Gnostic Jihadism. A Philosophical Inquiry into Radical Politics

This book explores the radi- cal Islamist mindset by adopt- ing the philosophical category of revolutionary Gnosticism. Al- ready used for the study of other revolutionary phenomena such as Nazism, Bolshevism and Jacobi- nism, never before has this no- tion been adopted in relation to Salafi-Jihadism, the latest exist- ing revolutionary ideology. The consistency of Salafi-Jihadism with revolutionary Gnosticism re- veals a conception of the world that stands in the forgetfulness of a pure transcendent dimension, notwithstanding the apparent spiritual framework and religious justifications that jihadists pro- vide. Through the examination of Islamist sermons and texts in light of a distinct philosophical tradition, this book investigates the activist redemptive effort of Salafi-Jihadism, which leaves God without a clear possibility of intervening in human affairs.