Islamic terrorism

Islamic terrorism (also known as Islamist terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism) refers to terrorist acts with religious motivations carried out by fundamentalist militant Islamists and Islamic extremists.[1][2][3]

Incidents and fatalities from Islamic terrorism have been concentrated in eight Muslim-majority countries (Afghanistan, Egypt, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, and Syria),[4] while four Islamic extremist groups (Islamic State, Boko Haram, the Taliban, and al-Qaeda) were responsible for 74% of all deaths from terrorism in 2015.[5][6] The annual number of fatalities from terrorist attacks grew sharply from 2011 to 2014 when it reached a peak of 33,438, before declining to 13,826 in 2019.[7]

Since at least the 1990s, these terrorist incidents have occurred on a global scale, affecting not only Muslim-majority countries in Africa and Asia, but also Russia, Australia, Canada, Israel, India, the United States, China, the Philippines, Thailand, and countries within Europe. Such attacks have targeted both Muslims and non-Muslims,[8] with one study finding 80% of terrorist victims to be Muslims.[9][10] In a number of the worst-affected Muslim-majority regions, these terrorists have been met by armed, independent resistance groups,[11] state actors and their proxies, and elsewhere by condemnation by prominent Islamic figures.[12][13][14] Journalists have also become targets of Islamic terrorism, particularly for the depiction of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, with the Charlie Hebdo shooting being protested by millions in France.

Justifications given for attacks on civilians by Islamic extremist groups come from their interpretations of the Quran,[3] the hadith,[15][16] and sharia law.[3] These include retribution by armed jihad for the perceived injustices of unbelievers against Muslims;[17] the belief that the killing of many self-proclaimed Muslims is required because they have violated Islamic law and are disbelievers (takfir);[18] the overriding necessity of restoring and purifying Islam by establishing sharia law, especially by restoring the Caliphate as a pan-Islamic state (especially ISIS);[19] the glory and heavenly rewards of martyrdom;[16] the supremacy of Islam over all other religions.[Note 1]

The use of the phrase "Islamic terrorism" is disputed. In Western political speech, it has variously been called "counter-productive", "highly politicized, intellectually contestable" and "damaging to community relations", by those who disapprove of the characterization 'Islamic'.[22][23][24]

  1. ^ Norton, Richard A.; Kéchichian, Joseph A. (2009). "Terrorism". In Esposito, John L. (ed.). The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-530513-5.(subscription required)
  2. ^ Thomas Hegghammer (2013). "Terrorism". In Böwering, Gerhard; Crone, Patricia (eds.). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Islamic Political Thought. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 545–547.
  3. ^ a b c French, Nathan S. (2020). "A Jihadi-Salafi Legal Tradition? Debating Authority and Martyrdom". And God Knows the Martyrs: Martyrdom and Violence in Jihadi-Salafism. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 36–69. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190092153.003.0002. ISBN 978-0-19-009215-3. LCCN 2019042378.
  4. ^ "Global Terrorism Index Report 2015" (PDF). Wayback Machine. Institute for Economics and Peace. November 2015. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  5. ^ Global Terrorism Index 2016 (PDF). Institute for Economics and Peace. 2016. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 November 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Egypt's Counterinsurgency Success in Sinai". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  7. ^ "Global Terrorism Index 2020: Measuring the Impact of Terrorism" (PDF). Vision of Humanity. Institute for Economics & Peace. p. 15. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  8. ^ Siddiqui, Mona (23 August 2014). "Isis: a contrived ideology justifying barbarism and sexual control". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 August 2014. Retrieved 7 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ^ The study was conducted by a French non-governmental organization. Ritchie, Hannah; Hasell, Joe; Appel, Cameron; Roser, Max (28 July 2013). "Terrorism". Our World in Data.
  10. ^ "Overwhelming majority of terror victims are Muslims". Overwhelming majority of terror victims are Muslims. Retrieved 31 October 2020.
  11. ^ Constanze Letsch (November 2014). "Kurdish peshmerga forces arrive in Kobani to bolster fight against Isis". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  12. ^ Charles Kurzman. "Islamic Statements Against Terrorism". UNC.edu. Retrieved 31 January 2017.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference australia.to was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Christine Sisto (23 September 2014). "Moderate Muslims Stand against ISIS". National Review. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  15. ^ Holbrook, Donald (2010). "Using the Qur'an to Justify Terrorist Violence". Perspectives on Terrorism. 4 (3). Terrorism Research Initiative and Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence.
  16. ^ a b Holbreook, Donald (2014). The Al-Qaeda Doctrine. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 30ff, 61ff, 83ff. ISBN 978-1-62356-314-1.
  17. ^ Wiktorowicz, Quintan; Kaltner, John (Summer 2003). "Killing in the Name of Islam: Al-Qaeda's Justification for September 11" (PDF). Middle East Policy. X (2): 85–90. Retrieved 12 August 2019.
  18. ^ Poljarevic, Emin (2021). "Theology of Violence-oriented Takfirism as a Political Theory: The Case of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)". In Cusack, Carole M.; Upal, M. Afzal (eds.). Handbook of Islamic Sects and Movements. Brill Handbooks on Contemporary Religion. Vol. 21. Leiden and Boston: Brill Publishers. pp. 485–512. doi:10.1163/9789004435544_026. ISBN 978-90-04-43554-4. ISSN 1874-6691.
  19. ^ Wood, Graeme (March 2015). "What ISIS Really Wants". The Atlantic. Washington, D.C. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  20. ^ Yohanan, Friedmann (2003). Morgan, David (ed.). Tolerance and Coercion in Islam: Interfaith Relations in the Muslim tradition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82703-4. OCLC 57256339.
  21. ^ van Natta Jr., Don (17 September 2003). "Flow of Saudis' Cash to Hamas Is Scrutinized". The New York Times. Retrieved 11 August 2019.
  22. ^ Jackson, Richard (2007). "Constructing Enemies: 'Islamic Terrorism' in Political and Academic Discourse". Government and Opposition. 42 (3): 394–426. doi:10.1111/j.1477-7053.2007.00229.x. ISSN 0017-257X. S2CID 143513477.
  23. ^ Shmuel Bar. "The Religious Sources of Islamic Terrorism". Hoover Institution.
  24. ^ Anthony H. Cordesman (17 October 2017). "Islam and the Patterns in Terrorism and Violent Extremism". Center for Strategic and International Studies.


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