A genealogy of radical Islam

Studies in Conflict and Terrorism

Volumn 28, Issue 2, 2005, Pages 75-97

  Wiktorowicz, Quintan ^a  

^a RHODES COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 26044440990     PISSN: 1057610X     EISSN: 15210731     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10576100590905057     Document Type: Review

References (90)

1. Those typically called "Wahhabis" reject the term because it suggests that they follow Ibn Wahhab, a person, rather than God. This, for conservative Muslims, would be tantamount to apostasy. They instead use the term "Salafi." For more on Salafis, see Quintan Wiktorowicz, The Management of Islamic Activism: Salafis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and State Power in Jordan (Albany: State University of New York Press, 2001), chapter four;
2. Marc Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2004).
3. See Quintan Wiktorowicz "The New Global Threat: Transnational Salafis and Jihad," Middle East Policy 8(4) (December 2001), pp. 18-38;
4. Michael Doran, "Somebody Else's Civil War," Foreign Affairs 81(1) (January/February 2002), pp. 22-42.
5. For the first fatwa on weapons of mass destruction, see the analysis of Sheikh Naser bin Hamad al-Fahd's fatwa, issued on 21 May 2003, by Reuven Paz, "YES to WMD: The First Islamist Fatwah on the Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction," Prism Special Dispatches 1(1) (May 2003), available at (http://www.e-prism.org/images/PRISM%20Special%20dispatch%20no%201.doc).
6. Al-Musawwar, 21 June 2002, pp. 4-22, in FBIS-NES-2002-0625.
7. Al-Musawwar 2002 4-22 Ibid.
8. From quotes provided at (http://tariq.bitshop.com/misconceptions/fatwas/ prohibition.htm). These are the standard kinds of evidence used by non violent Salafis.
9. Sahih Bukhari 8, p. 73;
10. Sahih Bukhari 8, p. 126.
11. For the mainstream Salafi perspective on these issues and others (translated into English), see various publications at (www.salafipublications. com). The website is well known among Salafis as supporting the Saudi religious establishment, which is tied to the Saudi regime.
12. Email from Juan Cole, 25 March 2003.
13. Ibid.
14. For Mawdudi's perspective, see Charles J. Adams, "Mawdudi and the Islamic State," in Voices of Resurgent Islam, edited by John L. Esposito (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), pp. 99-133;
15. and Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, Mawdudi & the Making of Islamic Revivalism (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995). Mawdudi's most important works are readily available online. For example, see (http://www.masmn.org/Books/).
16. For more on the Jamaat-i-Islami, see Seyyed Vali Nasr, The Vanguard of the Islamic Revolution: The Jama'at-I Islami of Pakistan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994).
17. For Sayyid Qutb's ideology, see Yvonne Y. Haddad, "Sayyid Qutb: Ideologue of Islamic Revival," in Voices of Resurgent Islam, edited by John L. Esposito (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983), pp. 67-98;
18. Ahmad S. Moussalli, Radical Islamic Fundamentalism: The Ideological and Political Discourse of Sayyid Qutb (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1994);
19. Ibrahim M. Abu-Rabi, Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in the Modern Arab World (Albany: State University Of New York Press, 1995);
20. and William E. Shepard, Sayyid Qutb and Islamic Activism: A Translation and Critical Analysis of Social Justice in Islam (London: Brill, 1996).
21. For his influence on radical jihadis in particular, see Emmanuel Sivan, Radical Islam: Medieval Theology and Modern Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1985),
22. Gilles Kepel, Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh, trans. Jon Rothschild (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993);
23. Sageman, Understanding Terror Networks, chapter one.
24. Sivan, Radical Islam, p. 28.
25. As quoted in Sivan, Radical Islam, pp. 23-24.
26. Faraj's tract is translated in Johannes J.G. Jansen, The Neglected Duty: The Creed of Sadat's Assassins and Islamic Resurgence in the Middle East (New York: MacMillian Publishing Company, 1986).
27. Also, see Kepel, Muslim Extremism, chapter seven.
28. Jansen, The Neglected Duty, p. 6.
29. Jansen, The Neglected Duty, Ibid., p. 97.
30. As quoted in Malika Zeghal, "Religion and Politics in Egypt: The Ulema of al-Azhar, Radical Islam, and the State (1952-1994)," International Journal of Middle East Studies 31(3) (August 1999), p. 395.
31. From al-Sharq al-Awsat published extracts of Ayman Zawahiri's Knights under the Prophet's Banner, FBIS-NES-2002-108, available at (www.fas.org/irp/ world/para/ayman_bk.html).
32. Qutb's influence on Zawahiri is corroborated in Montasser al-Zayyat, The Road to Al Qaeda: The Story of Bin Laden's Right-Hand Man, trans. Ahmed Fekry, edited by Sara Nimis (London: Pluto Press, 2004). Al-Zayyat has acted as the lawyer for a number of radical jihadis in Egypt and is well placed in the jihadi community, although many now view him as a security agent because of his central role in developing a nonviolent ideology among jihadis.
33. From al-Sharq al-Awsat published extracts of Ayman Zawahiri's Knights under the Prophet's Banner, FBIS-NES-2002-108, available at (www.fas.org/irp/ world/para/ayman_bk.html).
34. Islam: The Misunderstood Religion is published by New Era publications and is available at (www.barnesandnoble.com).
35. Michael Doran made this observation in an e-mail. For more on Ibn Wahhab's ideology and influence, see Natana J. DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam: From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).
36. DeLong-Bas, Wahhabi Islam.
37. See (http://www.islambasics.com/view.php?bkID=64).
38. See various publications on the topic at www.salafipublications.com
39. E-mail from Juan Cole, 12 February 2003.
40. The "Declaration" is available at (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/ terrorism/international/fatwa_1996.html).
41. Originally played on al-Jazeera. Translated transcript available at (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2751019.stm).
42. E-mail from Guido Steinberg, 25 March 2003. Also, for those who read German, see Guido Steinberg, Religion und Staat in Saudi-Arabien. Die Wahhabitischen Gelehrten 1902-1953 (Würzburg: Ergon, 2002).
43. See, for example, John Kelsay and James Turner Johnson, eds., Just War and Jihad: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives on War and Peace in Western and Islamic Traditions (New York: Greenwood Press, 1991);
44. and James Turner Johnson, The Holy War Idea in Western and Islamic Traditions (University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1997).
45. Jihadis believe that the story about the Prophet's reference to the "greater jihad" was fabricated.
46. Rudolph Peters, Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam (Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers, 1996), chapter five.
47. Peters, Jihad, p. 47.
48. Available at (http://www.islamworld.net/advice_jihad.html).
49. Online version available at (http://www.religioscope.com/info/doc/jihad/ azzam_caravan_1_foreword.htm).
50. Peters, Jihad, pp. 52-53.
51. Online version available at (http://www.religioscope.corn/info/doc/jihad/ azzam_caravan_4_part2.htm).
52. Online version available at (http://www.religioscope.com/info/doc/jihad/ azzam_caravan_5_part3.htm).
53. Online version available at (http://www.religioscope.com/info/doc/jihad/ azzam_caravan_3_partl.htm).
54. http://www.religioscope.com/info/doc/jihad/azzam_caravan_3_partl.htm Ibid.
55. Olivier Roy, "The Radicalization of Sunni Conservative Fundamentalism," ISIM Newsletter No. 2, March 1999. Available online at (http://www.isim.nl/files/newsl_2.pdf).
56. The fatwa is available at (http://www.fas.org/irp/world/para/docs/980223- fatwa.htm).
57. Online version at (http://www.pbs.org/newshour/terrorism/intemational/ fatwa_1996.html).
58. See Mamoun Fandy, Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent (New York: Palgrave, 1999);
59. and Gwenn Okruhlik, "Making Conversation Permissible: Islamism and Reform in Saudi Arabia," in Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach, edited by Quintan Wiktorowicz (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004).
60. As quoted in John Esposito, Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 24.
61. London Press Association, 14 September 2001, FBIS-WEU_2001-0914.
62. For a more elaborate discussion of this, see Quintan Wiktorowicz and John Kaltner, "Killing in the Name of Islam: Al Qaeda's Justification for September 11," Middle East Policy 10(2) (Summer 2003). pp. 76-92. The article is available at (http://www.mepc.org/public_asp/journal_vol10/ 0306_wiktorowiczkaltner.asp).
63. For the ideological struggle in the conflict, see Mohammed Hafez, "Armed Islamist Movements and Political Violence in Algeria," Middle East Journal 54(4) (Autumn 2000), pp. 572-592;
64. Mohammed Hafez, idem., Why Muslims Rebel: Repression and Resistance in the Islamic World (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2003), chapter five.
65. Quintan Wiktorowicz, "The GIA and GSPC in Algeria," In In the Service of Al Qaeda: Radical Islamic Movements, edited by Magnus Ranstorp (New York: Hurst Publishers and New York University Press, forthcoming).
66. AFP, 21 January 1997, in FBIS-NES-97-013.
67. Calculated by the author using the Middle East Journal "Chronology of Events."
68. AFP, 7 August 1997.
69. Armed Islamic Group communiqué issued 16 January 1995.
70. AFP, 6 August 1994, in Joint Publications Research Service-TOT-94-034-L.
71. Interview by author with one of Abu Qatada's associates in Jordan, 1997.
72. Wiktorowicz, "The GIA and GSPC."
73. This strategy was discussed by Zawahiri in Knights under the Prophet's Banner, FBIS-NES-2002-108, available at www.fas.org/irp/world/para/ayman_bk. html).
74. Zawahiri Knights under the Prophet's Banner Ibid.
75. Translation and original Arabic available at (http://www.mepc.org/ public_asp/journal_vol10/0306_wiktorowiczkaltner.asp).
76. MEMRI, "'Why We Fight America': Al-Qa'ida Spokesman Explains September 11 and Declares Intentions to Kill 4 Million Americans with Weapons of Mass Destruction," Special Dispatch Series - No. 388, 12 June 2002. Available at (http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi? Page=subjects&Area= jihad&ID=SP38802).
77. Available at (http://www.mepc.org/public_asp/journal_vol10/ 0306_wiktorowiczkaltner.asp).
78. Available at (http://www.mepc.org/public_asp/journal_vol10/ 0306_wiktorowiczkaltner.asp).
79. MEMRI, "Why We Fight America."
80. Peters, Jihad, p. 49.
81. Wiktorowicz and Kaltner, "Killing in the Name of Islam," p. 88.
82. An English translation of the fatwa was posted at (www.azzam.com) after 11 September. The fatwa was dismissed by reformist Salafis in Saudi Arabia. The Council of Ulema argued that the statement was "not worth adhering to." The council also contested al-Uqla's authority to issue fatwas. See (www.fatwa-online.com/news/0011017_1.htm).
83. Translation and original Arabic available at (http://www.mepc.org/ public_asp/journal_vol10/0306_wiktorowiczkaltner.asp).
84. Yigal Carmon, "Contemporary Islamist Ideology Permitting Genocidal Murder," paper presented at the Stockholm International Forum on Preventing Genocide," MEMRI Special Report -No. 25, 27 January 2004, available at (http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects& Area=jihad&ID= SR2504).
85. Available at (http://www.islamicawakening.org/viewarticle.php?articleID= 1012&).
86. Available at (www.fatwa-online.com/fataawa/worship/jihaad/jih004/ 0010915_1.htm). See (www.fatwa-online.com) for additional fatwas along these lines.
87. As quoted in MEMRI, "Debating the Religious, Political and Moral Legitimacy of Suicide Bombings Part 1: The Debate over Religious Legitimacy," Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 53, 2 May 2001. Available at (http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&Area=jihad& ID=IA5301).
88. Debating the Religious, Political and Moral Legitimacy of Suicide Bombings Part 1: The Debate over Religious Legitimacy Inquiry and Analysis Series - No. 53 2001 http://www.memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page= subjects&Area=jihad&ID=IA5301 Ibid.
89. Interview with Nida'ul Islam magazine, issue 22, February-March 1998, available at (http://www.islam.org.au/articles/22/maqdisy.htm).
90. See Michael Doran, "The Saudi Paradox," Foreign Affairs 83(1) (January/February 2004). Available online at (http://www.foreignaffairs.org/ 20040101faessay83105/michael-scott-doran/the-saudi-paradox.html).