TerrorismWhy hundreds of westerners are taking up arms in global jihad
The conflicts in Syria and Iraq are attracting many Westerners as jihadi fighters. The stereotype that these fighters are migrants who have struggled to find a place in their adopted societies is shattered upon viewing YouTube propaganda videos. The typical portrayal of a violent jihadi is as a brutal group member, wearing sinister ninja-style costumes, maintaining a lifestyle straight from the Dark Ages and determined to drag the world back there. This stereotype is far from reality. Salafism is a thoroughly modern phenomenon, one that materialized the abstract concepts of Islam into an actual political system to be implemented. Salafists use modern means such as the Internet, social media and other technology. Their language embraces modern concepts of freedom, liberation and equality, which are all foreign to traditional Islamic theology and jurisprudence. Salafists also strongly oppose the traditional Islamic seminaries and institutes. They see these as one of the major barriers to Islamic awakening. Jihadi Salafism promises its followers an attractive utopia that is certain to become reality with the application of strong will and assertive action. They see their battle as a fight for humanity and for a better world where purity and authenticity prevail. In this regard, they, like other utopian movements such as particular types of socialists and communists, have a clear strategy for changing the world.
The conflicts in Syria and Iraq are attracting many Westerners, including young Australians, as jihadi fighters. Last December, Australian intelligence agencies reported that they were aware of at least 100 Australians who had joined the fighting in Syria’s civil war. The latest estimate has that figure at 300, while U.K. intelligence services claim that 500 Britons have joined the conflict.
The stereotype that these fighters are migrants who have struggled to find a place in their adopted societies is shattered upon viewing YouTube propaganda videos. Young people from the U.K., Germany, France, and other Western countries are prominent in the appeals to fellow believers to join them in the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) to liberate the world from corrupt Western culture and Kafir (non-believer) civilization.
Eyewitnesses from Mosul report a wide variety of Western fighters were among the ISIL forces that captured the city. Their presence complicates the situation considerably while creating serious ramifications for Western countries struggling to deal with extreme ideology at home.
Jihad Salafism is a modern phenomenon
The typical portrayal of a violent jihadi is as a brutal group member, wearing sinister ninja-style costumes, maintaining a lifestyle straight from the Dark Ages and determined to drag the world back there.
However, this stereotype is far from reality as Middle Eastern studies researchers Dale Eickelman and James Piscatori explain in their book Muslim Politics. Salafism is a thoroughly modern phenomenon, one that materialized the abstract concepts of Islam into an actual political system to be implemented.
The prominent theoreticians of current Islamic political fundamentalism — Sayyed Qutb, al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, ISIL leader Abu-Bakr Al-Baghdadi and many other figures in this movement — came from serious academic backgrounds, which even embraced aspects of Western curricula and culture.
Salafists use modern means such as the Internet, social media and other technology. Their language embraces modern concepts of freedom, liberation and equality, which are all foreign to traditional Islamic theology and jurisprudence.
Salafists also strongly oppose the traditional Islamic seminaries and institutes. They see these as one of the major barriers to Islamic awakening.
