- Details
- Written by Any Rufaedah
- Category: Vol. 10 No. 22 November 2024
ISSN 2477-1686
Vol. 10 No. 22 November 2024
Hope: Reason of Engagement in Violent Jihad
By
Any Rufaedah
Department of Psychology Universitas Nahdlatul Ulama Indonesia,
Division for Applied Social Psychology Research (DASPR), & Defence Studies King’s College London
The efforts to eradicate Islamist terrorism have been run over two decades since the 9/11 attacks; nevertheless, the number of individuals joining terrorist groups Islamist State (ISIS/IS) and al-Qaeda (AQ) and their local branches across the globe keeps growing. Though various deradicalization programs have been conducted, new jihadist generations continue to be interested in engaging with extremist entities. They came not only from Muslim countries but also from Europe and America. How does this issue arise?
Among other factors, hope shares a significant contribution in pushing people to join a jihadi organization. Chan Hellman, the Director of The Hope Research Center at Oklahoma University stated in his lecture that hope is “the belief that your future will be better than today and you have the power to make it so” (TEDx Talks, 2021, 4:16). “Hope is about taking action to pursue that future” and it is a way of thinking, which can be taught (4:30-32). Charles Snyder defines hope as “the perceived capability to derive pathways to desired goals, and motivate oneself via agency thinking to use those pathways” (2002, p. 249).
Studies found hope motivates people to take action, individually or collectively, to gain what they are hoping for. Shuman et al. (2016, as cited in Cohen-Chen & Pliskin, 2024, p. 8), found that the participation of people in the 2011 protest in Israel was pushed by hope for change, along with anger toward the government. How hope works can be easily found in small or big decisions/actions we make in life. We choose to go to school because of hope for a fine career in the future. Many students, civilians, and movie actors went to rallies against parliament members in August 2024 due to hope for law enforcement and ideal democracy. In sum, hope is a power or energy that drives people to take action, and it can be implanted in someone’s mind.
Jihadi groups offer hope for a better future and share with supporters ways to achieve it. The better future here is beyond the regular concept most Muslims understand. If common Muslims define a better life as being a pious person, following Islamic teachings as much as possible, and being forgiven by Allah, jihadists desire to gain paradise without facing judgment before Allah. Armed jihad is believed to be a faster route to achieve paradise without judgment. Muslims also hope for free judgment, however, they select other routes without involving violence.
Moreover, jihadi groups offer hope for rewards from Allah in life and the afterlife. Those who engage in physical jihad are believed to be a chosen individual with a special duty: defending the religion of Allah. They deserve the highest reward when they die in jihad. Once they achieve “martyrdom,” they leave a legacy as a “true believer” who fights for the religion of Allah to their death. Hope for the reward and “martyr” status not only encourage jihadists to join an extremist group but also maintain their engagement in it. The narrative has been campaigned over generations and managed to attract Muslims across the globe.
The hope for the attainment is expressed in hijrah (emigration) to jihadi-controlled regions. For IS supporters, Syria is the main destination, while for sympathizers in Indonesia, the Philippines is an alternative if they cannot travel to Syria. AQ supporters would choose Afghanistan, Yemen, or Somalia as their hijrah destination. Many individuals sold their properties in Indonesia, taking risks of getting arrested by authorities, and separated from family members in their home country to make their goal happen. Individuals who went to Syria, the Philippines, and other countries were mostly driven by the hope of living a better life under Islamic rules, which they expected to be free from criminals, offering justice, and guaranteeing welfare. Other ways to express the commitment to achieving the hope are disseminating teachings about tawhid (monotheism), enforcing Islamic laws (sharia), and engaging in virtual movement.
Hope is nurtured with three stages, determining a desired goal (goal clarification), measuring potential barriers and considering an alternative path (viable pathway), and creating future memories, in which individuals create images of success (Hellman, Woley, & Munoz, n.d.). In jihadist cases, the process of creating hope can be explained as follows. They set a goal to be a pious Muslim who deserves jannah (paradise). In the jihadi case, their desired goal is to establish a caliphate and to achieve martyrdom. Strategies to achieve it, as well as barriers that will come along, are also socialized. Participating in armed jihad, hijrah, donations, disseminating jihadi teachings online, and educating children to be the next jihadists are among the strategies they can carry out to achieve the goals. Potential barriers include arrest, being alienated and stigmatized, living separated from family, and less income. Jihadists are aware of the high challenges of fighting against democracy, however, hope for a better world under a caliphate system gives them solid energy to defeat the constraints. Images about the future are around the beautiful life to live under Islamic rule and the paradise they gain as a reward if they die on the battlefield or in prison.
Jihadi groups proffer an easier way for sympathizers to find their goal. If many individuals, particularly young people, struggle to find what they desire to achieve, jihadi sympathizers have certain options that help them to shortcut complex routes in finding goals. They also have a list of methods to pursue their goals and clear pictures of the future, which attract people to join.
References
Cohen-Chen, S., & Pliskin, R. (2024). Hope: The experience and functions of a seemingly-positive group-based emotion. European Review of Social Psychology, 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2024.2347815
Hellman, C., M., Worley, J.A., & Munoz, R.T. (n.d.). A primer on hope as a theory of change for human service providers. Thurston Thrives. https://thurstonthrives.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Hope-White-Paper.pdf
Snyder, C.R. (2002). Hope theory: Rainbows in the mind. Psychological Inquiry, 13(4), 249-275. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1448867
TEDx Talks. (2021, July 21). The science and power of hope | Chan Hellman | TEDxOklahomaCity [Video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qt0fRSx5Kl4&t=12s
