by halverson | Oct 12, 2011 | Analysis, Complexity, Identification, Islam, Movements, Religion
by Jeffry R. Halverson I recently traveled to Tunisia where I visited the ancient holy city of Kairouan. Elections for the constituent assembly to produce a new Tunisian constitution are less than two weeks away and there is a lot of discussion taking place about the...
by halverson | Jul 27, 2011 | Analysis, Framing, Government, Islam, Narrative, Politics, Religion
By Jeffry R. Halverson Unlike the protests of the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt, the campaigns underway against the Assad regime in Syria have a distinctly sectarian character. The Assad regime is dominated by the Alawites, a little-known esoteric Shi‘ite sect....
by halverson | Jul 13, 2011 | Analysis, Islam, Language, Narrative, Religion, Sensemaking, Strategic Comm.
by Jeffry R. Halverson If you’ve read our book Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism then you already have a solid understanding of the major master narratives employed by Islamist extremists in their communications. For example, you’re able to recognize the...
by halverson | Jul 1, 2011 | Egypt, Identification, Islam, Language, Narrative, Religion
by Jeffry R. Halverson The Karbala master narrative is one of the most rich and influential in the Islamic world, specifically among Shi‘a societies. We devoted an entire chapter to it in the book Master Narratives of Islamist Extremism, and Kamran Scott Aghaie has...
by halverson | Apr 21, 2011 | Analysis, Framing, Iran, Islam, Narrative, Politics, Religion
by Jeffry R. Halverson Recently, the Islamic Republic of Iran has been abuzz over the release of a video entitled “The Coming is Very Near,” a 28-minute production created by a group of Twelver Shi‘a devotees of the Hidden Imam al-Mahdi, known as the Harbingers of the...