Abu Khurasani was born on July 27, 1995 in Afghanistan. In 2016, he graduated from Minhaj Siraj High School in Sar-e-Pul. In 2019, he received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Herat University. For the past five years, Khurasani has worked with newspapers such as Sobh Kabul, Neshaneh News Agency, Rasad News Agency, Hasht Subh Newspaper and Daily Etilaatroz.
He also teaches at the Faculty of Journalism at Rena University. He has written extensively on extremism, terrorism, history and sociology, publishing more than 500 reports and articles. His book Afghanistan’s National Security Pathology with Emphasis on Internal Factors was scheduled to be published in September 2021, but the fall of Afghanistan’s government stopped it.
Topic:
Digitized Radicalism in Afghanistan
Islamic fundamentalist groups have used social media for political-religious purposes for a long time, and those behind their communications have used media tools such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter to spread propaganda in fragile countries such as Afghanistan. This study seeks to describe and explain social media and its role in recruiting for Islamic state Khurasan and Al-Qaeda. Khurasani will use the current situation of Islamic fundamentalist groups and their public relations in Afghanistan to analyse them using the information available on social media, WhatsApp groups and advertising materials. He will then use interviews and questionnaires to reach those exposed to such recruitment.
This research will use content analysis, interviews with ISKP-affiliated fighters, previously written articles and books and a questionnaire. Khurasani plans to use any tool available to understand the role of social media in recruiting fundamentalist groups. From his years researching fundamentalist groups such as the Taliban, scattered foreign fighters and ISKP among the Taliban, Khurasani has unique access to fighters who have joined ISKP and Al-Qaeda through social media. This study is intended to show how ISKP and Al-Qaeda use social media for their political-religious purposes and how they promote propaganda and recruitment. What is their advertising method and how is this method more effective than before?