Jihadist “Cancel Culture”.
Dynamics of censorship and cultural control by jihadist groups.
Daniele Garofalo Monitoring is registered with the Italian National ISSN Centre and the Centre for the Registration of Serial Publications (CIEPS) in Paris.ISSN (International Standard Serial Number): 3103-3520ORCID Code: 0009-0006-5289-2874The list of websites and bibliography consulted and recommended for further reading can be found at the end.Over the last twenty-five years, jihadist activity has not been limited to physical violence and terrorist attacks, but has also extended to cultural and social manipulation, applied both directly in the areas where it operates and through propaganda. Among the strategies adopted by jihadist groups, a concept emerges that can be defined as the “cancel culture” of jihadism, with actions aimed at suppressing, cancelling, or removing any form of cultural and historical expression that they deem incompatible with their militant ideology or that is identified as belonging to a culture (Western culture) seen and described as oppressive. Terms such as “cancel culture” are conceptually different between Western academic usage and the violent practices of jihadist groups, but in this context of analysis, they can help to better frame the phenomenon at hand. The term “cancel culture” normally refers to boycott and social ostracism. In jihadist contexts, however, we see a set of coercive practices aimed at erasing people, cultural practices, and historical memory through violence, regulatory control, and material destruction.