Abstract
False claims disseminated on social media by extremists can convince ordinary people not just to sit in their armchairs and rage at the violence of one side or another but to leave their homes either to riot at the Capitol in Washington, DC, for example, or to sneak over international borders in order to join the so-called “Islamic State.” Governments' softer counterextremist policies may focus on messaging but tend to overlook the specific claims aimed at those vulnerable to radicalisation. Furthermore, general lack of trust in officialdom can undermine its messaging or even serve to bolster the extremist “us and them” narrative. This chapter suggests that, by harnessing their specialist information literacy knowledge and skills, librarians can build on their positive social capital and assume an active role in developing in their users the critical thinking and awareness necessary to identify and expose misleading extremist propaganda, thereby helping to make their local communities safer.
TopIntroduction
This chapter aims to be as practical as it is evidence-based, synthesising years of professional experience in national and academic libraries as a curator of Arabic manuscripts; a cataloguing trainer; a manager responsible for the international marketing for library and information services; a bibliographic coordinator; and as a head of archival publishing. These varied roles have been followed by over a decade serving as a Muslim chaplain in a young offenders’ institution and working with convicted terrorists in a high-security prison. It presents examples of quotations from classical Islamic texts that have been deliberately taken out of context to justify atrocities perpetrated in the name of Islam. By being widely circulated by Muslim extremists on social media and occasionally acted on by Muslim terrorists, such quotations then come to the attention of neo-Nazis or White supremacists, who then exploit them to whip up support for anti-Muslim hatred and violence, and to bate ordinary Muslims online who utterly reject the atrocities done in the name of their faith, but who equally lack the ability to formulate cogent, evidence-based arguments to support their religious beliefs. This is where the skills of professional librarianship come in. By identifying the bibliographic sources of the quotations, and thus locating them in their textual and historical context, it is possible for public and academic librarians working together locally, nationally or even internationally, to serve citizens in their communities by providing answers to queries from those vulnerable to radicalisation, or from their families, friends, schools, clubs, mosques, churches, etc., on the validity of the truth claims that they see made by extremists.
Finally, in this introduction, while going through this chapter, readers may feel that lacunae exist in two key areas: first, the contribution of public and other libraries in the formation of good citizens through the teaching of information literacy; and second, analysing comparable examples of neo-Nazi and far-right extremism, fascism and White supremacism as a counterbalance to the, hopefully, clear examples of Islamic extremism. Regarding the first lacuna, insofar as this chapter presents anything new in relation to the acknowledged role of librarians in disseminating both knowledge and the information literacy skills to interpret it, its focus is entirely on the ‘what’ and not the ‘how’ or the ‘why’ of information literacy, which form the focus of training and review by the professional associations that represent librarians and information managers, such as CILIP in the UK (CILIP Information Literacy Group, 2018). As regards the second lacuna, it is in recognition of the author’s lack of expertise in this field, and not due to any denial of its equal – if not greater – relevance in English-speaking Western democracies whose majority ethnic groups often appear to be the unwitting targets of xenophobic dog-whistle messaging by politicians and media corporations of a certain hue.
Background
The background to this chapter is threefold. It begins with an event in Raqqa, Syria, early in 2015. It then considers the radicalising effect that event had on one individual with inadequate information literacy skills. Finally, it explores what, if anything, librarians in that individual’s country might proactively do to address the risks of radicalisation in their communities.
Key Terms in this Chapter
People of the Book: The Jews and Christians, since Islam recognises that their prophets and messengers were sent by the same God as sent Muhammad, and that their original scriptures were derived from the same celestial ‘Book’ as the Qur’an.
Dog Whistle: A word or phrase used by cynical politicians – or extremists – to subliminally catch the attention specifically of those vulnerable to acting on their message, while passing unnoticed by the majority of the audience or readership.
Prevent: A UK Government strategy to “prevent people from being drawn into terrorism and ensure that they are given appropriate advice and support” (UK Home Office, 2011 AU32: The in-text citation "UK Home Office, 2011" is not in the reference list. Please correct the citation, add the reference to the list, or delete the citation. ), which will no doubt have parallels in most other countries.
Jizyah: A sort of poll tax levied on Jews and Christians living in Muslim lands, in part as a tribute to acknowledge the transfer of their sovereignty to the Muslim ruler, but also in return for their protection.
Sunnah: The customary practice of the Prophet Muhammad, from which ethical and legal rulings may be derived.
Hadith: A reported saying or action of the Prophet Muhammad, or occasionally the utterance or action of another in his presence that he either approved of or objected to.