{"title":"Dusty Feet: The Postings of an ISIS Blogger","authors":"Donald Holbrook, James Hopkins","doi":"10.19165/2022.1.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19165/2022.1.03","url":null,"abstract":"He was credited with having compiled the “Lonely Planet guide” to joining ISIS, yet little is known of the remarkable stories told in Zafirr Golamaully’s series of blogs called ‘Dusty Feet’. In this research paper we retell these stories, of an individual’s journey to join, dwell with and fight for ISIS. As we describe these accounts, we discuss their significance as informal reflections seeking to reach Western audiences and draw them into a radical milieu supporting Islamist militancy. We argue that these accounts are important for three reasons: they highlight the role of informal communication in legitimising and promoting terrorism; they illustrate how such communication contributes to notions of a jihadi community that combines the virtual and physical, where real experiences imbue online outreach efforts with credibility; and they constitute innovative attempts at bridging cultural domains, linking the austere and heavily theological representation of ISIS with ironic, often humorous messaging designed to appeal to Westernised youths.","PeriodicalId":169248,"journal":{"name":"ICCT Research Paper","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133888858","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How to define and tackle Islamist Extremist in the UK","authors":"Maaha Elahi, J. Hargreaves","doi":"10.19165/2022.1.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.19165/2022.1.05","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents a legal and public policy analysis of Shakeel Begg v British Broadcasting Corporation, a British libel case brought before the High Court in 2016. Begg v BBC provides a lens through which current debates on extremism and counter-extremism in the UK may be analysed. More specifically, the authors use their analysis of the case to address criticisms levied against the UK Government’s counter-extremism strategy, including the conceptualisation and definition of “Islamist extremism”. The article offers two main contentions. First, that the judgment in Begg v BBC has been undervalued by politicians and policymakers in the UK, as well as by scholars, journalists and other commentators. Second, that Lord Justice Haddon-Cave’s judgment in Begg v BBC provides a useful framework for those wishing to define, identify and tackle Islamist extremism, and extremism of any kind, in the UK and elsewhere.","PeriodicalId":169248,"journal":{"name":"ICCT Research Paper","volume":"12 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129057067","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}