XXV. Americans in the Islamic State with Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes

JihadPod is back. In light of the Coronavirus, I'm going to teach myself how to edit and produce this. Be patient if the quality is not perfect, but I know people are looking for content now. 

Behnam Said comes on the show to talk about nasheeds. Some of the topics covered include:

• The role of music in Islam and how it relates to nasheeds
• A modern history of the use of nasheeds
• Differences between Sufi, mainstream Islamist, and jihadi nasheeds
• Different themes used in these nasheeds
• Why there has been such an explosion in new nasheeds and media outlets from IS and AQAP recently.

Links:

• Behnam Said – Extremis Project
• Amazon.com author page for Behnam Said
• Hymns (Nasheeds): A Contribution to the Study of the Jihadist Culture – Studies in Conflict & Terrorism
• Behnam Said (@BenSai) | Twitter

Thanks to Haakon Jahr, TankThoughts, and Raihan Kadir for supporting the show. If you’d like to support the podcast please check out the show’s Patreon page!

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or with our RSS feed.

Barak Mendelsohn comes on the show to discuss his new book, The al-Qaeda Franchise: The Expansion of al-Qaeda and Its Consequences. Some of the topics covered include:

• How organizations expand
• Why AQ decided to branch out and the strategy behind that decision
• AQ’s choices on where to expand
• Case studies on AQ’s different branches.

Links

• The al-Qaeda Franchise: The Expansion of al-Qaeda and Its Consequences: Barak Mendelsohn Amazon.com
• Barak Mendelsohn (@BarakMendelsohn) | Twitter
• Barak Mendelsohn | Haverford College
• Barak Mendelsohn | Foreign Policy Research Institute

Thanks to Haakon Jahr, TankThoughts, and Raihan Kadir for supporting the show! If you’d like to support the podcast please check out the show’s Patreon page!

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or with our RSS feed.

Aaron Stein comes on the show to talk about IS networks in Turkey. Some of the topics covered include:

• How IS developed its network inside Turkey
• Recent attacks in Ankara and Istanbul and the networks behind them
• How these attacks have affected Turkish governmental policy
• How things could play out in the future

Links:

• The Islamic State’s Network in Turkey | Turkey Wonk
• Turkish Jihadism at Home and in Syria with North Caucasus Caucus | Jihadology
• Turkey Wonk: Nuclear and Political Musings in Turkey and Beyond
• Turkey’s New Foreign Policy: Davutoglu, the AKP and the Pursuit of Regional Order
• Aaron Stein (@aaronstein1) | Twitter

Thanks to Haakon Jahr, Raihan Kadir, TankThoughts, and Fredrik Lundqvist for supporting the show. If you’d like to help support the podcast, and get some cool rewards, check out the show’s Patreon page!

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or with our RSS feed.

Andrew Lebovich comes on the show to discuss the various jihadi groups that have been active in Mali over the past few years. Some of the topics covered include:

• The political process in Mali after the French intervention
• Why there has been a rise in violence recently
• Why IS has not been able to penetrate Mali like many of the other jihadi zones
• Where things might be going from here 

Links

• Andrew Lebovich | European Council on Foreign Relations
• Andrew Lebovich (@tweetsintheME) | Twitter
• Deciphering Algeria: the stirrings of reform? | European Council on Foreign Relations
• How we talk about Islam in Mali and Beyond | The Wasat

Thanks to Haakon Jahr, TankThoughts, and Raihan Kadir for supporting the show. You can help support the podcast, and get some cool rewards, by checking out the show’s Patreon page.

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or with our RSS feed.

Bernard Rougier comes on the show to discuss Lebanese Sunni jihadism. Some of the topics covered include:

• How Lebanese first got involved in jihadism in Afghanistan in the 1980s
• How the Lebanese scene became connected to the European and Australian jihadi network
• The role the Iraq war played in the mobilization and recruitment of a new generation
• Background on Fatah al-Islam
• The role Lebanese Sunni jihadis have played in the Syrian war and spillover attacks back home.

Links

• The Sunni Tragedy in the Middle East: Northern Lebanon from al-Qaeda to ISIS (Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics): Bernard Rougier
• Everyday Jihad: The Rise of Militant Islam among Palestinians in Lebanon: Bernard Rougier, Pascale Ghazaleh

Sponsor:
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Thanks to Haakon Jahr, Raihan Kadir, and Kaspars Gasuns for supporting the show. If you’d like to support the show, and get some cool rewards, check out the show’s Patreon page.

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or with our RSS feed.

Aymenn al-Tamimi comes on the show for an in-depth discussion of the Islamic State’s finances and economic situation. Some of the topics covered include:

• IS funding prior to 2013
• How IS funding compares to AQ
• Current funding streams, particularly those that are less well known
• Evolution of IS’ economy in the past year and a half
• Potential for IS to export its economic model to its provinces outside Iraq and Syria
• Sustainability of IS finances and its near to medium-term trajectory 

Links:

• The Archivist | JIHADOLOGY
• Musings of an Iraqi Brasenostril on Jihad | JIHADOLOGY
• Archive of Islamic State Administrative Documents :: Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
• Jihad Intel
• The Isis papers: a masterplan for consolidating power | World news | The Guardian
• Aymenn J Al-Tamimi (@ajaltamimi) | Twitter

After the interview we have an updated #SocialMedia segment covering postings from December 8-14.

Thanks to Raihan Kadir, Kaspars Gasuns, and Haakon Jahr for supporting the show. If you’d like to help support the podcast, and get some cool rewards, check out the show’s Patreon page.

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

Lorenzo Vidino and Seamus Hughes come on the show to talk about their new report ISIS in America: From Retweets to Raqqa. Some of the topics covered include:

• Background on the American jihadi scene
• The demographics of Americans who’ve traveled to join the Islamic State
• The three roles American Islamic State supporters play on social media 

Links:

• ISIS in America | Center for Cyber & Homeland Security | The George Washington University
• Seamus Hughes (@SeamusHughes) | Twitter
• Selected Writings « Lorenzo Vidino

Thanks to Haakon Jahr, Praecast, Raihan Kadir, and Kaspars Gasuns for supporting the show. You can support the podcast, and get some great rewards, by checking out the show’s Patreon page!

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or with our RSS feed.

Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck comes on the show to talk about jihadism in Algeria. Some of the topics covered include:

• Background and history of jihadism in Algeria
• The growth of GIA networks in Europe and its legacy
• Why there haven’t been many Algerian foreign fighters in Syria
• Similarities and differences between the GIA and the Islamic State
• The current status of jihadism in Algeria and Algerian jihadists abroad.

The interview starts at the 34:00 minute mark. Prior to the interview we have a Primary Sources segment covering postings from October 15 – November 23. After the interview we have an updated #Social Media segment covering postings from November 21-29.

Links:

• Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck (@DaliaGhanemYazb) | Twitter
• Dalia Ghanem-Yazbeck-Carnegie Middle East Center – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Thanks to Raihan Kadir and Haakon Jahr for supporting the show. If you’d like to support the podcast, and get some cool rewards, check out the show’s Patreon page.

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.

You can subscribe to the show in iTunes, Stitcher, or with our RSS feed.

Charles Lister comes back on the show for an in-depth discussion on jihadism in Syria. Some of the topics covered include:

• Islamism and jihadism in Syria prior to the 2011 uprising
• The entrance and evolution of Jabhat al-Nusra, Ahrar al-Sham, and Jaysh al-Islam into what became the Syrian war
• Why foreign fighters came into the Syrian conflict
• Why the Islamic State of Iraq decided to enter the war in April 2013 and what it was up to prior to the fitness in January 2014
• What the growth of ISIS and later IS meant for the other extreme factions – JN, Ahrar, and JI.

Links:

• The Syrian Jihad | Hurst Publishers
• Brookings Doha Center | Brookings Institution
• Charles Lister (@Charles_Lister) | Twitter

This episode also features an updated #SocialMedia segment, covering postings from November 11-20.

Thanks to Haakon Jahr and Raihan Kadir for supporting the podcast. You can support the show, and get some cool rewards, by checking out the show’s Patreon page.

The podcast is produced by Karl Morand. If you have feedback you can email podcast@jihadology.net, or find us on Twitter: @JihadPod.