THE “VIRTUALISATION” OF POLITICAL DISCOURSE AND ACTION IN THE MAGHREB REGION: THE CASE OF POLITICAL ISLAM IN MOROCCO AND ITS STRUGGLE FOR IDEOLOGICAL POWER ON THE INTERNET

This article offers a general analysis of the impact of new technologies on the transformation of the political discourse and actions of the main actors in political Islam in Morocco. To that end, the author tackles the main symbolic, epistemological and political elements that exist in the virtual discourse of Islamist websites, and proceeds to carry out a detailed analysis of some of them, specifically those of the following movements and organisations: al-‘Adl wa-l-Ihsan (Justice and Spirituality), Hizb al-‘Adala wa-l-Tanmiyya (Justice and Development Party) and Harakat al-Tawh d wa-l-Islah (Oneness and Reform Movement); all of these being examples of the use of Islamic ideology as a legitimising resource of political action.