Militant Islamist Group Research Articles

The Israel-Hamas Armed Conflict in the Middle East: A Sociological Lens

The State of Israel and the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas have been in conflict for decades. Amid the conflict, Israel is determined to maintain control of Gaza and strive to eliminate Hamas as a terrorist organisation at all costs. Hamas’s objection to Israel’s attempt to occupy Gaza and its refusal to recognise the State of Israel led to violence that resulted in many losses of life and property. This article examined the Israel-Hamas armed conflict in the Middle East, using a sociological lens. Henri Tajfel and John Turner’s Social Identity Theory was adopted as a framework to guide the paper. Using evidence from textbooks, journals, media reports, government publications, and online sources, the results showed that the conflict between Israel and Hamas stems from many factors, including territorial settlement, political and ideological differences, and the role of the international community. The consequences of the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas include loss of life and property, destruction of critical infrastructure, economic disruption, and diplomatic relations. The study recommended the urgent need for a comprehensive and sustainable solution that prioritises the protection of human life, dignity, well-being, and critical infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. The international community should stop supporting an escalation of the conflict and instead engage in a peaceful effort to reconcile Israel and Palestine. Further research is needed to determine the coping strategies of the displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and nearby cities.

Исламистский терроризм в Африке в 2010–2020-е годы: основные тенденции и перспективы

In recent years, an obvious sign of intensifying terrorist activities by Islamist radicals in Africa has been a steady trend indicating the expanding geography of their extremist actions. Africa turned out to be the region of the world most affected by jihadist terrorism. Moreover, there is an “African U-turn” in the activities of transnational Islamist networks that aim to spread their influence in many regions of the continent. While in the 2010s militant Islamist groups were primarily active in Algeria and Somalia, by the early 2020s the scope of African jihadists’ activities had significantly expanded (mainly in West and Central Africa). At the same time, the Sahel region has become one of the main terrorist hotbeds of jihadist groups on the continent, where the number of violent acts committed by Islamists has doubled annually since 2015. In the article, the author analyzes the causes and specifics of the spreading influence of extremist groups in Africa, examines the significance of internal and external factors that affect these processes, and draws conclusions about the correlation of global and local agendas in the activities of militant Islamists in African countries. The author also makes a prediction that current trends suggest the possibility of new “hot spots” of militant jihadist activities on the continent (in particular, in countries such as Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa) to arise, and the Islamist jihadism in existing hotbeds to intensify.

Gewalt im Namen des Islam: Muslimische Fragen und Antworten

Abstract Distinguishing Islamism from „mainstream,“ non-Islamist Islam is not always an easy task as far as the basic assumptions concerning the nature of Islam and its normative foundations are concerned. It is with regard to strategy in general and the use of violence (especially against Muslims) in particular, that distinctions tend to become sharply drawn. Islamists aim to transform state, society, culture, and law in light of the normative texts of the Qur’an and Sunna, considering the early period of the prophet Muḥammad and his successors (the “pious ancestors”) as the definitive model of an Islamic order. Jihadist Islam pre-dates 9/11 but was propelled into new directions as a result of these acts of violence. The legitimate use of violence, and of Jihad, has always been a contentious issue among Muslims. Significantly, the religious status and affiliation of those involved (Muslims; recognized non-Muslim communities; non-Muslims living beyond the Islamic realm; self-declared Muslims not recognized as such by their enemies) have played a crucial role in these debates. At the core of contention is takfīr, the accusation of unbelief launched against self-declared Muslims, be they Sunni, Shi’i or other. Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966) elaborated the theological underpinnings of takfīr, but it was militant Islamist groups that took the concept to it extremes and put it into practice. Faced with a jihadist logic based on the Qur’an and Sunna, Islamic scholars and Muslim political authorities have propagated the principle of moderation (wasaṭ and wasaṭiyya) as the truly Islamic model of thought and behavior. While wasaṭiyya lacks the emotional and medial resources available to its militant opponents, and while it has been denounced as a strategy of containment employed by the powers-that-be, it seems to have been embraced by broad Muslim audiences.

Comparing Islamic and International Laws of War: Orthodoxy, “Heresy,” and Secularization in the Category of Civilians

Abstract This Article investigates how contemporary laws of war rationalize civilian deaths. I concentrate on two specific legal constructions in warfare: the definition of civilian/combatant and the principle of distinction. (The categories of civilian and combatant should be understood as dialogically constitutive and not entirely distinct. In addition, the category of “civilian” is a modern one and premodern legal sources often do not use one term to refer to noncombatants.) I focus on two significant parties in contemporary warfare: al-Qāʿidah (aka Al-Qaeda) and the U.S. military. Al-Qāʿidah diverges from orthodox Islamic law on these two legal issues, while remaining within the Islamic legal tradition. To scrutinize the nature of this divergence, I compare al-Qāʿidah’s legal reasoning to the legal reasoning of the U.S. military. I demonstrate that the U.S. military diverges from orthodox international law in ways that parallel how al-Qāʿidah diverges from orthodox Islamic law. Specifically, both the U.S. military and al-Qāʿidah elide orthodox categories of civilians and expand the category of combatant, primarily by rendering civilians as probable combatants. Based on this comparative analysis, I argue that the legal reasoning of al-Qāʿidah (and other militant Islamist groups) is as secular as it is Islamic; I call this fusion secularislamized law.

Pastoralists and the State … and 'Islamic State' on Eastern Niger's Frontier: between Evasion and Engagement

Abstract In the current situation of militant Islamist groups encroaching on peripheral areas of different Sahelian states, mobile pastoralists are often accused of sympathising or collaborating with jihadists. Examining this phenomenon with a focus on eastern Niger and in the context of the Boko Haram crisis in the Lake Chad basin, this article relates it to the debates about incorporation and evasion of pastoralists with regard to state and society, and frontiers and borderlands as spaces not only of difficult governance but also of economic and political opportunities.

Islamist Militant Groups and Crime-Terror Nexus in Bangladesh

This paper employs a mixed-method approach to explore the criminal nexus of Islamist militant groups operating in Bangladesh. Data for 98 (14%) of 710 militants profiled in this study suggest various types of criminal involvement. By blending a qualitative social network analysis of top leaders from four militant groups, we find a much better picture of how terrorists pursue the strategies of appropriation, cooperation or transformation in developing criminal nexus. Findings also reveal the organizational level at which terrorists interact with criminals, and the processes through which they use marketplace interactions, prison-based radicalization, and virtual crime-linkage to expand their operations.

The relationship between armed conflict and reproductive, maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition status and services in northeastern Nigeria: a mixed-methods case study

BackgroundArmed conflict between the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, other insurgents, and the Nigerian military has principally affected three states of northeastern Nigeria (Borno, Adamawa, Yobe) since 2002. An intensification of the conflict in 2009 brought the situation to increased international visibility. However, full-scale humanitarian intervention did not occur until 2016. Even prior to this period of armed conflict, reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health indicators were extremely low in the region. The presence of local and international humanitarian actors, in the form of United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations, working in concert with concerned federal, state, and local entities of the Government of Nigeria, were able to prioritize and devise strategies for the delivery of health services that resulted in marked improvement of health status in the subset of the population in which this could be measured. Prospects for the future remain uncertain.MethodsInterviews were conducted with more than 60 respondents from government, United Nations agencies, and national and international non-governmental organizations. Quantitative data on intervention coverage indicators from publicly available national surveys (Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS)), National Nutrition and Health Surveys (NNHS)) were descriptively analyzed.ResultsOverall, indicators of low reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH) status and intervention coverage were found in the pre-intervention period (prior to 2016) and important improvements were noted following the arrival of international humanitarian assistance, even while armed conflict and adverse conditions persisted. Security issues, workforce limitations, and inadequate financing were frequently cited obstacles.ConclusionIt is assumed that armed conflict would have a negative impact on the health status of the affected population, but pre-conflict indicators can be so depressed that this effect is difficult to measure. When this is the case, health sector intervention by the international community can often result in marked improvements in the accessible population. What might happen upon the departure of the humanitarian organizations cannot be predicted with an appreciable degree of certainty.

Weeping in Modern Jihadi Groups

Abstract Abstract This article, using a wide range of primary sources, describes the practice of weeping (bukā) in contemporary jihadi groups. It shows that weeping is widespread and encouraged in militant Islamist groups such as al-Qaida and Islamic State. Modern jihadis weep in at least six main types of situations: during prayer, during sermons, when listening to hymns, pre- and post-combat, on losing comrades, and upon seeing civilian Muslim suffering. Weeping is socially appreciated; it often happens in groups, it is rewarded with praise and honorifics, and it is advertised in propaganda. Weeping for more mundane reasons is also reported, but not similarly valued. The findings add to other recent evidence suggesting modern jihadis are influenced by Sufism. Today's weeping practices also suggest a long historical association in Islam between asceticism and military jihad going back to eighth-century warrior-ascetics such as Ibn al-Mubārak (d. 797 Ce).

Book review: Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The history and ideology of a militant Islamist group, 2005–2012

This review provides a succinct summary and critical examination of Stig Jarle Hansen's work on Al-Shabaab. It points out the book's strengths and weaknesses, and demonstrates that Hansen not only offers useful insights into Al-Shabaab but also helps readers understand the security landscape in Somalia.

Contextualizing Military Operations in Pak-Afghan Borderland & District Swat to Contain Fomenting Insurgencies

Pakistan’s engagement in the global war on terrorism and its role as a frontline ally of the USA compelled strategic elites of the state to develop strategies to curb the militant groups that migrated to Pakistan and took shelter in the borderland areas after the U.S. military offensive Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) on Afghanistan. The aim of OEF was to hunt down the Al-Qaeda and other affiliated conglomerates enjoying patronage under the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. The real challenge before the law enforcement agencies of Pakistan was to get support from the public for military operations against these Islamist militant groups, which were the constant source of threat to the security of the state. The majority of the people in Pakistan were generally not in favor of full-fledged military operations because they saw the militants as holy warriors fighting against the infidels and believed that if Pakistan launched any brand of operation in erstwhile FATA it would be under the diktat of the Americans. This is the reason why, from 2001 to 2004, Pakistan’s security forces opened the door for negotiations and did not participate in hard-strikes against the militant outfits. But after the formal formation of Threek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2007 and its nexus with Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) in Swat started a series of brutal suicide and targeted attacks on the population, it was necessary for the military to begin operations. This timely study of important military operations initiated against the insurgents in the Pak-Afghan borderland will broaden the horizon of security managers about their strategic and tactical flaws in the ground offensive and thorough analysis will help to provide a better understanding for future military offensives in any part of the country. This paper focuses on important military operations with a cost and benefit analysis of those conducted after 2001 in the adjacent areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and district Swat.

The pious or the doctrinaire? who supports suicide terrorism in Indonesia?

ABSTRACT Indonesia is generally viewed as a moderate Muslim nation that episodically struggles with terrorism. Between 1981 and the end of 2016, Indonesia experienced 156 attacks from some 15 Islamist militant groups. However, the lineaments of popular support for Islamist militancy in Indonesia remain understudied. In this paper, we expand upon the existing literature on popular support for Islamist violence in Indonesia by replicating and extending the empirical framework for modeling the relationship between support for various conceptualizations of Shari’a and support for Islamist violence offered by Fair, Littman and Nugent (2018) for Pakistan and extended to Bangladesh by Fair, Hamza and Heller (2017). To do so, we conduct ordered logistical regression analysis of Pew survey data which includes information about respondents’ religious beliefs and practice as well as support for Islamist violence. We find considerable evidence that their framework is useful for understanding support for violence in Indonesia.

Islamic State’s quest for legitimacy: An analysis of IS media frames in Dabiq magazine

This article focuses on the media frames of legitimization presented by the Islamist militant group the Islamic State (IS) in their English-language magazine Dabiq to justify their occupation and expansion in Iraq and Syria between June 2014 and July 2017. It argues that, similar to any other militant group, IS faced challenges in establishing, sustaining and projecting legitimacy of both the organization and its militant actions. Focusing on IS narrative frames of legitimacy in Dabiq, this article looks at how the group constructed frame hierarchies that built upon widely accepted higher-order meta-frames of Islamic belief and Westphalian devolution of state power, to lever support for lower-order frames that are of strategic advantage to IS. The author agues such narratives of legitimacy were vital in IS’s attempt to undermine the authority of the sovereign states they occupied, and were necessary to challenge the monopoly of state violence in order to legitimize its own use of strategic violence both inside the self-proclaimed caliphate and in its expansion.

Jihadi Culture: The Art and Social Practices of Militant Islamists

Jihadi Culture: The Art and Social Practices of Militant Islamists

Aftermath of Trump Foreign Policy towards Pakistan: Present and Future

“Do more” refers to the United States (U.S.) counter-terrorism policy suggesting Pakistan to take strong measures against Islamist militant groups especially Haqqani network. The U.S. government has pursued this policy for most of the time during Obama and now under Trump administration. This study not only explains the relations between the United States and Pakistan as a result of ‘do more’ policy but also analyzes the facts as to what would be the effect of this policy on Pakistan under Trump administration. However, knowing the fact that the Islamic state did not change its counter-terrorism strategy in past when President Obama suspended its aid to Pakistan to build pressure. Moreover, the study also evaluates how Trump administration’s strategy affects the foreign policy of Pakistan. Therefore, this research reviews the main features of the policy and analyzes its consequences on both the countries followed by discussion on the policy’s future prospects.

Jamaat-ud-Dawa (Lashkar-e-Tayyaba)

The contemporary landscape of Islamist militancy in Pakistan is populated by an array of Islamist militant groups, sometimes called tanzeems. The members of one cluster of militant groups, the “sectarian tanzeems” such as Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Sipah-e-Sahaba-ePakistan (SSP), have long-targeted Shia and Ahmediyas, and, in recent years, members of Pakistan’s varied Sufi sects (often referred to as Barelvis). A second cluster of groups are those that call themselves “Kashmiri tanzeems” because they claim to operate on behalf of Kashmiris and other Muslims living on Indian territory. These groups aim to “liberate” India’s Muslims from the supposed oppression of the Hindu-dominated Indian state.

Ethics, Universality and Vulnerability in Abderrahmane Sissako's Bamako (2006) and Timbuktu (2014)

This article adds philosopher Judith Butler to the list of thinkers whose work underpins the interest in ethics and/in film that began in earnest in the 2000s. Beginning with Precarious Life: Powers of Mourning and Violence (2004), Butler has published several volumes that blend ethical thinking with moral theory and political philosophy, focusing on the concepts of precariousness and vulnerability. This article suggests that two films directed by Abderrahmane Sissako, Bamako (2006) and Timbuktu (2014), as dramas of precariousness and vulnerability respectively, can inform thinking about cinematic ethics: the staging of a trial of global institutions in Bamako dramatizes the possible universalization of an ethic of precarity, while in Timbuktu the condemnation to death of a Tuareg shepherd by Ansar Dine, the militant Islamist group that occupied parts of Mali in 2012, allows Sissako to give full rein to his talent for filming the vulnerability of both victims and oppressors.

Book Review: Stig Jarle Hansen (Ed.), Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group

Stig Jarle Hansen (Ed.), Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group, Oxford University Press, New York, 2013, 208 pp., $37.50, ISBN: 978-0-199-32787-4.

Desiccation of Lake Chad as a cause of security instability in the Sahel region

Abstract The Lake Chad basin is one of the most unstable regions in Africa. The lake itself has shrunk and nowadays it covers less than 10 % of its area in 1960. These environmental changes have wider geopolitical consequences in the whole region, which encompasses countries such as Nigeria, Niger, Chad and Cameroon. Therefore, it seems that environmental threats may act as the detonators for larger political conflict as well as for a struggle for land and may cause growing instability in affected countries. The region is fragile, owing to the fact that several terrorist and Islamist groups are operating there. The most serious threat in the Lake Chad basin is militant Islamist group Boko Haram, which is based in north eastern Nigeria, but it is also active in neighbouring countries. As a result of both ecological changes and security threats, people are losing their traditional sources of income from herding and it is likely that there will be large waves of migration from the area. The paper focuses on the environmental challenges in the Lake Chad basin and their effect on the security in the region. The main attention will be paid to the strategies and actions of militant terrorist groups such as Boko Haram that will be analysed in the wider regional geopolitical context.

Book Review: Stig Jarle Hansen, Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group

Book Review: Stig Jarle Hansen, <i>Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group</i>

Terrorist Attacks on the Energy Sector: The Case of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State

ABSTRACTThe article focuses on the attitudes of two militant Islamist groups, Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, toward the issue of terrorist attacks in the energy sector. The main aim of the article is both to analyze the importance of attacks on energy infrastructure for the strategies of these two organizations, and to describe specific examples and manifestations of terrorist activities from the side of Al Qaeda and the Islamic State with regard to the energy sector in the Middle East and North Africa. The article is based on the concept of terrorist attacks on the energy sector.