Selling terror: The symbolization and positioning of Jihad

Abstract

Public speculation has turned to how terrorists are made. One increasingly attributed source is propaganda (see Powell, 1967), the `propaganda of the deed' — physical violence — but also the audio-visual. Terrorism is a language of symbolic action: in the choice of the victims, in the choice of terrorist act, the drama created and the various official responses sought. We are in a new era, when the terrorist act does not simply speak for itself via its symbolism, but is amplified through a vast constellation of modern media. We explore the symbolism inherent in the construction of selected Islamist audio-visual propaganda made available on the internet today and seek to access the `meaning' of terrorist visualities through semiotic analysis, particularly using the Positioning Triad (Baines et al., 2008) and the deconstruction technique (Derrida, 1967) to encourage a new thread of political marketing/propaganda research. We conclude that a common theme projected in our sample is that of the West as permanent aggressor, with Muslims depicted as piously aggrieved for the wrongs done unto them.