Fault Lines in Global Jihad: Organizational, Strategic, and Ideological Fissures

Assaf Moghadam, Brian Fishman

Taylor & Francis, May 10, 2011 - History - 288 pages

This book deals with the causes, nature, and impact of the divisions within the jihadi movement, and the splits between jihadis and other Islamic groups.

Fault Lines in Global Jihad offers a systematic and comprehensive examination of the broad range of divisions that contribute to the weakening of the jihadi movement. It separates these divisions into two broad categories, namely fissures dividing jihadis themselves, and divisions separating jihadis from other Muslim and Islamist groups. The first part of the book covers intra-jihadi divisions, highlighting tensions and divisions over strategic, tactical, and organizational issues. The second part of the book addresses several important case studies of jihadi altercations with other Muslim and Islamist groups of non-jihadi persuasion, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, and the Shii community. More than simply an enumeration of problems and cracks within al-Qa’ida and its cohorts, this book addresses critical policy issues of relevance to the broader struggle against the global jihadi movement. The editors conclude that these divisions have and continue to weaken al-Qa’ida, but neither in an automatic nor in an exclusive fashion—for these divisions render the global jihadi movement simultaneously vulnerable and more resilient.

This book will be of much interest to students of jihadism, terrorism and political violence, Islamism, security studies and IR in general.

What people are saying

User Review -

The part that I read about the counter terrorism plans which advocates that the USA and western leaders refrain from attacking Islam as an ideology and to remove all footprints in muslim countries is the advise that muslim presidential advisors are giving western leaders which is the very reason why islamist jihad by muslims, which remains a religious practise in islam, is not being named and blamed for what it is.
It is far more important at this point, with muslims committing genocidal atrocities worldwide, for them to be named the enemy and members of a subversive terrorist organisation called Islam instead of allowing Islam to become more and more entrenched in our societies.  

Contents

• jihadi endogenous problems: 1
• I Intrajihadi fault lines: 23
• 1 Takfir and violence against Muslims: 25
• 2 The near and far enemy debate: 47
• 3 Jihadis divided between strategists and doctrinarians: 69
• AlQaidas franchising frustrations: 88
• 5 Arab and nonArab jihadis: 117
• the case of Dr Fadl: 138
• II Fault lines dividing jihadis and other Muslims: 159
• 7 Islam divided between jihad and the Muslim Brotherhood: 161
• 8 AlQaida and Shiism: 184
• AlQaida and Hamas: 203
• 10 Fault lines in cyberspace: 220
• jihadi fault lines and counterterrorism policy: 232
• Selected bibliography: 256
• Index: 258

About the author

Assaf Moghadam is Director of Terrorism Studies and Assistant Professor at the Combating Terrorism Center, US Military Academy, West Point.

Brian Fishman is Counterterrorism Research Fellow at the New America Foundation, an Adjunct Professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and a Fellow at the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, where he served previously as the Director of Research.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Fault Lines in Global Jihad: Organizational, Strategic, and Ideological Fissures; Political Violence
• Editors: Assaf Moghadam, Brian Fishman
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis, 2011
• ISBN: 1136710582, 9781136710582
• Length: 288 pages
• Subjects: History / Military / General; Political Science / Political Freedom; Political Science / Security (National & International); Political Science / Terrorism; Political Science / World / General; Religion / Fundamentalism; Religion / Religion, Politics & State; Religion / Religious Intolerance, Persecution & Conflict