Journal Article•
Jihadism, Narrow and Wide: The Dangers of Loose Use of an Important Term
TL;DR: This article looked at the derivation and use of Jihadism and related terms, at definitions provided by a number of leading scholars, and at media usage, and showed that even these scholarly definitions actually make important distinctions between jihadism and associated ideology.
Abstract: The term “jihadism” is popular, but difficult. It has narrow senses, which are generally valuable, and wide senses, which may be misleading. This article looks at the derivation and use of “jihadism” and of related terms, at definitions provided by a number of leading scholars, and at media usage. It distinguishes two main groups of scholarly definitions, some careful and narrow, and some appearing to match loose media usage. However, it shows that even these scholarly definitions actually make important distinctions between jihadism and associated ideology. The article closes with a warning against the risks of loose and wide understandings of such important, but difficult, terms.
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Book•
05 Mar 2020TL;DR: Abdallah Azzam, the Palestinian cleric who led the mobilization of Arab fighters to Afghanistan in the 1980s, played a crucial role in the internationalization of the jihadi movement as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Abdallah Azzam, the Palestinian cleric who led the mobilization of Arab fighters to Afghanistan in the 1980s, played a crucial role in the internationalization of the jihadi movement. Killed in mysterious circumstances in 1989 in Peshawar, Pakistan, he remains one of the most influential jihadi ideologues of all time. Here, in the first in-depth biography of Azzam, Thomas Hegghammer explains how Azzam came to play this role and why jihadism went global at this particular time. It traces Azzam's extraordinary life journey from a West Bank village to the battlefields of Afghanistan, telling the story of a man who knew all the leading Islamists of his time and frequented presidents, CIA agents, and Cat Stevens the pop star. It is, however, also a story of displacement, exclusion, and repression that suggests that jihadism went global for fundamentally local reasons.
48 citations
Dissertation•
01 Jan 2016
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a survey of the state of the art in the field of bioinformatics: http://www.biomedical-information-engineering.org/
Abstract: ........................................................................................................... xvii
44 citations
TL;DR: This article explored the implications of this labeling for Muslim communities and explored the interpretations Muslims themselves accord to the dichotomy of moderate and extremist and consider whether the use of such binary terms is at all helpful as a way of rallying Muslims to the cause of tackling terrorism and radicalisation.
Abstract: The rhetorical use of labels in the war on terror has become an important tactic post 9/11. One such example is the deployment of the categories of “moderate” and “extremist” within counterterrorism discourse, with Muslims distinguished as either friend or foe based on this dichotomy. The moderate Muslim label is a relational term, only making sense when it is contrasted with what is seen as non-moderate (i.e., extremism). Such binary constructs carry a range of implicit assumptions about what is regarded as an acceptable form of Islam and the risks posed by the Islamic religion and Muslim communities. In this article, we explore the implications of this labelling for Muslim communities. In particular, we explore the interpretations Muslims themselves accord to the dichotomy of moderate and extremist and consider whether the use of such binary terms is at all helpful as a way of rallying Muslims to the cause of tackling terrorism and radicalisation. We draw on focus group data collected from Musli...
33 citations
Cites background from "Jihadism, Narrow and Wide: The Dang..."
...These scholars argue that debates about Muslim moderation often ignore the wide variety of positions within Islam towards key religious texts and principles (Ashour 2009; Esposito 2005; Esposito and Mogahed 2007; Olsson 2014; Sedgwick 2015)....
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...pinning jihadism and violent extremism (Kepel 2002; Sedgwick 2015; Wiktorowicz 2006)....
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...positions within Islam towards key religious texts and principles (Ashour 2009; Esposito 2005; Esposito and Mogahed 2007; Olsson 2014; Sedgwick 2015)....
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...Salafism is an ultraconservative form of Sunni Islam and has been identified as providing the underlying ideology underpinning jihadism and violent extremism (Kepel 2002; Sedgwick 2015; Wiktorowicz 2006)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, Jihadist tactical technical communication persuades individuals to act by creating identification between individuals and audiences, and by associating terrorist tactics with everyday practices such as cooking, which is known as tactical technical communications.
Abstract: Since the terrorist attacks of 9/11, Jihadist organizations such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have focused increasingly on motivating unaffiliated individuals in the United States and Western countries to carry out lone-wolf attacks in their home countries. To this end, many Jihadist organizations produce what is known as tactical technical communication. Jihadist tactical technical communication persuades individuals to act by creating identification between individuals and audiences, and by associating terrorist tactics with everyday practices such as cooking.
29 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors show that the contents of the Friday sermons, that reach at least 50 percent of the country's adult males every week, have moved from Turkish nationalist understanding of militarism and martyrdom to more radical, Islamist and pro-violence interpretations that actively promote dying for the nation, homeland, religion and God.
Abstract: The literature on martyrdom has not, so far, systematically analysed a constitutionally secular state’s extensive use of religion in propagating martyrdom narratives by using state-controlled religious institutions. This paper addresses this gap in martyrdom literature. In addition, even though some studies have analysed how martyrdom narratives have been used for political purposes in Turkey for mythmaking and building a collective memory, a religious institution’s active use by the state for the purposes of mythmaking and collective memory building has not been studied. This paper shows that the contents of the Friday sermons, that reach at least 50 percent of the country’s adult males every week, have moved from Turkish nationalist understanding of militarism and martyrdom to more radical, Islamist and pro-violence interpretations that actively promote dying for the nation, homeland, religion and God. The sermons also emphasise that new generations must be raised with this pro-violence religious spirit, which is also novel.
19 citations
References
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Journal Article•
TL;DR: The authors discuss the persistent efforts to whitewash certain features of Islam, demonize its critics, and even engage in apologetics for Islamism at a time when the latter, in both its violent and non-violent forms, poses a significant threat to Western democracies.
Abstract: Ever since the jihadist terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001, Western policy-makers, mainstream media organisations, and even academicians have been perversely reluctant to highlight the crucial role played by Islamist ideology in motivating jihadist terrorist attacks. Indeed, the more acts of jihadist terrorism that are perpetrated, acts in which the perpetrators clearly reveal their ideological motivations, the more insistently key Western elites refuse to acknowledge those motivations. This article discusses several of the reasons for this peculiar disjuncture, and focuses in particular on the persistent efforts to whitewash certain features of Islam, demonize its critics, and even engage in apologetics for Islamism at a time when the latter, in both its violent and non-violent forms, poses a significant threat to Western democracies. One especially worrisome source and dimension of this problem is the continuing reliance of Western governments on members of Islamist advocacy organizations for advice. In order to illustrate the degree to which “politically correct” impulses can have both damaging analytical and potentially lethal consequences, three cases of jihadist terrorism are discussed herein – the Boston Marathon bombings, the gruesome assault on a British soldier in Woolwich, and the mass shootings at Fort Hood.
18 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors compare the situations and ideas which gave birth to fascism and Jihadism and the beliefs and behaviours common to both movements, concluding that the differences between them are significant enough to proclaim that they are not the same.
Abstract: This article attempts to answer the question: Is Al Qaeda a new fascist movement? It explores this issue by comparing the situations and ideas which gave birth to fascism and jihadism and the beliefs and behaviours common to both movements. The essay demonstrates a close coherence between the two movements, but concludes that the differences between them are significant enough to proclaim that they are not the same. Indeed, Al Qaeda's jihadism may warrant a new category of analysis. Jihadism's differences from fascism notwithstanding, defeating it will be very difficult.
12 citations