2.NAVIGATINGTHEHIGHTIDEOFTHE‘LESSERJIHAD’TOTHE‘GREATERJIHAD’:THEIMPERIALVIOLENCEUPONISLAMICATEDISCOURSEOFRESISTANCE

JunaidS.Ahmad

ABSTRACT:Apost-9/11narrativethatconceivedof'jihadiIslam'asthebaneofhumanexistenceresteduponseveralunwarranted,hegemonicassumptions.TheclaimsmadebyWesternintelligentsiaandtheircompradorcounterpartsintheIslamicateworld,bypunditsandthemedia,fundamentallyrelieduponasuperficialandselectiveunderstandingoftheconcept'jihad'inthespiritualandpoliticalimaginaryofaMuslim.Thedeploymentofa'flavor-of-the-month'IslamcomesfromaEurocentricepistemiclensthatengendersan'incitementtodiscourse'(Massad)ofeithera'jihadiMuslim'ora'moderateMuslim,'a'badMuslim'ora'goodMuslim'(Mamdani).Thispaperprovidesaacontemporarysocio-politicalgenealogyoftheframeworkofcomprehendingjihadandarmedresistance.Inparticular,wemapthecoordinatesof'expansion'and'contraction'(Soroush)intherealmofthepoliticaljihad.Thelargerparadigmofengagingthecentralityofjihadiandresistancediscourseisintimatelyanchoredtoaprojectoftransformation,emancipation,andliberation.Thepaperevaluateshowcounter-hegemonicnotionsofjihadhaveverylittletodowiththeextentofarmedforceenactedbyitspractitioners,butbyitssubstantiveandaffective'revolutionary'appeal.Liberationtheologyinresistingtheempire(Dabashi),intheIslamicateworld,highlightsthefiguresofMalcolmX,AliShariati,andHassanNasrallahascentraltoaprojectoftowardgreatersovereigntyandsocialjusticeinIslamicatelands.Thepapercontextualizestheseprocessesinthe'Muslimworld'bysituationthemwithinbothshiftinggeopoliticsoftheworldorder,aswellasthedeepeningofprocessesofdecolonization.

ACADEMICPROFILE:JunaidS.AhmadisSecretary-GeneraloftheInternationalMovementforaJustWorld(JUST-KualaLumpur);aPhDcandidateinDe-colonialThoughtattheSchoolofSociology,UniversityofLeeds;afellowattheCenterforIslamandGlobalAffairs(CIGA-Istanbul);andtheDirectoroftheCenterforGlobalStudiesattheSchoolofAdvancedStudies,UniversityofManagementandTechnology(UMT),Lahore,Pakistan.

3.JihadfortheliberationofPalestine:Hamas’discourseonresistance

PAMELAMURGIA

ABSTRACT:Hamas(acronymforḥarakatmuqāwamaal-islāmiyya,“movimentodiresistenzaislamico”)isthePalestinianpoliticalpartywhich,atpresent,controlstheGazaStrip.ThemovementwasfoundedduringthefirstintifadabymembersoftheGazanbranchoftheMuslimBrotherhood.Althoughthemovementhasbeenmisrepresentedasasupporterofglobaljihadinmediaticnarration,ithasalwaysclaimeditsgoalwastheliberationofPalestine,callingitselfa“nationalistIslamicmovement”tounderscorethelocalnatureofitsresistanceandtheabsenceofglobaljihadaspirations.Inthiscontext,jihadisrepresentedasaninstrumentofresistancetowardsIsraelanditsallies,andcantakemanyforms:armedstruggle,strikes,boycott,demonstrations.However,sinceitsfoundation,themovementunderwentsignificantchangesinitspoliticalactionandthought,whicharereflectedinitsdiscourse.TheIslamicparadigmwhichcharacterisedearlierbayānāt,theofficialstatements,wasgraduallydismantledinfavourofadiscoursewheretheconceptofmuqāwama,“resistance”withnoreligiousconnotation,waspredominant.ThepresentworkaimsatshowinghowHamasrepresentsjihadinitsdiscourse,andexplainhowthisrepresentationchangedbythemeansofsocio-politicalcontext,politicalevents,relationshipwithexternalactors.TheanalysishasbeenconductedbycombiningdifferentmethodologiesconcerningDiscourseStudiestheoreticalframework,inordertomakeexplicittherelationbetweenideology,societyanddiscourse.ItalsoproposesaresearchapproachthatovercometheexceptionalityusuallyattributedtoIslamicandjihadimovements,infavouroftheadoptionofmorecomprehensivefieldsofstudiessuchasSocialMovementstheoryandPoliticaldiscoursestudies.

ACADEMICPROFILE:

- PhDcandidateatUniversitatPompeuFabra(Barcelona),injointsupervisionwith

UniversityofCagliari

- TeachingassistantinArabiclanguageandliteratureattheUniversityofCagliari

- Reasearchassistant(2015-2018)atUniversityofCagliari

- Researchinterests:Palestine,discourseanalysis,politicaldiscourse,identity,

politicalIslam

4.ParissaOskorouchi