This thesis examines the reinvention of jihād ideology in twelfth‑century al‑Shām. In modern scholarship there is a tendency to speak of a revival of jihād in the twelfth century, but discussion of this revival has been dominated by study of the practice of jihād rather than of the ideology of jihād. This thesis addresses this imbalance by studying two twelfth‑century Damascene works: the Kitāb al‑jihād (Book of Jihād) of ʿAlī b. Ṭāhir al‑Sulamī (d. 500/1106), and the al‑Arbaʿūn ḥadīthan fī al‑ḥathth ʿala al‑jihād (Forty Hadiths for Inciting Jihād) of Abū al‑Qāsim Ibn ʿAsākir (d. 571/1176). Through discussion of these texts, this thesis sheds light on twelfth‑century perceptions of jihād by asking what their authors meant when they referred to jihād, and how their perceptions of jihād related to the broader Islamic discourse on jihād. A holistic approach is taken to these works; they are discussed not only in the context of the 'master narrative' of jihād, wherein juristic sources have been privileged over other non‑legal genres and corpora, but also in the context of the Sufi discourse of jihād al‑nafs, and the earliest traditions on jihād which thrived from the eighth century onwards on the Muslim‑Byzantine frontier. This thesis argues that both al‑Sulamī and Ibn ʿAsākir integrated elements from these different traditions of jihād in order to create models of jihād suited to their own political contexts, and that it is only in the context of a more nuanced appreciation of jihād ideology that their attempts can be properly understood. At the same time, this thesis argues against the model of the 'counter‑crusade', which holds that the revival of jihād began in earnest only in the middle of the twelfth century, by stressing that there was no delay between the arrival of the Franks and attempts to modify jihād ideology.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The horrific terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, in America, and the bombing of a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia, have forced may people to seriously consider the impact of religion on political conflict. This literature review readdresses the serious neglect of religion in political studies by examining the three theoretical approaches to religion and political conflict, on the domestic and international level, that can be identified. Primordialists argue that differences in religious traditions should be viewed as one of the most important factors in explaining violent interactions in and between nations. They stress how differences in cultural identity and cosmologies can lead to violent conflict in and between nations. They illustrate how the deep malaise of modem secular society is leading to a backlash of alternative worldviews. This approach is culturally too simplistic in not providing a complex enough framework for understanding the dynamic social forces that constitute cultural identity. Instrumentalists admit that conflicts might be aggravated by diverging religious creeds but are rarel y if ever caused by them; instead most conflicts are about power and wealth. They emphasize the role played by political entrepreneurs, who use religion as an instrument to further their own goals. This approach is guilty of the other extreme - downplaying the role of religion and culture. Constructivists regard social conflicts as being embedded in cognitive structures like ideology, religion, nationalism and ethnicity. Constructivists can theorize about cultural identity, social structures, actors and forces together with the material world of power and wealth and are therefore best suited to give an adequate description of religion and political conflict. Despite its great promise constructivism still needs to step up to the board and deliver theories about religion and political conflict. The serious neglect of religion in political studies needs to be addressed and the most likely framework within which to do so seems to be constructivism. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die skokkende terroriste aanvalle op die World Trade Center en die Pentagon in Amerika en die bom in 'n nagklub in Bali, Indonesië, het baie mense gedwing om die impak van godsdiens op politieke konflik ernstig te oorweeg. Die literatuuroorsig herondersoek die ernstige verwaarloosing van godsdiens in politieke wetenskap weer eens, deur te kyk na die drie benaderings wat ten opsigte van godsdiens en politieke konflik, op plaaslike en internasionale vlak geïdentifiseer kan word. Primordialiste glo dat verskille tussen gosdienstradisies gesien moet word as een van die vernaamste faktore vir politieke konflik binne en tussen nasies. Hulle beklemtoon die wyse waarop verskille in kulturele identiteit en kosmologie kan bydra tot gewelddadige konflik binne en tussen nasies. Hulle illustreer verder hoe die diep malaise van die moderne sekulêre samelewing besig is om te lei tot 'n teenreaksie van alternatiewe wêreldbeskouings. Die benadering is egter kultureel gesproke te simplisties deurdat dit nie 'n raamwerk kan skep wat kompleks genoeg is ten einde die dinamies sosiale kragte wat kulturele identiteit vorm, te verstaan nie. Instrumentaliste gee toe dat politieke konflik dalk deur uiteenloopende godsdienstige tradisies vererger kan word, maar dat dit selde indien ooit daardeur veroorsaak word. Inteendeel, die meeste konflik handel steeds oor mag en rykdom. Hulle beklemtoon die rol wat gespeel word deur politieke entrepreneurs, wat geloof as 'n instrument gebruik in die bevordering van hulle eie doelwitte. Die benadering is skuldig aan die ander uiterste - die rol van kultuur en godsdiens word as minder belangrik beskou. Konstruktiviste beskou sosiale konflik as gewortel in kognitiewe strukture soos ideologie, godsdiens, nasionalisme en etnisiteit. Konstruktiviste kan teoretiseer oor kulturele identiteit, sosiale strukture, akteurs en kragte saam met die materiële wêreld wat bestaan uit mag en rykdom, en is daarom die beste geskik om 'n voldoende beskrywing te gee van godsdiens en politieke konflik. Ten spyte van die belowende potensiaal van konstruktivisme moet die perspektief nog begin om teorieë oor godsdiens en politieke konflik te verskaf. Die ernstige verwaarloosing van godsdiens in politieke wetenskap moet ondersoek word en die beste benadering hiervoor blyk konstruktivisme te wees.

Popular interpretations and academic scholarship tends to emphasize the relationship between jihad, military action, and communal violence. These reinforce a sense that violence is inherent to Islam. Investigations into the contexts where jihad has been deployed highlight how its use is often a call for unity believed to be necessary for political goals. Therefore, in order to deconstruct this belief, this thesis tackles instead the relationship between textual interpretations and historical actions, and how these varied across specific moments in time. The case studies examined range from the initial evolution of a theory of jihad in the late antique world, to the Crusades in the 11th and 12th centuries, to early modern dynamics of the Ottomans and Safavids, and finally to modern state-making projects in the Arabian Peninsula These examples seek to create a comprehensive picture of the intricacies rooted in jihad and the narrative that can be associated with a religion that is most often misunderstood. The effort to shed some light on the multiple facets of jihad is hinged upon how these case studies differ from one another, thus forcing the reader to question how they previously understood the modern day phenomenon of jihad. While the conversation will reiterate various themes and concepts as discussed in previous scholarship, it should push the boundaries on how jihad has been framed as a modern day extremist ideology.

This thesis examines intelligence strategies that law enforcement officials may use to combat transnational Islamic terrorism in the United States. Many of the concepts discussed in this thesis come from U.S. Intelligence Community approaches. Others are familiar to both intelligence and law enforcement professionals. The thesis focuses on Islamic terrorism, most notably promoted and conducted by al-Qa[alpha]eda, though a number of the techniques can apply to other terrorist threats. The religious foundations of Islamic terrorism and the milieu in which it flourishes provides both a strategic and tactical backdrop for what has been cast as a global jihadâ a violent, worldwide religious campaign with political objectives. The unique ethnic and religious characteristics also present specific challenges for law enforcement intelligence operations, most notably in collecting human intelligence. Processing collected threat intelligence and developing defensive plans require a broad, multi-layered strategy to be successful in meeting the challenges posed by a geographically pervasive terrorist threat. As this thesis argues, local jurisdictions must work in tandem with national-level organs to create an effective system that will identify and prevent potential terrorist operations in the United States.

s can play their most useful role only after the state is able to contain the radicals and secure conditions that are congenial for views different from those of radicals to be expressed. / India Ministry of Defense author (civilian).

Between incurably degenerative illness and the graffiti which ignited the Syrian Civil War, YOUR TURN, DOCTOR complicates hope. When myths of revolution, of wellness, no longer console—love as measured in anything but loss. Within a multidisciplinary project how an increasingly painful embodiment intersects the material excess of capitalism is explored. Can objects function as a political demand, necessitating changes in the way the world is ordered? Who for? To understand one kind of oppression in necessary sterility and another in marginalization so profound blindness can result. That is to ask, how long must one be told they do not see a thing they see before they don’t, before transgressions become norms? A list of "Indulgences" modeled loosely after Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses outlines content. Five sections reference the five pillars of Islam— with each containing nineteen individual proposals. Nineteen serves as the common denominator for the mathematical structure of much of the text of the Quran.

The main focus of the thesis is the concept of jihad and martyrdom in Islam. It seeks to present these religious ideas from very diverse perspectives and argues that seemingly discontinuous dimensions are all parts of the nature of the phenomenon. In the world of Islam, religion is an omnipresent aspect of a public life. Hence, the historical experience, culture, socio-economics, and politics, they all manifest in religious narratives. Martyrdom embodies these complexities as well. Historically and culturally, martyrdom has been perceived as an expression of utmost activism in the struggle of a believer for the betterment of the Islamic society. Leading a responsible and truthful life sometimes demands the ultimate sacrifice of one's life for the cause. This worldly responsibility for the well-being of the Islamic umma is one dimension of complex dynamics of the Islamist movements like the Palestinian Hamas. For them, martyrdom is only one moment, the climax, which requires leading the whole life as a responsible believer in the first place. In this sense, martyrdom is a celebration of a meaningful life rather than death. This commitment of Hamas to the community, its radical understanding of the politics of the struggle, along with the particular socio-economic, and political situation in...

This thesis challenges the conventional wisdom that tends to conflate Arab foreign fighters with Islamist terrorists, and ‘martyrdom operations' with ‘suicide attacks.' Overlaps notwithstanding, it aims to draw distinctions between Arab foreign fighters engaged in defensive jihad defending co-religionists against a military foe, and Islamist terrorists engaged in terrorism that indiscriminately targets civilians and non-combatants. Critically, while disaggregating the two transnational cohorts, this thesis also illuminates the nexus between them. It draws on a thesis dataset of 3,010 Arab foreign fighters compiled using biographies, martyrdom eulogies, and postings on ‘jihadi' websites, in both English and Arabic. This dataset is then used to support three case studies involving the defensive jihads in 1980s Afghanistan, Iraq (post 2003), and Syria (post 2011). It leverages a theoretical framework based on the concept of radicalisation and the language of political Islam, whilst concurrently drawing on theories from psychology and historical military examples of combat, germane to defensive jihad and Islamist terrorism. The thesis concludes that Arab foreign fighters involved in defensive jihad employ martyrdom operations against military targets, through tactical necessity. Conversely, Islamist terrorists employ suicide attacks against civilians and non-combatants, through ideological necessity. The trajectory between the two transnational mobilisations appears to be broadly underpinned by facets of the Lucifer Effect – the situational factors encountered whilst participating in defensive jihad, including but not limited to, the experience of close combat in a war zone; being subjected to ideological indoctrination; and being exposed to charismatic authority and obedience to it. This suggests that subsequent involvement in Islamist terrorism by some Arab foreign fighters is primarily forged in the crucible of defensive jihad. Such findings should result in the crafting of more individualised de-radicalisation and rehabilitation programmes for returning foreign fighters, in both the West and the Arab world.

I den här studien presenteras undersökning som gjorts inom ramen för ett historiebruk med fokus på IS tidskrifter, där en textanalytisk undersökningsmetod har legat till grund för studien. Syftet med denna analys har varit att undersöka Islamiska statens historiebruk i tidskrifterna Dabiq och Rumiyah med tonvikt på dess motståndare. Frågeställningar som denna studie har behandlat sammanfattas enligt följande: • Hur använder IS historien för att rättfärdiga sitt handlande gentemot sina motståndare? • Hur och vilka framställs som motståndare i IS tidskrifter? • Vilka kopplingar finns det i IS tidskrifter mellan vår nutid och händelser i vår dåtid? Studien har visat hur IS historiebruk har påverkat synen på motståndarna. Med IS tidskrifter har det historiska vapnet kunnat användas genom historiska texter, händelser, ord samt personer. Således har IS skräck-propaganda påverkat individers tolkning av historiska källor där haditherna samt Koranens relevans har bidragit till motståndarnas exekution. Med hjälp av historia kan organisationen ifrågasätta motståndarnas tro för att stärka sin egen ideologi. Artiklarna använder historiska ord för att stärka föraktet men även bygga upp en gemensam tradition där historiebruket rättfärdigar handlandet mot motståndarna. Resultatet visar att motståndarbilden består av korsfarare, shiamuslimer, murtaddin samt mushrikin som med hjälp av ett historiebruk ur islams historia stärker IS identitet samt tillväxt.

<p>In this thesis I have done a discourse analysis of the documentary movie <em>A Jihad for Love</em>. <em>A Jihad for Love </em>came out 2007 and is directed by Parvez Sharma. The documentary movie is about homosexual Muslims and their jihad, struggle, for love and to be accepted in a world where they are barely recognized as a group. My aim of the thesis was to see how the movie portrays the persons who are in the film and their relationship to Islam and who gets access to the religion. I have also analyzed if Islam can be used to strengthen the sexual identity or if it works in the opposite way. I have used the theoretical instrument of intersectionality and religious proximity with a gender perspective with focus on sexuality and religion to analyze my material.</p><p>My conclusions of the thesis are that the men in the movie are often more portrayed as active subjects that can use the religion as a tool to strengthen the sexuality. The women are more portrayed as inactive objects that cannot use the religion to strengthen their sexual identity because of different power axes, like gender and sexuality, which collide and with each other. Another conclusion is that men have a higher grade of religious proximity which makes them closer to God, whereas the women traditionally don’t have the same closeness to God and cannot therefore have the same power in the religious hierarchy.</p><p> </p>