Terrorism RIF

7/30/2019 Terrorism RIF

1/46

Understanding RadicalIslamic Fundamentalists

The New Global Threat or History repeating itself?

Michael A. Bozarth, Ph.D. Department of Psychology

University at Buffalo

www.PsychologyofTerrorism.com


2/46

Copyright 2005 Michael A. Bozarth, Ph.D.

Islam and theArab World

The People

The ReligionThe Arab ConquestThe Dilemma of Modern Islam


3/46


Early Arabs

Prior to the 7th Century, Arab groupsexisted mainly as small tribal units,largely desert dwellers few large cities and no central government hardly a blip on the radar of civilization

Mohammed and his followers unifiedthe Arab tribes under the banner of Islam


4/46


5/46


Law and Order

The old laws were made bypowerful men a ruthless society where he with the

most power makes the rules constant fighting and power struggles to

determine who rules as the most powerful

Islamic law is Gods law transcends the will of man uniform code of law applies to all


6/46


7/46Copyright 2005 Michael A. Bozarth, Ph.D.

Hope for the Future

Life is difficult, a constantstruggle, but life can be improved on earth by

following the Will of God (Islam) is rewarded by an afterlife in

Paradise for the true believer andrighteous practitioner of Islam



Purpose in Life

To do Gods Will and follow theteachings of the prophets



A Religion

The Archangel Gabriel spoke toMohammed, relaying the words of God

Mohammed memorized these holywords and taught them to his followersShortly after Mohammeds death his

followers wrote these sacred wordsdown in what would become the KoranThe Koran is uncorrupted andsupplants the Torah and the Gospels



Basic Tenants

There is no God but Allah, andMohammed is His messenger. The Five Pillars of IslamPractical aspects Islamic scholars provide definitive

interpretation of the Koran and other scriptures

Caliph heads the faith and the nation



The Five Pillars of Islam

Declaration of Faith acknowledgingthere is only one God and that

Mohammed is His messenger ( Shahadh ) Five daily prayers ( Salah ) Giving of alms (2.5% to charity, Zakaah ) Fasting from dawn to dusk during the

month of Ramadan ( Sawn ) Pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of

Zul Hijjah ( Hajj )These Five Pillars follow the Sunni belief which includes around 90%

of the worlds Moslem population.



The Descendents of Abraham

Common father (Abraham,Ibrahim) , different mothers Moslems: Hagars son Ismael Jews (& Christians?): Sarahs

son Isaac



People of The Book

Islam teaches tolerance andrespect for people who revere thewords of the prophetsJews and Christians along withMoslems are considered People of The Book People of The Book ( dhimmis ) areprotected people under Islam



Tolerance TowardsJews and Christians

"There is no compulsion in religion. Truth standsout clearly from falsehood: whoever rejects evil

and believes in God has grasped the strongestrope that never breaks. And God is All-Hearingand All-Knowing." (Qur'an 2:256)

Non-Moslems pay a special tax ( jizyah ) but are

otherwise free to practice their religion, engagein commerce, and own property

Some rulings ( fatwas ) have forced conversion or expulsion of nonbelievers from Islamic domains



The Prophets

AdamNoahMosesAbraham

JesusMohammed

Judaism

ChristianityIslam

Christianity & Islam Islam



Primacy of the Koran

Moslems believe that the earlier Jewish and Christian writingswere divinely inspired but havebecome corrupted over time edited and re-edited by men

various (imperfect) translationsThe Koran is widely used in itsoriginal Arabic without editing



Historic Islam

Spread by the sword? Mohammed conquered Mecca and

much of the Arabian peninsula Immediate successors spread

Islam throughout the Middle East

Later Arab armies conqueredNorthern Africa, India, parts of Southern Asia, and even parts of Europe



Rapid Expansion of Islam



The Arab Conquest



Western CivilizationUnder Siege

Moslem armies conquered the Middle East conquered Greece and most of the

Balkan peninsula and much of India conquered North Africa

conquered Portugal and most of Spain reached the gates of Vienna

Christendom was in retreat



The Golden Age of Islam

While Europe was in the dark agesThe Islamic world excelled in art, literature,

mathematics, textiles, and medicine kept the heritage of ancient Greek

philosophy alive spread civilization throughout much

of the known world


22/46


The Decline of theIslamic Empire

Internal fighting within the EmpireReconquista of Christian landsDissolution of the Ottoman Empireafter World War I (1918)

Expanded Western interest in theoil rich Middle EastAggressive Western interventionduring the Cold War era


23/46


Arabia Today

Only remnants of a once greatcivilization far behind the WestDominated by despotic rulers whoregressed to the pre-Mohammedmight makes right principle Few true Islamic statesNo true democratic governmentsGrowing desire for Islamic dignity


24/46


The Seeds of Change

Islamic Fundamentalists offer the promise to return to the Golden

Age of Islamic culture view the decadent West as the source of

most problems

Few if any viable alternatives toproduce desired change status quo has stagnated Arab culture

and economic progress for centuries


25/46


Fundamentalists Beliefs

Gods words are recorded in theKoran and other Islamic worksIslam is the source of all true lawSociety should strictly followIslamic law as interpreted by itssenior scholarsSecular societies based on manslaws deviate from Gods law


26/46


Islamic Law versus Secular Law

Mans laws are corrupt because they followthe will and desires of mortal man

Islamic law is prescribed in the holy worksand must be interpreted by scholars whohave dedicated a lifetime to study

Democracies and other forms of self-rule

are evil because they follow the whims andperversions of man Islam is to be lived not just preached

it dictates every aspect of life from socialcustoms to commerce


27/46


FundamentalistMoslems and Christians

Share a belief that society shouldbe directed by Gods laws emphasize religious scripture use a literal interpretation of most

writings which are seen just as

applicable today as when they werewritten centuries ago

View civilization as a struggle

between Godliness and manliness


28/46


The Practice of Islam

Strong devotion to religionPractice of the Five PillarsFocus on the MosqueProtectors of the faith


29/46


Devotion to Religion

Religion is not something that is just practiced one morning aweek or even with a daily prayer Religion is a way of living thatdictates every aspect of life prayers five times each day Friday services in the Mosque fasting during Ramadan


30/46


The Mosque

Center for not only religious butcultural and political activitiesFridays religious service ispreceded by lectures, oftenexpounding political views


31/46


Protectors of Islam

Protect the faith, even at theexpense of ones own life answer the call of Jihad death in defense of Islam is

martyrdom rewarded with Paradise

Protect fellow MoslemsProtect Islam from apostatesand heresies


32/46


The Seeds of ViolentConflict

The protection of Islam is arequirement for all Moslems

Spreading the faith is debatable Islam teaches tolerance, especially for

People of The Book (e.g., Jews in Egypt) Islam teaches that all of mankind are

brothers but does not tolerate apostates

Most interpretations defend Moslemlands and all lands that have been

Moslem (demanding reconquest?)


33/46


The Radicals View

The lands of Islam have beencorrupted by the West

desire for the riches of Arab lands support for Jewish world dominance support for apostate rulers

Islam and the Arabic people areunder threat from the infidelsThe struggle against the infidels isthe duty of every Moslem worldwide


34/46


The Radicals Method

Political solutions are notpossible power is never willinglysurrendered only taken by forceDirect military confrontation is not(yet) possibleTerrorism is the only viable method

Note: All three of these views are shared by mostrevolutionary movements


35/46


Radical Fundamentalistsand Terrorist Acts

Terrorism is not just associatedwith radical IslamicfundamentalistsTerrorism is practiced by extremeradicals found in most religionsand in many social-politicalmovements (e.g., anarchists,Marxist-Leninists)


36/46


Terrorism and ChristianFundamentalists

Like Islamic fundamentalists,most Christian fundamentalistsare nonviolentBut strong fundamentalistbeliefs are sometimes broughtto extreme expression byadvocates of violence andterrorist acts


37/46


Terrorism Under the Banner of Christian Fundamentalism

Some white-supremacist organizationssuch as the KKK view themselves as

Christian fundamentalists, protectingthe Christian way of life as interpret itSome other Christian fundamentalistgroups have racist views, although theyare not organized explicitly with awhite-supremacist mandate


38/46


To help view radical Islamicfundamentalism in its proper

perspective, consider a case of domestically grown, radicalChristian fundamentalist terrorism

The case focuses on the polarizedAmerican opinion on womensreproductive rights (i.e., abortion)


39/46


The Murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian

Amherst (NY) physician whoperformed legal abortions in a local

medical clinicMurdered (assassinated?) in his homeon October 23, 1998 by James Kopp Kopp viewed himself as saving the lives

of hundreds of unborn babies Kopps escape was aided and abetted by

like- minded Christians who saw him as ahero for their antiabortion cause


40/46


The Capture of James Kopp

Placed on the FBIs 10 Most Wanted List Escaped to Ireland and later to France where

he received assistance from others active inthe antiabortion movementApprehended in France, March 29th, 2001Sentenced 25 years to life on May 9th, 2003

Allegedly shot other physicians who performedlegal abortions in the U.S. and CanadaExpresses no remorse over his killingViewed as a martyr by some antiabortionists


41/46


Attacks on Medical ClinicsPerforming Abortions

Types of Attacks clinic bombings and individual assassinations

Clearly constitute terrorist acts terrorizes physicians performing this service terrorizes people using this service

Loosely organized terrorist movement few practicing blatant violence many more supporting violent acts tacit support from some religious leaders


42/46


The Threat from RadicalFundamentalists

Radical beliefs from variousreligious groups sometimes leadto terrorist acts, butRadical Islamic fundamentalistsremain the most serious threatto peace and global stability active terrorists constitute a very small

minority, but support for their actions israpidly growing worldwide


43/46


Combating RadicalIslamic Terrorists

Responding to Islamic terrorismrequires a thorough understandingof Islamic culture and beliefsMore of the same is not working U.S. foreign policy needs to be

carefully reexamined U.S. needs to win the propaganda

war which it is badly losing to date


44/46


Steps Toward CombatingGlobal Islamic Terrorism

Continued support for Israel balancedwith strong support for the Palestinians

Strong support for moderate Moslemleaders and progressive Arab countries aggressive economic aid expanded cultural and educational exchange

Calculated response to terrorism quick and decisive action, but sanctioned by

moderate Arab nations and by European allies


45/46


The Dilemma of Modern Islam

To move forward or to movebackward? Should traditional Islam be

adapted to a changing world? Should the changing world be

adapted to traditional Islam?Split between progressive andfundamentalist Moslems


46/46

Modern Egypt Predominantly Moslemwith a Progressive Secular Government

Documents

Terrorism RIF