The Ideological Indoctrination through ISIS Textbooks

Olivier Arvisais, Mathieu Guidère, Lydie C. Belporo, Maxime Bérubé, Chirine Chamsine and Mohamed Amine Mahhou

Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 2025, vol. 48, issue 5, 505-527

Abstract: This paper depicts how ideological indoctrination is constructed within the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) textbooks as a framing process of religious concepts and values. By adopting a frame analysis perspective, we try to understand how ISIS textbooks assign meaning to traditional concepts in Islam – belief in the oneness of God, obedience to God, rejection of polytheism, allegiance, and disavowal, among others. Even though existing research has led to significant insights into ISIS propaganda, media, and strategic communication, it still falls short of addressing its ideological indoctrination process in a detailed manner. This article fills a gap in the literature on ISIS educational propaganda and ideology. For our empirical case study, we analyzed a selection of ISIS primary-level textbooks produced in Iraq and Syria and published in Arabic. Ultimately, this paper demonstrates that ISIS has been attempting to redefine education by framing the textbooks’ content through the lens of its own ideology. Our study contributes to the growing number of studies that draw attention to the instrumentalization of educational material as a tool of ideological indoctrination targeting youth in conflict areas.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1080/1057610X.2022.2106778

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