Description
Finding the existing research on suicide attacks as a tactic of terrorism to only be convincing in localized contexts such as the Israeli-Palestinian, Tamil-Sinhalese, and Turkish-Kurdish conflicts, Moghadam (of the U.S. Military Academy's Combating Terrorism Center at West Point) sets out to analyze what he sees as the growing globalization of suicide attacks, which he lays at the feet of Al Qaeda and the growing appeal of its guiding ideology, Salafi jihadism. He examines the evolution of Al Qaeda and its reliance on suicide attacks, the origins of Salafi jihadism and its positions on martyrdom and self- sacrifice, and the globalization of Al Qaeda. He then examines case studies of suicide attacks in Afghanistan, Algeria, Chechnya, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Uzbekistan, followed by more in-depth chapters on the July 7, 2007 bombings of the London Underground and suicide bombings in Iraq. He concludes with a discussion of research and policy implications. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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This groundbreaking volume examines the rise and spread of suicide attacks over the past decade. Sorting through 1,270 terror strikes between 1981 and 2007, Assaf Moghadam attributes their recent proliferation to the mutually related ascendance of al Qaeda and its guiding ideology, Salafi Jihad, an extreme interpretation of Islam that rejects national boundaries and seeks to create a global Muslim community. In exploring the roots of the extreme radicalization represented by Salafism, Moghadam finds many causes, including Western dominance in the Arab world, the physical diffusion of Salafi institutions and actors, and the element of opportunity created by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. He uses individual examples from the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Europe to show how the elite leaders of al Qaeda and affiliated groups and their foot soldiers interact with one another and how they garner support—and a growing number of converts and attackers—from the Muslim community. Based on over a decade of empirical research and a critical examination of existing thought on suicide attacks, Moghadam distinguishes the key characteristics separating globalized suicide strikes from the traditional, localized pattern that previously prevailed.This unflinching analysis provides new information about the relationship between ideology and suicide attacks and recommends policies focused on containing Salafi Jihadism.
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