The Role of Anti-Terror Measures in the Development of ‘Islamic’ Terrorism (original) (raw)
The So-Called “Islamic Terrorism”: A Tale of the Ambiguous Terminology
Al-Albab, 2016
What does the term "terrorism" mean. " Why does the term "terrorism" often identified as Islam? "If terrorism is an ism that affects "terror" that it generates, while Islam which literally means "peace", then the two terms certainly mismatch! Such question and statement show Muslims' concern over frequent phenomena of "terrorism" using Islamic religious symbols. The research undertaken proved that there are three explanations. First, a close tripartite network connection between "terrorism experts" and the circles of power policy holders who are also supported by senior journalists in the international media influence. Second, a long tradition of Orientalist studies in the study of the Middle East region and the study of religion in the Arab culture. Figures such as Bernard Lewis, Noah Feldman, Raphael Patai and other Middle East experts often sit with other experts in the field of terrorism (the first factor) and become main advisors and expert staff for the US government in the formulation of action to counter terror. It was the catalyst for the transmission of viewpoint which then decorated orientalist discourse of Islamic terrorism in the process of political policies. Third, a lot of Islamic terrorism discourse refers to the long tradition of cultural stereotypes and biased representations of the media that often portray Islam and Muslims as 'the enemy'. The reason is that it reflects the perspective of socio-Western culture that fears and worries the other oriental parties which has been stereotyped since the imperial era. Many also argue that the dichotomy of the orientalist views are deliberately preserved as a form of new style imperialism.
Rediscovering roots of terror in Muslim world A researched study by Ahmed Kamel
The Egyptian Mail , 2007
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), al-Qaeda, Boko Haram in West Africa and the Muslim Brotherhood are nothing new in history. These takfiri and terrorist groups and organizations are modern-day clones of a number of Islamist sects and factions that emerged throughout Islamic history. In this study, I try to retrace political Islam throughout history. While European decision-makers have grappled with the question of where to draw the line between religion and politics, fundamentalists in the Islamic world have been trying to persuade their publics that no such line should exist.
Unpacking the Connection Between Terror and Islam (Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 2013)
Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 2013
Are countries with large Muslim populations more likely to experience or produce transnational terrorist attacks than countries with fewer Muslims? And if there is a difference, is it attributable to the influence of Islam, or to the economic, social and political conditions that are common in predominantly Muslim countries? Analyzing all transnational terrorist attacks between 1973 and 2002, this study uses decomposition analysis to identify the relative contributions of the observable and behavioral characteristics of a state on the amount of terrorism that it experiences and produces. The results suggest that Muslim states do not systematically produce more terrorism than non-Muslim states once state repression, human rights abuses, and discrimination against minorities are taken into account.
Routes into 'Islamic'Terrorism: Dead Ends and Spaghetti Junctions
Policing, 2007
This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced version of an article accepted for publication in Policing following peer review. The version of record VERTIGANS, S. 2007. Routes into 'Islamic' terrorism: dead ends and spaghetti junctions. Policing, 1(4), pages 447-459
Islamic Terrorism: From Retrenchment to Ressentiment and Beyond
HW Kushner (Hg.), Essential Readings on …, 2003
Using a Weberian perspective informed by Critical Theory, this paper investigates the interaction of economic, cultural and political causes and potential outcomes of Islamic terrorism. Islam's decline vis-à-vis Christendom was constrained through three major internal moments: 1) limits to modernity, 2) religious conservativism, and 3) ressentiment of the West. Islamic societies responded proactively to the rise of the West through two strategies: 1) Westernization and 2) Islamic modernism, which have both been strongly resisted. In the 20 th century, due to the internal suppression of secular political movements among other factors, puritanical fundamentalisms such as Wahhabism arose. Fundamentalisms in various religions explain reality by blaming social problems on the departure from religious morality and promise redemption via a return to an idealized community. In face of decline, colonization, and economic stagnation, ressentiment of the West became widespread in Islam. Fundamentalisms interacting with ressentiment may turn militant, as in the case of Al Qaeda. A war on terrorism is not likely to end terrorism. To solve the problem of terrorism requires addressing its roots: internal constraints, dictatorships sponsored by the West and the underdevelopment that results form neoliberal globalization. We suggest terrorism will wane in the face of the evolution of modern Islamic public spheres that might challenge religious conservatism. In wake of 9/11, both moderate and radical religious movements are likely to remain a basis for mobilizing alternative identities to globalization.
Terrorism: The nature of its history
Criminal Justice Studies, 2003
Terrorism has a history that is at least 2000 years old. Although targets, victims, perpetrators, causes and justifications for the use of terror have changed, the methods of terrorism have remained the same throughout history. This article will review the developmental stages of terrorism to demonstrate that history defines terrorism as the use of violence to cause fear in order to force change in societal behavior or to force a society to acquiesce to the goals of the terrorist. The nature and history of terrorism will be reviewed from Roman occupation to modern militant Islamic terrorism.
'The Legacy and Plague of Terrorism'- Part I
Terrorism studies is a fascinating look at a term without a universal definition. Terrorism is a societal construction often base on an ideology, whether it be: political, social, economic, oppression and religious. It is an old phenomenon but its contemporary appearance was first noted in the 19th century in France's " Reign of Terror. " In recent decades, terrorism and state sponsored terrorism have become progressively more glaring and lethal. All terrorism has political, social, economic and religious implications. The intent is to attract a wider audience and provoke a response through violence to support and proliferate their views. This 'new' terrorism has more sources, motivations and tactics and a network of affiliates for globalization. Now, in the 21 st. century, it has taken over and dominated the global political scene. There are numerous reasons for this upsurge such as: violations of international law, neo-liberalism, religious ideology and/or denied basic human rights. Given the increasing global threat of terrorism, it is critical that we understand its history, nature and premises under which it functions. This is important as it will shape the nation-states' policy when redressing the issues at stake. These issues, as well as others, I hope to explore and address these questions in this series of articles entitled: 'The Legacy and Plague of Terrorism.'
Editors' introduction: terrorism – myths, agendas and research
Critical Studies on Terrorism, 2010
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Terrorism, Orientation and Substantial Directions
2018
1. Acknowledgments 2. Forward 3. Introduction 3.1. Problem Statement and Research Question 3.2. Context 3.3. Aim and Motivation 3.4. Obstacles in the Making 3.5. Organization of the Thesis 4. How to answer these questions 4.1. Methodology 4.2. Materials 5. Contemporary Definitions of Terrorism 6. Historiographical Understanding of the Concept of Terrorism 6.1. Historical Overview of the Ontology of "non-state terrorism" 6.1.1. The "fourth wave" Ideological Conflict and Religious Terrorism 6.2. Islamic Terrorism during the Syrian Revolution 7. How has Islamic Terrorism been tackled in Theoretical Literature 7.1. Ideological construction and reconstruction 7.2. Causality 7.2.1. How have the causes of Islamic terrorism been theorized? 7.2.1.1. The politico-socioeconomic variable 7.2.1.2. The Psycho-sociological Approach and the rational actors 8. What is understudied in these theories? 8.1. Understanding the Syrian context through ideology and orientation 8.2. Deterministic Ideological orientation 8.3. Premeditation 8.4. Structural Necessity 9. Conclusion 10. Bibliography In this the thesis laying between the hands of the reader, I am aware of all these problematics of the issue of terrorism and acknowledge that states can qualify to be among the most prominent terrorist organization in the way they subjugate, dispossess, frustrate, wholesale kill, and most importantly do not stand accountable for the atrocity they commit. However, and due to the unfathomable and extended dimension of the topic, the thesis uses selected theoretical literature which focuses on studying the phenomenon from non-state terrorism spectacles, to investigate if these theories are adequate to explain the causes of the Islamic terrorism in the Middle Eastern context.
Islam and Terrorism: Beyond the Wisdom of the Secularist Paradigm
Since the end of the Cold War, the West has mounted a campaign against Islam as the essential source of terrorism and the Muslims as necessarily terrorists. However, the problems of violence and terror are not isolated issues but have epistemological and unspoken real causes. Violence is related to despotism, especially the despotism of hegemony. The US-led war on terrorism is not a simple struggle between good and evil. The hidden reasons behind it makes it difficult for the Muslims and others in the Third World to appreciate the efforts. Constructed mostly by reporters of such powerful TV cables like CNN, intelligence analysts and "experts on Muslim affairs," the Muslim is perceived as the terrorist, the imminent menace to civilization and the universal values of democracy and freedom. This campaign gained much momentum and became more intense with the collapse of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. The untiring rhetoric associating Islam and Muslims with terrorism serves only the purpose of substantiating and reinforcing the clash of civilizations thesis which would certainly push the world into the abyss of disaster and destruction. It is ironic that all of this is being done in the name of cherished values such as freedom, self-determination and democracy. Distortion is being systematically spread on various levels and by different means to make people lose sight of the causes that have led to the strained and explosive situation the world is facing today.
2017
Terrorism is the greatest challenge nowadays but many people still do not understand what is the meaning of terrorism, because there are some obstacles in defining terrorism such us the difficulty of the distinction between the activities of freedom fighters and those of terrorists. People cannot distinguish between who is a terrorist and who is a freedom fighter. The present research intends to explain some concepts about terrorism. Also, it will be an exploration of the strategies of the Americans and the Muslims. By investigating documents and other forms of communication concerning strategies of the both, the finding are us follow: the jihadist ‘leaders in their struggle to find the proper strategy against the growing rates of terror acts, they claim that the rise of modern terrorism can be closely associated with the west. Indeed, the main targets of these leaders are the so-called Israel and the U.S. led global system. The Israeli lobby has a significant influence on the U.S. ...
Introduction: Constructions of Terrorism
Constructions of Terrorism, 2019
Constructions of terrorism emanate from a wide range of sources. Governments and international organizations create criminal laws and administrative lists defining who is a terrorist or what acts constitute terrorism. In society, discussions among its members and the press play a major role in how the words terrorism and extremism are used and applied, which in turn influences public understanding and government policy. Terrorist groups themselves contribute to these constructions through the rationales and justifications they use for their actions. Today we are seeing the continual reference to terrorism in everyday language, government policy, news reporting, and international diplomacy and from various groups and uprisings. With the term being used to describe a wide range of violence, it is difficult to formulate effective government responses aimed at prevention and eradication. It further makes things difficult in societal settings for creating conducive environments for reconciliation. This volume seeks to establish appropriate research frameworks for understanding how we construct understanding(s) of terrorism. From the perspective of countering terrorism and extremism, if there is not a well-developed understanding of the object of these frameworks, they will not be effective. Assessments of the literature of terrorism have revealed consistent and troubling shortcomings. Lum, Kennedy, and Sherley and Andrew Silke carefully examined studies of terrorism published over the previous decades and the great explosion of terrorism research after 9/11. 1 The most germane findings about terrorism and counterterrorism research in their two studies help frame the contributions that have been reviewed here. The first finding is that most of the publications on terrorism have been contributions by scholars who were relatively new to the subject. These scholars discovered terrorism as a problem, usually after a particularly