[llamaimperative]

Do you think Al Qaeda has membership badges or is it mostly just a bunch of people buying into the same set of memes?

What about vegans?

No one is mistaking this for a “membership badge.” They’re taking it as a signal for what a person believes, and acknowledging that extreme belief formation (even if cynical and “just a joke bro lmao”) is very often part and parcel with group identity.

[IshKebab]

> Do you think Al Qaeda has membership badges or is it mostly just a bunch of people buying into the same set of memes?

Yes, Al Qaeda is obviously a real group with actual members, rather than a random meme. Was that a serious question?

[llamaimperative]

Not really. Since 9/11 there is a very small core formal group, but no, the thing people refer to as “al Qaeda” is mostly people buying into the same set of memes. Decentralized network of networks of ideological affiliations.

They’re not “random” memes, obviously, but I understand you’re trying to spin with rhetoric a bit here :)

https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/SR236Venhaus.pdf

[aziaziazi]

A great read, thanks for sharing. Many interesting thoughts about the movement joiners and also on the writer point of view on the situations

> Middle Eastern Muslim culture expert Marvin Zonis notes that Arab societies value the honor and dignity of the individual more than personal liberty. When the principles of honor and dignity confront the devastating failures of many Middle Eastern states to achieve prominence in the world, the result is a profound and omnipresent humiliation and rage that is palpable throughout the region.