Transformations of Contemporary Islamic Jihadism: IS and Social Media

Abstract

How has the Internet transformed into a new metaphysics that allows religion to flourish again and control people's lives? Why do waves of religious violence escalate in a context described as secular and postmodern? What are the dimensions referred to by this close alliance between violent religious fundamentalisms and digital cyber space? This study seeks to understand the contemporary Islamic jihadi phenomenon, and the transformations that it witnessed in the last three decades through the Islamic state‘s experience in cyber environments, specifically on social media platforms. We have dismantled the structure of its jihadi activities and the digital tools it uses that have enabled it to establish large-scale social networks and create an alternative public sphere called a virtual caliphate that has spawned societal anarchy, revitalized sectarian tendencies, and strengthened discourse of violence and hatred on a global scale.