Strategizing Islamism: A Strategic Approach to Islamist Mobilization in Syria and Tunisia

The proposed article applies a strategic interactionist approach (Jasper 2004; Fligstein and McAdam 2012; Jasper and Duyvendak 2015) to an analysis of Islamist contentious mobilization in Syria and Tunisia. It explores if and how references to religion are used strategically in interactions between mobilizers and their opponents, specifically focusing on the articulation of mobilization arenas and the legitimization of mobilization goals among Islamist actors in these two countries (Maney 2012). In doing so, the article also criticizes the (often assumed) direct relationship between religion and mobilization tactics. The article compares two cases of contentious mobilization regarding state control of Islamic public activism: the first case is Sfax, Tunisia, where since 2014 a struggle over mosques control and independence of Friday Imams emerged. The second case is Aleppo, Syria, where contention appeared since 2013 around the competences of Islamic boards (Haya' Shariya) versus civil defined local councils. Despite immense differences between the two, both cases enable an in-depth exploration of key players' (often competing) articulations of arenas and goals. It therefore enables an exploration of common dynamics in the emergence of particular dilemmas and strategies within Islamist mobilization. The analysis is substantiated through around fifty interviews with relevant players among Islamist actors and governance organizations. In addition it builds on a collection of hundreds of primary sources from Islamist organizations and (Arabic, English and French) secondary sources. The proposed paper provides both a novel case in the relatively young strategic interactionist approach and a critical addition to (the arguably huge amount of) studies on Islamism. The paper will show that a strategic approach can take religion in contentious mobilization seriously (see Meijer 2005; Volpi 2010 for a critical assessment; see also Clark 2004) without slipping into essentialist explanations of Islamist activism.