What does it mean to be a moderate Muslim in the war on terror? Muslim interpretations and reactions
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...
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01 Jan 2010
Abstract: 1 July 7, 2010, marks the fifth anniversary of the 2005 terrorist attacks on London’s Metro system. In 2005, terrorists launched a coordinated attack against London’s transportation system, with 3 bombs detonating simultaneously at three different Metro stations and a fourth bomb exploding an hour later on a city bus. In all, there were 52 victims in these bombings with an additional 700 injuries resulting. The four terrorists who executed the attacks were killed in the explosions.
667 citations
Journal Article•
TL;DR: The End of Faith: Religion, TERROR, and the Future of Reason as mentioned in this paper is a polemic focused on the terror of Islam with ample scathing visited upon Christianity and Judaism.
Abstract: THE END OF FAITH: RELIGION, TERROR, AND THE FUTURE OF REASON. Sam Harris. New York: W. W. Norton, 2004. Pp. 348, $13-95. Reviewed by Geoffrey W. Sutton (Evangel University/Springfield, MO). The 9/11 Islamic terrorists emblazoned the psychological truism of the path from belief to behavior on the minds of millions. The world saw the lethiferous power of religious belief. We witnessed the purpose driven death. Sam Harris pummels readers with invidious images of destruction associated with religious belief. We may well dispute many of his conclusions, but the ineluctable truth is that belief matters. At times acerbic, Harris has prepared a puissant polemic focused primarily upon the terror of Islam with ample scathing visited upon Christianity and Judaism. His thesis is that the beliefs of religious people have become unhinged from reason to the point that meaningful conversations cannot take place. He asserts that reason is in exile (chapter one) and that survival requires a return from unproven beliefs to evidence-based reason when making decisions that affect human life. In chapters two and three, Harris examines the notion of belief and the manner in which numerous contradictory beliefs are accumulated from early authority figures. He notes important findings that people are conservative - they do not easily give up beliefs. As beliefs develop into a worldview, a subset deals with matters of religious faith. By way of example, Harris shows the importance of re-examining beliefs that can have powerful consequences on health and wellbeing. Harris provides two historical examples of the inquisition and the holocaust to demonstrate the incredible power of malevolent belief systems to wreak havoc in the lives of hapless victims. Harris wages war on Islam in chapter four. His major point is that there is a reason we are facing Islamic terrorists rather than people of another faith - the principle of jihad. He acknowledges that apologists for Islam interpret the jihad as a personal struggle, but warns of those warriors who believe in a holy war against all non-Muslims, who are by definition infidels or apostate. To further his point, he quotes several hadithic lines that encourage war on earth and promise eternal rewards for martyrs. He follows this litany with a list of massacres and pogroms against Jews and quotations from Pew Research that support an alarmingly high percentage of people in various countries that affirm the justification of suicide bombing in the name of Islam (e.g., Lebanon 73%, Ivory Coast 56%). In West of Eden (chapter 5), the author challenges the extant American theocracy, which is primarily an attack on the two-term presidency of George W. Bush and the values of Christian fundamentalists that he believes were foisted on the general public. This analysis appears a bit dated given the 2008 presidential election. However, there are clearly laws and political positions related to such issues as abortion, stem cell research, certain substances (e. …
292 citations
TL;DR: The origins of radical Islamism were discussed by Sayyid Qutb and the origins of Islamism by John Calvert, New York and Chichester, Columbia University Press, 2010.
Abstract: Sayyid Qutb and the origins of radical Islamism, by John Calvert, New York and Chichester, Columbia University Press, 2010, xi + 377 pp., US$29.50 (hardback), ISBN 978-0-2317-0104-4 In Western news...
56 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that despite engaging in a powerful critique of the construction of the attacks of 11 September 2001 (or “9/11”) as temporal break, critical terrorism scholars have sustained and reproduced this same construction of 9/11.
Abstract: This article argues that despite engaging in a powerful critique of the construction of the attacks of 11 September 2001 (or “9/11”) as temporal break, critical terrorism scholars have sustained and reproduced this same construction of “9/11”. Through a systematic analysis of the research articles published in Critical Studies on Terrorism, this article illustrates how critical scholars have overall failed to extricate themselves from this dominant narrative, as they inhabit the same visual, emotional and professional landscape as those they critique. After examining how CTS has reproduced but also renegotiated this narrative, the article concludes with what Michel Foucault would describe as an “effective history” of the attacks – in this case, a personal narrative of how the attacks did not constitute a moment of personal rupture but nonetheless later became a backdrop to justify my scholarship and career. It ends with a renewal of Maya Zeyfuss’ call to forget “9/11”.
29 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that the suspect community operates through a network of relations by which terrors of counter-terrorism are reproduced within Muslim communities with divisive effects.
Abstract: Research on UK government counter-terrorism measures has claimed that Muslims are treated as a 'suspect community'. However, there is limited research exploring the divisive effects that membership of a 'suspect community' has on relations within Muslim communities. Drawing from interviews with British Muslims living in Leeds or Bradford, I address this gap by explicating how co-option of Muslim community members to counter extremism fractures relations within Muslim communities. I reveal how community members internalize fears of state targeting which precipitates internal disciplinary measures. I contribute the category of 'internal suspect body' which is materialized through two intersecting conditions within preventative counter-terrorism: the suspected extremist for Muslims to look out for and suspected informer who might report fellow Muslims. I argue that the suspect community operates through a network of relations by which terrors of counter-terrorism are reproduced within Muslim communities with divisive effects.
28 citations
References
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01 Jan 2010
Abstract: 1 July 7, 2010, marks the fifth anniversary of the 2005 terrorist attacks on London’s Metro system. In 2005, terrorists launched a coordinated attack against London’s transportation system, with 3 bombs detonating simultaneously at three different Metro stations and a fourth bomb exploding an hour later on a city bus. In all, there were 52 victims in these bombings with an additional 700 injuries resulting. The four terrorists who executed the attacks were killed in the explosions.
667 citations
"What does it mean to be a moderate ..." refers background in this paper
...One such assumption is that the more grounded religiously a Muslim is, the more at risk of radicalisation or propensity to violent extremism they present (Beutel 2015)....
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Book•
01 Jan 2000
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a survey of the history of Islam in the Middle East and discuss the role of Islamism in the Arab world, from the late 1960s to the present day.
Abstract: Introduction 1 Part I Expansion 1. A Cultural Revolution 23 2. Islam in the Late 1960s 43 3. Building Petro-Islam on the Ruins of Arab Nationalism 61 4. Islamism in Egypt, Malaysia, and Pakistan 81 5. Khomeini's Revolution and Its Legacy 106 6. Jihad in Afghanistan and Intifada in Palestine 136 7. Islamization in Algeria and the Sudan 159 8. The Fatwa and the Veil in Europe 185 Part II Decline 9. From the Gulf War to the Taliban Jihad 205 10. The Failure to Graft Jihad on Bosnia's Civil War 237 11. The Logic of Massacre in the Second Algerian War 254 12. The Threat of Terrorism in Egypt 276 13. Osama bin Laden and the War against the West 299 14. Hamas, Israel, Arafat, and Jordan 323 15. The Forced Secularization of Turkish Islamists 342 Conclusion 361 Notes 379 Glossary 431 Maps 434 Abbreviations 441 Index 443
499 citations
Book•
11 Aug 2004
TL;DR: The clash of faith and reason in today's world is explored in this paper, where Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes.
Abstract: This important and timely book delivers a startling analysis of the clash of faith and reason in today's world. Harris offers a vivid historical tour of mankind's willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs, even when those beliefs are used to justify harmful behavior and sometimes heinous crimes. He asserts that in the shadow of weapons of mass destruction, we can no longer tolerate views that pit one true god against another. Most controversially, he argues that we cannot afford moderate lip service to religion an accommodation that only blinds us to the real perils of fundamentalism. While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris also draws on new evidence from neuroscience and insights from philosophy to explore spirituality as a biological, brain-based need. He calls on us to invoke that need in taking a secular humanistic approach to solving the problems of this world."
480 citations
TL;DR: Les auteurs testent l'hypothese selon laquelle l'utilisation de mots qui font reference a un statut d'appartenance ou de non appartenance a 1 groupe (e.g. nous vs eux) a tendance a perpetuer inconsciemment les partis pris intergroupes as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Les auteurs testent l'hypothese selon laquelle l'utilisation de mots qui font reference a un statut d'appartenance ou de non appartenance a 1 groupe (e.g. nous vs eux) a tendance a perpetuer inconsciemment les partis pris intergroupes
469 citations
"What does it mean to be a moderate ..." refers background in this paper
...The social psychology literature contains numerous studies that show how labelling people into groups can help to perpetuate group biases (see Cikara, Botvinick, and Fiske 2011; Perdue et al. 1990; Kinder and Kam 2010)....
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TL;DR: The Salafi movement includes such diverse figures as Osama bin Laden and the Mufti of Saudi Arabia and reflects a broad array of positions regarding issues related to politics and violence as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The Salafi movement (often referred to as the Wahhabis) includes such diverse figures as Osama bin Laden and the Mufti of Saudi Arabia and reflects a broad array of positions regarding issues related to politics and violence. This article explains the sources of unity that connect violent extremists with nonviolent puritans. Although Salafis share a common religious creed, they differ over their assessment of contemporary problems and thus how this creed should be applied. Differences over contextual interpretation have produced three major Salafi factions: purists, politicos, and jihadis.
445 citations
"What does it mean to be a moderate ..." refers background in this paper
...Some Salafists, however, have condemned terrorist groups and tactics such as suicide attacks as unlawful and in contravention of Islamic texts and principles (Antúnez and Tellidis 2013; MEMRI 2014a, 2014b; Wiktorowicz 2006)....
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...However, the position and role of Salafism illustrates how problematic such binary positions are (Bartlett and Miller 2012; Wiktorowicz 2006)....
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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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