Unholy War

Unholy War
Author: John L. Esposito
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2003
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780195168860

Of the intellectual underpinnings of the more radical elements of contemporary Islam.

Jihad in the Context of Contemporary Terrorism

Jihad in the Context of Contemporary Terrorism
Author: Mohamed Elamin Elbushra Mahgoub
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
Total Pages: 163
Release: 2022-03-29
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1669885984

ABSTRACT Since September 11-2001, Western scholars classified the study of Islamic Jihad as one of the most important disciplines to be examined. They began to review the relevant original sources of Islam in depth. Many efforts were made by those scholars to understand The Quran, holy book of all Muslims, looking for evidence that might support existing links between Islamic Jihad and the contemporary terroristic activities, if any. On the other hand, Muslim scholars and politicians have condemned all patterns of the contemporary terrorism, and have repeatedly confirmed the fact that Islam is a religion of peace, mercy and justice. Muslim scholars routinely provide positive evidence from The Quran and other Islamic sources to support the quality of Islamic teachings and guidelines. However, Muslim scholars and politicians have never attempted to comment or thoroughly elaborate such evidence or Quranic verses related to Jihad and fighting for the Cause of Allah as pointed-out by non-Muslim scholars. The dilemma facing Muslim scholars and politicians is not only to assure the quality of Islamic teachings, or to quote Quranic verses, which are not readily visible in most of the Islamic communities of today. The real dilemma is to provide satisfactory explanations and a uniform concept of Jihad or fighting for the Cause of Allah based on such variable sources. The challenge facing Muslim Scholars is adopting a common understanding on Jihad and Fighting for the Cause of Allah. It is urgent to determine whether Jihad or Fighting for the Cause of Allah is defensive or offensive, and to what extent. Whom are the targets of Jihad and fighting for the Cause of Allah? How and who is responsible in managing Jihad and Fighting Affares? What is the responsibility of the Islamic countries in combating Jihad and Fighting for the Cause of Allah, as far as they are obliged by the international laws? Does Jihad and Fighting for the Cause of Allah constitute a threat to International peace and security? This study provides an outline for the concept of Jihad and Fighting for the Cause of Allah from the perspective of the Muslim scholars and non-Muslim scholars. The intention of this study is inviting, or even provoking Muslim scholars to provide well established defense and come together with a uniform response that might create a favorable environment for all Muslims first, and for the human being second. This study is an attempt to: • Enhance the adoption of a uniform understanding of Islamic Jihad and Fighting for the Cause of Allah and enforce such understanding among the Muslims first • Provide a unanimously acceptable explanation of the Quranic verses related to Jihad and Fighting for the Cause of Allah. • Underline available Quranic and Sunna evidence that might nullify any allegations against Jihad and Fighting non-Muslims in the context of the contemporary thinking of western scholars. • Finally, to determine how far Islamic Jihad and Fighting for the Cause of Allah is a religious worshipping, and does not constitute any form of threat or terror for non-Muslims. By highlighting the controversial opinions of Muslim and non-Muslim scholars, this study may provide grounds to distinguish between Islamic Jihad and contemporary terroristic activities and political violence.

Engineers of Jihad

Engineers of Jihad
Author: Diego Gambetta
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 215
Release: 2017-11-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1400888123

A groundbreaking investigation into why so many Islamic radicals are engineers The violent actions of a few extremists can alter the course of history, yet there persists a yawning gap between the potential impact of these individuals and what we understand about them. In Engineers of Jihad, Diego Gambetta and Steffen Hertog uncover two unexpected facts, which they imaginatively leverage to narrow that gap: they find that a disproportionate share of Islamist radicals come from an engineering background, and that Islamist and right-wing extremism have more in common than either does with left-wing extremism, in which engineers are absent while social scientists and humanities students are prominent. Searching for an explanation, they tackle four general questions about extremism: Under which socioeconomic conditions do people join extremist groups? Does the profile of extremists reflect how they self-select into extremism or how groups recruit them? Does ideology matter in sorting who joins which group? Lastly, is there a mindset susceptible to certain types of extremism? Using rigorous methods and several new datasets, they explain the link between educational discipline and type of radicalism by looking at two key factors: the social mobility (or lack thereof) for engineers in the Muslim world, and a particular mindset seeking order and hierarchy that is found more frequently among engineers. Engineers' presence in some extremist groups and not others, the authors argue, is a proxy for individual traits that may account for the much larger question of selective recruitment to radical activism. Opening up markedly new perspectives on the motivations of political violence, Engineers of Jihad yields unexpected answers about the nature and emergence of extremism.

Jihad vs. McWorld

Jihad vs. McWorld
Author: Benjamin Barber
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Total Pages: 432
Release: 2010-04-21
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0307874443

Jihad vs. McWorld is a groundbreaking work, an elegant and illuminating analysis of the central conflict of our times: consumerist capitalism versus religious and tribal fundamentalism. These diametrically opposed but strangely intertwined forces are tearing apart--and bringing together--the world as we know it, undermining democracy and the nation-state on which it depends. On the one hand, consumer capitalism on the global level is rapidly dissolving the social and economic barriers between nations, transforming the world's diverse populations into a blandly uniform market. On the other hand, ethnic, religious, and racial hatreds are fragmenting the political landscape into smaller and smaller tribal units. Jihad vs. McWorld is the term that distinguished writer and political scientist Benjamin R. Barber has coined to describe the powerful and paradoxical interdependence of these forces. In this important new book, he explores the alarming repercussions of this potent dialectic for democracy. A work of persuasive originality and penetrating insight, Jihad vs. McWorld holds up a sharp, clear lens to the dangerous chaos of the post-Cold War world. Critics and political leaders have already heralded Benjamin R. Barber's work for its bold vision and moral courage. Jihad vs. McWorld is an essential text for anyone who wants to understand our troubled present and the crisis threatening our future.

Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups

Crimes Committed by Terrorist Groups
Author: Mark S. Hamm
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
Total Pages: 258
Release: 2011
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1437929591

This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. Examines terrorists¿ involvement in a variety of crimes ranging from motor vehicle violations, immigration fraud, and mfg. illegal firearms to counterfeiting, armed bank robbery, and smuggling weapons of mass destruction. There are 3 parts: (1) Compares the criminality of internat. jihad groups with domestic right-wing groups. (2) Six case studies of crimes includes trial transcripts, official reports, previous scholarship, and interviews with law enforce. officials and former terrorists are used to explore skills that made crimes possible; or events and lack of skill that the prevented crimes. Includes brief bio. of the terrorists along with descriptions of their org., strategies, and plots. (3) Analysis of the themes in closing arguments of the transcripts in Part 2. Illus.

Women in Modern Terrorism

Women in Modern Terrorism
Author: Jessica Davis
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2017-01-30
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1442274999

Recent events, including the rise of the Islamic State and its overt recruitment of Western women, have once again brought the issue of women participating in terrorist organizations to the forefront. Yet much remains to be understood about why women join terrorist organizations and why groups choose to incorporate them into their structures and operations. Women in Modern Terrorism, which draws from a unique dataset compiled over a decade, tackles these questions and analyzes women’s inclusion in terrorist organizations since the beginning of modern terrorism, covering both religious and ethno-nationalist terrorism and conflict. The text opens with a discussion of the definition of terrorism before examining key issues, such as how and why women join terrorist groups, what women’s inclusion in terrorist organizations reveals about the nature and longevity of both the groups and the conflicts, the future of women’s role in terrorist organizations and attacks (particularly given the rise of new terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq), and the types of attacks women perpetrate and how they compare across groups. By looking at case studies, including Hizballah, Chechnya, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, Al Qaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shaabab, and more, this text shows that women’s inclusion in various terrorist organizations is largely a pragmatic choice by the group. It also highlights the cross-pollination of ideas between differently motivated groups. All these issues, along with the role of the media and the Internet in radicalization and recruitment processes, are explored to provide an exhaustive account of the many roles for women in terrorist groups today.

The Universal Enemy

The Universal Enemy
Author: Darryl Li
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 398
Release: 2019-12-10
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1503610888

Winner of the 2021 William A. Douglass Prize: A new perspective on the concept of international jihad and its connection to the 1990s Balkans crisis. No contemporary figure is more demonized than the Islamist foreign fighter who wages jihad around the world. Spreading violence, disregarding national borders, and rejecting secular norms, so-called jihadists seem opposed to universalism itself. In a radical departure from conventional wisdom on the topic, The Universal Enemy argues that transnational jihadists are engaged in their own form of universalism: These fighters struggle to realize an Islamist vision directed at all of humanity, transcending racial and cultural difference. Anthropologist and attorney Darryl Li reconceptualizes jihad as armed transnational solidarity under conditions of American empire, revisiting a pivotal moment after the Cold War when ethnic cleansing in the Balkans dominated global headlines. Muslim volunteers came from distant lands to fight in Bosnia-Herzegovina alongside their co-religionists, offering themselves as an alternative to the US-led international community. Li highlights the parallels and overlaps between transnational jihads and other universalisms such as the War on Terror, United Nations peacekeeping, and socialist Non-Alignment. Developed from more than a decade of research with former fighters in a half-dozen countries, The Universal Enemy explores the relationship between jihad and American empire to shed critical light on both. “[Li] effectively confronts the demonization of jihadists in the aftermath of 9/11, particularly in the US. . . . The author’s linguistic skills and the depth of the interviews are impressive, and the case selection is intriguing. Recommended.” —Choice “This important book offers many insights for scholars and students of political thought, anthropology, and law. Li’s breadth and acumen in navigating these different fields of study is impressive.” —Political Theory

The Mind of Jihad

The Mind of Jihad
Author: Laurent Murawiec
Publisher:
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2008-08-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521730631

This book examines contemporary jihad as a cult of violence and power. Murawiec compares this belief structure to that of Europe's medieval millenarians and apocalyptics and traces their political technologies to the Bolsheviks, using history, anthropology, and theology to understand the mind of jihad, which has declared war on the West.

Jihad in Islamic History

Jihad in Islamic History
Author: Michael Bonner
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2008-07-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1400827388

What is jihad? Does it mean violence, as many non-Muslims assume? Or does it mean peace, as some Muslims insist? Because jihad is closely associated with the early spread of Islam, today's debate about the origin and meaning of jihad is nothing less than a struggle over Islam itself. In Jihad in Islamic History, Michael Bonner provides the first study in English that focuses on the early history of jihad, shedding much-needed light on the most recent controversies over jihad. To some, jihad is the essence of radical Islamist ideology, a synonym for terrorism, and even proof of Islam's innate violence. To others, jihad means a peaceful, individual, and internal spiritual striving. Bonner, however, shows that those who argue that jihad means only violence or only peace are both wrong. Jihad is a complex set of doctrines and practices that have changed over time and continue to evolve today. The Quran's messages about fighting and jihad are inseparable from its requirements of generosity and care for the poor. Jihad has often been a constructive and creative force, the key to building new Islamic societies and states. Jihad has regulated relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, in peace as well as in war. And while today's "jihadists" are in some ways following the "classical" jihad tradition, they have in other ways completely broken with it. Written for general readers who want to understand jihad and its controversies, Jihad in Islamic History will also interest specialists because of its original arguments.

Terror in France

Terror in France
Author: Gilles Kepel
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2017-05-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0691174849

The virulent new brand of Islamic extremism threatening the West In November 2015, ISIS terrorists massacred scores of people in Paris with coordinated attacks on the Bataclan concert hall, cafés and restaurants, and the national sports stadium. On Bastille Day in 2016, an ISIS sympathizer drove a truck into crowds of vacationers at the beaches of Nice, and two weeks later an elderly French priest was murdered during morning Mass by two ISIS militants. Here is Gilles Kepel's explosive account of the radicalization of a segment of Muslim youth that led to those attacks—and of the failure of governments in France and across Europe to address it. It is a book everyone in the West must read. Terror in France shows how these atrocities represent a paroxysm of violence that has long been building. The turning point was in 2005, when the worst riots in modern French history erupted in the poor, largely Muslim suburbs of Paris after the accidental deaths of two boys who had been running from the police. The unrest—or "French intifada"—crystallized a new consciousness among young French Muslims. Some have fallen prey to the allure of "war of civilizations" rhetoric in ways never imagined by their parents and grandparents. This is the highly anticipated English edition of Kepel's sensational French bestseller, first published shortly after the Paris attacks. Now fully updated to reflect the latest developments and featuring a new introduction by the author, Terror in France reveals the truth about a virulent new wave of jihadism that has Europe as its main target. Its aim is to divide European societies from within by instilling fear, provoking backlash, and achieving the ISIS dream—shared by Europe's Far Right—of separating Europe's growing Muslim minority community from the rest of its citizens.