Othering within the Islamist Spectrum

Ennahda and the Political Salafists in Tunisia

Bibliographic Data

ID6160728
AuthorsJasmin Lorch (0000-0002-9484-8701, German Institute for Global and Area Studies), Hatem Chakroun
Year2020
Volume12
Issue2
Pages198-221
Publication date2020-08-29
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMiddle East Law and Governance (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1876-3367 • E-ISSN: 1876-3375
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/18763375-01202006
OpenAlexW3203205036
LanguageEN
Citations received5

While research on Islamist moderation has paid considerable attention to cross-ideological cooperation, it has barely explored whether and how the moderation of Islamist parties is related to interactions inside the Islamist spectrum. We attempt to bridge this gap by using othering as a theoretical-analytical lens with which to analyze the interplay between Ennahda’s moderation and the party’s relations to the political Salafists in Tunisia. We argue that the discursive act of othering the political Salafists has helped Ennahda construct itself both as a moderate, democratic actor representing the ‘true’ version of Tunisian Islam and as an effective and reliable political force. Moreover, while the concept of othering has barely been systematically applied to intra-Islamist relations, we show that it constitutes a fine-grained tool with which to study Islamist moderation in the context of intra-Islamist competition

Construct (python library · Context (archaeology · Democracy · Ideology · Islam · Moderation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sharia · Sociology · Law · Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Psychology

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