Jihadism

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Jihadism (jihadist movement, jihadi movement and variants) is used to refer to contemporary armed jihad in Islamic fundamentalism. The term "jihadism" was coined in the 2000s and mostly used to cover Islamic insurgency and terrorism since that time, but it has also been extended to cover both Mujahideen guerilla warfare and Islamic terrorism with an international scope since it arose in the 1980s, since the 1990s substantially represented by the al-Qaeda network.

Contemporary jihadism ultimately has its roots in the late 19th and early 20th century ideological developments of Islamic revivalism, developed into Qutbism and related ideologies during the mid 20th century. Its rise was re-enforced by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, and has been propagated in various armed conflicts throughout the 1990s and 2000s. A specifically Salafist jihadism has been diagnosed within the Salafi movement of the 1990s by Gilles Kepel.

Jihadism with an international, Pan-Islamist scope in this sense is also known as Global Jihadism. Generally the term jihadism denotes Sunni Islamist armed struggle. Sectarian tensions led to numerous forms of (Salafist and other Islamist) jihadism in opposition of Shia Islam, Sufi Islam and Ahmadi Islam.

Terminology

Look up jihadism in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The term "jihadism" has been in use since about 2000, reportedly at first in the form "jihadist-Salafism",^[1] and soon reduced to "jihadism", according to Martin Kramer (2003) first in the Indian and Pakistani media. "At present, jihadism is used to refer to the most violent persons and movements in contemporary Islam, including al-Qaeda." Gilles Kepel is associated with early usage of the term (French djihadisme), and the term has seen wider use in French media since about 2004.^[2] Brachman in his Global jihadism (2008) maintains that the term is "clumsy and controversial".^[3]

The term "Jihadist Globalism" is also often used in relation to Jihadism; Steger (2009) maintains that the concept is "globalist" in nature, stating that "'jihadist Islamism' — represented by such groups as Al Qaeda, Jemaa Islamiya, Hamas and Hezbollah — is today's most spectacular manifestation of religious globalism." ^[4]

Jihad Cool is a term used by Western security experts^[5] concerning the re-branding of militant Jihadism into something fashionable, or "cool", to younger people through social media, magazines,^[6] rap videos,^[7] clothing,^[8] toys, propaganda videos,^[9] and other means.^[10] It is a sub-culture mainly applied to individuals in developed nations who are recruited to travel to conflict zones on Jihad. For example Jihadi rap videos make participants look "more MTV than Mosque", according to NPR, which was the first to report on the phenomenon in 2010.^[5][11]

History

Precursor movements

When jihadism is specifically motivated by Pan-Islamism, i.e. the ultimate aim of spreading Islam worldwide under a restored Caliphate, it is often called "Global Jihadism". But jihadism can also be motivated regionally, in an attempt to establish an Islamic state in a specific homeland. Global Jihadism is usually involved with international Islamic terrorism, while regional jihadism takes the form of guerrilla warfare, possibly also paired with terrorist attacks.

While the western term of "jihadism" was coined only in the early 2000s, and in retrospect applied to developments since the end of the Cold War era, this type of Islamist armed uprising against a secular government goes back to the early 19th century. The transition of this form of guerilla warfare was the decline of the great Muslim empires of the Early Modern period which could wage war on the scale of a great power and did not need to rely on asymmetric warfare (see Ottoman wars in Europe, Russo-Turkish War (1877–78), Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire). Early jihadist conflicts include:

• Fula jihads took place between the late 18th century and the fall of the Sokoto Caliphate in 1903; Fulani War (1804–1810)
• Padri War (1821–1838)
• Java War (1825–1830)
• Caucasus War (1828–1859)
  

  The Fulani jihad states of West Africa, c. 1830
• Algerian resistance movement (1832 - 1847)
• Mahdist War (1881–1899)
• Somali Dervishes (1896–1920)
• Moro Rebellion (1899–1913)
• Aceh War (1873–1913)
• Basmachi Movement (1916–1934)
• Libyan resistance movement (1911–1943)

Modern Islamism developed in the 1920s, and there have been a number of armed "jihads" informed by this movement since then.

• Kumul Rebellion (1931–1934)
• Islamic rebellion in Xinjiang (1937)
• Insurgency in the Philippines (1969–present)
  

  Rebels from the militant Islamist sect Ansar Dine in Mali
• Arakan rebellion (1978)

While the "jihads" waged in the 19th and early-to-mid 20th century occasionally did involve western colonial powers, the phenomenon did remain mostly limited to the Middle East and the wider Muslim World. This changed significantly with the foundation of the state of Israel and the beginning of the Arab–Israeli conflict after the end of World War II. (Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine 1981–present, Islamic Jihad Organization 1982-1993, Hamas 1987–present). This sparked the beginning of international Islamic terrorism and put "jihadism" on the global agenda.

Islamic revivalism and Salafism (1990s to present)

The term jihadism (earlier Salafi jihadism) has arisen in the 2000s to refer to the contemporary jihadi movements, the development of which was in retrospect traced to developments of Salafism paired with the origins of Al-Qaeda in the Soviet war in Afghanistan during the 1990s.

Jihadism has been called an "offshoot" of Islamic revivalism of the 1960s and 1970s. The writings of Sayyid Qutb and Muhammad abd-al-Salam Faraj provide inspiration. The Soviet war in Afghanistan (1979–1989) is said to have "amplified the jihadist tendency from a fringe phenomenon to a major force in the Muslim world.^[12] It served to produce foot soldiers, leadership and organization. Abdullah Yusuf Azzam provided propaganda for the Afghan cause. After the war veteran jihadists returned to their home countries and dispersed to other sites of Muslim insurgency such as Algeria, Bosnia and Chechnya creating a "transnational jihadist stream."^[13]

• Kashmir conflict (Lashkar-e-Taiba, 1990–present)
• Somali Civil War (1991–present)
• Bosnian war (Bosnian mujahideen, 1992–1995)
• Afghan civil war (Taliban 1994–present)
• East Turkestan irredentism (East Turkestan Islamic Movement, 1997–present)
• Chechen war and Insurgency in the North Caucasus (Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya, 1994–present)
• Nigerian Sharia conflict (Boko Haram 2001–present)
• Iraqi insurgency (Islamic State of Iraq, 2003–present)
• Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen (Abyan Governorate, 2010–present)
• Syrian civil war (Al-Nusra Front to Protect the Levant 2011–present)

Jihad fi sabilillah

According to scholar of Islam and Islamic history Rudoph Peters, Traditionalist Muslims "copy phrases of the classical works on fiqh" in their writings on jihad; Islamic Modernists "emphasize the defensive aspect of jihad, regarding it as tantamount to bellum justum in modern international law; and the fundamentalists (Abul Ala Maududi, Sayyid Qutb, Abdullah Azzam, etc.) view it as a struggle for the expansion of Islam and the realization of Islamic ideals."^[14]

Jihad has been propagated in modern fundamentalism beginning in the late 19th century, an ideology that arose in context of struggles against colonial powers in North Africa in the late 19th century, as in the Mahdist War in Sudan, and notably in the mid-20th century by Islamic revivalist authors such as Sayyid Qutb and Abul Ala Maududi.^[15]

Based on this, the phrase is re-used in modern jihadism. Thus, "Fi Sabilillah" armbands were worn by rebels in Xinjiang when battling Soviet forces,^[16] and the phrase has been spotted on flags used by jihadists in Caucasia in the 2000s.

Inter-religious

Against Sikhs

A rebel camp was set up in the early 19th century by Sayyid Ahmed Barelvi after leaving India for Afghanistan. There he set up a rebel camp to launch attacks against the Sikh power which was centered in the Punjab before focusing his attention of the British.^[17] Waliullah's teachings directly inspired jihad against Sikhs between 1826 and 1831.^[18]

Against Hindus

The Hindu Kush refers to a region in Northwest India and translates as the slaughter of the Hindus. It refers to an incident when Hindus were transported to Muslim courts.^[19] Aurangzeb supervised a book called Fatawa al-Hindiyya which dealt with the subject of Jihad.^[20] Jihad was also considered by oSIMI in response to the 2002 Gujarat riots.^[21]

Against Buddhists

In 1532, Sultan Said Khan launched a jihad against Tibetan Buddhists. He thought that Lhasa was a direction of prayer for all the Chinese and therefore sought to destroy its main temple. The jihadist expedition was led by Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat.^[22]

Against Jews

There are references in some hadiths to jihad being launched against Jews.^[23] Ayman al-Zawahiri declared a fatwa of jihad against Jews in 1998. One of the earliest Jihads against Jews occurred in 627 AD against the Jewish Banu Qurayza tribe.^[24]

Against Zoroastrians

During the Muslim conquest of Persia, Jihadists caused the fall of the largely Zoroastrian Sasanian Empire. Major battles included the Battle of al-Qādisiyyah and Battle of Nahāvand.^[25][26]

Against pagans

During Muhammad's lifetime, there were many battles fought between Muslims and pagans. Examples of these include the Battle of Badr and Battle of the Trench. however after conquest of Makkah in Hijri 8, Muhammad forgave all the pagan enemies which resulted in most of them converting to Islam.

Against atheists

During the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s, many Muslims received calls for a jihad against atheists.^[27] Mujahideen were recruited from various countries including Egypt, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia.^[28] The conflict gradually turned from one against occupation to one seen as a jihad.^[29]

Against Christians

The European crusaders re-conquered much of the territory seized by the Islamic state, dividing it into four kingdoms, the most important being the state of Jerusalem. The Crusades originally had the goal of recapturing Jerusalem and the Holy Land (former Christian territory) from Muslim rule and were originally launched in response to a call from the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine Empire for help against the expansion of the Muslim Seljuk Turks into Anatolia. There was little drive to retake the lands from the crusaders, save the few attacks made by the Egyptian Fatimids. This changed, however, with the coming of Zangi, ruler of what is today northern Iraq. He took Edessa, which triggered the Second Crusade, which was little more than a 47-year stalemate. The stalemate was ended with the victory of Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi, known in the west as Saladin, over the forces of Jerusalem at the Horns of Hattin in 1187. It was during the course of the stalemate that a great deal of literature regarding Jihad was written.[6] While amassing his armies in Syria, Saladin had to create a doctrine which would unite his forces and make them fight until the bitter end, which would be the only way they could re-conquer the lands taken in the First Crusade. He did this through the creation of Jihad propaganda. It stated that any one who would abandon the Jihad would be committing a sin that could not be washed away by any means. It also put his amirs at the center of power, just under his rule. While this propaganda was successful in uniting his forces for a time, the fervor burned out quickly. Much of Saladin's teachings were rejected after his death.

Intra-religious

Against Shia

The Syrian Civil War became a focus for Sunni fighters waging jihad on Shia. The al-Nusra Front is the largest jihadist group in Syria.^[30] The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has called for jihad against the Syrian government and against that government's Shi'ite allies.^[31] Saudi Arabia backs the jihad against the Shia in Syria using proxies.^[32] Sunni jihadi converge in Syria from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Bosnia, other Arab states, Chechnya, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Western countries.^[33]

See also

• Islam and war
• Black flag of jihad
• Counterjihad
• Defensive jihad
• Caucasus Emirate,^[34] a Salafist-takfiri jihadist group in Russia's North Caucasus
• Hezbollah, a Shi'ite armed movement not involved in the jihadism as defined.
• Islamic fundamentalism
• Islamic terrorism
• Mujahideen
• Offensive jihad
• Qutbism
• Salafist jihadism
• Sexual jihad
• List of battles of Muhammad

References

Literature

• Abbas, Tahir (2007). Islamic Political Radicalism: A European Perspective. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2528-4. 
• Akbarzadeh, Shahram (2010). Islam and Political Violence: Muslim Diaspora and Radicalism in the West. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84511-473-2. 
• Al-Rasheed, Madawi (2009). Dying for Faith: Religiously Motivated Violence in the Contemporary World. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84511-687-3. 
• Aslan, Reza (2010). Global Jihadism. ISBN 978-3-639-25006-0. 
• Gilles Kepel, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam (2000, 2002, 2006).
• Brachman, Jarret (2008). Global jihadism: theory and practice. vol. 10 of Cass series on political violence, Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-45241-0. *The Devolution of Jihadism: From Al Qaeda to Wider Movement. Stratfor. 2010. ISBN 978-1-4537-4664-6. 
• Coolsaet, Rik (2008). Jihadi Terrorism and the Radicalisation Challenge in Europe. Ashgate. ISBN 978-0-7546-7217-3. 
• Hegghammer, Thomas (2010). Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism since 1979. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-51858-1. 
• Khosrokhavar, Farhad (2009). Inside Jihadism: Understanding Jihadi Movements Worldwide. Paradigm. ISBN 978-1-59451-616-0. 
• Lahoud, Nelly (2010). The Jihadis' Path to Self-destruction. C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84904-062-4. 

• Lohlker (ed.), Rüdiger (2013). Jihadism: Online Discourses and Representations. Vienna University Press. ISBN 978-3-8471-0068-3. 

• Lohlker (ed.), Rüdiger (2012). New Approaches to the Analysis of Jihadism. Vienna University Press. ISBN 978-3-89971-900-0. 

• Malik, S. K. (1986). The Quranic Concept of War (PDF). Himalayan Books. ISBN 81-7002-020-4. 
• Pargeter, Alison (2008). The New Frontiers of Jihad: Radical Islam in Europe. I B Tauris & Co Ltd. ISBN 978-1-84511-391-9. 
• Ranstorp, Magnus (2009). Understanding Violent Radicalisation. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-55630-9. 
• Rhodes, Darion (2014). Salafist-Takfiri Jihadism: the Ideology of the Caucasus Emirate. International Institute for Counter-Terrorism. 
• Sageman, Marc (2008). Leaderless Jihad: Terror Networks in the Twenty-first Century. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-4065-8. 
• Sanchez, James (2007). Who's Who in Al-Qaeda & Jihadi Movements in South and Southeast Asia 19,906 Key Individuals, Organizations, Incidents, and Linkages. Lulu. ISBN 978-1-4303-1473-8. 
• Vertigans, Stephen (2007). Militant Islam: A Sociology of Characteristics, Causes and Consequences. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-41246-9. 
• de Pommereau, Isabelle (2015). To fight homegrown jihadis, Germany takes lesson from battle with neo-Nazis. The Christian Science Monitor.