How does othering in Abu Bakr Naji’s The Management of Savagery and Anders Breivik’s 2083 reveal what the two authors perceive as the main external threats to their own groups?

Abstract: Othering is central in the rhetoric of both Abu Bakr Naji and Anders Breivik throughout their works. Both authors use it as a device to drive a psychological wedge between the groups of ‘us’ and ‘them’. In the case of Naji, the in group is made up of violence oriented takfiris such as Al Qaeda, but Breivik hoped to appeal to other violence oriented far right groups and individuals, disillusioned with what he perceived to be a slow erosion of ‘traditional’ European life by the far left, feminism and other forces. My research question will revolve around how a use of othering by the authors can reveal what they regard as the major threat to their groups. Superficially, there seem to be many similarities in how each author uses othering to alienate and dehumanise different groups. However, closer inspection reveals entirely different priorities and different methods of othering in play. By examining how othering is used throughout the works, it is possible to see which outside groups are perceived to present the biggest threat to the inside groups and the results are perhaps surprising. Given that The Management of Savagery has been seen as the ISIS strategic manual and the key message throughout the work is try and bring the USA and her allies into a catastrophic war of attrition from which the violence oriented takfiris would rise, I had assumed that the USA, or the ‘Far’ enemy would take the brunt of Naji’s othering drive. Instead, the Shia and all Muslims who are unaligned with Al Qaeda, plus those Muslims closely aligned with the West or Western ideals are the key target for Naji. Likewise, I had expected most of the vitriol from Breivik’s right wing ‘manifesto’ to be directed at Muslim immigrants to Europe. However, his key concern, as evidenced by the othering used throughout his work, is in fact with what he terms ‘cultural Marxists’ – left leaning groups and political parties, which he sees as weakening Europe and allowing outsiders to take over.