Inside jihadism : understanding jihadi movements worldwide / Farhad Khosrokhavar.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Khosrokhavar, Farhad.

Series:

Yale cultural sociology series

The Yale cultural sociology series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Jihad.

Islamic fundamentalism.

Terrorism--Religious aspects--Islam.

Terrorism.

Physical Description:

vi, 321 pages ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Boulder : Paradigm Publishers, [2009]

Summary:

Jihad is the most organized force against Western capitalism since the Soviet era. Yet Jihadism is multifaceted and complex, much broader than Al Qaeda alone.

In the first wide-ranging introduction to today's rapidly growing Jihadism, Khosrokhavar explains how two key movements variously influence Jihadi activists. One, based in the Middle East, is more heavily influenced by Islamic religion and political thought. The other, composed of individuals growing up or living mostly in Europe and Western democracies including the United States, is motivated by secular as well as religious influences.

Khosrokhavar interprets religious and lesser-known Arabic texts and the real-world economic and political dynamics that make Jihadism a growing threat to Western democracies. Interviews with imprisoned Jihadists on what motivated their plots and actions help the readers understand reality as seen by Jihadists. The author concludes with recommendations to safeguard democracies from future Jihadism.

Contents:

1 Explanatory Approaches to Jihadism 8

The Role of Social Networks and Group Dynamics 9

Economic Issues and Jihadist Movements 11

Culture and Religion 12

Rational Choice Theory 14

Notes 15

2 Jihadist Ideology 18

The Renewal of Jihadist Thought 19

Martyrdom and Jihad 41

Notes 54

3 Jihadism: A Culture of Violence Turned into a Culture of Death 59

Modern Forefathers of Jihadism 61

The Centrality of Death in Jihadism 64

Violence in the Jihadist Narrative 73

The Jihadist View of History: The West's Permanent Fight against Islam 79

Cultural and Political Domination by the West 93

The West as the Perverse Culture of Humankind's Fight against Allah 96

Notes 98

4 The Jihadist View of Democracy 103

The Negative Context of Democracy in the Muslim World 103

Democracy as the New False Western Religion Imported into the Land of Islam 109

Notes 147

5 Fundamentalism in Islam 152

Three Branches of Fundamentalism 153

Islamic Fundamentalism and Hermeneutics 157

Modernization and the Muslim World 160

The Jihadist Critique of the Fundamentalist Ulama 162

Shi'ite Hyper-Fundamentalists and Their Rejection of Democracy 171

The Weakness of Secular Tendencies in Islam 177

Fundamentalism and New Social Groups 181

Notes 182

6 The Transmission of Jihad to the West 186

The Social Origins of Jihadists in the West 186

Jihadist Neo-Umma or the Politics of Victimization 190

The Role of Humiliation 196

The Views of Muslim Prisoners in Europe 200

Jihadist Born-Again Muslims and Converts 204

Types of Jihadist Groups 231

Types of Jihadist Individuals 233

Women and Martyrdom 237

The Evolution of Global Al Qaeda in the West 242

Jihadists' Negative Attitude toward Recent Muslim Migrations to the West 252

Notes 258

7 Jihadist Intelligentsia around the World 265

The Islamic Revolutionary Vanguard 269

The Icons, the Popularizers, and the Local Charismatic Imams 271

The Postmodern Jihadist Popularizer: The Case of Lewis Atiyat-Ollah 274

New Warfare through Global Media: The Prominence of the Symbolic Dimension 282

Notes 289.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781594516153

1594516154

9781594516160

1594516162

OCLC:

226355651