The Curious Personality Cult of Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi: At the Crossroads of Religion, Politics, and Communication Strategies and Technologies
This paper studies the construction of the personality cult of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the deceased leader of the Islamic State (is) organization that ruled large territories in Iraq and Syria in the mid to late 2010s. Examining a range of is primary sources, I argue that al-Baghdadi sought to develop...
| Published in: | Journal of religion, media and digital culture |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Brill
2024
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| In: |
Journal of religion, media and digital culture
Year: 2024, Volume: 13, Issue: 1, Pages: 65-87 |
| Further subjects: | B
personality cult
B Religion B Islamic State B Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi B Communication |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This paper studies the construction of the personality cult of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the deceased leader of the Islamic State (is) organization that ruled large territories in Iraq and Syria in the mid to late 2010s. Examining a range of is primary sources, I argue that al-Baghdadi sought to develop a distinct personality cult by cultivating auras of holiness and mystique around his personae. While he flaunted putatively exceptional religious leadership credentials, it is al-Baghdadi’s use of communication strategies and technologies for projecting his personality cult that distinguishes his case and this study. Al-Baghdadi sought to strategically mystify himself by rarely appearing in public and largely avoiding visual self-revelation in the media messages he released. Ultimately, given his defiance of regional and international powers and his group’s notoriety, al-Baghdadi’s low visibility and self-enigmatization worked to his advantage by generating much interest about him among supporters and the global media. |
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| ISSN: | 2165-9214 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of religion, media and digital culture
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1163/21659214-bja10107 |