Symbolic Frames: Identity and Legitimacy in Iraqi Islamist Discourse

This essay uses discourse and rhetoric as lenses to understand the development of the Sunni Islamist movement in Iraq after 2003. It compares letters written by different Sunni groups addressed to the United Nations’ representative for Iraq, detailing their objections to the American occupation and plans for elections. The essay argues that the process of defining the identity of these new Islamist groups was necessarily interlinked with proffering new definitions of Iraqi national community. Furthermore, it shows how democracy became an inescapable frame for all groups struggling to offer alternative visions of legitimate rule.