ISLAMIC JIHAD TERROR
2006-06-12 17:49:02 UTC
Islamic extremist terrorism refers to acts of terrorism claimed by its
supporters and practitioners to be in furtherance of the goals of Islam.
FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE CHECK:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_extremist_terrorism
The validity of an Islamic justification for these acts is contested by
other Muslims.
Where such violent and terrorist activity aims to establish a pan-Islamic
theocracy and impose religious law (Sharia), it is sometimes termed Islamist
terrorism. The term Islamic terrorism is more widely used, while governments
often refer to it as Islamic extremism. There is much debate about whether
commentary on the subject unfairly caricatures Muslims, and Arab Muslims in
particular (see the Muhammad cartoons controversy for example).
According to statistics of the National Counterterrorism Center, a national
government organization of the United States, Islamic extremism was
responsible for approximately 57% of terrorist fatalities and 61% of
woundings in 2004 and early 2005, where a terrorist perpetrator type could
be specified [1]. Extremist acts have included airline hijacking,
kidnapping, assassination, and suicide bombing. Terrorist threats have
included fatwas and death threats. Children have been used in the
administration and perpetration of these attacks. Both Muslims and
non-Muslims have been among the targets and victims.
Islamic extremist violence is not synonymous with all terrorist activities
committed by Muslims. Nationalist, separatist, and occasionally
Marxist-Leninist organizations in the Muslim world often derive inspiration
from secular ideologies. These are not well described as either Islamic
extremist or Islamist.
Contents
[hide]
a.. 1 Organizations
b.. 2 Ideology and theology
a.. 2.1 Islamist ideology
b.. 2.2 Interpretations of the Qur'an
c.. 3 Muslim attitudes towards terrorism
d.. 4 Examples of attacks
e.. 5 U.S. State Department list
f.. 6 See also
a.. 6.1 Islamic terms & concepts
b.. 6.2 Commonly used techniques
c.. 6.3 Books
g.. 7 External links
[edit]
Organizations
Al-Qaeda is defined by most Western nations as an Islamic extremist group.
Formed in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, it is accused
of committing terrorism in a number of countries in Africa, the Middle East,
Europe. and Indonesia. It is also accused of orchestrating the September 11,
2001 attacks against the United States. The group, under its leader Osama
bin Laden, is opposed to the monarchy in Saudi Arabia, which it sees as
insufficiently Islamic and too closely tied to America. Al-Qaeda claims it
is engaged in a struggle against Zionism, Christianity, and the secular
West.
The charter of Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel, and its "military
wing" has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in Israel. Hamas
justifies these attacks as necessary in fighting the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian territory. Although the wider movement also serves as a charity
organization and provides services to Palestinians, Hamas has been
designated as a terrorist group by the European Union, Canada, the United
States, Israel, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and Human
Rights Watch.
Lashkar-e-Toiba is terrorist group active in Kashmir and fights against
India with the goal of restoring Islamic rule of India. It has committed
mass murders of civilian Hindus. [2]. The Lashkar leadership describes
Hindus and Jews as the main enemies of Islam, claiming India and Israel to
be the main enemies of Pakistan. [3]. Lashkar-e-Toiba, along with
Jaish-e-Mohammed, another terrorist group active in Kashmir are under the
United States's foreign terrorist organizations list. They are also
designated as a terrorist groups by UK [4], India, Australia [5] and
Pakistan [6].
The United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, and
Australia designate the Lebanese Shia Islamist organization Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization. The European Union designates Hezbollah's External
Security Organization wing as "terrorist" and the United Nations has called
for its disbandment. Hezbollah is also a political party and an organization
that provides social services in Lebanon, where it is not generally seen as
a terrorist organization. [7][8]
Some Islamist groups, notably Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad in Palestine
and Al-Qaeda have used suicide bombers against civilians, soldiers, and
government officials of the regimes that they oppose. Their use of suicide
bombers is seen by many Muslims as contradictory to Islam's teachings.
Groups who support suicide bombings often refer to such attacks as
"martyrdom operations" and the suicide-bombers who commit them as "martyrs"
(Arabic: shuhada, plural of "shahid"). The bombers, and their sympathisers
often believe that suicide bombers, as martyrs to the cause of jihad against
the enemy, will receive the rewards of paradise for their actions.
[edit]
Ideology and theology
Islamist extremists sometimes claim they are defending Islam and the Ummah
(that is, the Muslim community), or that they are acting in retaliation for
what they see as aggression against Muslims by Israel and by various western
countries such as the United States.
The members of some groups are more likely to see themselves as freedom
fighters rather than terrorists, as the political origins of such groups in
the Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation,
Chechnya and most recently post-Saddam Iraq are often connected to demands
for statehood and nationalist self-determination.
In an interview with The American Conservative magazine, Robert Pape, author
of the book Dying to Win, said "The central fact is that overwhelmingly
suicide-terrorist attacks are not driven by religion as much as they are by
a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw
military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their
homeland. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank,
every major suicide-terrorist campaign - over 95 percent of all the
incidents - has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to
withdraw." [9]
Some supporters of Palestinian political violence have claimed that citizens
of Israel are legitimate military targets because Jewish adolescents are
required by law to serve in the country's military. Other writers have cited
Islamic scriptures as justification for killing Jews and Christians. [10]
This justification does not address the killing of innocent Muslims in the
same attacks.
[edit]
Islamist ideology
[citation needed] Islamist ideology, specifically of the militant breed,
often positions itself in opposition to Western society. The United States,
specifically, is greatly opposed by most Islamist Jihadis, scholars, and
leaders. In addition to criticizing the United States for what they see as
immoral secularism, many Islamists claim that Western society is actively
anti-Islamic. The cultural products of western societies, and specifically
of the United States, are often criticized by Islamists for the same
reasons.
The lack of authoritarian restrictions on free speech is a common Islamist
criticism of western democracies. Islamists have claimed that such
unrestricted free speech has led to the proliferation of pornography,
immorality, secularism, homosexuality, feminism, and many other ideas that
Islamists often oppose.
Islamists are often opposed to the (practitioners of) Christianity and
Judaism. Some Islamists identify what they see as a historical struggle
between Christianity and Islam, dating back as far as the Crusades, among
other historical conflicts between practitioners of the two respective
religions. Many of the existent violent Islamist groups have as their
central cause a Jihad (holy war) against Christians and Jews. An example is
Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda, which is also known as 'International Islamic Front
for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders'. Most militant Islamists oppose
Israel's policies, and often its existence.
For a discussion as to whether or not there are elements of neo-fascist
ideology in certain militant Islamic groups, see the discussion at
Neofascism and religion.
[edit]
Interpretations of the Qur'an
It has been suggested that the Qur'an, Islam's sacred text, denounces the
killing of any Muslim person who is not guilty of at least one of two
crimes:[citation needed]
"On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one
slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the
land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a
life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although
there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that,
many of them continued to commit excesses in the land." (5:32)
"And there are those who put up a mosque by way of mischief and
infidelity - to disunite the Believers - and in preparation for one who
warred against Allah and His Messenger aforetime. They will indeed swear
that their intention is nothing but good; But Allah doth declare that they
are certainly liars." (9:107)
Militant Islamists sometimes justify terrorism against fellow Muslims, in
particular against regimes they consider non-Islamic, on the basis that
their enemies are apostates[citation needed]. Islamic law traditionally
designated death as the penalty for apostasy from Islam. Opinions within the
Muslim community vary as to the grounds on which an individual may be
declared to have apostacised. The most common view among Muslim scholars is
that a declaration of takfir (designation of a Muslim as an apostate) can
only be made by an established religious authority. Mainstream Muslim
scholars usually oppose recourse to takfir, except in rare instances. Takfir
was used as justification for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat.
Another relevant Qur'anic verse reads:
"Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress
limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch
them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and
oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred
Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay
them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith." (2:190-191)
This verse is interpreted by Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir as forbidding
attacks on non-combatants.[citation needed]
[edit]
Muslim attitudes towards terrorism
In parliamentary election of January 2006, 57% of Palestinians voted for
Hamas[11], which is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, United
States, Canada, and the European Union and responsible for a number of
attacks against Israeli civilians. Observers are divided over whether the
election results represent support for the organization's tactics, support
for the organization's social programs, or dissatisfaction with the previous
government which was widely seen as corrupt and incompetent. A public
opinion survey released following the election, indicated that nearly three
quarters of Palestinians believe that Hamas should change its policy
regarding the destruction of Israel and 84% of Palestinians support a peace
agreement with Israel. Among Hamas voters, 73% of respondents supported a
peace agreement with Israel. However Hamas has ruled out removing the clause
in its constitution which demands the destruction of Israel. [12]
A 2005 Pew Research study that involved 17,000 people in 17 countries showed
support for terrorism was declining in the Muslim world along with a growing
belief that Islamic extremism represents a threat to those countries. [13] A
Daily Telegraph survey[14] showed that 6% of British Muslims fully supported
the July 2005 bombings in the London Underground.
A 2004 Pew survey revealed that Osama bin Laden is viewed favorably by large
percentages in Pakistan (65%), Jordan (55%) and Morocco (45%). In Turkey as
many as 31% say that suicide attacks against Americans and other Westerners
in Iraq are justifiable.[15] [16].
The Free Muslims Coalition[17] rallied against terror, stating that they
wanted to send "a message to radical Muslims and supporters of terrorism
that we reject them and that we will defeat them."
Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, a Muslim and the general manager of Arab news
channel, Al-Arabiya has said: "It is a certain fact that not all Muslims are
terrorists, but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that
almost all terrorists are Muslims." Statistics compiled by the United States
government's Counterterrorism Center present a more complicated picture: of
known and specified terrorist incidents from the beginning of 2004 through
the first quarter of 2005, slightly more than half of the fatalities were
attributed to Islamic extremists but a majority of over-all incidents were
considered of either "unknown/unspecified" or a secular political nature
[18]. The vast majority of the "unknown/unspecified" terrorism fatalities
did however happen in Islamic regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan, or in
regions where Islam is otherwise involved in conflicts such as the West
Bank, the Gaza Strip, southern Thailand and Kashmir. [19] The methodology
employed by the Center is sometimes disputed [20].
Iranian Ayatollah Ozma Seyyed Yousef Sanei issued a fatwa (ruling) that
suicide attacks against civilians are legitimate only in the context of
war.[21] The ruling did not say whether other types of attacks against
civilians are justified outside of the context of war, nor whether Jihad is
included in Sanei's definition of war.
supporters and practitioners to be in furtherance of the goals of Islam.
FOR COMPLETE ARTICLE CHECK:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_extremist_terrorism
The validity of an Islamic justification for these acts is contested by
other Muslims.
Where such violent and terrorist activity aims to establish a pan-Islamic
theocracy and impose religious law (Sharia), it is sometimes termed Islamist
terrorism. The term Islamic terrorism is more widely used, while governments
often refer to it as Islamic extremism. There is much debate about whether
commentary on the subject unfairly caricatures Muslims, and Arab Muslims in
particular (see the Muhammad cartoons controversy for example).
According to statistics of the National Counterterrorism Center, a national
government organization of the United States, Islamic extremism was
responsible for approximately 57% of terrorist fatalities and 61% of
woundings in 2004 and early 2005, where a terrorist perpetrator type could
be specified [1]. Extremist acts have included airline hijacking,
kidnapping, assassination, and suicide bombing. Terrorist threats have
included fatwas and death threats. Children have been used in the
administration and perpetration of these attacks. Both Muslims and
non-Muslims have been among the targets and victims.
Islamic extremist violence is not synonymous with all terrorist activities
committed by Muslims. Nationalist, separatist, and occasionally
Marxist-Leninist organizations in the Muslim world often derive inspiration
from secular ideologies. These are not well described as either Islamic
extremist or Islamist.
Contents
[hide]
a.. 1 Organizations
b.. 2 Ideology and theology
a.. 2.1 Islamist ideology
b.. 2.2 Interpretations of the Qur'an
c.. 3 Muslim attitudes towards terrorism
d.. 4 Examples of attacks
e.. 5 U.S. State Department list
f.. 6 See also
a.. 6.1 Islamic terms & concepts
b.. 6.2 Commonly used techniques
c.. 6.3 Books
g.. 7 External links
[edit]
Organizations
Al-Qaeda is defined by most Western nations as an Islamic extremist group.
Formed in the aftermath of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, it is accused
of committing terrorism in a number of countries in Africa, the Middle East,
Europe. and Indonesia. It is also accused of orchestrating the September 11,
2001 attacks against the United States. The group, under its leader Osama
bin Laden, is opposed to the monarchy in Saudi Arabia, which it sees as
insufficiently Islamic and too closely tied to America. Al-Qaeda claims it
is engaged in a struggle against Zionism, Christianity, and the secular
West.
The charter of Hamas calls for the destruction of Israel, and its "military
wing" has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in Israel. Hamas
justifies these attacks as necessary in fighting the Israeli occupation of
Palestinian territory. Although the wider movement also serves as a charity
organization and provides services to Palestinians, Hamas has been
designated as a terrorist group by the European Union, Canada, the United
States, Israel, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and Human
Rights Watch.
Lashkar-e-Toiba is terrorist group active in Kashmir and fights against
India with the goal of restoring Islamic rule of India. It has committed
mass murders of civilian Hindus. [2]. The Lashkar leadership describes
Hindus and Jews as the main enemies of Islam, claiming India and Israel to
be the main enemies of Pakistan. [3]. Lashkar-e-Toiba, along with
Jaish-e-Mohammed, another terrorist group active in Kashmir are under the
United States's foreign terrorist organizations list. They are also
designated as a terrorist groups by UK [4], India, Australia [5] and
Pakistan [6].
The United States, Israel, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Canada, and
Australia designate the Lebanese Shia Islamist organization Hezbollah as a
terrorist organization. The European Union designates Hezbollah's External
Security Organization wing as "terrorist" and the United Nations has called
for its disbandment. Hezbollah is also a political party and an organization
that provides social services in Lebanon, where it is not generally seen as
a terrorist organization. [7][8]
Some Islamist groups, notably Hezbollah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad in Palestine
and Al-Qaeda have used suicide bombers against civilians, soldiers, and
government officials of the regimes that they oppose. Their use of suicide
bombers is seen by many Muslims as contradictory to Islam's teachings.
Groups who support suicide bombings often refer to such attacks as
"martyrdom operations" and the suicide-bombers who commit them as "martyrs"
(Arabic: shuhada, plural of "shahid"). The bombers, and their sympathisers
often believe that suicide bombers, as martyrs to the cause of jihad against
the enemy, will receive the rewards of paradise for their actions.
[edit]
Ideology and theology
Islamist extremists sometimes claim they are defending Islam and the Ummah
(that is, the Muslim community), or that they are acting in retaliation for
what they see as aggression against Muslims by Israel and by various western
countries such as the United States.
The members of some groups are more likely to see themselves as freedom
fighters rather than terrorists, as the political origins of such groups in
the Palestinian Territories, Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation,
Chechnya and most recently post-Saddam Iraq are often connected to demands
for statehood and nationalist self-determination.
In an interview with The American Conservative magazine, Robert Pape, author
of the book Dying to Win, said "The central fact is that overwhelmingly
suicide-terrorist attacks are not driven by religion as much as they are by
a clear strategic objective: to compel modern democracies to withdraw
military forces from the territory that the terrorists view as their
homeland. From Lebanon to Sri Lanka to Chechnya to Kashmir to the West Bank,
every major suicide-terrorist campaign - over 95 percent of all the
incidents - has had as its central objective to compel a democratic state to
withdraw." [9]
Some supporters of Palestinian political violence have claimed that citizens
of Israel are legitimate military targets because Jewish adolescents are
required by law to serve in the country's military. Other writers have cited
Islamic scriptures as justification for killing Jews and Christians. [10]
This justification does not address the killing of innocent Muslims in the
same attacks.
[edit]
Islamist ideology
[citation needed] Islamist ideology, specifically of the militant breed,
often positions itself in opposition to Western society. The United States,
specifically, is greatly opposed by most Islamist Jihadis, scholars, and
leaders. In addition to criticizing the United States for what they see as
immoral secularism, many Islamists claim that Western society is actively
anti-Islamic. The cultural products of western societies, and specifically
of the United States, are often criticized by Islamists for the same
reasons.
The lack of authoritarian restrictions on free speech is a common Islamist
criticism of western democracies. Islamists have claimed that such
unrestricted free speech has led to the proliferation of pornography,
immorality, secularism, homosexuality, feminism, and many other ideas that
Islamists often oppose.
Islamists are often opposed to the (practitioners of) Christianity and
Judaism. Some Islamists identify what they see as a historical struggle
between Christianity and Islam, dating back as far as the Crusades, among
other historical conflicts between practitioners of the two respective
religions. Many of the existent violent Islamist groups have as their
central cause a Jihad (holy war) against Christians and Jews. An example is
Bin Laden's Al-Qaeda, which is also known as 'International Islamic Front
for Jihad Against the Jews and Crusaders'. Most militant Islamists oppose
Israel's policies, and often its existence.
For a discussion as to whether or not there are elements of neo-fascist
ideology in certain militant Islamic groups, see the discussion at
Neofascism and religion.
[edit]
Interpretations of the Qur'an
It has been suggested that the Qur'an, Islam's sacred text, denounces the
killing of any Muslim person who is not guilty of at least one of two
crimes:[citation needed]
"On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one
slew a person - unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the
land - it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a
life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people. Then although
there came to them Our messengers with clear signs, yet, even after that,
many of them continued to commit excesses in the land." (5:32)
"And there are those who put up a mosque by way of mischief and
infidelity - to disunite the Believers - and in preparation for one who
warred against Allah and His Messenger aforetime. They will indeed swear
that their intention is nothing but good; But Allah doth declare that they
are certainly liars." (9:107)
Militant Islamists sometimes justify terrorism against fellow Muslims, in
particular against regimes they consider non-Islamic, on the basis that
their enemies are apostates[citation needed]. Islamic law traditionally
designated death as the penalty for apostasy from Islam. Opinions within the
Muslim community vary as to the grounds on which an individual may be
declared to have apostacised. The most common view among Muslim scholars is
that a declaration of takfir (designation of a Muslim as an apostate) can
only be made by an established religious authority. Mainstream Muslim
scholars usually oppose recourse to takfir, except in rare instances. Takfir
was used as justification for the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat.
Another relevant Qur'anic verse reads:
"Fight in the cause of Allah those who fight you, but do not transgress
limits; for Allah loveth not transgressors. And slay them wherever ye catch
them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out; for tumult and
oppression are worse than slaughter; but fight them not at the Sacred
Mosque, unless they (first) fight you there; but if they fight you, slay
them. Such is the reward of those who suppress faith." (2:190-191)
This verse is interpreted by Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir as forbidding
attacks on non-combatants.[citation needed]
[edit]
Muslim attitudes towards terrorism
In parliamentary election of January 2006, 57% of Palestinians voted for
Hamas[11], which is designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, United
States, Canada, and the European Union and responsible for a number of
attacks against Israeli civilians. Observers are divided over whether the
election results represent support for the organization's tactics, support
for the organization's social programs, or dissatisfaction with the previous
government which was widely seen as corrupt and incompetent. A public
opinion survey released following the election, indicated that nearly three
quarters of Palestinians believe that Hamas should change its policy
regarding the destruction of Israel and 84% of Palestinians support a peace
agreement with Israel. Among Hamas voters, 73% of respondents supported a
peace agreement with Israel. However Hamas has ruled out removing the clause
in its constitution which demands the destruction of Israel. [12]
A 2005 Pew Research study that involved 17,000 people in 17 countries showed
support for terrorism was declining in the Muslim world along with a growing
belief that Islamic extremism represents a threat to those countries. [13] A
Daily Telegraph survey[14] showed that 6% of British Muslims fully supported
the July 2005 bombings in the London Underground.
A 2004 Pew survey revealed that Osama bin Laden is viewed favorably by large
percentages in Pakistan (65%), Jordan (55%) and Morocco (45%). In Turkey as
many as 31% say that suicide attacks against Americans and other Westerners
in Iraq are justifiable.[15] [16].
The Free Muslims Coalition[17] rallied against terror, stating that they
wanted to send "a message to radical Muslims and supporters of terrorism
that we reject them and that we will defeat them."
Abdel Rahman al-Rashed, a Muslim and the general manager of Arab news
channel, Al-Arabiya has said: "It is a certain fact that not all Muslims are
terrorists, but it is equally certain, and exceptionally painful, that
almost all terrorists are Muslims." Statistics compiled by the United States
government's Counterterrorism Center present a more complicated picture: of
known and specified terrorist incidents from the beginning of 2004 through
the first quarter of 2005, slightly more than half of the fatalities were
attributed to Islamic extremists but a majority of over-all incidents were
considered of either "unknown/unspecified" or a secular political nature
[18]. The vast majority of the "unknown/unspecified" terrorism fatalities
did however happen in Islamic regions such as Iraq and Afghanistan, or in
regions where Islam is otherwise involved in conflicts such as the West
Bank, the Gaza Strip, southern Thailand and Kashmir. [19] The methodology
employed by the Center is sometimes disputed [20].
Iranian Ayatollah Ozma Seyyed Yousef Sanei issued a fatwa (ruling) that
suicide attacks against civilians are legitimate only in the context of
war.[21] The ruling did not say whether other types of attacks against
civilians are justified outside of the context of war, nor whether Jihad is
included in Sanei's definition of war.