Extremism is a globally observed and discussed issue that we are all faced with, albeit in varying degrees. As Germans, living in Europe, it is highly interesting for us to see how those issues are perceived here because the US is a world leader. The lecture ISIS and European Right-Wing Propaganda by Dr. Erin Saltman offered us a great opportunity to gain an overview, but also induced more dissent than agreement. As people who live closer to the outcomes of extremism, we felt the urge to give our thoughts and experiences a voice.
For us, the main issue of the lecture is the lack of definition and differentiation. Specifically, our concerns were with the terms propaganda and Jihad. What is meant by propaganda? Saltman describes her work as a counter narrative, but does not counter narratives also function as a kind of propaganda? Also, what is meant by the Jihad, especially for a Muslim, and how do extremists interpret the Jihad? One might assume that in this lecture there is a certain opinion covered in research work, but a researcher has the duty to supply his audience with empirical knowledge and data.
We appreciate the deep analysis of the problematics of propaganda from the perspective of media, but we wished that the lecture drew on empirical data that went beyond social media, because that is what helps people to form their opinions independently: real people telling their real experiences. Both of us have their roots in Turkey. In the Kurdish area in the east of Turkey it is no longer an exception that uneducated and disadvantaged young girls and boys are being recruited on the streets. One has to analyze this process to be able to argue against the right-wing propaganda. That’s the only way to understand whether the Islam is responsible for this kind of extremism or whether extremists use Islam. The lecture was supposed to be about ISIS and European Right-Wing Propaganda, but it ended up being mainly about Islamism. In this regard, the title did not match the contents of the lecture. Extremism is working the same way, no matter if right or left winged, what belief, origin or mindset, and the causation and manner of extremism is what we have to pay attention to. A lecture without reflection is not what helps the world to understand reality of the conflict.
In her lecture, Saltman used the term twisted feminism to describe the motivation behind some of the ISIS propaganda. We do not believe that feminism or its twisted version is the basis to allure women to join ISIS. To understand how ISIS-propaganda for women works, we want to ask Dr. Saltman to analyze what kind of emotions these women had when seeing the propaganda advertisements. What motives did they have to be a part of the Islamic State? We did not understand how this can be linked to feminism, because feminism is linked to the freedom of women. On the other side, ISIS is associated with female slavery, which is why we opine that usually women who follow ISIS do not yearn for freedom, but rather romanticize the imagination of being a „Martyrs Wife“ - serving somebody who sacrifices their lives for God. However, Saltman’s hypothesis is not per se wrong, but we need to hear from people themselves (a research on the ground) as opposed to a description of what is clearly visible on social media.
Dr. Saltman did differentiate between Islam and ISIS and it is known that extremism is reality all over the world in every political and/or religious persuasion, but yet questions were left that could have been addressed. For us the most important question is why there is even an opportunity to be extremist within society in the first place. This question, which sure is such a sensitive topic, has to be answered for every sort of extremism in order to maintain peace and freedom in our society, and peace and freedom are not achievements, but responsibilities.
However, we appreciate a lot that there is the aim and motivation to want young students understand what is going on in the world and trying to achieve a change in society, a rapprochement of people. Democracy is only viable when each and every one of us is ready to take responsibility for the whole and our history shows that major changes were not done in brief timespans. Many roads lead to Rome and the important thing is, to start walking…
by Nadin Tanriverdi and Enes Portakalci
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