Summary
Islamic radicalism has become a global issue since 9/11, if not before. Most analyses deal with military and police countermeasures to curb terrorism. We know very little about the psychological constitution of radicals. In order to gain insight into the psychological and social determinants of radicalization, in this text I analyze an interview with a former radical from Saudi Arabia. In doing so I will draw on two central concepts from Alfred Adler's individual psychology: fiction and counter fiction. I will show that extremism results from the conflict between the personal fiction of the individual and Saudi Arabia's societal counter fiction. I further analyze the conditions under which radicalism is then given up. I reach the conclusion that the underlying cause of extremism lies in the neglect of pluralism or in an education without alternatives. Extremism is not an "irrational" phenomenon.
Zusammenfassung
Islamischer Radikalismus ist spätestens seit 9/11 zu einem globalen Thema geworden. Die meisten Analysen befassen sich mit militärischen und polizeilichen Gegenmaßahmen um dem Terror Einhalt zu gebieten. Wir wissen wenig über die psychische Verfassung von Radikalen. Um einen Einblick in psychologische und soziale Determinanten von Radikalisierung zu geben, analysiere ich in meinem Text das Interview mit einem Ex-Radikalen aus Saudi Arabien. Dabei werde ich mich auf zwei zentrale Begriffe der Individualpsychologie Alfred Adlers stützen: die Fiktion und die Gegenfiktion. Ich werde zeigen, wie sich Radikalität als Ergebnis einer Auseinandersetzung zwischen der persönlichen Fiktion des Individuums und der gesellschaftlichen Gegenfiktion Saudi Arabiens ergibt. Weiters analysiere ich die Bedingungen unter denen Radikalismus wieder aufgegeben wird. Ich komme zu dem Schluss, dass die eigentliche Ursache von Radikalität in der Vernachlässigung von Pluralismus bzw. in einer alternativlosen Erziehung liegt. Radikalität ist kein "irrationales" Phänomen.
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Kropiunigg, U. Kadims Dilemma: Fiktion und Gegenfiktion im islamischen Radikalismus. Psychotherapie Forum 18, 116–127 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00729-010-0319-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00729-010-0319-9
Keywords
- Terrorism
- Radicalization
- Islam
- Saudi Arabia
- Education
- Political system
- Fiction
- Counter fiction
- Alfred Adler
- Individual Psychology