Islamic terrorists are more likely to be engineers than members of any other profession--and not because engineers possess superior technological skills. That's the conclusion of a
controversial Oxford University study that has the
engineering community
buzzing. (PDF)
The study's disturbing finding blames what it calls a universal engineering mindset, which it describes as one drawn to structure and rules plus clear, single solutions to complex problems. When coupled with the harsh realities of life in many Islamic countries, terrorism can be the result, the study says.
~ Via
EETimes [more inside]
posted by infini
on Mar 10, 2008 -
68 comments
Who are the jihadists? Marc Sageman on the
global Salafi jihad: its goals, its history, who the jihadists are, how they're drawn to the jihad, how the movement is organized. [more inside]
posted by russilwvong
on Jun 30, 2006 -
38 comments
Depictions of Mohammed Throughout History This page is an archive of numerous depictions of Mohammed, to serve as a reminder that such imagery has been part of Western and Islamic culture since the Middle Ages -- and to serve as a resource for those interested in freedom of expression.
posted by Postroad
on Feb 4, 2006 -
168 comments
...With the end of the cold war and the emergence of global networks in which goods, ideas and people circulate outside the language of citizenship, the fundamentalist fight for ideological states has lost influence... Muslim radicalism, by contrast, has moved beyond the language of citizenship to assume a global countenance, joining movements as different as environmentalism and pacifism in its pursuit of justice on a worldwide scale. Such movements are ethical rather than political in nature: they can neither predict nor control the global consequences of their actions...
Spectral brothers: al-Qaida’s world wide web Snapshots of Faisal Devji's Landscapes of the Jihad are to be seen within
posted by y2karl
on Dec 8, 2005 -
17 comments
...The presumption that there are 'good' Muslims readily available to be split off from 'bad' Muslims masks a failure to make a political analysis of our times. This book argues that political Islam emerged as the result of a modern encounter with Western power, and that the terrorist movement at the center of Islamist politics is an even more recent phenomenon, one that followed America’s embrace of proxy war after its defeat in Vietnam. Mamdani writes with great insight about the Reagan years, showing America’s embrace of the highly ideological politics of 'good' against 'evil.' Identifying militant nationalist governments as Soviet proxies in countries such as Nicaragua and Afghanistan, the Reagan administration readily backed terrorist movements, hailing them as the 'moral equivalents' of America’s Founding Fathers. The era of proxy wars has come to an end with the invasion of Iraq. And there, as in Vietnam, America will need to recognize that it is not fighting terrorism but nationalism... Here is an excerpt of
Chapter 1 of
Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror, and with
one review,
two review,
three reviews hereafter. And here is author
Mahmood Mandmani interviewed by
AsiaSource.
posted by y2karl
on Apr 11, 2005 -
38 comments
Militants in Europe Openly Call for Jihad and the Rule of Islam The call to jihad is rising in the streets of Europe, and is being answered, counterterrorism officials say.
In this former industrial town north of London, a small group of young Britons whose parents emigrated from Pakistan after World War II have turned against their families' new home. They say they would like to see Prime Minister Tony Blair dead or deposed and an Islamic flag hanging outside No. 10 Downing Street.
posted by Postroad
on Apr 26, 2004 -
52 comments
The Jihadi Who Kept Asking Why -
An unlikely group of onetime religious jihadists have recently stepped into the midst of the debate on Saudi Arabia's future. They belong to a larger circle of liberals, intellectuals, professors, former Wahhabi scholars, judges and even women who are discussing subjects in the media that were taboo before 9/11 -- questions about terrorism, about Wahhabi discrimination toward Muslims of the Shiite and Sufi sects (whom they consider apostates), about alcohol, about AIDS, about the rights of women to drive and work. The ex-jihadists are fluent in Islam and, more important, in the lingo of the underground terrorists, and they've surfaced from the extremist subculture with a message for the Wahhabi official clerics, the royal family and even their complicit American allies: Wake up. It's you who created us. We are not an aberration. From
The Agonist--where the editorial comment
this is an absolutely excellent article and a must read is quite indisputable. From entering
Salafiyya in Google comes the fascinating polemic
The Salafi Cult. better known as the Khawarij.
posted by y2karl
on Mar 7, 2004 -
19 comments
The Protean Enemy by
Jessica Stern, Foreign Affairs, July/August 2003
What accounts for al Qaeda's ongoing effectiveness in the face of an unprecedented onslaught? The answer lies in the organization's remarkably protean nature. Over its life span, al Qaeda has constantly evolved and shown a surprising willingness to adapt its mission. This capacity for change has consistently made the group more appealing to recruits, attracted surprising new allies, and -- most worrisome from a Western perspective -- made it harder to detect and destroy. Unless Washington and its allies show a similar adaptability, the war on terrorism won't be won anytime soon, and the death toll is likely to mount. Other texts by Jessica Stern:
How America Created a Terrorist Haven,
Pakistan's Jihad Culture,
Talking With Terrorists. Classical Reference:
Proteus.
posted by y2karl
on Nov 23, 2003 -
31 comments
Jihad in textbooks:
yesterday and
today.
posted by troybob
on Feb 20, 2003 -
4 comments
The "merger" of the Egyptian Zawahiri's Islamic Jihad and the Saudi Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda in 2001, based on the foundation of Qutb's book "Milestones", provide outlet for those who have no other way of expressing their objections to the authoritarian regimes of the countries they live in, and the reach of American power in the Middle East.
posted by semmi
on Sep 17, 2002 -
19 comments
From the essay by Ziauddin Sardar: Scroll 2/3 of the way down--it's from
I.S.I.S. The Institute For Islamic Secularization
A Call for Caution and Prudence
* We need free inquiry of the religious premises of the growing conflagration.
* We need rational debate of the questionable premises of a "holy war" or jihad.
* We need a rational debate of the biblical call for retribution.
* We call upon the United States not to act unilaterally and to petition the United Nations to establish a peace-keeping force.
* All terrorists when apprehended should be brought to the World Court at the Hague and put on trial.
* The basic constitutional civil liberties of America should not be abrogated.
--Perhaps we're all best off with the godless making the rules?
posted by y2karl
on Sep 30, 2001 -
8 comments
Fault Lines This piece counters the arguements of the self-laceration folks who blame the attack upon America as the result of our foreign policy, as though there can be no other explanation for Jihad. An apt title, since we are now seeing the split between far Right, Middle and far Left.
Readers will, no doubt believe or argue with this relative to their perspective.
posted by Postroad
on Sep 21, 2001 -
63 comments
The Al-Qaeda manual on "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants," including especially instructions on how to infiltrate "godless areas" and not stand out. There's also an "assassinations" section with instructions on how to kill with a knife.
posted by Steven Den Beste
on Sep 21, 2001 -
8 comments
A four part tale(1993) of deception, covert operations and secret revelations, which covers :
How The Blind Sheikh Came To USA
CIA's Friends Against Soviet Union
Was Mossad Behind WTC 1993
How The CIA Won It's Jehad
Search These Terms
"Mossad World Trade Center",
CIA,
Hekmatyar, Hekmatyar Heroine,
The Blind Shiekh,
ISI,
The Village Voice,
Robert I. Friedman,
Victor Ostrovsky
posted by adnanbwp
on Sep 20, 2001 -
2 comments
Blair just made an address the the British people where he pledged once again his full support for the US, and also emphasised how almost all muslim groups were shocked and outraged by this tragedy and offered their thoughts and prayers to the US people. I was astonished and saddened yesterday by the BBC, who chose to represent UK muslims by AM, an extremist fundamentalist faction whose representative made comments like this was a perfectly legitimate target under jihad, and all muslims who believe this a tragedy cannot call themselves muslim. Jihad does not allow murder of civilians on pain of death.. This is not the first time the BBC has asked this group to represent us, please call 08700 100 222 to complain to the BBC if you feel as saddened by this as I do..
posted by Mossy
on Sep 12, 2001 -
15 comments
