Terrorism has loomed in the public eye for centuries; however, since 9/11 modern terrorism has attracted a new public dimension. On an international and domestic scope, media and government bodies have identified that the 9/11 terrorist attacks were delivered by the hands of Islamic terrorists, namely Al-Qaeda (U.S. Government, 2002). According to Australian, American and British government official reports and numerous international and domestic media reports, Al-Qaeda publicly claimed responsibility for 9/11 and other terrorist attacks such as the Bali, London and Madrid bombings (Al-Jazeera, 2004: 1-6; Gonzales, 2006:3; National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, 2002: 1-49; ). Furthermore, some domestic and international Muslim communities have responded to 9/11 and other attacks by revealing their support of Al-Qaeda's hatred and violence towards the West (Tarakhil, 2004:1; Ziabi, 2006:5). It was here among these media and governmen t reports that the concept of Jihad emerged as a pivotal religious and political concept that justifies terrorism. As a result, Jihad developed a causal link to terrorism and thus, placed Islam in the forefront of controversy as a religion that creates terrorists. Despite such compelling government and media reports on the association made between Jihad and terrorism, questions as to their link remain prevalent. It would be an ignorant and a deeply unjust assumption to make against Islam, if the public are led to believe that an association truly exists between Jihad and terrorism without credibly assessing the construct and application of both concepts. Therefore, it is the aim of this research to analyze Jihad and terrorism first as singular concepts, and then examine the possible link that Jihad may have with Islamic terrorism. In order to successfully conduct such an enquiry, it is important to compare and contrast both the interpretations of Melbourne's Islamic religious leaders to that of academic literature on Jihad and terrorism.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/210472 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Elzain, Carol, celzain@hotmail.com |
| Publisher | RMIT University. Gloabl Studies Social Sciences and Planning |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.rmit.edu.au/help/disclaimer, Copyright Carol Elzain |
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