Analysis of the labeling discourse between the Jamaat ud Dawa and its critics seen through the Pakistani print media

Very little is known about the impact of the blame discourse between organizations accused of terrorism and the accusing allies in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). In particular, there is a gap in knowledge about the effects within societies in which the accused organizations have acquired social acceptance. This dissertation presents research on the dynamics of such discourses within the context of a sympathetic society that provides support to an allegedly terrorist organization. Firstly, it reveals whether the GWOT alliances' public messages declaring that an organization is terrorist are culturally resonant in Pakistan, where the organization has its social base. Secondly, it shows how an organization accused of terrorism counters the 'terrorism' label and in turn negatively labels the GWOT alliance. Thirdly, it unveils the role of the newspaper media as a stakeholder in and mediator of such discourses.;The present study in an inductive analysis of Pakistani newspaper content pertinent to the 'labeling discourse' between the Jamaat ud Dawa (JuD) and member states of the GWOT alliance. The JuD is a Pakistani Islamic Revivalist relief and welfare organization that the UN has accused of being part of the Al Qaeda network and the Government of Pakistan has banned. Results of the study showed that newspapers published in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, were more likely to concentrate on the JuD's relief and welfare activities while the Pakistani English newspapers concentrated more on the organization's alleged role as a terrorist organization. Members of the GWOT alliance reflected their respective strategic interests in defining the terrorist threat of the JuD. Lastly, the JuD messages printed in the Pakistani newspapers in which they countered the 'terrorism' label or criticized their accusers reflected the organizational goal of mobilizing its local support to regain its legal status and maintain its social base in Pakistan. Overall, compared to the communiqués sent out by its critics, the JuD's messages were found more culturally resonant in the Pakistani context. The empirical evidence suggests that the GWOT allies need to rethink both the way they make sense of allegedly 'terrorist organizations,' and how they present these organizations to the public through the mass media.