Inventing a Sunnah

the Islamic State, Salafism and Innovation

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between different Salafi groups and the contemporary cultural dynamic surrounding them. Specifically, the paper assesses the role of the Islamic State,a Salafi-jihadi group that emerged in 2014 as a leader in political and religious debates. Utilizing the theoretical and methodological resources of cultural studies, the paper analyzes the group’s media interventions, viewing them as evidence of hybridization between traditional positions and modern supports. Signalling creativity and cultural mobility, the group’s conduct was an important recruitment strategy. The organization’s competence in operating these two structures has made Islamic State the most successful jihadi group of the second decade of the 21st century.