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Contentious Politics in the Arab Middle East: Jordanian Salafism and the Social Appropriation of Tradition

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Contentious Politics in the Arab Middle East: Jordanian Salafism and the Social Appropriation of Tradition Syracuse University SURFACE Dissertations - ALL SURFACE August 2017 Contentious Politics in the Arab Middle East: Jordanian Salafism and the Social Appropriation of Tradition Massimo Ramaioli Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/etd Part of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Ramaioli, Massimo, "Contentious Politics in the Arab Middle East: Jordanian Salafism and the Social Appropriation of Tradition" (2017). Dissertations - ALL. 778. https://surface.syr.edu/etd/778 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the SURFACE at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations - ALL by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Dissertation Abstract: In which ways do intellectuals affect social and political mobilization? How do they impact the trajectory of contention – the kind of mobilization and its developments - through their ideological work? Prominent intellectuals seem to play a relevant role in contentious politics, yet this role is still undertheorized. In this project, I analyze this question in the context of contemporary Arab Salafism, a particularly literal interpretation of Sunni Islam. I seek to unpack the processes by which prominent Islamist intellectuals impact and shape two Salafi currents originating and operating across Jordan during the 1990s and beyond. The first current is labeled 'Quietist' Salafism, as its members engage mostly in preaching, proselytizing and provision of social services; they refrain from direct political activities or overt confrontation with state authorities. The second current is known as 'Jihadi' Salfism, and espouses instead a confrontational and at times violent stance vis à vis state power. I posit that Islamist intellectuals in both instances impact mobilization in similar ways through three main mechanisms: diffusion, whereby they facilitate the spreading and transmission of ideas and concepts formulated elsewhere; elaboration, whereby they build upon the existing body of knowledge on a given subject, providing novel insights, interpretations or at times formulating new ideas altogether; and systematization, whereby they (re)organize the otherwise relatively fragmented or incoherent worldview of their followers and acolytes. Together, these mechanisms compound into a process that I call ‘the social appropriation of tradition', by which group members, harking back to elements belonging to a shared and exemplar tradition, rearticulate the central aims of the group to include sustained social and political mobilization. In this way we may properly locate the intellectual efforts of prominent thinkers within a theoretical framework, parsing out and assessing their contribution to episodes of political contention. Contentious Politics in the Arab Middle East: Jordanian Salafism and the Social Appropriation of Tradition By Massimo Ramaioli B.A. University of Pavia, 2003 M.A. University of Pavia, 2005 M.A. School of Oriental and African Studies, 2007 DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science Syracuse University August 2017 Copyright © 2017 Massimo Ramaioli All Rights Reserved Acknowledgments Of all things I learnt during my time in the PhD program in the Department of Political Science at Syracuse University, two seem particularly compelling to me as I close my thesis. First, one must be struck by the amount of things he or she does not know: pursuing a doctoral degree has been, for me, an exhilarating and humbling experience at the same time, and if I have learnt anything, it has been to maintain an active and alert skepticism to say ‘I don’t know’ many more times than I would have without this training. We do really know little: yet I always look at this more as an engaging opportunity than anything else. Second, Gavan made it clear in one of the seminars I took with him how the pursuit of knowledge, in our case social scientific knowledge, is never a solitary endeavor, but always a collective one. In my first real attempt to contribute, within the limits of my abilities, to the understanding of social reality, I have truly come to treasure that idea. While, of course, all the faults wherein are only my responsibility, whatever value the present study has must be ascribed to all the people that, in different capacities and at different times, I have encountered in this journey. In this regard, various institutions made it possible for me to write this work. First of all, the Department of Political Science at SU, which has constantly supported me over 6 years. Then the institutions sponsoring my field research in Jordan: the Moynihan Institute for Global Affairs, the Association for the Study of Middle East and North Africa, and the International Institute of Islamic Thought. Last but not least, the Center for International Exchange and Education in Amman, which made it possible for me to live in the Jordanian capital for two years, granting me in the process a rewarding and enjoyable teaching experience. I have probably met and interacted with more professors, teachers, peers, colleagues, students and friends over the course of my PhD than I can possibly remember, much less do justice to. However, I must first and foremost thank the members of my dissertation committee. He has already been mentioned, but I would not like to repeat his name, as that would be unfair to Gavan Duffy. Gavan, in some order, introduced me to social constructivism (a bigger thing than the layman may suspect), always made me feel welcomed in his house, and proved to be a highly unconventional yet all the more true mentor. Hossein Bashiriyeh has been an inexhaustible source of scholarship, knowledge and rigor for the study of social theory, the Middle East, and all in between. His greatest quality, however, has always been his affability and kindness. I will never forget when I first started flipping the page of Gramsci’s Notebooks, and how they read to me as nothing like I have read before, to the point of having goose bumps: Mark Rupert masterfully opened up to me those pages, which tremendously impacted me both as person and as a scholar. L.H.M. Ling showed me, more vividly and more interestingly than anyone else, how food and gender, fashion and war, art and scholarship are to be painted in the same picture. I cherished my discussions with Lily as an invaluable occasion to be challenged intellectually in ways that I could not even suspect. A special note to my advisor, Mehrzad Boroujerdi. His class on the International Relations of the Middle East was the first course I took at SU, and I remember clearly how I regretted the three hour seminar was over: I told myself, if this is academia, I want it. I have seen many times, and never failed to appreciate, how his mentorship and advice have been in the last iv the prime reason as to why I completed this work. I will continue to be inspired by his scholarship, intellect and kindness. I would like to thank other professors at SU that were part of my teaching, intellectual and scholarly development: Matt Cleary, Brian Taylor, Miriam Elman, Tazim Kassam and Rania Habib. I would also like to thank Glyn Morgan and Margarita Estevez-Abe, always ready to offer their advice or share their thoughts, especially on Italian politics and culture…In the Political Science Department, I would like to thank Candy, whose assistance is truly beyond words, Sally and Jacquie. Amongst my peers and fellow graduate students, Mike Makara and Deepa Prakash need to be mentioned first. Mike helped me in more ways than he can probably think, and I am honored to count him as a friend. Deepa showed me how compassion, fun and friendship are one and the same. Meagan, Sibel, Mike and Katie Beckstrand, Jing, Nneka, Aykut, Ugur, Emy: thank to you all. Dean challenged me in my understanding of Marxism in ways that crossed, again, into my life. Thank you comrade. Evan, similarly, challenged me in my understanding of ‘theory,’ and as good as he is as a scholar, he proved to be even better as a friend. Even if he likes the Lakers. A few words for Charlie won’t nearly suffice in letting him know how much I value him as a friend, colleague, and, even more importantly, soon-to-be fellow countryman. It’s been a pleasure to meet you my friend. I have incurred an inordinate amount of debt with the people in Amman too. Elena Corbett has been the best boss I have ever had: teaching was great because she made it so. Khader Abualhayjaah has improved tremendously my Arabic proficiency, and done so over endless conversations over history, politics and philosophy that I was emboldened to be having in such an impossible language. Tamer Khorma deserves all the credit for the interviews I was able to carry out for this work: his help has been nothing but remarkable. Marwan Shahadah and Hassan Abu Hanieh were kind enough to meet with me multiple times to share their insights and expertise on Salafism: to both of them my deepest appreciation. Yet of course Amman would not have been Amman without the warmth, friendship and care of Miriam Abu Samra and Sharif Tbileh: in opening their home to me, they made me feel at home, and that without considering the talks over arghilé about neoliberism, Palestine and basketball. I don’t think I can extinguish any time soon the debt I owe them. Two last special mentions. To Sinan Chu, who not only managed to share the same house with me for three years, never complaining about my nationalist rants about the superiority of Italian cuisine, but he apparently elected to continue such intellectually laden conversations for many years to come in more academic venues.
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