Hijrah: Answering To The Call Of The Caliphate: Analysis of European Muslim women’s migration to Syria to join ISIS

Sabater Zamora, Laura

4. term

Development and International Relations, Master

2016

2016-07-22

79

Denne afhandling undersøger, hvorfor nogle europæiske muslimske kvinder har forladt deres hjemlande for at slutte sig til ISIS i Syrien og Irak, samt hvordan deres radikalisering forløb, før de tog beslutningen om at foretage hijrah (migration). Feltet er underbelyst, og studiet opstiller derfor en sammenhængende teoretisk ramme, der forklarer radikaliseringsprocessen og motiverne for migration. Rammen bygger på framing-teori (Frame Theory) inden for teori om sociale bevægelser (Social Movement Theory) og er forankret i de sociologiske begreber dobbelt kulturel alteritet samt push- og pull-faktorer (kræfter der henholdsvis skubber væk og tiltrækker). Denne ramme understøtter den kvantitative og kvalitative indholdsanalyse, som afhandlingen gennemfører af indlæg fra europæiske muslimske kvinder bosat i Syrien. Analysen viser, at kvinderne begrundede rejsen med en religiøs pligt og ønsket om at leve under sharia (islamisk lov og moral). De pegede også på incitamenter i det såkaldte kalifat som økonomisk sikkerhed og følelsen af at høre til i et fællesskab. Klager over Vesten, såsom diskrimination eller forfølgelse af muslimske samfund, blev nævnt sjældnere. Mange indlæg om migration var rettet mod at rekruttere andre kvinder, og resultaterne peger på et rekrutteringsnetværk, hvor nogle kvinder tilbød information og hjælp, med en kommunikation målrettet andre muslimske kvinder og muslimer generelt. Samlet tyder resultaterne på, at disse kvinder gennemgik en voldelig radikaliseringsproces i et socialt miljø, sandsynligvis via sociale medier, hvilket førte til, at de opfattede rejsen til Syrien som obligatorisk og den eneste måde at praktisere ‘ægte’ islam og opnå en plads i paradis.

This thesis explores why some European Muslim women left their home countries to join ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and how they became radicalized before deciding to make hijrah (migration). Because this is an under-studied topic, the study develops a coherent theoretical framework to explain the radicalization process and motives for migration. The framework uses Frame Theory within Social Movement Theory and is grounded in the sociological ideas of dual cultural alterity and push–pull factors (forces that drive people away or attract them). This framework supports a mixed-methods content analysis—both quantitative and qualitative—of posts written by European Muslim women living in Syria. The analysis shows that the women said they went to Syria because they saw it as a religious obligation and wanted to live under Sharia (Islamic law and moral code). They also cited incentives offered by the so-called Caliphate, such as financial security and a sense of belonging to a community. Grievances about the West, like discrimination or the persecution of Muslim communities, were mentioned less often. Many posts about migration aimed to recruit other women, and the results indicate a recruitment network in which some women provided information and help, with messages directed at other Muslim women and Muslims in general. Overall, the findings suggest that these women underwent a process of violent radicalization in a social environment—most likely via social media—which led them to believe that going to Syria was mandatory and the only way to practice ‘real’ Islam and attain heaven.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

ISIS ; European Muslim Women ; Hijrah ; Migration ; Islamic State

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Sabater Zamora, Laura:

• Hijrah: Answering To The Call Of The Caliphate: Analysis of European Muslim women’s migration to Syria to join ISIS (2016)