Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Jihadism of the Twenty-First Century as Worldwide Religious/Political Ideology: The New Jihad as Theology and Strategy

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The New Terrorism

  • 1095 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter examines twenty-first-century Jihadism as a global religious and political ideology in the fields of theology and strategy. A general discussion about religions and their relationship to violence, fundamentalism and totalitarianism is followed by an analysis of the special relationships between Jihad and Islam and also Jihad and the Quran. On a theological and ideological level, the Islamist roots of Jihadism are outlined in a special subchapter, followed by another subchapter portraying numerous indications for what is “new” about “new terrorism” and identifying the new mullahs of an internationalised Jihad who propagate Al Wala wa-l-bara as a Salafist-Jihadi doctrine of “good against evil and the unbelievers”. It is shown that the religious and political concept of new Jihad is more extensive and complex than war on an operational military level.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 64.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The holy Quran, Arabic and German. Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the FRG 2016.

  2. 2.

    The holy Quran, Arabic and German. Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the FRG 2016.

  3. 3.

    The holy Quran, Arabic and German. Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in the FRG 2016.

  4. 4.

    Dating back to its founder Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal who preached at the beginning of the ninth century.

  5. 5.

    Muhammad Ibn Al Wahhab is the founder of the Sunni school of Wahhabism. Thanks to a long life, he was quite influential in the eighteenth century.

  6. 6.

    Wahhābīya.

  7. 7.

    Banna, Jihad, www.youngMuslims.ca/online_library/books/Jihad/

  8. 8.

    , maʿālim fī ṭ-ṭarīq.

  9. 9.
  10. 10.

    Muhammad Al-Albani.

  11. 11.

    Every principle must have its vanguard that will carry it forth. The vanguard will pay a steep price and suffer many losses while paving the road for the Islamic society. There is no belief, either earthly or heavenly, that does not need such a vanguard, one that will give all it has for its belief to be victorious. This vanguard is the solid base (‘Al Qaida Al Sulbah’) of the society we are awaiting (Osama Bin Laden in Peshawar 1989; Maliach 2010: 80).

  12. 12.

    Azzam, A. (1989). In the Sea of Battle. Peshawar: The Office of Services for the Mujahideen.

  13. 13.

    Azzam, A. (1989). Palestine Memories. Peshawar: The Office of Services for the Mujahideen.

  14. 14.

    Azzam, Abdullah, in Maliach (2010: 84).

  15. 15.

    Azzam, Abdullah (1990). Who are the Shahids? In: Lahib Al Maraah, Peshawar, 13.1.1990.

  16. 16.

    Clutterbuck (1966), Clutterbuck (1977), Trinquier (1968), Blaufarb (1977), Horne (1977), Taber (1965).

  17. 17.

    Beckett (2005), Mockaitis (1995), Nagl (2002), Sepp (2005).

  18. 18.

    Aylwin-Foster (2005), Barno (2006), Cassidy (2006), Kilcullen (2005), Petraeus (2006).

  19. 19.

    United States Department of State (2007: 7).

  20. 20.

    United States Department of State (2007: 10).

  21. 21.

    See Goertz (2012: 41–89), Shultz and Dew (2006), Zahab and Roy (2004).

  22. 22.

    Gompert (2007: ix), Wiktorowicz (2005), Kilcullen (2005).

  23. 23.

    Video messages of Al Zawahiri from 6 January 2006 and 4 March 2006, Farschid (2014: 169).

  24. 24.

    Internet publication, see Said (2013).

  25. 25.

    .

  26. 26.

    The paradise virgins who supposedly are waiting for the shahids, the Muslim “martyrs”.

  27. 27.

    CPOST Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism. The University of Chicago. http://cpostdata.uchicago.edu/search_new.php

  28. 28.

    http://cpostdata.uchicago.edu/search_results_new.php

  29. 29.

    http://cpostdata.uchicago.edu/search_results_new.php

  30. 30.

    http://cpostdata.uchicago.edu/search_results_new.php

  31. 31.

    Changes in Modus Operandi of Islamic State Terrorist Attacks. Europol. https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/changes-modus-operandi-islamic-state-terrorist-attacks

  32. 32.

    Khosrokhavar (2006).

References

  • ABC News. (2008, August 10). New Zawahiri Tape; He speaks English. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5552090&page=1

  • Al Banna, H. (1947). Towards the light. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://www.ikhwanweb.com/article.php?id=802

  • Al Banna, H. (1995). Naḥwa n-nūr, German text only: Aufbruch zum Licht. In A. Meier (Ed.), Politische Strömungen im modernen Islam: Quellen und Kommentare. Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung: Bonn.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al Jauziya, I. (1997). Aḥkām ahl ad_-d_imma. Beirut, 1, 448–491.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al Suri. (2005). The global resistance call. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from https://archive.org/stream/TheGlobalIslamicResistanceCall/The_Global_Islamic_Resistance_Call_-_Chapter_8_sections_5_to_7_LIST_OF_TARGETS_djvu.txt

  • Al Waqidi, M. (1984). Kitab Al-Maghazi. Beirut: Alam Al-Kutub.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ali, B. (2012). The Islamic Doctrine of Al-Wala’ wa-l-Bara’ (Loyalty and Disavowal) in modern Salafism. University of Exeter. PhD Dissertation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkins, S. (2004). Encyclopedia of modern worldwide extremists and extremist groups. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aylwin-Foster, N. (2005). Changing the army for counterinsurgency operations. Military Review, 85(6), 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayoub, M. (1987). Martyrdom in Christianity and Islam. In R. Antoun & M. Hegland (Eds.), Religious resurgence: Contemporary cases in Islam, Christianity and Judaism (pp. 67–77). Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barno, D. (2006, Summer). Challenges in fighting a global insurgency. Parameters, 15–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • BBC. (2003, May 21). ‘Al-Qaeda’ statement: Full text. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3047903.stm

  • BBC. (2006, January 15). Pakistan rally against US strike. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4614486.stm

  • BBC. (2011, June 8). Al-Qaeda posts fresh warning from al-Zawahiri to US. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-13696051

  • BBC. (2014, September 4). Al-Qaeda chief Zawahiri launches al-Qaeda in South Asia. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29056668

  • BBC. (2015, August 13). Al-Qaeda’s Zawahiri pledges loyalty to new Taliban chief. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-33907666

  • Bearman, P., Binquis, T., & Bosworth, C. (Eds.). (2004). Encyclopedia of Islam. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckett, I. (2005). The future of insurgency. Small Wars & Insurgencies, 16, 22–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, J. (2011). Americans who go to war in the name of Islam. Washington, DC: Potomac Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaufarb, D. (1977). The counterinsurgency era: US doctrine and performance. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brynjar, L. (1998). The society of the muslim brothers in Egypt: The rise of an Islamic mass movement. Reading: Garnet Publishing and Ithaca Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burke, J. (2015). The new threat from Islamic militancy. London: Penguin-Bodley Head.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carré, O. (1984). Mystique et Politique: Lecture révolutionnaire du Coran par Sayyid Qutb, Frère Musulman radical. Paris: Presses de la Fondation nationale des sciences politiques.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cassidy, R. (2006, Summer). The long small war. Parameters, 36, 47–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutterbuck, R. (1966). The long war: The emergency in Malaya 1948–1960. London: Cassell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clutterbuck, R. (1977). Guerillas and terrorists. London: Faber and Faber.

    Google Scholar 

  • CNN. (2006, January 30). Al Zawahiri: Bush the butcher of Washington. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/01/30/zawahiri.transcript/

  • Commins, D. (2006). The Wahhabi mission and Saudi Arabia. London: I.B.Tauris & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cook, D. (2015). Understanding Jihad. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Long-Bas, N. (2009). Wahhābīya. In J. Esposito (Ed.), The Oxford encyclopedia of the Islamic world (Vol. 5, 511b–514a). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Devji, F. (2005). Landscapes of the Jihad: Militancy, morality, modernity. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Farschid, O. (2014). Salafismus als politische Ideologie. In B. Said & H. Fouad (Eds.), Salafismus: Auf der Suche nach dem wahren Islam (pp. 160–192). Freiburg: Herder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Firestone, R. (1999). Jihad: The origin of holy war in Islam. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gebara, K. (2005, February 10). The end of Egyptian Islamic Jihad? Terrorism Monitor, 3(3) (The Jamestown Foundation). Retrieved from https://jamestown.org/program/the-end-of-egyptian-islamic-jihad-2/

  • Gershoni, I., & Jankowski, J. (1995). Redefining the Egyptian Nation, 1930–1945. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Goertz, S. (2012). Die Streitkräfte demokratischer Staaten in den Kleinen Kriegen des 21. Jahrhunderts. Analyse der doktrinären und organisationsstrukturellen Eignung der U.S.-Streitkräfte für die Counterinsurgency-Aufgaben Kleiner Kriege. Berlin: Wissenschaftlicher Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goertz, S. (2017). Zum Verhältnis von Islam und Terrorismus: Jihadismus als religiös-politische Ideologie und Strategie. Die Polizei, 9, 253–261.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gompert, D. (2007). Heads we win: The cognitive side of counterinsurgency. Santa Monica, CA: RAND.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hegghammer, T. (2006). Einführung: Abdullah Azzam, der Imam des Dschihads. In G. Kepel & J.-P. Milelli (Eds.), Al-Qaida: Texte des Terrors (pp. 145–173). Munich: Piper.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horne, A. (1977). A savage war of peace. London: NYRB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ibrahim, R. (2007). The Al Qaeda reader. New York: Broadway Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. (1997). The holy war idea in Western and Islamic traditions. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. M. B. (1957). The chronology of the Maghazi: A textual survey. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 19, 245–280.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Joscelyn, T. (2015, September 13). Zawahiri calls for Jihadist unity, encourages attacks in West. Long War Journal. Retrieved January 15, 2019, from http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2015/09/zawahiri-calls-for-Jihadist-unity-encourages-attacks-in-west.php

  • Kelsay, J., & Johnson, J. (1991). Just war and Jihad: Historical and theoretical perspectives on war and peace in Western and Islamic traditions. Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kepel, G. (1985). The prophet and pharaoh: Muslim extremism in Egypt. London: Al Zaki Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kepel, G. (2002). Jihad: The trail of political Islam. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kepel, G., & Milelli, J. (2005). Al Qaeda dans le Texte. Paris: PUF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kepel, G., & Milelli, J. (2010). Al Qaeda in its own words. London: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khosrokhavaer, F. (2009). Inside Jihadism. Understanding Jihadi movements worldwide. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khosrokhavar, F. (2006). Quand Al Qaeda parle: Témoignage derrière les barreaux. Paris: Grasset.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kilcullen, D. (2005). Countering global insurgency. The Journal of Strategic Studies, 28(4), 597–617.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohlberg, E. (1998). Martyrdom and self-sacrifice in classical Islam. Peemim, 75, 5–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krämer, G. (2010). Hasan al-Banna. Oxford: Oneworld.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lacroix, S. (2011). Awakening Islam: The politics of religious dissent in contemporary Saudi Arabia. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lav, D. (2012). Radical Islam and the revival of medieval theology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lia, B. (2009). Architect of global Jihad: The life of Al Qaeda Strategist Abu Musab Al Suri. London: Hurst.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lohlker, R. (2009). Dschihadismus: Materialien. Cologne: UTB.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maliach, A. (2010, October). Abdullah Sazzam, Al Qaeda and Hamas: Concepts of Jihad and Istishhad. Military and Strategic Affairs, 2(2). Retrieved from http://www.inss.org.il/publication/abdullah-azzam-al-qaeda-and-hamas-concepts-of-jihad-and-istishhad/

  • McCants, W., & Brachman, J. (2007). Militant ideology Atlas: Executive report. West Point, NY: Combating Terrorism Center (CTC).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mockaitis, T. (1995). British counterinsurgency in the post-imperial era. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morabia, A. (1993). Le gihad dans l’Islam médiéval. Paris: Bibliothèque Albin Michel Histoire.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moser, T. (2012). Politik auf dem Pfad Gottes, Zur Genese und Transformation des militanten sunnitischen Islamismus. Innsbruck: Innsbruck University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moussalli, A. (2009). Wahhabism, Salafism and Islamism: Who is the enemy? Beirut: American University of Beirut.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nagl, J. (2002). COIN lessons from Malaya and Vietnam: Learning to eat soup with a knife. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nedza, J. (2014). Überlegungen zur Schärfung einer Analysekategorie. In B. Said & H. Fouad (Eds.), Salafismus: Auf der Suche nach dem wahren Islam (pp. 80–105). Freiburg: Herder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noorhaidi, H. (2006). Laskar Jihad: Islam, militancy and the quest for religious identity in post-new order Indonesia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noth, A. (1966). Heiliger Krieg und heiliger Kampf in Islam und Christentum. Bonn: Röhrscheid.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paz, R. (2005, March). Arab volunteers killed in Iraq: An analysis. The Project for the Research of Islamist Movements (Prism) Occasional Papers. Global Jihad, 1(3).

    Google Scholar 

  • Petraeus, D. (2006, January/February). Learning counterinsurgency: Observations from soldiering in Iraq. Military Review, 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pfürtner, S. (1991). Fundamentalismus: Die Flucht ins Radikale. Freiburg: Herder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qutb, S. (2006). Milestones. London: Islamic Book Service.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rapoport, D. (1992). Some general observations on religion and violence. In M. Juergensmeyer (Ed.), Violence and the sacred in the modern world. London: Cass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rashid, A. (2000). Taliban: Militant Islam, oil and fundamentalism in Central Asia. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Said, B. (2013). Djihadismus nach dem Arabischen Frühling und das Vermittlungsangebot Muhammad Al Zawahiris. Zeitschrift für Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, 6(3), 429–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sepp, K. (2005, May/June). Best practices in counterinsurgency. Military Review, 8–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shultz, R., & Dew, A. (2006). Insurgents, terrorists and militias: The warriors of contemporary combat. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stalinski, S. (2011). Al-Qaeda military strategist Abu Mus’ab Al-Suri’s teachings on fourth-generation warfare (4GW), Individual Jihad and the future of Al-Qaeda. Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 698, MEMRI.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, G. (2014). Saudi-Arabien: Der Salafismus in seinem Mutterland. In T. Said & H. Fouad (Eds.), Salafismus: Auf der Suche nach dem wahren Islam. Freiberg: Herder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Taber, R. (1965). War of the flea: The classic study of guerilla warfare. New York: Potomac Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Trinquier, R. (1968). Guerre, Subversion, Révolution. Paris: R. Laffont.

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Department of State. (2007). Counterinsurgency for U.S. Government Policy Makers. Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  • US Department of Justice. (2007, December 24). Most wanted terrorists: Ayman Al-Zawahiri. FBI, US Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagemakers, J. (2008). Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi: A counter-terrorism asset? CTC Sentinel, 6, 8–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagemakers, J. (2009a). A Purist Jihadi-Salafi: The ideology of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 36, 281–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagemakers, J. (2009b). The transformation of a radical concept: al-wala’ wa-l-bara’ in the ideology of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. In R. Meijer (Ed.), Global Salafism. Islam’s new religious movement (pp. 81–106). London: Hurst & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wagemakers, J. (2010, Summer). Protecting Jihad: The Sharia Council of the Minbar Al Tawhid Wa Al Jihad. Middle East Policy, 18(2). Retrieved from https://www.mepc.org/protecting-jihad-sharia-council-minbar-al-tawhid-wa-l-jihad

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wagemakers, J. (2012). A Quietist Jihad: The ideology and influence of Abu Muhammad al-Maqdisi. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Wagemakers, J. (2014). Salafistische Strömungen und ihre Sicht auf al-wala wa-l bara (Loyalität und Lossagung). In T. Said & H. Fouad (Eds.), Salafismus: Auf der Suche nach dem wahren Islam (pp. 55–79). Freiberg: Herder.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wiktorowicz, Q. (2005). A genelogy of radical Islam. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 28, 75–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zahab, M., & Roy, O. (2004). Islamic networks. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zelin, A. (2014). Missionare des Jihad in Libyen und Tunesien. In B. Said & H. Fouad (Eds.), Salafismus: Auf der Suche nach dem wahren Islam (pp. 320–349). Freiburg: Herder.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bundespolizei, Hochschule des Bundes, Lübeck, Germany

    Stefan Goertz

  2. Bundeswehr, Zentrum Operative Kommunikation, Mayen, Germany

    Alexander E. Streitparth

Authors
  1. Stefan Goertz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Alexander E. Streitparth
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Goertz, S., Streitparth, A.E. (2019). Jihadism of the Twenty-First Century as Worldwide Religious/Political Ideology: The New Jihad as Theology and Strategy. In: The New Terrorism. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14592-7_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation