ABSTRACT
In line with our discourse-centred reading of modernity, tradition and transmodernity in Part I, the following pages examine the symbolic function that tradition and modernity have played in the discursive trajectory of Hasan al-Banna (1906-1949), one of the most influential figures of Islamist thought. We shall see that al-Banna’s vision presents evidence of a double engagement with the modern and the traditional symbolic scenarios, reflecting an increasing valorisation of modernity in the articulation of what we term a territorial trajectory of Islamism. Taking a broader perspective, the term ‘territorial’ is used to describe here the tendency to prioritise local and domestic reality in a way that reveals a ‘counter-hegemonic’ articulation of national signifiers. Their integration within al-Banna’s discourse is in fact re-signified by their juxtaposition with the master signifier ‘Islam’, and the language of tradition.
