Al-Muhajiroun in the United Kingdom: the role of international non-recognition in heightened radicalization dynamics

Abstract

This article aims at uncovering the dynamics between non-recognition – real or perceived – and increasingly violent practices, with a case study focusing on the representations of the violent radical Islamist group Al-Muhajiroun following the 9/11 attacks and the outbreak of the war in Afghanistan in 2001. The article argues that these two events were considered salient by the group in terms of both ‘Muslims’ social value and self-esteem and were presented, on behalf of the Ummah, as instances of non-recognition. From this interpretation, the group’s discourse became increasingly political, structured and violence-endorsing. The article concludes by showing that Al-Muhajiroun’s distorted claims for recognition translated into policy prescriptions advocating an all-out Jihad to try and establish a world caliphate as an alternative, superior hegemony.