Voldelig transnational aktivisme: Islamisk Stat, foreign fighters og radikalisering

Resumé

Denne artikel undersøger, hvordan radikaliseringen og mobiliseringen af danske foreign fighters foregår, og hvad der motiverer unge danske muslimer til at drage i krig for en voldelig, revolutionær bevægelse som Islamisk Stat. Den offentlige danske debat om foreign fighters tegner et billede af unge, som via bestemte moskémiljøer, studiekredse i Danmark samt internettet radikaliseres til at tro, at væbnet kamp for kalifatet er en religiøs pligt. I kontrast til dette argumenterer artiklen for, at mange foreign fighters i høj grad motiveres af personlige udfordringer, fremmedgørelse og søgen efter mening med tilværelsen snarere end af dybt forankrede og reflekterede politiske og religiøse overbevisninger. I deres søgen efter et tilhørsforhold og mening kommer de unge på forskellig vis i kontakt med radikaliserende miljøer, hvor ensidig deliberation polariserer de unges holdninger. Artiklen præsenterer en interdisciplinær teoretisk model af radikalisering, hvis frugtbarhed diskuteres via analyse af illustrative casestudier af danske foreign fighters, som er rejst ud for at kæmpe for Islamisk Stat. Ved at stille skarpt på mobiliseringen af foreign fighters og tilbyde en forklarende ramme herfor, bidrager artiklen til teori om sociale bevægelser, som alt for ofte alene beskæftiger sig med mobilisering af progressive, pro-demokratiske og ikkevoldelige bevægelser. ENGELSK ABSTRACT: Lasse Lindekilde and Preben Bertelsen: Violent Transnational Activism: Islamic State, Foreign Fighters and Radicalization The purpose of this article is to investigate the process of radicalization and mobilization of Danish foreign fighters, and the motivation of young Danish Muslims to go to war and fight for an ultra-violent, revolutionary movement like Islamic State. The public debate on foreign fighting in Denmark suggests that young Danish Muslims are radicalized through certain mosque milieus, study circles and the internet to believe that violent fighting for the caliphate is a religious obligation. In contrast to this picture, this article argues that many foreign fighters are rather motivated more by a quest for meaning and belonging, individual challenges and a sense of alienation than by deeply rooted political or religious convictions. In their search for belonging and meaning, these young Muslims come in contact with radicalizing milieus, where one-sided deliberation is unfolding and where attitudes polarize, motivation forms and is sustained. The article presents an interdisciplinary theory of radicalization, and discusses it in relation to case studies of Danish foreign fighters who have left for, or were on their way to fight, for Islamic State. By emphasizing the mobilization of foreign fighters and offering an explanatory framework for this empirical phenomenon, the article contributes to the theorization of social movements, which has too often focused solely on mobilization to progressive, pro-democratic and non-violent movements. Keywords: radicalization, foreign fighters, mobilization.