MOOD AND MODALITY OF PERSUASION IN RUMIYAH ISLAMIC STATE MAGAZINE

MOOD AND MODALITY OF PERSUASION IN RUMIYAH ISLAMIC STATE MAGAZINE

Islamic State (IS) is well known for its powerful propaganda activities. Through their media wing, Al-Hayat Media Center, IS has been producing numerous online propaganda magazines, including Rumiyah. The magazines have become IS’s powerful media for recruiting foreign fighters from many countries and nationalities. Linguistically speaking, several studies had been conducted to analyze IS’s language of propaganda, but most of them were done on the level of words instead of grammar (the gap to be filled out by this current research). To analyze the grammar of IS’s language, this current research applied the Hallidayan interpersonal meaning (mood and modality) analysis – that is how the relationship between speakers/writers and their audience/readers affect the language they use. 

This current research revealed the following problems: (1) How is the mood of the clauses deployed in Rumiyah’s persuasive texts in three different narratives addressed to different types of readers? (2) How is the modality deployed in Rumiyah’s persuasive texts in three different narratives addressed to different types of readers?, and (3) How do the identified mood and modality reflect the persuasion strategies applied in the texts? To answer the questions, this current research applied a content analysis. Six persuasive texts (articles) under three narratives in Rumiyah were analyzed following Luo’s content analysis to see the regularities of mood and modalities, which eventually reflect the persuasion strategies applied.

The result of the analysis shows that the types of mood and modality vary in accordance with the different types of readers and topics of discussion. In Narrative 1 (IS remains strong and lethal), whose social function is to motivate the readers to remain steadfast in struggling in the cause of Allah and whose target readers are the inner-group members, the declarative mood that functions mainly as a statement of fact and opinion is generally employed while the modality is rarely used. The mood type, speech-function realization, and modality which are applied reflect the logical-empirical persuasion strategy that provides support for Rumiyah’s argumentation. 

In Narrative 2 (IS’s tactics of attack), whose social function is to direct the readers to do terror in certain ways and whose target readers are the outer-group sympathizers, the declarative mood that functions as an indirect directive and a statement of opinion is generally employed while the modulized modality reflecting an obligation is copiously used. The mood type, speech-function realization, and modality applied commonly reflect the strategies of suggestion and disclaimer. The strategy of suggestion is reflected by the abundant use of modal verbs like ‘should’ and ‘may’ while the strategy of disclaimer is conveyed by the element of adjunct, downplaying the task. 

In Narrative 3 (IS has justifiable reasons for hating their enemies), whose social function is to arouse hatred toward non-Muslims and whose target readers are the hesitant outer-group sympathizers, the declarative mood functioning as a statement of fact and opinion is commonly employed while the modulized modality reflecting an obligation dominates the texts. Many of the clauses contain obligation or prohibition of killing or taking the wealth of the kuffar. The mood type, speech-function realization, and modality applied commonly reflect the strategies of assertion and logical-empirical. The strategies are applied because Rumiyah avoids using a more blatant command to the readers and chooses to use a more indirect method of instruction to kill or take the wealth of the kuffar.

Islamic State (IS) is well known for its powerful propaganda activities. Through their media wing, Al-Hayat Media Center, IS has been producing numerous online propaganda magazines, including Rumiyah. The magazines have become IS’s powerful media for recruiting foreign fighters from many countries and nationalities. Linguistically speaking, several studies had been conducted to analyze IS’s language of propaganda, but most of them were done on the level of words instead of grammar (the gap to be filled out by this current research). To analyze the grammar of IS’s language, this current research applied the Hallidayan interpersonal meaning (mood and modality) analysis – that is how the relationship between speakers/writers and their audience/readers affect the language they use. 

This current research revealed the following problems: (1) How is the mood of the clauses deployed in Rumiyah’s persuasive texts in three different narratives addressed to different types of readers? (2) How is the modality deployed in Rumiyah’s persuasive texts in three different narratives addressed to different types of readers?, and (3) How do the identified mood and modality reflect the persuasion strategies applied in the texts? To answer the questions, this current research applied a content analysis. Six persuasive texts (articles) under three narratives in Rumiyah were analyzed following Luo’s content analysis to see the regularities of mood and modalities, which eventually reflect the persuasion strategies applied.

The result of the analysis shows that the types of mood and modality vary in accordance with the different types of readers and topics of discussion. In Narrative 1 (IS remains strong and lethal), whose social function is to motivate the readers to remain steadfast in struggling in the cause of Allah and whose target readers are the inner-group members, the declarative mood that functions mainly as a statement of fact and opinion is generally employed while the modality is rarely used. The mood type, speech-function realization, and modality which are applied reflect the logical-empirical persuasion strategy that provides support for Rumiyah’s argumentation. 

In Narrative 2 (IS’s tactics of attack), whose social function is to direct the readers to do terror in certain ways and whose target readers are the outer-group sympathizers, the declarative mood that functions as an indirect directive and a statement of opinion is generally employed while the modulized modality reflecting an obligation is copiously used. The mood type, speech-function realization, and modality applied commonly reflect the strategies of suggestion and disclaimer. The strategy of suggestion is reflected by the abundant use of modal verbs like ‘should’ and ‘may’ while the strategy of disclaimer is conveyed by the element of adjunct, downplaying the task. 

In Narrative 3 (IS has justifiable reasons for hating their enemies), whose social function is to arouse hatred toward non-Muslims and whose target readers are the hesitant outer-group sympathizers, the declarative mood functioning as a statement of fact and opinion is commonly employed while the modulized modality reflecting an obligation dominates the texts. Many of the clauses contain obligation or prohibition of killing or taking the wealth of the kuffar. The mood type, speech-function realization, and modality applied commonly reflect the strategies of assertion and logical-empirical. The strategies are applied because Rumiyah avoids using a more blatant command to the readers and chooses to use a more indirect method of instruction to kill or take the wealth of the kuffar.