International Journal on Criminology Volume 7, Number 1, Winter 2019/2020 | Page 114

Martyropathy in the Sunni and Shiite Worlds: A Comparative Study
ants embedded in the 100,000 strong Shiite Al-Hashd al-Shaabi militia (whose
name means “mobilization of the people”) has clear links with the Islamic Republic.
The term “martyr” can be clearly heard in the propaganda videos: “1,700 Martyrs
we will avenge them one by one, and we will alleviate the pain and suffering of
their mothers, wives and families, by the power of Jesus Christ.” 15 The creation of
this brigade proves that the Islamic Republic is reviving its model of martyrdom
that is not founded on Islamic faith, and that this model is even more powerfully
resonant when faced with a takfiri enemy that has been excommunicated, but also
that the resurgence of this form of martyrdom is no longer aimed at ideological
dissemination on a mass scale, but as an engagement that is perceived as defending
the strategic influence that the state wishes to spread.
The ISIS Martyr: Between Modernity
and the Rejection of Postmodernity
The ways ISIS recruits jihadists are very illuminating and the arguments presented
differ greatly depending on whether they are aimed at Western or Middle Eastern
audiences. Arguments aimed at convincing Europeans play on the failures of
postmodernity, such as a distaste for politics, corruption, a lack of ideals, the hardships
of a consumer society, frustration linked to a lack of access to this consumer
society, and a lack of meaning. Postmodernity is, of course, a reaction against the
failure of the modernist project to attain absolute, universal truths, or a sense of
history. It is in the context of this project that the great ideological systems, including
holistic globalizing visions such as communism or Nazism, were born.
In the West, these systems replaced traditional religions while taking on all their
characteristics, such as the absolute truth of the ideology, the promise of happiness,
a personality cult around the leader, and the meaning of life. 16 Postmodernity
is, roughly speaking, a resolve to reform the absolutes advocated by the modern
ideological system, and is therefore the home of pluralism.
ISIS recruiters pull on these heartstrings and the group presents itself as filling
the gap left by the renunciation of modernist ideologies. Recruitment speeches
start with the failure element and then progressively deploy their ideology. On the
other hand, when ISIS jihadists seek to swell their ranks from among Middle Eastern
populations, they begin by presenting the ideological system before addressing
the specific benefits that the ideology can bring on an individual level.
The view of martyrdom as promoted to Westerners builds on postmodern
consumer society: it promises that abundance and pleasure that is forbidden in
this world will be attained in paradise. For the martyr, that which is forbidden in
life, is permitted in death. Moreover, the recruitment campaigns imply that alle-
15 Source: Propaganda video available on Youtube: https://youtu.be/c8Mxhv4TTOA.
16 The way ideologies function following a religious model has been termed “political religion” by
Raymond Aron, or “secular religion” by Marcel Gauchet.
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