Jordanian social activist, Suleiman Bakhit believes we can fight ISIS with comic books. "Everything begins with a story," he told the audience at WIRED2014. "Narratives and myths give us a sense of purpose, they give us a compelling sense of direction in our lives."
So Bakhit decided to study the narratives of extremism, in order to understand the mythologies that underlie groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda. "If I can understand it," he said, "I can fight it."
In doing so he discovered that at the centre of their violence, at the centre of all violence, is the feeling of shame. Or more precisely, toxic shame. "Healthy shame is a source of learning, it lets you know boundaries," Bakhit explained. "Toxic shame says you are unworthy as a human being, you are unworthy of human connection. This leads to violence in an attempt to replace that toxic shame with pride."
It's a motivation Bakhit understands all too well. Shortly after he started publishing his comic books, extremists in Jordan attacked him outside his office with a razor blade. "I had to cauterise my own wound with a piece of steel," he said. "But two good things came out of this. One, my dating life improved exponentially. And the second thing was that I realised that they were trying to mark me with shame, to transfer their own shame to me, and replace it with pride."
The idea to fight these narratives of shame through comics developed in a Jordanian school when Bakhit asked the kids, "Who are your heroes?" Receiving a list of names from extremist propaganda in response. Now there was no point trying to argue it with them, Bakhit explained -- instead he gave them free comic books. When he returned three months later their heroes had been replaced by comic book characters. "There is a huge need for positive role models and positive narratives," he said. "We must develop a counter mythology based on healthy shame, based on personal narratives of love, and most importantly of male and female heroines." "The best way to accomplish this," Bakhit concluded. "The best technology we have to cultivate heroic motivation is this medium right here. The comic book"
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
