THE METAPHORICAL CONSTRUCTION OF THE POLITICAL ENEMY IN THE ISLAMIST DISCOURSE

Abstract

All human language is metaphorical. People very often talk and think about something in terms of another thing, that is in a metaphorical way. Metaphors are not just poetic expressions we use to decorate our literary works, but they actually play a primary role in shaping our understanding of the world around us. For this reason, this article aims at exploring the relationships between the metaphorical use of language and ideology and how such relationships are represented in the discourse of Mohamed Emara, an Egyptian Islamist thinker. More specifically, this article will investigate how the use of metaphor reflects the way this Islamist thinker view liberals and secularists, his political opponents. The article also contends that although metaphors are mere abstract linguistic devices, they actually may have concrete and devastating ramifications on the real world, the world of men and women.

Key words: Critical Discourse Analysis, metaphor, ideology, Critical Metaphor Analysis, power, discourse.

Author
Brahim Hiba