Ideology of the Islamic State: A Qualitative Analysis of Online Media

Abstract

This study addresses a lacuna in scholarship on the ideology of the Islamic State resulting from the greater focus on al-Qaeda in scholarship on Salafist jihadism. Through a qualitative analysis of the entire runs of the Islamic State’s magazines Dabiq and Rumiyah, this study offers full and granular image of the group’s ideology. Following this, the categorical differences between the ideologies of al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are identified and the meaning of these differences is discussed as well as the potential problems they pose for future scholarship – including an elaboration on the ideology of the Islamic State as representative of an emergent shift in Salafist jihadi ideology regarding Muslim unity.