Abstract
The topic of hijra is very much present in the ideological messages of IslamicState and Al Qaeda as well as in many studies exploring why and how people are motivated to join the violent struggles in Syria. Yet, with a few exceptions, many studies mention hijra as something self-evident without exploring the meanings attached to hijra among the volunteers who joined Al Qaeda and/or IS. Based upon ethnographic work among Dutch Islamic militant activists of the Behind Bars network constituting a very vocal early contingent of male Syria volunteers, this article explores the meanings of hijra. I will show that ideas about hijra were essential to the construction of their departure narratives and examine how hijra for them, in different and sometimes contradicting ways, became a pathway to an ethical and political transformation. One which was, at the same time, being instrumentalized to strengthen the very type of governance they tried to escape.
Highlights
The response of one person, a Dutch Syria volunteer, on Facebook, for example, was: “This snuffed the whole pamphlet out like a candle.” Abu Muhammed and his two friends stated it was enough that De Banier pleaded for the principle of an Islamic state and made it clear that this was better and more just than other forms of government
The topic of hijra is very much present in the ideological messages of IslamicState and Al Qaeda as well as in many studies exploring why and how people are motivated to join the violent struggles in Syria
The focus in this article is on how a specific, and very early, contingent of Dutch male Syria volunteers, who left between the summer of the 2012 and the winter of 2014, gave meaning to their position in the Netherlands, their migration and their aspirations in Syria through hijra and jihad
Summary
The response of one person, a Dutch Syria volunteer, on Facebook, for example, was: “This snuffed the whole pamphlet out like a candle.” Abu Muhammed and his two friends stated it was enough that De Banier pleaded for the principle of an Islamic state and made it clear that this was better and more just than other forms of government.
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