Ester Sigillò
The 2011 uprisings in the southern Mediterranean and subsequent migration waves have highlighted the resurgence of Islamist movements in North Africa and the growing presence of Islamic communities in Western nations. While media and policymakers have focused on integrating Muslim communities into host countries, efforts have primarily addressed administrative relations, often overlooking the transformative dynamics of Islamist movements across borders.
Existing research on Islamic activism has emphasized domestic and international factors influencing Islamist actors, but has largely neglected the transnational dimension as a distinct area of study. This oversight has led to simplistic analyses that reduce Islamist movements to a binary of moderation versus radicalization.
The HYBRIS project aims to fill this gap by systematically exploring the hybrid trajectories of transnational Islamism from a cross-country perspective. Focusing on two North African Islamist movements—the Tunisian Ennahda and the Algerian Islamic Salvation Front—HYBRIS will investigate how transnationalization influences their ideological foundations and actions, and how context affects activists’ re-localization.
Specifically, HYBRIS will pursue five interconnected objectives: a) Mapping the socio-political networks these movements establish in Europe (Italy and France) and North America (US and Canada); b) Investigating patterns of hybridization within transnational Islamic movements; c) Exploring the role of digital media in maintaining connections, sharing ideas, and coordinating actions; d) Analyzing similarities and differences across the four countries of relocation, with attention to gender dimensions; e) Assessing how hybridization impacts the movements' original political positions in their countries of origin.
HYBRIS is funded by the European Commission under the framework of the Marie Sklodowska Curie Global Fellowship.
European Commission - Marie Sklodowska Curie Global Fellowship