Approaching Islamic Activism

Despite its considerable sway in contemporary§international politics, Islamic activism remains a§poorly understood phenomenon. To date, academics and§policy-makers have been unable to reach a consensus§in determining the most effective theoretical§framework for interpreting Islamist movements. This§study evaluates two dominant trends in the§literature, demonstrating their shortcomings, and§proposes social movement theory as an effective§alternative. Both macro theories, which treat Islam§as a monolithic entity, and grievance theories that§focus on the conditions that trigger activism fail to§answer important questions about when, where, and why§political Islamist movements emerge. Through its§focus on individual choices, social networks, and§collective action frames, social movement theory§sheds light on otherwise poorly-understood aspects of§political Islam, such as the relative success of§moderate and radical movements. An exploration of§mobilization to al-Qaeda demonstrates the potential§virtues of applying social movement theory to Islamic§activism by revealing how the transnational§organization utilizes social networks and culturally§resonant frames to attract new recruits.