Entrepreneurs of Identity

Christoph Günther is the Principal Investigator of the junior research group "Jihadism on the Internet: Images and Videos, Their Dissemination and Appropriation" in the Department of Anthropology and African Studies at the University of Mainz. His recent publications include the co-edited Jihadi Audiovisuality and its Entanglements: Meanings, Aesthetics, Appropriations (Edinburgh University Press, 2020).

• List of FiguresAcknowledgementsNotes on Translations and TransliterationIntroductionChapter 1. Entrepreneurs of Identity and the Sectarianization of Iraq and SyriaChapter 2. The CaliphateChapter 3. Iconography and IconoclasmConclusionGlossary of Frequently Used Arabic termsReferencesIndex

“This is a very convincing book, with exceptional endnotes explaining primary sources and the nuances of Islamist writings… I enjoyed the book, learned greatly from it, and highly recommend it to people interested in Islamist militant movements, identity creation and manipulation, and corresponding influence campaigns.” • Middle East Journal“An excellent study of a contemporary politico-religious movement, which readers, including those who follow current events, will find informative and provocative. The author provides a sophisticated analysis of topical issues such as Sunni-Shii differences, sectarianism, nationalism, and identity politics.” • Lois Beck, Washington University In Saint Louis“This book provides a valuable new perspective on the Islamic State by exploring how its ideologues, as ‘entrepreneurs of identity’, sought to construct and authorize categories of social identity in order to offer existential and ontological security to its sympathizers.” • Pieter Nanninga, University of Groningen