The 'War on Terror', led by the USA and supported by other states, has been the main factor that shaped the international agenda over the past four years. Many financial resources, human capital and political and military efforts have been invested in the on-going campaign aimed to obliterate terrorist organisations wherever they are. The source of this terror originates from Muslim countries in the Middle-East and South-East Asia, but it threatens the entire international community and includes all human beings. This threat, which the international community identifies with Global Jihad, is by far the most dangerous threat to the world's peace and security. The questions that are often left without clear answers pertain to the unique characteristics of the regions that enable terrorism to flourish. It is commonly believed that religion is what motivates terrorist organisations such as Al-Qaeda and its associated organisations, to perpetrate deadly attacks against civilians. However, the fact that only a small minority of Muslims around the world support or are actively involved in these kinds of attacks, raises questions of whether religion is the sole motivator behind terrorism, and what part culture plays in this phenomenon. The answer lies in the assumption that religion and culture are interlinked motivators, and that the combination of specific cultural conditions with strong religious convictions has resulted in Islamic terrorism.
Albert Jungman and Alex Schmid, gathered 109 different definitions of the term "Terrorism", in Jongman and Schmid, Political Terrorism, SWIDOC, Amsterdam and Transaction Books, New Brunswick, USA, 1988, pp. 5 Ganor, Boaz, The Counter-Terrorism Puzzle: A Guide for Decision Makers, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick and London, 2005, pp. 17 Rapoport, David, "Fear and Trembling: Terrorism in Three Religious Traditions," American Political Science Review, Vol. 78, No. 3, 1984, pp. 659. Hoffman, Bruce, "Holy Terror": The Implications of Terrorism Motivated by Religious Imperatives", RAND Paper, 1993, pp. 1 Ibid, pp. 1 Jihad (to strive) is "an exertion of one's utmost effort in order to attain a goal or to repel something detestable". According to the Islamic law (Shariah), Jihad comprises the supreme personal sacrifice in order to raise the word of Allah and to aid his fight. (Gunaratna, Rohan, Inside Al Qaeda, Berkley Books, New York, 2003, pp.112). Jihad does not necessarily have military connotation but its principle aims are to remove oppression and injustice, and to establish justice. However, given the right religious interpretations and indoctrination, Jihad can be understood as Holy War against the infidels (Jews, Christians and Muslims who do not practice the real Islam). Lincoln, Bruce, Holy Terrors, The University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 7. Gellner, Ernest, Plough, Sword and Book, The University of Chicago Press, London, 1988, pp. 14 Ibid, pp. 51-59 Ditzler, Thomas, "Malevolent Minds: The Teleology of Terrorism", in Moghaddam, Fathali and Marsella, Anthony (Eds.) Understanding Terrorism, American Psychological Association, United Book Press, 2004, pp. 203 The terror attacks that took place in London in 7 July 2005, reflects a different kind of terrorists – a native British-Muslim citizens which underwent indoctrination process by Al-Qaeda members in training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan and came back to London to perpetrate suicide attacks. Graeme, Steven, "Profiling the Suicide Terrorist", INTERSEC, Vol. 15:10, October 2005, pp. 296 http://www.mawlawi.net/ (website in Arabic); translation can be found at: http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=archives&Area=sr&ID=SR3504 Ranstrop, Magnus, "Terrorism in the name of religion", in Howard, Russell and Sawyer, Reid, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, McGraw-Hill Company, CT, 2002,pp. 131 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfare Palestinian Media Watch - http://www.pmw.org.il/ http://www.iris.org.il/quotes/joburg.htm A survey which was conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research in September 2004, revealed that 77% of Palestinians supported terrorism (including suicide attacks) against Israel. http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2004/p13a.html In addition, the recent Palestinian uprising is better known as Al-Aqsa Intifada, and it broke out after the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, visited the Temple Mount (the place where Al-Aqsa Mosque is located) on 28 September, 2000. Although the Palestinian uprising had secular origins, the justification is, again, religious one. Ranstrop, Magnus, "Terrorism in the name of religion", pp. 127
-- Encyclopedia of World Terrorism, Vol. I, M.E. Sharpe, Inc. 1997, pp. 210 -- Ganor, Boaz, The Counter-Terrorism Puzzle: A Guide for Decision Makers, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick (USA) and London (UK), 2005. -- Graeme, Steven, "Profiling the Suicide Terrorist", INTERSEC, Vol. 15, No. 10, October 2005, pp. 295 – 297 -- Gellner, Ernest, Plough, Sword and Book, The University of Chicago Press, London, 1988 -- Gunaratna, Rohan, Inside Al Qaeda, Berkley Books, New York, 2003, pp.112-126 -- Hoffman, Bruce, "Holy Terror": The Implications of Terrorism Motivated by Religious Imperatives", RAND Paper P-7834, 1993. -- Jongman, Albert and Schmid, Alex, Political Terrorism, SWIDOC, Amsterdam and Transaction Books, New Brunswick, USA, 1988, pp. 5 -- Lincoln, Bruce, Holy Terrors, The University of Chicago Press, 2003, pp. 7. -- Moghaddam, Fathali and Marsella, Anthony (Eds.) Understanding Terrorism, American Psychological Association, United Book Press, 2004. -- Ranstrop, Magnus, "Terrorism in the name of religion", in Howard, Russell and Sawyer, Reid, Terrorism and Counterterrorism, McGraw-Hill Company, CT, 2002, pp. 125-139 -- Rapoport, David, "Fear and Trembling: Terrorism in Three Religious Traditions," American Political Science Review, Vol. 78, No. 3 1984, pp. 658 - 677 -- Shay, Shaul, The Shahids, Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick (USA) and London (UK), 2005.
1. http://www.mawlawi.net/ - Quote by Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi 2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymmetric_warfare - Quote by Mao Tze-Tung 3. http://www.pmw.org.il/ - Palestinian Media Watch 4. http://www.iris.org.il/quotes/joburg.htm - Quote by Yasser Arafat in Johannesburg 5. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/37191.htm - US Department of Defense 'List of Terror Organisations' 6. http://www.pcpsr.org/survey/polls/2004/p13a.html - Palestinian Survey