The sound and sense of jihad : revisiting the notion of jihad in jihadi-themed Arabic chants

Abstract

In recent years, Arabic chants have received scholarly attention for their strong presence on the battlefield among Salafi-Jihadi groups. From al-Qaʿida in the Arabian Peninsula to the Islamic State in Syria (henceforth: IS) and Boko Haram in Nigeria, Salafi-Jihadi groups have integrated Arabic chants as part of their psychological warfare to recruit new fighters, to galvanise support for their ideology, to fuel people’s sentiments against foreign forces and to undermine the ruling governments. This chapter reconciles sound – the auditory experience of chants – with sense, namely, the meaning and interpretation of a particular text, including the affective dimension attributed to the Arabic chants disseminated by Salafi-Jihadi groups. The objectives of this chapter are twofold. First, this contribution draws parallelism between the notion of jihad as deployed in contemporary Arabic political discourse and in Salafi-Jihadi parlance to assess whether the militant meaning of jihad is part of mainstream Arabic political discourse or exclusive to Salafi-Jihadi propaganda. Second, this chapter examines the sound and sense of jihadi-themed Arabic chants at the nexus of tradition and modernity by suggesting a broader understanding of Arabic chants within the Arabic-speaking environment. From an emic perspective, this study investigates Arabic chants of jihadi nature in light of ‘invented traditions’, illustrating how secular and religious practices are appropriated at the textual and sound level. In terms of tradition, this study compares the uses and functionality of Arabic chants with other long-standing oral and auditory traditions in the Arabic-Islamic cultures.