustrates precisely how ISIS’s ideology is reflected through both content and form. Since ISIS’s inception as an offshoot of Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), ISIS has learned to constantly reposition and remarket itself as a needed response to the needs of the umma. It is only by understanding the periodicals that ISIS has developed over time that one can do justice in delving into ISIS’s strategy of sociolinguistic terrorism.

Received: 11 November 2021 / Accepted: 29 December 2021 / Published: 5 March 2022