http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/15/us/15net.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1205784903-nGAiqDYmnZTfuEdmebRl/Q
The New York Times recently reported about Al-Qaeda's growing use of the internet to attract support from potential terrorists in the West, particularly young Muslims living in Europe and the United States. The author of the article discussed how Al-Qaeda has had a lot of success in gaining sympathizers in the West through various propagandist endeavors disseminated through the internet. As mentioned in class, the author highlights Al-Qaeda's use of hip-hop videos with anti-West messages to attract support. The organization has found this tool effective. It seems odd to me that Al-Qaeda would approve of hip-hop, a Western trend with sometimes questionable messages, as the mode by which their ideas are spread to young adults. Is this a double standard that the Al-Qaeda organization has, or is the use of hip-hop to gain support perpetuated by individuals not truly part of the group but rather distant supporters of Al-Qaeda? I would be interested in knowing what you all think.
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This is a very interesting question. I have used this article in a previous post and read about Al-Qaeda's use of hip-hop and other music videos to recruit, but I never thought about it this way. I definitely think that if Al-Qaeda is making these videos then this is a double standard that Al-Qaeda has. Hip-hop is definitely a western product, originating in New York in the 70s (by most sources). I believe that most of Al-Qaeda's anti-western sentiments are useful for them to gain support, but that it is possible they may not be as salafist as they want everyone to think they are. If they truly thought that the west (and modern Islam) was corrupt, then I highly doubt that they would make hip-hop videos to gain support. It seems that they would be going against a core belief to do this. Is it possible that Al-Qaeda professes to believe in fundamental Islamic principles when in actuality it is a facade do gain support? That is probably a depthless claim when considering the main Al-Qaeda organization, and I don't know how much I personally would buy it, but I don't think it is too far-fetched to believe that some of the supporters (maybe who make hip-hop videos) do not have similar core beliefs as the Al-Qaeda members and leaders. I think it is much more likely that these videos are created by distant supporters. If the main organization is creating them, they definitely need to align their actions with their beliefs.
This may be evidence that the once hierarchical al-Qaeda organization is flattening into a cellular network. Based on our discussions of Salafist Islam, it seems unlikely that the core leaders, motivated by religious beliefs, would condone using Western music to attract recruits, but those leaders may not have enough leverage over all of their affiliates to stop the practice.
I think the use of hip-hop music by Al-Qaeda shows that they have more political goals and use religion as a front. Even though they are supposedly opposed to Western trends and ideas, when they see that those trends, such as hip hop, help them in their cause, they are willing to compromise their religiosity in order to further their political goals. Kind of ironic, I think.
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