Post-Radicalisation Identity: Understanding 'Collective Identity' within Radical Islamist Groups

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This article, which arises from a lengthy investigation undertaken over a period of twelve months amongst members of an Islamist fringe group, explores the psychosocial identity makeup of radical actors' post-radicalisation. The personal narratives obtained from this ethnographic fieldwork are placed into a frame of reference related to the effects of radicalisation on young Muslims' identity construction. Gaining insight into this social phenomenon required an 'ethnographic' approach, which allowed me to study members of Hizb ut-Tahrir (The Liberation Party, and hereafter known as HT) in their natural setting. My access to HT put me in the unique position of being able to gather the biographical information required for a psychosocial analysis of radical behaviour. In essence, I sought to acquire, from their point of view, an understanding of how members of HT negotiate their identity in a group environment. I discovered that the collective identity compelled members to confirm to HT ideology in all aspects of social and personal life, placing members at odds with the world around them. This conflict was largely rooted in their inability to merge competing identities, and their exposure to a secular environment challenged them to live according to the collective identity. Thus, in real terms, members struggled to reconstruct their identity around HT ideology because such an identity places them outside the boundaries of secular society.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)41
JournalJournal of Social and Psychological Sciences
Volume4
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2011
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