Behaviorist Fundamentalism Turns Radical: ETIM/TIP’s Islamic Fundamentalist Representations and Narratives

Abstract: Many contemporary Islamic terrorist groups have been identified as forms of religious fundamentalism. Moreover, the narratives and representations constructed by many of these groups contain traces of religious fundamentalism. In this article, ETIM/TIP’s narratives and representations are examined as a case study. The group’s power discourses as they relate to religious fundamentalism are analyzed through examining the group’s rhetoric of its own origin, its current situation, and its reactions toward this situation. The power discourse of an unconventional “Orientalism” and the use of behaviorist logic are especially emphasized. Furthermore, the presence of behaviorism in religious fundamentalist narratives suggests the need for China to revise its official national counterterrorist discourse. Instead of continuing the current behaviorist rhetoric in the legal framework, this article suggests a deconstruction—ultimately, a discouragement—of religious behaviorism to prevent the radicalization of Muslims in the country.