Identity and Ideology through the Frames of al-Qaeda and Islamic State

This study employs frame theory tools to describe the identity and ideology of al-Qaeda (AQ) and the Islamic State (IS). The aim is to identify elements that make the two groups’ mobilization effective. The article utilizes the concept of identity fields, to explore how the two groups divide in-group and out-group identities in protagonists, antagonists, and audiences and the concept of core framing tasks to examine how their ideology materializes in diagnoses, prognoses, and calls to arms. The results indicate that AQ frames its identity as the protector of Muslims from the evil West and IS as the sole legitimate religious authority guiding Muslims to true Islam. AQ and IS prioritize and contextualize their ideological frames differently, despite both adhering to the same ideology, namely Salafism-Jihadism. AQ mobilization tends to rely more on political frames whereas IS framing is almost exclusively religious. Both groups, however, appropriate political and religious frames already extant in the minds of Muslim audiences in order to mobilize potential adherents.