The double dimension of Islamist radicalization: the discourse of "radical Islamists" in Spanish court judgments

Abstract

This article poses a critical approach on the question of ‘Islamist radicalization’ in Spain. Our starting point is that Islamist radicalization has a double dimension: On one side, it is a social phenomenon that takes the form of an identity resignification process; on the other side, it is a criminal issue that has been used to create the figure of ’the radical’. When an individual is accused of ‘apology for terrorism”, ‘self-indoctrination’ or ’disseminating terrorist propaganda’, both dimensions of Islamist radicalization converge in the court ruling. The analysis of these court rulings shows that Islamist radicalization has two main ideological elements: an ‘ethnicisée’ view of reality, and a warlike view of social conflict. We have also seen how the state uses the same warlike rhetoric, thus producing ‘the radical’ as a new enemy who must be imprisoned.