Al-Qaeda's Strategic, Ideological and Structural Adaptations Since 9/11 by Bill Braniff and Assaf Moghadam
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Taliban's Return to Power: Boost for Global Jihadism?
www.rsis.edu.sg No. 129 – 25 August 2021 RSIS Commentary is a platform to provide timely and, where appropriate, policy-relevant commentary and analysis of topical and contemporary issues. The authors’ views are their own and do not represent the official position of the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, NTU. These commentaries may be reproduced with prior permission from RSIS and due recognition to the author(s) and RSIS. Please email to Mr Yang Razali Kassim, Editor RSIS Commentary at [email protected]. Taliban’s Return to Power: Boost for Global Jihadism? By Abdul Basit SYNOPSIS The Taliban’s return to power, following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, will potentially rejuvenate Al-Qaeda’s brand of global jihadism. The Taliban’s military victories validate the jihadist doctrine and provide Islamist militants with a new impetus. Given its charm offensive, is a “new Taliban” emerging or will the same militant posture return? COMMENTARY WHAT HAS been referred to as the US-led "War on Terror" (WOT) started with the toppling of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in 2001. This has now culminated in the Taliban’s return to power 20 years later in August 2021. The United States had intervened in Afghanistan to undermine Al-Qaeda’s brand of jihadism. However, the maladroit US exit from Afghanistan this month has put Al-Qaeda on the potential path to recovery. The lightning speed of the Taliban’s territorial gains and the meltdown of the Afghan National Defence Security Forces (ANDSF) will potentially rejuvenate the global jihadist movement, sans IS and its affiliates. -
SALAFI- JIHADISM in AFRICA BRIEF / 12 June 2021
SALAFI- JIHADISM IN AFRICA BRIEF / 12 June 2021 A winning strategy by SERIES Giovanni Faleg* Senior Analyst, EUISS Katariina Mustasilta Postdoctoral Fellow, Finnish Institute of International Affairs Summary › Violent extremism has become a grow- ing threat throughout the African conti- INTRODUCTION nent: all sub-regions have experienced the emergence of groups active across state Violent extremism keeps spreading in Africa, showing boundaries. notable resilience despite years of counter-extremism › Today, armed actors engaging in violent and prevention efforts by governments and interna- extremism in the continent are mainly af- tional actors (1)*. In addition to killing thousands, it filiated with Islamist militant groups and costs the affected regions an estimated $97 billion in particularly Salafi-jihadist ideology. lost informal economic activity each year (2). › The spread of Salafi-jihadism in Africa is Today, armed actors engaging in violent extremism fuelled by a combination of localised griev- in the continent are mainly affiliated with Islamist ances and transnational ambitions, while militant groups and organisations and particularly tactical and strategic flexibility has in- Salafi-jihadist ideology (3). Recent data indicates a creased the resilience of insurgent groups. dangerous expansion of Salafi-jihadist armed groups › Once it has emerged as a potent force, de- — often simply labelled as violent extremist or ter- feating Salafi-jihadism on the battlefield rorist organisations (4) — beyond the traditional hot- proves very difficult as groups show enor- spots in the Sahel, Lake Chad Basin and the Horn of mous resilience, even when facing tacti- Africa to West Africa’s coastal states and Central and cal defeats. Southern Africa. -
Three Generations of Jihadism in Iraqi Kurdistan
Notes de l’Ifri Three Generations of Jihadism in Iraqi Kurdistan Adel BAKAWAN July 2017 Turkey/ Middle East Program In France, the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri) is the leading independent research, information and debate centre on major international issues. Ifri was founded in 1979 by Thierry Montbrial, and is an officially recognised non-profit organisation (Law of 1901). It is not subject to any government supervision, freely defines its own research agenda and regularly publishes its work. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Ifri brings together international policy-makers and experts through its research and debates Along with its office in Brussels (Ifri-Brussels), Ifri is one of the few French think tanks to position itself at the very heart of European debate. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s alone and do not reflect the official views of their institutions. ISBN: 978-2-36567-743-1 © All right reserved, Ifri, 2017 Cover: © padchas/Shutterstock.com How to quote this publication: Adel Bakawan, “Three Generations of Jihadism in Iraqi Kurdistan”, Notes de l’Ifri, Ifri, July 2017. Ifri 27 rue de la Procession 75740 Paris Cedex 15 – FRANCE Tel.: +33 (0)1 40 61 60 00 – Fax: +33 (0)1 40 61 60 60 Email: [email protected] Ifri-Bruxelles Rue Marie-Thérèse, 21 1000 – Brussels – BELGIUM Tel.: +32 (0)2 238 51 10 – Fax: +32 (0)2 238 51 15 Email: [email protected] Website: Ifri.org Author Adel Bakawan is a sociologist, associate researcher at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (EHESS, in French) in Paris, and the Centre for Sociological Analysis and Intervention (CADIS, in French). -
The Jihadi Threat: ISIS, Al-Qaeda, and Beyond
THE JIHADI THREAT ISIS, AL QAEDA, AND BEYOND The Jihadi Threat ISIS, al- Qaeda, and Beyond Robin Wright William McCants United States Institute of Peace Brookings Institution Woodrow Wilson Center Garrett Nada J. M. Berger United States Institute of Peace International Centre for Counter- Terrorism Jacob Olidort The Hague Washington Institute for Near East Policy William Braniff Alexander Thurston START Consortium, University of Mary land Georgetown University Cole Bunzel Clinton Watts Prince ton University Foreign Policy Research Institute Daniel Byman Frederic Wehrey Brookings Institution and Georgetown University Car ne gie Endowment for International Peace Jennifer Cafarella Craig Whiteside Institute for the Study of War Naval War College Harleen Gambhir Graeme Wood Institute for the Study of War Yale University Daveed Gartenstein- Ross Aaron Y. Zelin Foundation for the Defense of Democracies Washington Institute for Near East Policy Hassan Hassan Katherine Zimmerman Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy American Enterprise Institute Charles Lister Middle East Institute Making Peace Possible December 2016/January 2017 CONTENTS Source: Image by Peter Hermes Furian, www . iStockphoto. com. The West failed to predict the emergence of al- Qaeda in new forms across the Middle East and North Africa. It was blindsided by the ISIS sweep across Syria and Iraq, which at least temporarily changed the map of the Middle East. Both movements have skillfully continued to evolve and proliferate— and surprise. What’s next? Twenty experts from think tanks and universities across the United States explore the world’s deadliest movements, their strate- gies, the future scenarios, and policy considerations. This report reflects their analy sis and diverse views. -
Alternative Narratives for Preventing the Radicalization of Muslim Youth By
Spring /15 Nr. 2 ISSN: 2363-9849 Alternative Narratives for Preventing the Radicalization of Muslim Youth By: Dr. Afzal Upal 1 Introduction The international jihadist movement has declared war. They have declared war on anybody who does not think and act exactly as they wish they would think and act. We may not like this and wish it would go away, but it’s not going to go away, and the reality is we are going to have to confront it. (Prime Minister Steven Harper, 8 Jan 2015) With an increasing number of Western Muslims falling prey to violent extremist ideologies and joining Jihadi organizations such as Al-Qaida and the ISIS, Western policy makers have been concerned with preventing radicalization of Muslim youth. This has resulted in a number of government sponsored efforts (e.g., MyJihad, Sabahi, and Maghrebia (Briggs and Feve 2013)) to counter extremist propaganda by arguing that extremist violent tactics used by Jihadist organizations are not congruent with Islamic tenets of kindness and just war. Despite the expenditure of significant resources since 2001, these efforts have had limited success. This article argues that in order to succeed we need to better understand Muslim core social identity beliefs (i.e., their perception of what it means to be a good Muslim) and how these beliefs are connected to Muslims perceptions of Westerners. A better understanding of the interdependent nature and dynamics of these beliefs will allow us to design counter radicalization strategies that have a better chance of success. 1 Dr. M Afzal Upal is a cognitive scientist of religion with expertise in the Islamic social and religious movements. -
Testimony of Thomas Joscelyn Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense Of
Testimony of Thomas Joscelyn Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies Senior Editor, The Long War Journal Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade United States Congress “Global al-Qaeda: Affiliates, Objectives, and Future Challenges” July 18, 2013 1 Chairman Poe, Ranking Member Sherman and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the threat posed by al Qaeda. We have been asked to “examine the nature of global al Qaeda today.” In particular, you asked us to answer the following questions: “What is [al Qaeda’s] makeup? Is there a useful delineation between al Qaeda’s core and its affiliates? If so, what is the relationship? Most importantly, what is the threat of al Qaeda to the United States today?” I provide my answers to each of these questions in the following sections. But first, I will summarize my conclusions: • More than a decade after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks there is no commonly accepted definition of al Qaeda. There is, in fact, widespread disagreement over what exactly al Qaeda is. • In my view, al Qaeda is best defined as a global international terrorist network, with a general command in Afghanistan and Pakistan and affiliates in several countries. Together, they form a robust network that, despite setbacks, contests for territory abroad and still poses a threat to U.S. interests both overseas and at home. • It does not make sense to draw a firm line between al Qaeda’s “core,” which is imprecisely defined, and the affiliates. -
Violent Jihad in the Netherlands
Violent Jihad in the Netherlands Current trends in the Islamist terrorist threat Violent Jihad in the Netherlands Current trends in the Islamist terrorist threat 2 Contents Foreword 5 Introduction 7 The murder of Theo van Gogh: consequences and effects 7 General trends in the development of jihadism 9 Framework of terms and definitions 10 1 From exogenous threat to home-grown terrorism 13 1.1 What is a jihadist network? 13 1.2 Historical development of network formation 15 1.2.1 The traditional phase: migration of jihadists 15 1.2.2 The proliferation phase: recruitment 16 1.2.3 The ‘home-grown’ phase: radicalisation and jihadisation 17 1.3 Three types of jihadist networks 17 2 Decentralisation and local implantation of international jihad19 2.1Al-Qaeda: from ‘network of gynetworks’ 19 to trademark and ideolo 2.2 Ideology of global violent jihad 21 2.3 Decentralisation of international jihad 22 2.4 Local implantation of international jihad 26 3 Radicalisation and the emergence of local networks 29 3.1Radicalisation, recruitment and jihadisation 29 3.2 The religious context of radicalisation 30 3.3 The socio-political context of radicalisation 33 3.4 The cultural and socio-psychological context of radicalisation 35 3.5 Emergence of local autonomous cells and networks 37 3.6 Backgrounds and functioning of local autonomous networks 38 3.7 The significance of the Hofstad network 39 4 Virtualisation of jihad 43 4.1The Internet as a propulsion of the jihad movement 43 4.2 Al-Qaeda as a virtual database (top-down) 44 4.3 The virtual umma (grass -
Abu Mus`Ab Al-Suri's Critique of Hard Line Salafists in the Jihadist Current
DECEMBER 2007 . VOL 1 . ISSUE 1 Abu Mus`ab al-Suri’s Salafism identify contemporary jihadists as While the term Salafism is historically simply radicalized elements within, or Critique of Hard Line associated with a late 19th and early as by-products of, a broader Salafist Salafists in the Jihadist 20th century Islamic reformist phenomenon. Instead, it may be more Current movement, today’s Salafists are very fruitful to speak of Salafism as one of different. Their main characteristic is several competing ideological strands By Brynjar Lia their strict emulation of the practices within the jihadist current. Furthermore, of the Prophet Muhammad and his one may identify a spectrum, or a the recent scholarly literature companions at the pristine Islamic continuum, of positions within the on al-Qa`ida has focused on studying age, and hence an abhorrence of any contemporary Salafi-jihadism, defined internal divisions and ideological later “innovation” (bid`a) in belief and by two extreme positions. schisms in the global jihadist current.1 religious practice, an obsession with This literature has uncovered important God’s oneness (tawhid), a rejection On the one extreme are hard line Salafist fault lines with regard to al-Qa`ida’s of human rationality and an extreme purists for whom doctrinal purity is of priorities on issues such as media and exclusiveness, even hatred, toward quintessential importance, even if it 3 propaganda efforts versus military other Islamic schools and tendencies. means fighting side battles, alienating organization. Differences over the Even if only a small segment of today’s allies and shattering any semblance of primacy of religious-theological purity Salafists support al-Qa`ida, the term a common front against the “Zionist- versus military-strategic effectiveness “Salafi-jihadism” has nevertheless been Crusader” enemy. -
Jihadism in Africa Local Causes, Regional Expansion, International Alliances
SWP Research Paper Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Guido Steinberg and Annette Weber (Eds.) Jihadism in Africa Local Causes, Regional Expansion, International Alliances RP 5 June 2015 Berlin All rights reserved. © Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, 2015 SWP Research Papers are peer reviewed by senior researchers and the execu- tive board of the Institute. They express exclusively the personal views of the authors. SWP Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik German Institute for International and Security Affairs Ludwigkirchplatz 34 10719 Berlin Germany Phone +49 30 880 07-0 Fax +49 30 880 07-100 www.swp-berlin.org [email protected] ISSN 1863-1053 Translation by Meredith Dale (Updated English version of SWP-Studie 7/2015) Table of Contents 5 Problems and Recommendations 7 Jihadism in Africa: An Introduction Guido Steinberg and Annette Weber 13 Al-Shabaab: Youth without God Annette Weber 31 Libya: A Jihadist Growth Market Wolfram Lacher 51 Going “Glocal”: Jihadism in Algeria and Tunisia Isabelle Werenfels 69 Spreading Local Roots: AQIM and Its Offshoots in the Sahara Wolfram Lacher and Guido Steinberg 85 Boko Haram: Threat to Nigeria and Its Northern Neighbours Moritz Hütte, Guido Steinberg and Annette Weber 99 Conclusions and Recommendations Guido Steinberg and Annette Weber 103 Appendix 103 Abbreviations 104 The Authors Problems and Recommendations Jihadism in Africa: Local Causes, Regional Expansion, International Alliances The transnational terrorism of the twenty-first century feeds on local and regional conflicts, without which most terrorist groups would never have appeared in the first place. That is the case in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Syria and Iraq, as well as in North and West Africa and the Horn of Africa. -
Preventing Violent Extremism in Kyrgyzstan
UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE www.usip.org SPECIAL REPORT 2301 Constitution Ave., NW • Washington, DC 20037 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063 ABOUT THE REPORT Jacob Zenn and Kathleen Kuehnast This report offers perspectives on the national and regional dynamics of violent extremism with respect to Kyrgyzstan. Derived from a study supported by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) to explore the potential for violent extremism in Central Asia, it is based on extensive interviews and a Preventing Violent countrywide Peace Game with university students at Kyrgyz National University in June 2014. Extremism in Kyrgyzstan ABOUT THE AUTHORS Jacob Zenn is an analyst on Eurasian and African affairs, a legal adviser on international law and best practices related to civil society and freedom of association, and a nonresident research Summary fellow at the Center of Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies in China, the Center of Security Programs in Kazakhstan, • Kyrgyzstan, having twice overthrown autocratic leaders in violent uprisings, in 2005 and again and The Jamestown Foundation in Washington, DC. Dr. Kathleen in 2010, is the most politically open and democratic country in Central Asia. Kuehnast is a sociocultural anthropologist and an expert on • Many Kyrgyz observers remain concerned about the country’s future. They fear that underlying Kyrgyzstan, where she conducted field work in the early 1990s. An adviser on the Central Asia Fellows Program at the socioeconomic conditions and lack of public services—combined with other factors, such as Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington drug trafficking from Afghanistan, political manipulation, regional instability in former Soviet University, she is a member of the Council on Foreign Union countries and Afghanistan, and foreign-imported religious ideologies—create an envi- Relations and has directed the Center for Gender and ronment in which violent extremism can flourish. -
Islamic Finance” After State-Sponsored Capitalist Islamism
Working Paper ”Islamic Finance” After State-Sponsored Capitalist Islamism Mahmoud A. El-Gamal, Ph.D. Chair in Islamic Economics, Finance and Management, Rice University Rice Faculty Scholar, Baker Institute for Public Policy © 2017 by the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy of Rice University This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author and the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. Wherever feasible, papers are reviewed by outside experts before they are released. However, the research and views expressed in this paper are those of the individual researcher(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy. This paper is a work in progress and has not been submitted for editorial review. “Islamic Finance” after State-Sponsored Capitalist-Islamism Mahmoud A. El-Gamal Rice University December 2017 Abstract During the late part of the nineteenth century CE, nationalist-Islamism emerged as a theology of liberation from the realities of European colonialism under which most Muslims lived. This form of Islamism survived into the mid twentieth century, without significant thought being lent to the possibility or desirability of a so-called “Islamic finance.” Indeed, juristic developments during this period justified conventional financial practices, and many nationalist movements aimed merely to replace European financial institutions with indigenous ones focused on boosting domestic and re- gional economic development. Shortly after independence, and under the influence of global currents, the liberation theology of nationalist-Islamism mutated into a socialist-Islamism that focused on self reliance to defeat poverty and continued economic dependence of Muslim-majority countries. -
Between Islamization and Secession: the Contest for Northern Mali
JULY 2012 . VOL 5 . ISSUE 7 Contents Between Islamization and FEATURE ARTICLE 1 Between Islamization and Secession: Secession: The Contest for The Contest for Northern Mali By Derek Henry Flood Northern Mali REPORTS By Derek Henry Flood 6 A Profile of AQAP’s Upper Echelon By Gregory D. Johnsen 9 Taliban Recruiting and Fundraising in Karachi By Zia Ur Rehman 12 A Biography of Rashid Rauf: Al-Qa`ida’s British Operative By Raffaello Pantucci 16 Mexican DTO Influence Extends Deep into United States By Sylvia Longmire 19 Information Wars: Assessing the Social Media Battlefield in Syria By Chris Zambelis 22 Recent Highlights in Terrorist Activity 24 CTC Sentinel Staff & Contacts An Islamist fighter from the Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa in the city of Gao on July 16, 2012. - AFP/Getty Images n january 17, 2012, a rebellion 22, disgruntled Malian soldiers upset began in Mali when ethnic about their lack of support staged a coup Tuareg fighters attacked a d’état, overthrowing the democratically Malian army garrison in the elected government of President Amadou Oeastern town of Menaka near the border Toumani Touré. with Niger.1 In the conflict’s early weeks, the ethno-nationalist rebels of the By April 1, all Malian security forces had National Movement for the Liberation evacuated the three northern regions of of Azawad (MNLA)2 cooperated and Kidal, Gao and Timbuktu. They relocated About the CTC Sentinel sometimes collaborated with Islamist to the garrisons of Sévaré, Ségou, and The Combating Terrorism Center is an fighters of Ansar Eddine for as long as as far south as Bamako.4 In response, independent educational and research the divergent movements had a common Ansar Eddine began to aggressively institution based in the Department of Social enemy in the Malian state.3 On March assert itself and allow jihadists from Sciences at the United States Military Academy, regional Islamist organizations to West Point.