Islamic Terrorism Research Articles

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

Russia and the rise of Islamic terrorism in Sub-Saharan Africa

What's left after right‐wing extremism? The effects on political orientation

AbstractDoes radical right political violence favour or hinder public support for right‐wing stances? Numerous existing studies have demonstrated that Islamic terrorism provokes a conservative shift, increases nationalism and induces negative sentiments towards immigration. However, little is known about the consequences of far‐right terrorism, despite its incidence in Western societies. We leverage four waves of the British Election Study (BES) and use a quasi‐experimental design to analyse individual political orientations shortly before and after terrorist attacks. We find that respondents distance themselves from the ideology associated with the perpetrator and shift away from ideological positions at the right end of the political spectrum. Furthermore, respondents are less likely to report nationalistic attitudes and immigration skepticism, core tenets of extremist right‐wing political ideologies. Our findings suggest that the characteristics of the perpetrators and their driving goals are crucial factors shaping the impact of terrorism on public sentiments.

Ideological Discursive Strategies in the Work of American Think Tanks: A Critical Discourse Analysis

While relatively decent attention has been paid to the analysis of ideological discursive strategies deployed by the political policy-producing institutions of think tanks, this study uncovers the strategies in the discourse of American think tanks that attempt to ideologically (re)produce social realities and shape public opinion at the textual and semantic levels. To this end, an eclectic model of critical discourse analysis CDA is adopted to qualitatively and quantitatively deconstruct and interpret nine texts from three conservative think tanks focusing on three political issues namely (1) Islamic terrorism, (2) Russian role in the Middle East, and (3) the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The findings show the centrality of ideological discursive strategies in (a) polarizing a positive presentation of the US (in-group) against the negative presentation of THEM (out-group), and (b) advocating for a hegemony of current and/or desired socio-political realities.

Terrorist campaigns and the growth of the Muslim population: a reply to Clara Egger and Raul Magni-Berton

AbstractI am delighted to see that my study on the effect of terrorist campaigns on the growth of Muslim populations has intrigued Egger and Magni-Berton. After discussing potential theoretical and methodological shortcomings in my study, Egger and Magni-Berton conclude that there is no empirical support for the positive relationship between terror attacks and Muslim populations. Their approach of separating terrorism into Islamist and non-Islamist terrorism is an effort to advance the contemporary research on the nexus between terrorism and Islam. In this re-examination, I show that Egger and Magni-Berton's conclusion is based on two limitations: theoretically unfounded and empirically inadequate. After remedying these limitations step by step, I reconfirm that a series of terrorist activities collectively serve as an explanation for the growth of the worldwide Muslim population. Future research can offer additional evidence to understand whether there is a significant and positive relationship between Islamist terrorism and the growth of Muslim populations.

Muslims and the Religious Other

Abstract For many years, media and political discourses in Austria have claimed that the Muslim population rarely takes pluralist positions, but instead adopts a negative attitude towards other faiths and people of another religion. The Islamist terror act that took place in Vienna on 2 November 2020 fuelled this stereotype. In order to approach this debate objectively, this article examines Muslims’ attitudes towards the religious other in an evidence-based manner. For this purpose, an empirical data set has been reprocessed and reanalysed. The present article reveals the ways in which exclusivist, inclusivist and pluralist attitudes are taken by Muslims; which religious schemes they prefer; and how they interact with non-Muslims in their social environments. In this way, the article sheds light on the diversity of Muslims’ positions regarding the religious other and people of another faith; the impact of contextual conditions; and the role of media and its reception.

Religion, Security and Politics in Northern Nigeria: A Public Intellectual Reading of Ahmed Yerima’s Pari

Nigeria boasts of some of the world’s biggest worship centres, as the vast majority of its population attend religious services and pray regularly. However, this nation remains one of the most religiously divisive nations across the world. Critical and literary studies have shown the role of religion in the creation and aggravation of conflict in this nation. This article analyses the ways in which Ahmed Yerima’s play, Pari (2016), examines this burning subject of religious violence in Nigeria, and most specifically, northern Nigeria. Classifying this contemporary playwright as an active public intellectual, this article engages in a close reading of how the play speaks to the controversial subject of religion. The latter part of the article explores Pari’s handling of the subject of conflict resolution, positing that confession, remorse, and forgiveness are important requirements if lasting peace is to be restored after any crisis. These subjects are constructed around the 2014 abduction of the 275 Chibok schoolgirls in northeastern Nigeria by the Islamic terror group, Boko Haram.

A Vicious Cycle? Threat of Terror, Perceived Media Bias, and Support for Surveillance Policies

Islamist terrorist attacks and existing terror threat can seriously affect intergroup relations and policy making. Drawing on hostile media effect theory and intergroup threat theory, we hypothesized that perceived threat of terror influences perceived news media bias in favor of Muslims as well as support for surveillance policies that are perceived to be restrictive for Muslims. In addition, we assumed that media bias positively predicts surveillance policy support. Results of a quota-based two-wave panel survey (N T2 = 524) revealed that perceived threat of terror increased perceived media bias in favor of Muslims over time, but did not have a direct effect over time on support for surveillance policies. However, perceived media bias was found to be a positive predictor of support for surveillance policies over time. In addition, support for policies was a positive predictor of perceived terror threat over time, suggesting a vicious cycle.

Disaggregating religiously motivated terrorism: ideology as a frame for strategic behaviour in Islamist and Christian fundamentalist terrorism

ABSTRACT Scholars consistently suggest that religiously motivated terrorist groups are more violent and more lethal. This necessarily drives questions about how religious ideology is connected to outcomes of terrorist group behaviour. This study examines how variations in religious ideology may influence strategic choices like target selection, tactic adoption, and the lethality of attacks. Terrorism motivated by Islamism and Christian fundamentalism are examined theoretically and empirically in a framework that allows for comparison across the groups within the same analysis. Though our results support existing claims that religiously motivated terrorism is more likely to target civilians, we find inter-religious differences in tactic adoption and secondary target selection. Finally, while we do find evidence that Islamist terrorism is likely more lethal than secular terrorism, Christian fundamentalist terrorism yields a higher expected casualty rate per attack when compared within the same model.

Caricaturing the prophet: Pushing the right to free speech too far?

Despite growing evidence that production of cartoons and caricatures of Muhammad causes deep hurt to Muslims across the world, European leaders are refusing to restrict their publication in the name of free speech. This article questions this position on three counts: one, the hurt these cartoons cause to the Muslims and the resulting frictions between Europe and leaders of the Muslim countries; two, the harm they cause to European societies by increasing the tension between Muslims and ordinary citizens and the state at a time when Islamophobia and anti-immigrant feelings are already high; and, three, the need to question the intent of those publishing the cartoons given the overwhelming evidence on the first two counts. The article also questions the legitimacy and usefulness of labelling attacks triggered in response to these publications as ‘Islamic terrorism’ when the profiles of those perpetuating these attacks show criminal and deviant behaviour than evidence of religious devotion. The usefulness of using labels that make actions of a few taint whole of Islam, and Muslims as a collective, needs to be debated.

Unpacking the ‘global’ and the ‘intimate’ of anti-terrorism trials

Based on a feminist political-geographical analysis of 45 anti-terrorism trials which got carried out in Higher Regional Appeal Courts in Germany between 2015 and 2020, I argue within my dissertation that spatial affiliations and gendered attributes cannot explain ‘Islamist terrorism’ but play an important role in court. Methodologically, I combine ethnographic approaches with perspectives from feminist geography. By fusing the two, I develop a methodological framework that illuminates the role of courts as the fulcrum of criminal proceedings in order to unpack their representations for geographical analysis. At the core of this engagement, I aim at linking the material, embodied intimacies of the court with the global, political, economic, and sociocultural norms and processes that are constitutive of it, which allows me to elucidate how negotiations in the courtroom mobilize, enact, reproduce, and challenge structural, sociopolitical relations in profound and potent ways. Such a feminist political-geographical analysis in the context of powerful institutions also offers the emancipatory potential to design ‘other’ stories and conduct ‘alternative’, more power-sensitive empirical insights that are keen to dismantle institutions of control, sanctioning and custody in antiterrorism prevention programs as co-producers of social, intersectional conditions. Instead of looking exclusively at the legal subjects and narratives of ‘Islamist terrorism’, this approach tends to illustrate to what extent the state protectors end up (co-)producing what they were chasing after in the first place.

Support for Domestic Islamist Terrorism in Bangladesh: Insights from a Novel Survey

AbstractWe employ regression analysis of 2017 survey data from 4,067 Bangladeshis to exposit the lineaments of individual support for domestic Islamist violence. Our dependent variables derive from measures of public support for the stated goals and violent means of three Bangladeshi Islamist terrorist groups. Our study variables include participation in communal Friday prayer; indexed measures of other pietic practices; preferences for Shari'a and secularism; and gender. We include several well-established control variables. We find that participation in communal Friday prayers significantly correlates with diminished support for militant groups while having no effect upon support for their violent means. In four (of 10) models, we find that respondents who view Shari'a as being coterminous with scriptural literalism and harsh physical punishments are significantly more likely to support the groups' goals. Finally, we find women to be consistently more likely to support the goals and means of the militant groups.

Examining the effectiveness of the EU security-development strategy in tackling instability in the Sahel: The case for an alternative strategy?

ABSTRACT The G5 Sahel (Mauritania, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad) was formed to counter terrorist group insurgencies within its member states. European Union involvement in this effort has revolved around enhancing political dialogue and peacebuilding strategies, but challenges persist, especially the threat of separatist movements combining forces with Islamic terrorist groups. The study explores the effectiveness of EU strategies in combatting instability in the Sahel region. This mixed-methods study uses the security-development nexus perspective conceptually, drawing qualitative data from secondary sources and quantitative data from the Fragile States Index, considering indicators for group grievances; state legitimacy; human rights and the rule of law; and security apparatus. The study hypothesises that the security situation in the G5 Sahel region is primarily a consequence of bad governance and political discrepancies within these states. It concludes that EU efforts should be directed towards enhancing long term state resilience internally, to better withstand terrorism.

Personal identity and community resilience: Sadiq Khan’s restorative rhetoric in response to terrorism

ABSTRACT Multiple terror attacks rocked London in 2017. These attacks brought to the forefront of public consciousness London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s unique identity as a Muslim leader confronting Islamic terrorism in a Western city. Through theoretical lenses of restorative rhetoric and the Disaster Communication Intervention Framework, this rhetorical criticism analyzes how Khan situated himself as a rhetorical symbol against terrorism while crafting a vision of unity and resilience rooted in diversity. By analyzing Khan’s anti-terrorism rhetoric in 2017 and the years prior, we explore how Khan used personal identity in his calls for collective response to disaster. The study contributes to scholarly understanding of how political leaders respond to disasters and offers practical guidelines for leaders working to foster post-disaster resilience in diverse communities.

Has the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo fuelled resistance towards Muslim immigrants in Europe? Results from a natural experiment in six European countries

In recent years, Europe witnessed several terrorist attacks by Islamist terrorists. To date, crucial questions are whether and how such events influence the European public’s resistance towards Muslims, and if such influence depends on the level of intergroup competition, both at the contextual and individual level. Using the European Social Survey (ESS7), we were able to compare respondents interviewed shortly before and after the terrorist attack on Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. While we found no support for a moderating role of intergroup competition, our study shows that the levels of resistance towards Muslim immigrants were higher shortly after the attacks in Ireland and Czech Republic, however, lower in France. For Austria, Finland and Germany we found no influence. Our findings indicate that one cannot be too careful with generalizing conclusions from single countries.

Religious Moderation Representation in The Movie "My Name is Khan"

This discussion will examine more deeply the forms of religious moderation represented in the film "My Name Is Khan". This is intended to get a clear picture of how to apply religious moderation and its limits in diversity. Religious diversity is a natural trait that cannot be denied. However, how through this moderation can such diversity be accepted and remain peacefully side by side. The figure of Rizvan Khan who is the main character in the film "my name is khan" has displayed a Muslim character with his moderate attitude towards fellow human beings. His struggle to save non-Muslims who were being hit by storms and floods in Wilhelmina, Georgia to firmly fight the heretical teachings of Islamic terrorism who wanted to provoke other Muslim worshipers in a mosque. The film conveys a brief message that religion is not a differentiator that divides people. And Islam is not a religion of cruelty and terrorism, but Islam is a religion that can embrace diversity in moderation. The storyline is so full of conflict and Islamic studies that are quite heavy can be packaged lightly and can be enjoyed by the audience of the film My Name is Khan. The positive side of this film that we can take is how we as individuals must always try to continue to be good people because in this world there are only good people and bad people. To whom we must do good, regardless of race, religion, nation, and skin. And to complete it, we must always have a good attitude towards other people, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims though.

Unpacking the Causes and Catalysts of Insurgencies in Africa

Abstract In the 20th and 21st centuries, insurgency has emerged as a mechanism for violently reconstituting the post-colonial state in Africa. Yet, despite its enduring influence on the politics of Africa, insurgency continues to present with intriguing dynamics. Existing literature tends to split the origins of insurgencies on this continent into underlying and immediate causes. Also, with the upsurge in Islamist terrorism in the Post-Cold War era, there has emerged a tendency to treat Islamist insurgencies as different from non-Islamist insurgencies in terms of the contradictions that trigger these phenomena. This article asserts that the fluid dynamics in the onset of insurgency blur the imaginary line separating causes from catalysts of insurgencies in Africa. Equally, the causes and catalysts of Islamist insurgencies are not significantly different from those that precipitate non-Islamist insurgencies.

Psychopathology of Young Terrorist Offenders, and the Interaction With Ideology and Grievances.

Psychopathology might be a risk factor for terrorist offending as it is for violent offending. Therefore, we examined the prevalence of psychopathology in young and adult Jihadist terrorist offenders on the basis of primary source judicial information and forensic mental health reports with the European Database of convicted Terrorist offenders (EDT). We hypothesised that psychopathology might be associated with ideological risk factors, and that these associations might be different for young and adult terrorist offenders. Therefore, we examined whether and to what extent psychopathology is related to a violent ideology, to grievances and anger about perceived injustice. We investigated whether this differs among 120 adult and 46 juvenile terrorist offenders. We found that most adult and young Jihadist terrorist offenders with a forensic mental health report had psychopathological problems. Most frequently found were symptoms and traits of intellectual disability disorders, depressive disorders, psychotic/schizophrenic disorders, substance use disorders, and personality disorders. Most frequently found clinically relevant personality traits were problems with relationships, poor regulation of aggression, feelings of anger, and paranoid feelings. We found some first indications for a positive association between psychopathology and grievances and anger about perceived injustice. In the young terrorist offenders with depressive symptoms, grievances about perceived injustice were more often present than in young terrorist offenders without these symptoms. In adult terrorist offenders it was found that grievances about perceived injustice and the anger were related to cluster B personality traits. In addition, in both young and adult terrorist offenders expressed grievances about perceived injustice were related to problems with relationships. Further research into psychopathology in terrorist offenders seems necessary with larger groups of adolescents and adults in relation to ideological, personal and contextual risk factors and how these factors relate to different terrorist acts. This may lead to more knowledge about engagement into terrorism and possible disengagement from terrorism. It may also lead to the inclusion of psychopathology into violent extremism risk assessment tools.