Browsing by Subject "radical Islam"

This thesis explores how background variables such as age and gender, different socio-cultural factors, social status, and personal preferences affect the valuation of violent visual Salafi-Jihadist propaganda in the Kingdom of Jordan. An Internet-based questionnaire is used to examine whether different background variables, or combinations thereof, can predict predispositions to accepting or rejecting violent Salafi-Jihadist propaganda in Jordan. This study also examines whether personal media use preferences or the self-assessed religiosity of Muslims negatively or positively affect the appreciation of Jihadist propaganda. This thesis compares the Jordanian results with previous research data on predispositions and susceptibility to propaganda such as cognitive maturity and identity formation stages. Social movement theory is used to illustrate the structural vulnerabilities of the Jordanian society and their connection to the willingness of individuals to respond to grievances by unconventional means. The social network theory outlines the importance of Salafi-Jihadist networks operating in Jordan in the process of radicalisation. These theories are used to analyse differences observed in the survey responses and their relation to the background factors of individuals. The study also utilises the picture theory of language in selecting the survey images from the Salafi-Jihadist propaganda images published by the “Islamic State” (ISIL) and Al Qaeda, while also considering the symbols, icons, and cultural features they contain. A questionnaire is created in the University of Helsinki E-lomake service to survey respondents. Participants are asked to indicate their age cohort, gender, place of residence, employment situation, educational background, marital status, and religion as background information. In addition to these, participants are asked to rate their personal media use based on which media they use most frequently and what type of content they mostly consume in them. The research material of the questionnaire consists of 25 images divided into four content categories. This thesis focuses on analysing those valuations, which concern images portraying violent Salafi-Jihadist propaganda. In Jordan, men in age cohorts 19‒26 years and women in age cohorts 15‒22 years rate violent Salafi-Jihadist propaganda images most positively. Out of all respondents, those with a secondary or tertiary education diploma appraise Salafi-Jihadist images more positively than those with only a primary school education. Respondents who have spent most of their lives in small villages or towns evaluate Salafi-Jihadist images more positively than those who have lived in larger settlements. Very high levels of self-assessed religiosity potentially contribute to the positive appreciation of violent Salafi-Jihadist images, especially among women. From a media consumption perspective, women of all ages who consume predominantly religious content mostly rate Salafi-Jihadist propaganda images negatively, whereas corresponding men, especially those aged 15–22 and 27–30, are more likely to assess these images positively. Employment situation or marital status do not significantly affect how violent Salafi-Jihadist images are assessed by either gender.