Framing religious outbidding: al-qaida, islamic state, and intra-religious competition

Abstract

How do political and religious leaders and organizations delegitimize rival perspectives within their own religious tradition? What kind of frames do they use to undermine the arguments of others? Although there is a rich literature that studies interreligious violence and how religious organizations use faith-based symbols and narratives to justify action against “the other”, intra-religious dynamics of competition and how public theologies, strands, and perspectives within religions compete have been understudied. In this article, I introduce the concept of “outbidding frames”. I show how two radical Islamic organizations, Al-Qaida and the Islamic State employed different frames against the like-minded groups and actors within their tradition. Using organizations' publications and statements, I identify common outbidding frames based on political legitimacy; loyalty; morality; (anti)secularity; and methodology.