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

Front Cover
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.

 

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
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
Copyright

II Fault lines dividing jihadis and other Muslims
159

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