Jihad In The Context Of Contemporary Terrorism

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.

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.

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

This book examines ten reasons for global jihad today. Specifically, the reasons are (1) radicalization, (2) group dynamics and socialization, (3) social alienation, (4) religious motivations, (5) legal motivations, (6) political motivations, (7) a Clash of Civilizations, (8) economic conditions, (9) transformative learning, and (10) outbidding and internal rifts. To investigate these points, all chapters include the historical background, specific case studies (both past and current), statistics, and theoretical approaches to the subject of global jihad. The main purpose of jihad is to achieve global domination—through any means, including violence—and establish the Caliphate. The Caliphate is a Muslim system of world government that seeks to establish a new world order by overthrowing the current order, effectively creating an all-encompassing Islamic state.

After the terrorist attacks of 9/11 in New York, and the Madrid and London bombings, Muslim communities in the West have generated security issues and political concern. This book challenges the authenticity of popular myths about the Islamic world and examines these myths as ideological cover for the "war on terror" and Iraq war.

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.

In Open Source Jihad, Per-Erik Nilsson provides a unique overview of the academic research and political legislation concerning 'Islamic terrorism' in Europe. He scrutinises in detail how the concepts 'terrorism', 'radicalisation', and 'counter-terrorism' have developed as academic objects of study and political objects of governance. In the Element, Nilsson brings to the fore systemic problems of the field of terrorism studies as well as the various anti-terrorist apparatuses developed by EU member states. Open Source Jihad should be required reading for anyone interested in current European political and social events.

Osama bin Laden's demise in May 2011 marked only the symbolic end of an era. By the time of his killing, he no longer represented the Robin Hood icon that once stirred global fascination. Ten years after the 11 September 2001 attacks, jihadi terrorism has largely lost its juggernaut luster. It now mostly resembles a patchwork of self-radicalising local groups with international contacts but without any central organisational design - akin to the radical left terrorism of the 1970s and the anarchist fin-de-siècle terrorism. This volume addresses two issues that remain largely unexplored in contemporary terrorism studies. It rehabilitates the historical and comparative analysis as a way to grasp the essence of terrorism, including its jihadi strand. Crucial similarities with earlier forms of radicalisation and terrorism abound and differences appear generally not fundamental. Likewise, the very concept of radicalisation is seldom questioned anymore. Nevertheless it often lacks conceptual clarity and empirical validation. Once considered a quintessential European phenomenon, the United States too experiences how some of its own citizens radicalise into terrorist violence. This collective work compares radicalisation in both continents and the strategies aimed at de-radicalisation. But it also assesses if the concept merits its reputation as the holy grail of terrorism studies. The volume is aimed at an audience of decision makers, law enforcement officials, academia and think tanks, by its combination of novel thinking, practical experience and a theoretical approach.

The term 'jihad' has come to be used as a byword for fanaticism and Islam's allegedly implacable hostility towards the West. But, like other religious and political concepts, jihad has multiple resonances and associations, its meaning shifting over time and from place to place. Jihad has referred to movements of internal reform, spiritual struggle and self-defence as much as to 'holy war'. And among Muslim intellectuals, the meaning and significance of jihad remain subject to debate and controversy. With this in mind, Twenty-First Century Jihad examines the ways in which the concept of jihad has changed, from its roots in the Quran to its usage in current debate. This book explores familiar modern political angles, and touches on far less commonly analysed instances of jihad, incorporating issues of law, society, literature and military action. As this key concept is ever-more important for international politics and security studies, Twenty-First Century Jihad contains vital analysis for those researching the role of religion in the modern world.

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.