Small Wars Journal

The Parallels between Radical Islam’s ISIS and Antifa

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Mon, 11/02/2020 - 3:24pm

The Parallels between Radical Islam’s ISIS and Antifa

by Lisa Merriam

 

ISIS and Antifa much alike. “Mass movements are interchangeable,” said Eric Hoffer in The True Believer. From Hezbollah to Al Qaeda, from Occupy Wall Street to the Revolution Abolition Movement, these groups share more than an anti-American philosophy. They use the same marketing techniques.

We explain how ISIS retails its ideology in our book Weaponized Marketing: Defeating Islamic Jihad with Marketing that Built the World’s Top Brands. Antifa is going to market the same way.

 

Antifa and ISIS Share Marketing Goals

  1. Position and propagandize the ideology. “No justice-no peace” is real in riot-torn neighborhoods.
  2. Amplify reach and project strength. Just a few blocks may be affected, but all of Portland is synonymous with rioting.
  3. Unnerve and dishearten enemies. Mayor Ted Wheeler cowered, then fled from Portland mobs.
  4. Create confusion and insecurity. Burned out blocks, sparse police protection and upcoming election fraud create uncertainty.
  5. Boost morale of supporters and sympathizers. The riots energize and attract supporters like the  Oregon Health and Science University and Kamala Harris.
  6. Influence and intimidate decision-makers. Defunding police and “cancelling” opposition voices are prominent examples.
  7. Recruit believers. Action is persuasion. You do first, then believe.

 

Segmenting the Market

Antifa and ISIS have similar market segments. From the committed core supporters and sympathizers radiate out to impact the confused and vulnerable, surrounded by apologists and enablers, “useful idiots” like CNN’s “fiery, but mostly peaceful” reporting and Jerry Nadler’s riots are a “myth” assertion.

 

Committed Core: Appealing to Extremists

Both ISIS and Antifa claim they are movements of the oppressed. That is rarely true in mass movements. Saul Alinsky notes in Rules for Radicals, it is the middle class that produces radicals like Fidel Castro, Mao Tse-Tung, Nikolai Lenin, and Adolf Hitler. ISIS and Antifa leaders come from the same comfortable social strata.

Olivier Roy studied jihadists behind 140 European terror attacks. He describes a and ISIS recruit that is remarkably similar to Antifa rioters. Both attract the frustrated, bored, those with low self-esteem, and petty criminals.

  • Frustrated people are easiest to radicalize. Eric Hoffer says: “A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding.” Antifa rioters come from the spoiled middle class; educated, “privileged,” yet frustrated by underachievement. Consider Matthew Banta. His dead-end day job was “office worker” at the Oshkosh Counselling Wellness Center. But when not making copies and fetching coffee, he was Antifa, the swashbuckling “Commander Red” of United Action Oshkosh. He was arrested with a flame thrower at a Green Bay riot.
  • Boredom motivates activism. Universities are shut, bars closed down, borders sealed to back-packer through Europe. “There is no more reliable indicator of a society’s ripeness for a mass movement,” Hoffer writes, “than the prevalence of unrelieved boredom.” Clara Kraebber studies “Women, Gender, and Sexuality” and “Native American History” at Rice University (tuition $49,112/year), while living with her parents in their $1.8 million home on Manhattan’s Upper East Side and Litchfield, CT country estate. She spent her summer protesting for Black Lives Matter and was recently arrested for felony rioting in New York, to break the tedium of attending university remotely.
  • Low self-esteem fuels the fanatic. A generation that earned trophies from showing up has a deep yearning to matter and a desperation for power. In place of achievement and ability, people seek  meaning and power through the near-religious virtue signaling as thousands of white people kneel on 6th Avenue and swarms of white people bully other white people in restaurants.

 dc-restaurant-blm

  • Petty crime is a precursor to extremism. Dr. Roy notes ISIS recruits “have a past of petty delinquency and drug dealing.” The same is true for Antifa. Samantha Shader, who allegedly attempted to kill New York City police officers, faced charges going back years in eleven states, from drug busts to assaults. Petty crime made her pathetic. Taking a stand  against police elevated her into a heroine.

The brand attributes that of ISIS appeal alike to Antifa. For the discontented underachievers, those escaping the tedium safe spaces, the purposeless with low self-worth, for misfits who can’t stay out of trouble, the appeal of a mass movement can be irresistible. Dr. Roy explains: “They are people who feel devalued, despised and by becoming terrorists they suddenly become supermen, heroes.”

Shared Model and Methods: Co-Created, Open-Source, Decentralized

The marketing manual for Islamic jihadists, The Call for Global Islamic Resistance, by Abu Mus’ab al-Suri advocated for “leaderless,” co-created, open-sourced marketing. No organization to join; no membership card to carry. Show up and start doing “the work,” and you are in. It is how Antifa murderer Michael Reinoehl can be described as an “Antifa sympathizer” despite professing to be “100% Antifa.”

“Leaderless” is not exactly true of both ISIS and Antifa. The real leaders are shadowy on purpose. The people you see doing the dirty work, getting arrested, throwing bombs, and killing people are never organizational leaders. They don’t personally bloody their hands. That is for expendable soldiers like Salman Ramadan Abedi, the ISIS suicide bomber at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, England, and Antifa’s Michael Reinoehl.

Leaders provide loose ideological direction, suggest actions, propagate the brand, coordinate nationally and internationally, and provide funding. ISIS is organized by various into local cells like Antifa with Rose City Antifa in Portland and New York Antifa. Ally groups expand reach. ISIS counts Boko Haram in Africa and Abu Sayyaf in East Asia as associate groups. Antifa runs with the New Afrikan Black Panther Party, the Revolution Abolition Movement, and the shadowy NYPDK (New York Police Department Killers).

Individuals can form organizations, with their own activities and funding. Antifa’s Torch Network offers resources to help people do just that. They empower individuals to “create together” with an “open  mind  about  tactics  and  organization“ according to Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook.

 

All the Same: Illiberal, Violet, Nihilist, Anti-Semitic

Antifa and the fascists have more in common with each other than they do with mainstream America. Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook says Antifa is “illiberal;” against freedom of thought and speech, the entire Bill of Rights. The Nazis would agree. Eric Hoffer writes of pre-war Germany: “It was a toss-up whether a restless youth would join the communists or the Nazis.” Speaking of post-war social change in Britain, Edward Hallett Carr observed: “The socialization of the national has as its natural corollary the nationalization of socialism.” One of the biggest differences between Antifa and fascists is Facebook only takes down Fascist content.

Antifa would feel right at home in ISIS, tearing down statues, terrorizing the population, and slandering Jews. The recent riot even featured a “Death to America” banner. Where have we heard that before?

 

About the Author(s)

Lisa Merriam

Lisa Merriam is a marketing communications consultant and is co-author of Weaponized Marketing: Defeating Islamic Jihad with Marketing That Built the World's Top Brands (Rowman Littlefield, 2020)

Comments

AllenWalter

Thu, 09/23/2021 - 9:11am

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I agree there are certainly parallels. On the whole though the generality of the author's argument is akin to saying that a tuna and a shark are the same because they're both large and like water. The observations claimed as evidence are so loose that you can make the same arguments about gun rights protesters in Virginia, climate change protestors, boogaloo boys, the Seattle CHOP, Charlottesville tiki torch nazis, Euromaidan protestors, the Muslim Brotherhood, etc. Mass movements are indeed interchangeable when spoken of so generally. 

The final product feels like an opinion piece disguised as analysis and calibrated to plug Merriam's new book. 

Folks, this is on the whole right. I am reluctant to admit that Merriam is largely right; there are frightening parallels.

From a European observer: no doubt, the thinking of 'Antifa' (what a dumb term) is mostly fascist and dangerous; that's quite clear from what we saw over recent years and to analysts with any historical knowledge of Fascism. It is frightening that the young generation in the USA is so gullible and ignorant and being spoiled by all this, not hindered by any solid knowledge or reason. There is no moderation.

Yes, yes, similar problems on the far right. But now we are talking about the radical Left, and it's pretty bad. They are no alternative but make things worse.

 

David Westall

Tue, 11/03/2020 - 2:41pm

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This is certainly a challenging piece to take seriously.  It broadly paints opinions as fact and offers little rationality for doing so.  While there could be some general similarities between the way ISIS and Antifa use propaganda, the overall article fails to inspire confidence in the points it conveys.   

WizardofWoz

Tue, 11/03/2020 - 8:24am

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Miss Merriam misses an opportunity to discuss the online mobilization of disparate individuals with a shared set of values/grievances into lone wolves, cells, networks, or full blown insurgencies. Many of the points made here are just as easily applied to the right wing militia movement in the United States. Merriam nearly comes close to exploring this when she quotes Eric Hoffer stating "It was a toss-up whether a restless youth would join the communists or the Nazis." The weak evidence and generalizations in this piece almost invite a satirical response with the substitution of "antifa" with "right wing militia." A far more valuable treatment of this topic would be to address how partisans of all stripes are using the same tools to mobilize support. 

The tone of this article also reads bit too much like an op-ed airing of the author's personal biases. I come to Small Wars Journal for the robust and well-articulated analysis, not to hear the echo of talk show complaints about "safe spaces" "virtue signaling," and a "participant trophy generation." Perhaps this should have been posted in a personal blog instead. 

Improvements are in fact needed.

This response is as challenging as the article itself.  While conveying Merriam's article is "full of partisan drivel, false dichotomies, and generalizations as to be completely useless as analysis" the respondent offers the same in rebuttal.  

1. "throwing things at riot police in response to undeniable and systemic violence imposed on Americans by largely-unaccountable police forces" is a biased opinion where no facts are offered by the respondent.  There are simply no facts to support the systemic violence claimed by the respondent exists, especially considering the construct and use of term systemic violence is subjective in itself.  Moreover, it is mere opinion the police are "largely unaccountable" as another can have the opinion that police are accountable for their actions.

2.  The respondent states, "not any substantive reporting or data, like how most Americans believed the administration was using the Portland context to threaten Americans with extrajudicial violence" and offers a Reuters poll as a guide of sorts.  Unfortunately, there is no question in the Reuters poll that addresses the administration using the Portland context to threaten Americans with extrajudicial violence.  None whatsoever.  It is simply not in the poll questions, so the respondent cannot, in anyway, convey that most Americans believe anything about the administration's context toward extrajudicial violence.  This seem disingenuous.

4. What are the topics being 100% solved?

6. While there have been no suicide bombings carried out by Antifa, according to the reference material provided by the respondent, Antifa possibly attempt a suicide bombing of an ICE building however, perpetrator was killed by police https://www.csis.org/analysis/who-are-antifa-and-are-they-threat.

8. Making the biased assertion that "right wing actors" have killed 300 people, while saying that Merriam is biased for making similar assertions, makes the respondent just as biased.

8b. According to the respondent, "the President has ordered killings." This is perhaps the most perplexing statement the respondent makes because the citation to support this view is a Forbes article reporting the President's comment about law enforcement officers shooting Antifa member and murder suspect Michael Reinoehl.  There is no place in the article that supports the respondent's belief that the President ordered any killings.  Moreover, such a statement demands rigorous standards of proof, which is clearly lacking in this reply. 

Perhaps the respondent will write an article that addresses the shortcomings mentioned above and use a standard that is more in keeping with the rigorous standards the respondent believes are missing in Merriam's article. 

carnivrspigbat

Mon, 11/02/2020 - 10:40pm

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I am truly shocked that this essay made it past editorial oversight. Not only is this content not in line with the mandate of SWJ, it's so full of partisan drivel, false dichotomies, and generalizations as to be completely useless as analysis.

0) You don't define Antifa. The term is a boogeyman.

1) It is beyond abhorrent to compare ISIS--a totalitarian, theocratic multinational terror organization that held territory and acted as a rogue state--to a vaguely-defined ideological "group" of Americans whose core tenet is being against fascism. It is completely disrespecting the thousands of Iraqis, Kurds, Syrians, Yazidis, Turks, Nigerians, and others killed by ISIS/in actions related to ISIS. Really? The terror group turned media machine known for its flashy videos of torture is the same as black-clad Americans burning a Target? Or throwing things at riot police in response to undeniable and systemic violence imposed on Americans by largely-unaccountable police forces? That's ludicrous to the point of danger.

2) Marketing goals: You could manipulate any organization, especially one with paramilitary flavor, as having these goals. Additionally, your use of language makes it clear that we're to use only your perception in this matter, not any substantive reporting or data, like how most Americans believed the administration was using the Portland context to threaten Americans with extrajudicial violence (https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/bdwvkezzovm/Topline%20Reuters-Ipsos%20Core%20Political%207.28.pdf)

3) Segmenting the market: Again, you're trying to get a reaction that goes "Oh no! ISIS wanted political support, and Antifa ALSO wants political support! These are the same thing, therefore ISIS and Antifa are the same thing!" So? You're describing a political movement. Every politician has those who love them, those who support them, those they can trick or convince into voting for them, and those who don't think they're all that bad. What a useless comparison. Tell us something about who makes up the core of Antifa, who is financing Antifa, who Antifa is tricking into... doing something? And who is sitting back and saying, "ah yes, Black Bloc. I am choosing to aide these people by not... doing something?

4) You claim that "Antifa rioters" and ISIS recruits come from the same place. You define ISIS recruits, and share data about their backgrounds. You don't do that for "Antifa rioters." You cherry pick an example to mock--good to know that it's not worth studying gender relations or Indigenous issues. Those two topics are 100% solved and need no further examination. We did it!

5) Antifa and ISIS have completely dissimilar command structures. As I'm sure you know, as someone who has worked with Naval Special Warfare operators in the past, we tend to put up big pictures of the leaders of terror groups, and then try to kill them. Who is the Caliph of Antifa? It's not Baghdadi. The requirement to join Antifa is to take anti-fascist action. There is no arbiter of "True Antifa." There is no central C2 operation. There is no territory. There aren't massive networks to smuggle Antifa recruits across borders. There aren't money-laundering operations to fund arms purchases. Come on.

6) Why are we comparing "cancel culture" to attempted genocide that came about due to power vacuums in the Middle East and central Africa. I'm sorry that people are getting bullied in restaurants. There have been no Antifa suicide bombings.

7) You claim Antifa is antisemitic. You then provide no evidence for this claim.

8) You claim Antifa is fascist. EXTREME RIGHT-WING ACTORS HAVE KILLED OVER 300 PEOPLE IN THE PAST 25 YEARS. https://www.csis.org/analysis/who-are-antifa-and-are-they-threat

8b) Don't worry, I know that Antifa-affiliated folks have killed people since this was uploaded. I wouldn't worry too much about that though, as the President has ordered killings. https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/10/15/trump-praises-us-marshals-who-shot-and-killed-antifa-activist/

Fascism is bad, Ms. Merriam. I truly hope you don't need a source for that. Fascists are killing people and enacting constant violence. ISIS is killing people and enacting near-constant violence in different places on the globe. Antifa is, for the most part, making it harder to commute in Portland. 4 blocks of Portland.

I'm distressed that SWJ published this. I'd be more than happy to improve my above work to professional standards if they'd like to publish my response to this drivel.