Jihadi Rap - using Islamophobia for recruitment
Extremist organizations such as ISIS and Al-Shabaab use religious discourse to justify and promote their cause. This fuels the Islamophobic tendencies of the West which then causes some of them to generalize and associate all Muslims with such organizations. An outlet that some of these terrorist organizations use for recruitment is through the use of hip-hop. These organizations are using extremist language and media that appeals to the youth in what is being called 'jihadi cool.'
Jihadi recruitment videos have gradually shifted from readings of the Quran and calls to prayer to rap videos with extremist language, higher production values, and hip-hop beats. These new tactics of infiltrating and integrating hip-hop culture into their messages glorify the purpose and means that these groups profess in order to attract the youth.
Some of the people attracted by this method have no prior experience with Islam, such as rapper Deso Dogg. The violent images and messages sent in such videos such as 'Dirty Kuffar' parallels some of the violent ideas present in gangster rap. The people enticed by jihadi rap view Islam also as a justification for their actions. Coming from a Western land like England or the US, these people view Islam as something that's an "enemy of the 'system'" (1), something that they can sympathize with. These are people who might not be theologically devout or even have a sound religious foundation, but they are using this new jihadi cool to justify criminal acts of terrorism |
'Dirty Kuffar' - A jihadist rap
The viewing of Islam as something that sits against the values of the mainstream society is an attitude prevalent in Islamophobic culture. Islam is perceived as having no 'values in common with other cultures, is not affected by them and does not influence them. Islam is seen as inferior to the West; it is considered barbaric, irrational, primitive and sexist; Islam is seen as violent, aggressive, threatening, supportive of terrorism and engaged in a “clash of civilizations.”' (2) Islamophobia is actually manifested in their decision to convert.
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Extremist groups attempt to draw parallels between themselves and subgroups like gangster rap culture by exploiting the Islamophobia present in the mainstream culture. People who identify with gangster rap culture feel otherized and may sympathize with the 'otherized' Muslims. However, violence and other gangster rap culture aspects exist mostly in the propagandistic videos that the extremist groups try to publicize and do not paint a complete picture of Islam. Thus, these organizations play on the Islamophobic nature of the West in order to attract membership for their causes.