The Making of a Mobile Caliphate State in the African Sahel

Hamdy Hassan, Zayed University

Document Type

Book Chapter

Source of Publication

The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity

Publication Date

1-1-2019

Abstract

The goal of this chapter is to thoroughly understand the context of the dominant jihadist narratives and the nature of their appeal in the Sahelian region. All these jihadist ideologies are based on a peculiar Salafi Radicalism that aimed to transform the state and society by methods of preaching and violence. Therefore, studying and analyzing the principles of the Salafist discourse as a political project helps us to understand its points of strengths and weaknesses. In addition, we can be better look at the future trends and prospects of violent jihadist groups in the African Sahel. The roots of this Islamic discourse as a political project may be attributed to what Lunay and Suarez call the “Islamic domain.” The rise of violent radical Islamism represents drive from the internal political and socioeconomic dynamics evolving in each Sahelian state. However, the struggle and rivalry of jihadist ideologies after the military defeat of Daesh in Mosul is important at a time when thousands of fighters who have survived the civil wars in Iraq, Syria, and Libya are looking for new jihadist fields.

Publisher

Springer Nature

Disciplines

Social and Behavioral Sciences

Indexed in Scopus

no

Open Access

yes

Open Access Type

Bronze: This publication is openly available on the publisher’s website but without an open license

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