Islamic extremism

Islamic extremism has been defined as any form of Islam that opposes "democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of different faiths and beliefs."^[1] Related terms include the ideology of Islamism (Political Islam),^[2] "radical Islam" and "Islamic supremacy".^[3]

Many oppose the use of term arguing it could "de-legitimize" the faith of Islam or suggest there is something wrong with some aspect of Islam.^[4]

Definition

A number of definitions have been offered for Islamic extremism, sometimes using overlapping but also distinct aspects of extreme interpretations and pursuits of Islamic ideology:

• The use of violent tactics such as bombing and assassinations for achieving perceived Islamic goals;^[5] (see Jihadism (Zeyno Baran prefers the term Islamist extremism).^[6]
• An extremely conservative view of Islam,^[7] which does not necessarily entail violence^[8] (see also Islamic fundamentalism; Zeyno Baran, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute, prefers the term Islamism).^[6] Key identifiers of the ideology may include:
  • a belief in the applicability of Sharia law in contemporary times,^[2][9]
  • the concept of belonging to a single Muslim community internationally (the umma),^[2]
  • belief in the legitimacy of jihad, or armed resistance, anywhere in the world, including armed resistance by Palestinians against the Israeli military,^[9] (or more sympathetically belief in "resisting attack and occupation through the use of force";^[2]
  • advocating a caliphate, i.e. a pan-Islamic state encompassing many countries.^[2][9]

Others have included positions such as

• refusal to condemn the killing of soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan, that were serving the Western country they live in (such as the UK or US).^[9]
• belief that homosexuality is a crime and should be punished.^[9]

History

Extremism within Islam goes back to the 7th century to the Kharijites. From their essentially political position, they developed extreme doctrines that set them apart from both mainstream Sunni and Shiʿa Muslims. The Kharijites were particularly noted for adopting a radical approach to Takfir, whereby they declared other Muslims to be unbelievers and therefore deemed them worthy of death.^[10][11][12]

Islamism

Zeyno Baran, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center for Eurasian Policy at the Hudson Institute, argues Islamist extremism and Islamism are better terms, to distinguish the political ideology from the religion.^[6]

Active Islamic Extremist Groups

Some of the proponents of Islam emphasise peaceful political processes, whereas Sayyid Qutb in particular called for violence, and those followers are generally considered Islamic extremists and their stated goal is Islamic revolution with the intent to force implementation of Sharia law and/or an Islamic State Caliphate.

There are over 120 such groups active today.

A

Group Name	Banner	Home Base	Leaders	Strength	Casualties	Ideology
al-Qaeda		Afghanistan/Pakistan Region	Abdallah Azzam (founder) Osama bin Laden (1989–2011) Ayman al-Zawahiri(present)	300–3,000[13][14]	4,400 casualties [15]	To restore Islam and establish "true Islamic states", implement Sharia law, and rid the Muslim world of any non-Muslim influences and other teachings of Islamic author Sayyid Qutb.[16] The title translates to "Organization of the Base of Jihad".
al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb		Kabylie Mountains, Algeria	Abdelmalek Droukdel	800–1,000+[17]	200+	AQIM is an Islamist militant organization which aims to overthrow the Algerian government and institute an Islamic state.
Al-Mourabitoun- AKA:al-Qaeda West Africa		Mali, Niger, Libya	Mokhtar Belmokhtar	Under 100 (French claim)	Killed 27 in the 2015 Bamako hotel attack.	Affiliated branch of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb listed above.
Ansar al-Sharia in Yemen / AKA:Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula		Yemen	Nasir al-Wuhayshi  † (2011–15) Qasim al-Raymi (2015–Present)[18]	2000+	Over 250 killed in the 2012 Sana'a bombing and 2013 Sana'a attack.	AQAP is considered the most active[19] of al-Qaeda's branches, or "franchises," that emerged due to weakening central leadership.[20] The U.S government believes AQAP to be the most dangerous al-Qaeda branch due to its emphasis on attacking the far enemy and its reputation for plotting attacks on overseas targets.[21]
al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent		India	Asim Umar	300[22][23]	Claims 6 killed in assassinations. Naval frigate hijacking attempted in 2014.	AQIS is an Islamist militant organization which aims to fight the Governments of Pakistan, India, Myanmar and Bangladesh in order to establish an Islamic state.
al-Qaeda in Somalia		Somalia
al-Qaeda in Syria		Syria

B

Group Name	Banner	Home Base	Leaders	Strength	Casualties	Ideology
Boko Haram - West Africa Province of the Islamic State Caliphate		Northeastern Nigeria, Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.	Mohammed Yusuf † (founder) Abubakar Shekau (current leader)	Estimates range between 500 and 9,000.[24][25][26]	Since 2009, it has killed 20,000 and displaced 2.3 million.	Title means "Western Education is Sin", founded as a Sunni Islamic fundamentalist sect and influenced by the Wahhabi movement, advocating a strict form of Sharia law.

H

Group Name	Banner	Home Base	Leaders	Strength	Casualties	Ideology
Hamas - AKA: Muslim Brotherhood of Palestine		Gaza Strip	Khaled Meshaal	16,000+ [27]	Since 1988 numerous rocket attacks and suicide bombers targeting Israel	Its 1988 founding charter, steep in Islamic rhetoric, calls for destruction of Israel.
Hezbollah - AKA: The Party of Allah		Lebanon	Sayyid Hassan Nasrallah	1,000+ [28]	Since 1982 numerous rocket attacks and suicide bombers targeting Israel	Shi'a Islamist militant group with Jihadic paramilitary wing. Hezbollah was largely formed with the aid of the Ayatolla Khomeini's followers in the early 1980s in order to spread Islamic revolution.[29][30]

J

T

Group Name	Banner	Home Base	Leaders	Strength	Casualties	Ideology
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan AKA: Pakistani Taliban		Northwest Pakistan	Maulana Fazlullah	25,000[34]	hundreds	TTP is an umbrella organization of various Islamist militant groups protecting foreign terrorists hiding in the mountains of Pakistan. (Not to be confused with Afghani Taliban.)

See also

• Wikipedia Category: Jihadist Groups
• Short list of Jihadist Groups - short list of groups seeking to install Sharia Law or Islamic State Caliphate.
• Islamism - Explains Militant Islam / see list of movements
• Islamic extremism - add chart of Islamic extremism movements
• List of Islamist terrorist attacks
• List of thwarted Islamist terrorist attacks
• Religious fanaticism#Islam
• Islamic extremism in Northern Nigeria
• Islamic extremism in the United States
• Islamic extremism in Mali
• 20th-century radical Islam in Egypt#Islamic extremism in the media
• Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

References