‘They are not Muslims. They are monsters’: The Accidental Takfirism of British Political Elites

It has become increasingly common for British political elites to engage in takfir, the process by which individuals are declared not to be Muslims despite their self-proclaimed Islamic faith. This apparently accidental takfirism denies that members of Salafi-Jihadist groups are themselves Muslims in contrast to more nuanced approaches taken by ‘mainstream’ Sunni religious and political figures.

This paper draws on constructivist and poststructuralist approaches to discourse analysis alongside discussions of Islamic jurisprudence in order to examine and problematise the use of takfirist discursive practices by British political elites. This paper contributes to the literature on British political elites' discursive construction of the threat posed by Salafi-Jihadist terrorism and subsequent policy responses. This paper also contributes to constructivist and postructuralist approaches within Critical Terrorism Studies by analysing discursive practices used by British political elites to police the boundaries of religion. This paper focuses on statements made by British politicians which utilise takfirist discursive practices in different contexts and for a range of purposes, analysing why and how British political elites have engaged in these practices. It further suggests that this analysis has important policy implications, arguing that these discursive practices incur potential risks of which policymakers appear to be unaware.