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Education and Islamic Radicalization in the Arabian Peninsula

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Education and Islamic Radicalization in the Arabian Peninsula W&M ScholarWorks Undergraduate Honors Theses Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 5-2009 Education and Islamic Radicalization in the Arabian Peninsula Rachel Walsh College of William and Mary Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses Part of the International Relations Commons Recommended Citation Walsh, Rachel, "Education and Islamic Radicalization in the Arabian Peninsula" (2009). Undergraduate Honors Theses. Paper 282. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/282 This Honors Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Undergraduate Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. EDUCATION AND ISLAMIC RADICALIZATION IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from The College of William and Mary by Rachel Walsh Accepted for: Highest Honors Committee Members: Dennis A. Smith, Director Abdul-Karim Rafeq Debra L. Shulman Williamsburg, VA April 29, 2009 1 Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my advisor, Professor Dennis Smith, for his guidance and advice throughout the thesis process. I could not have done it without him. I would also like to thank Professor Amy Oakes for her continual support in our honors seminar throughout the school year, and Professors Abdul-Karim Rafeq and Debra Shulman for serving on my committee and providing assistance. Lastly, I would like to thank my family and friends for their unfailing support and encouragement. 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................................4 THEORY CHAPTER .................................................................................................................................10 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................................11 Deprivation as a Cause of Terrorism ..................................................................................................12 Political Repression as a Cause of Terrorism .....................................................................................14 Foreign Occupation as a Cause of Terrorism .....................................................................................16 Culture as a Cause of Terrorism .........................................................................................................17 EDUCATION : A NEW EXPLANATION FOR TERRORISM IN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA ..................................20 Research Design ..................................................................................................................................21 CASE STUDY: THE KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA .........................................................................24 THE SAUDI EDUCATION SYSTEM AND ITS CONSEQUENCES .......................................................................28 A Modern History of the Saudi Education System...............................................................................29 The Content of Education in Saudi Arabia: Religious Intolerance and Radicalism............................31 Teachers’ Attitudes towards Religious Content...................................................................................35 The Structure and Accessibility of the Saudi Education System ..........................................................37 The Consequences of Saudi Arabia’s Education System .....................................................................40 SAUDI RADICALIZATION ...........................................................................................................................42 Saudi Participation in Jihad Abroad, 1980s-2003 ..............................................................................43 Saudi Domestic Terrorism: 2003-2007................................................................................................47 Saudi Foreign Fighters in Iraq............................................................................................................51 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................53 CASE STUDY: THE REPUBLIC OF YEMEN .......................................................................................55 EDUCATION IN YEMEN ..............................................................................................................................57 Modern History of Education in Yemen...............................................................................................58 The Current Structure and Accessibility of Public Education in Yemen .............................................62 Religious Schooling in Yemen Today...................................................................................................65 Government Response to Religious Schooling.....................................................................................72 The Effects of Education in Yemen ......................................................................................................73 YEMENI RADICALIZATION .........................................................................................................................74 Yemeni Participation in Jihad in Afghanistan: 1980s-1990s...............................................................75 Domestic Terrorism in Yemen: 1990s-2003 ........................................................................................76 Yemeni Foreign Fighters in Iraq: 2003-Present..................................................................................82 Current Wave of Terrorism in Yemen: 2006-Present ..........................................................................84 CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................................................90 CASE STUDY: THE STATE OF KUWAIT ............................................................................................92 KUWAIT ’S EXEMPLARY EDUCATION SYSTEM ...........................................................................................94 The Structure and Accessibility of Education in Kuwait......................................................................94 The Content of Education in Kuwait....................................................................................................96 The Effects of the Kuwaiti Education System.....................................................................................102 THE LACK OF KUWAITI TERRORISM ........................................................................................................104 Limited Kuwaiti Involvement in Jihad Abroad ..................................................................................104 Domestic Terrorism in Kuwait...........................................................................................................107 CONCLUSION ...........................................................................................................................................110 CONCLUSION..........................................................................................................................................112 BIBLIOGRAPHY .....................................................................................................................................120 APPENDIX A ............................................................................................................................................135 3 INTRODUCTION “…Crusader interference in changing curriculums is definitely one of the most dangerous interferences in our affairs…” -Osama bin Laden, speaking about education reform 1 Since the September 11, 2001 attack, scholars have worked vigorously to identify the causes of radical Islamic terrorism. Political repression, economic stagnation, “the clash of civilizations,” and foreign occupation by non-Muslim troops have been their favorite culprits for explaining this brand of terrorism. However, none of these causal arguments are independently capable of explaining the terrorism produced and experienced by the Arabian Peninsula, currently the largest source of foreign fighters and the staging ground of brutal terrorist attacks against Western tourists and U.S. embassies. 2 Saudi Arabia, a wealthy country with relatively constant political repression, continued to experience its most violent spate of domestic terrorism after the United States significantly reduced its military presence in the country. The most impoverished country in the Middle East, Yemen, has relatively low levels of political repression and houses no permanent non- Muslim military presence to speak of, but is currently the staging ground for continuous terror attacks on Western tourists and embassies, including the U.S. embassy. What causal factor connects these two cases in explaining their prominence in producing terrorism? Bin Laden gives us a clue in the opening quote: education. 1 As translated by independent terrorism analyst Dan Darling in “Special Analysis: The 12/04 Bin Laden Tapes,” Winds of Change , December 30, 2004, http://www.windsofchange.net/archives/006101.html
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