Global Jihadism: A Transnational Social Movement

Front Cover
VDM Publishing, 2010 - Globalization - 156 pages
This study examines the phenomenon of Global Jihadism through the lens of modern social movement theory. Through an in-depth analysis of its history, beliefs, and practices, the book argues that Jihadism has taken on many of the same characteristics as other social movements of the 20th century, most notably the civil rights movement, the radical environmental movement, the feminist movement, the black power movement, and the anti-globalization movement, all of which are replete with individuals who exist on the radical fringes of the political spectrum and all of which bring together a wide array of political views, ethnic backgrounds, socio- economic statuses, and ideological causes under a master frame in which grievances are identified, blame assigned, solutions suggested, and participants mobilized. By treating Global Jihadism as a social movement and noting the parallels between it and similar movements the book argues that we can more effectively confront the security challenges posed by this little understood but much- feared ideology.

About the author (2010)

Born in Iran, Dr. Reza Aslan is a writer and scholar of religion. He is also President and CEO of Aslan Media Inc. Dr. Aslan has degrees in Religions from Santa Clara University, Harvard University, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Los Angeles Institute for the Humanities, and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Dr. Aslan also serves on the national advisory board of the Levantine Cultural Center, building bridges between Americans and the Arab/Muslim world. Aslan's first book, the International Bestseller, No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam (Heinemann 2005), has been translated into thirteen languages, and named one of the 100 most important books of the last decade. He is also the editor of the anthology Tablet & Pen: Literary Landscapes from the Modern Middle East: A Words Without Borders Anthology (WW Norton 2010). Dr. Aslan lives in Los Angeles where he is Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of California, Riverside.

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