ISIS’ Miscontextualization of Ḥadīth through the Strategic Linguistic Propaganda: A Socio-political Analysis

Abstract

ISIS has used language propaganda to further its sociopolitical objectives and defend its harsh behavior through the miscontextualization of ḥadīth. This study uses linguistic stylistics to demonstrate the language used in ISIS's magazine “Dabīq,” which made piecemeal usage of ḥadīth (Prophet Muhammad's sayings) to justify its actions. To do so, the study first thematizes the ḥadīths that ISIS reported. It then points out the silences (by “silences,” we mean important ḥadīths that are missing from ISIS’s discourse) involved in ISIS's discourse concerning these themes, in which the critical ḥadīths are absent from ISIS's discourse as they emphasize lessons and teachings other than those that ISIS propagates. The results revealed that ISIS used two ḥadīths to celebrate its role in what they consider the revival of the Khilāfah, four ḥadīths to portray itself as the Jihādist organization that most imitates Imamah, two ḥadīths to reinforce violent Jihād as the spearhead of its Minhāj (way or path), and one ḥadīth to call for Hijrah in its territories. The study revealed ISIS's preference for particular themes in ḥadīth over others; thus, the study gives voice to those ḥadīths that are absent from ISIS's discourse, where the ḥadīths directly related to the thematic areas involved in ISIS's speech are unavailable.