The glamour of the Islamic State

“What inspires the most lethal terrorists in the world today is not so much the Qur’an or religious teachings as a thrilling cause and call to action that promises glory and esteem in the eyes of friends. Jihad is an egalitarian, equal-opportunity employer: fraternal, fast-breaking, glorious and cool,” noted anthropologist Scott Atran, who studies what moves people to join jihadi organizations. With this promise of camaraderie, glory, adventure and significance, Islamic State is tapping into martial glamour, whose many incarnations are as ancient as Achilles and as American as the U.S. Marine Corps. But in this case the cause is not patriotic but religious.

Islamic State’s recruitment imagery and Internet fan posts offer a different, more contemporary and overtly violent form of glamour. Videos, magazine features and Twitter memes mirror the glamour of action movies, shooter video games and gangsta rap. They make killing look effortless, righteous and triumphant. They promise to make the jihadist feel manly and important.

Indeed, the “intangible power” of Islamic State stems from its ability to meld common, often secular forms of martial and media glamour with a compellingly utopian version of religious faith. Conventional hometown imams often have little to offer alienated young British men longing for excitement and purpose, argued Shiraz Maher, a researcher at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation at King’s College London, compared with “the hyper-empowering appeal of IS videos, filled with balaclava-wearing boys in smocks offering the promise of making history.” The religious extremism that separates Islamic State from mainstream Muslim life is itself part of the thrill. “Those drawn towards more radical interpretations of Islam,” Maher wrote for New Statesmen, “have dismissed older members of their communities as cowards or religious sell-outs.”