Radical distinctions: A comparative study of two jihadist speeches

Gilbert Aubrey Warner Ramsay, Sarah Victoria Marsden

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Work on contemporary instances of “violent extremist” texts tends to see these primarily as more or less instrumental extensions of political (or political-religious) movements. As a result, there are few studies that devote close attention to individual examples of the texts themselves. In this article, we offer a detailed analysis of two jihadist speeches by the prominent ideologues Adam Gadahn and the late Anwar al-Awlaki. We argue that Al-Awlaki’s work ultimately succeeds where Gadahn’s seemingly fails because it is underpinned by a form of fundamentalism which, paradoxically, is inherently premised on the survival of possibilities for dialogue and polyglossia.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)392-409
JournalCritical Studies on Terrorism
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Dec 2013

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