Islamist terrorism

Islam or Islamism?

The often used term Islamic terrorism is considered politically incorrect, as it implies a connection between terrorism and Islam in general, which is negatively perceived by some Muslims .

We talk about Islamism as a political practice and share Islam as a religion and radical Islam as a political ideology that appeals to religion, is based on some religious dogmas, but is a political ideology, not a religion. ^[five]

According to some politicians, the term Islamic terrorism is not scientific. For example, Alexander Torshin , deputy chairman of the Council of the Federation of Russia , believes that Islamic terrorism does not exist ^[6] .

Also, a number of Islamic philosophers and theologians express their opinion about the impossibility of the existence of “Islamic terrorism”, as this is “contrary to Islam itself,” and therefore the term itself is “false and incorrect.” The famous Turkish writer Adnan Oktar (Harun Yahya) wrote on this subject the book “Islam curses terrorism” ^[7] .

On the other hand, a number of Muslims themselves perceive Islam not as a religion, but as a political ideology, which makes it very difficult to try to defend the so-called “traditional Islam” by excluding and separating the political component from Islam itself.

Until now, some people have argued that religion and politics should not be confused. Religion is a private matter, and therefore it should not be imposed on society. <...> What Muslims and non-Muslims often do not understand is the fact that politics cannot be separated from Islam, it is part of its ideology, since it is designed to solve the problems that Muslims face. Bukhari quotes the words of Ibn Umar: "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:" The Imam is responsible for his citizens. " Consequently, in Islam there is no separation into spiritual and secular, there is no separation of religion from economy, domestic and foreign policy. The same society cannot be guided simultaneously by Islam and other ideologies, such as capitalism or communism. ^[eight]

Terrorism

Islamists and Islamist terrorists themselves have a dual relationship to the term terrorism . On the one hand, there is a rejection of the term and terrorism accusation of enemy political parties. On the other hand, part of the radical Muslims agrees ^[9] with the presence of terrorism in Islam, referring ^[9] as an argument, in particular, to the following verses of the Quran :

Prepare as much power and war horses against them as you can in order to intimidate the enemy of Allah and your enemy, as well as those whom you do not know, but whom Allah knows. Whatever you spend on the path of Allah, you will be returned in full, and they will not do unjustly to you. ^[ten]

A number of political scientists believe that Islamic terrorism originated in the Near and Middle East after the end of the First World War .

Doctor of Philosophy Igor Dobaev and Ph.D. in Sociology Vera Nemchina in the book “New Terrorism in the World and in the South of Russia: Essence, Evolution, and the Experience of Counteraction” are considered the most important prerequisites for the emergence of Islamic terrorism: ^[11]

• The emergence of organizations opposed to the colonial authorities, resorting to the methods of terror.
• Changes in the course of colonization of the parameters of historically formed borders between the countries of the region.
• The emergence and subsequent unresolved so-called. “Armenian issue”.

The reason for the emergence is the desire to save the traditional Muslim social system from rapid disintegration with close sociocultural contact with the values ​​of Western civilization ^[12] .

The Muslim world reacted particularly sharply to a new wave of cultural tribulation as the scientific and technological revolution deepened, fearing for some reason that the introduction of a European way of life on a national basis would inevitably lead to the collapse of traditional society, the destruction of its moral foundation, and the loss of national identity.

- Virabov A. Activization of the Islamist movement // Observer. - 1992. - No. 23 (27)

The Muslim Brotherhood organization, established in 1928-1929. in Egypt, organized terrorist attacks against British colonial authorities in the Suez Canal zone ^[11] .

Islamist terrorism is one of the variants of religious terrorism ^[13] . Its characteristic feature is the justification of the killing of civilians, including women and children, since they are considered as an integral part of the enemy system - they finance the army with taxes and “with their silence and approval” ^[14] , are potential soldiers ^[15] .

A professor at Damascus University, Sadik Al-Azm, believes that Islamism is introduced into practice through the “revival of the concept of Islamic jihad (holy war) in its strongest forms”, and terrorism is an integral feature of Islamism - as a way to inflict maximum damage to the enemy without taking into account any long-term consequences even for Islam itself ^[16] .

French political scientist Thierry Walton notes that Islamist terrorism is not a single structure with a common government. Separate groups exist autonomously and are not connected with each other. He believes that the democratization of the Arab-Muslim region can help reduce the terrorist threat ^[17] . Like Volton, Yekaterina Stepanova, Doctor of Political Science, divides local-regional Islamist groups and transnational terrorist networks. Ideological closeness and even direct contacts do not make a branch of global jihad from local groups, their goals differ significantly. Each of these two levels of terrorism retains a significant degree of autonomy and its own dynamics and logic of development ^[18] .

The US Central Intelligence Agency believes that the vast majority of terrorist organizations in the world are related to Islamism. Thus, according to the CIA, in 2004, out of 80 international terrorist organizations, 72 represented militant Islam. In that year, they committed 651 terrorist attacks, in which 1907 people died. ^[one]

In Europe, starting in 2010, there has been an increase in the number of terrorist attacks and the number of victims of terrorist acts committed by Sunni Islamists. ^{[19] [20]}

According to the FBI, 74% of terrorist acts committed in Europe between 2015 and 2018 were committed by Islamic terrorist organizations.

According to the Supreme Court of Russia, 100% of terrorist organizations registered in Russia are Islamic in nature.

Use of women as suicide bombers

The organizers of modern Islamist terrorism have begun to actively use women as suicide bombers , since they are easier to manipulate because of their greater vulnerability to men ^{[21] [22] [23] [24]} . Moreover, women cause less suspicion than men, and therefore it is easier for them to penetrate the places planned for carrying out terrorist acts ^{[25] [26]} .

It is common practice to force Muslim women accused of extramarital affairs to commit suicide bombings as the only way to avoid harsh punishment (usually killing at the hands of their father, brother or husband) and prevent public shame for her entire family ^{[27] [ 28]} . In such cases, it is believed in Muslim communities that a woman preferred the “honorable” death to “shameful.” To this end, the intentional rape of the nominated candidates is also used to exclude the possibility for them to refuse the assignment under the threat of the publication of the fact of “dishonor” ^[29] .

Some of the women living in Muslim families agree to suicide bombing in order to free themselves from unbearable living conditions in the family, since the possibility of divorce is practically excluded for them ^[30] . It was also not uncommon for a girl sold by her father to an elderly and nasty man to prefer to carry out any kind of terrorist attack, just to go to jail. In this case, having become unattainable for the groom for a long time, she usually ceases to arouse his interest ^[31] .

Organizations recognized by several countries as terrorist:

• Abu Sayyaf ( Philippines )
• Al-Gama'a al-Islami (“Islamic Group”) ( Egypt ) ^[32]
• Al-Jihad (“Holy War”, “Holy War”) ( Egypt ) ^[32]
• Al Qaeda (“Base”) ^[32]
• Al-Haramain (“The House of Two Shrines”) ( Saudi Arabia ) ^[32]
• Liberation Army of Aden Abiya ( Yemen )
• Asbat al-Ansar ^[32]
• Islamic Combat Group ( Libya )
• Muslim Brotherhood (Al-Ihwan al-Muslimlim, Muslim Brotherhood) ^[32]
• Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades (declared terrorist organization by Israel , USA , Canada , European Union , Japan )
• Armed Islamic Group
• Supreme Military Majlisul Shura of the Joint Forces of the Mujahideen of the Caucasus ^[32]
• Jamiyat al-Islah al-Ijthaym
• Jamiyat Ihya at-Turaz al-Islami
• Jemaa Islam ( Indonesia )
• Uyghur-Bulgarian Jamaat
• Jamaat Bulgar ( Afghanistan ) ( Tatarstan )
• Jamaat Sharia ( North Caucasus )
• Jund ash-Sham (“the army of Great Syria”) ^[32]
• Egyptian Islamic Jihad ( Egypt )
• Islamic Jihad (“Islamic Jihad - Jamaat of the Mujahideen”, “Islamic Jihad Group”, “Islamic jihad group”) ^[32]
• Islamic Army of Iraq
• The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan ^[32] , also known as the Islamic Party of Turkestan ^[32]
• Caucasus Emirate ("Emirate of the Caucasus") ^[32]
• Congress of the Peoples of Ichkeria and Dagestan ^[32]
• The Islamic Heritage Revival Society (Jamiyat Ighiah at-Turaz al-Islami, Islamic Heritage Revival Society) (Kuwait) ^[32]
• “Society for Social Reforms” (Jamiyat al-Islam Islam-Ijthimai, “Social Reform Society”) (Kuwait) ^[32]
• Lashkar-i-Taiba ( Pakistan ) ^[32]
• Lashkar Jihad ( Indonesia )
• Moroccan Islamic Wrestling Group ( Morocco )
• Riyadus Salikhin
• Salafist Group of Sermon and Jihad ( Algeria ) ^[32]
• Takfir Hijra Wall ( Egypt )
• Taliban ( Afghanistan ) ^[32]
• Hamas (declared terrorist organization by Canada , the European Union , Israel , Japan , the US and Egypt)
• Hezbollah (declared a terrorist organization in 12 countries, Australia , Great Britain , Canada , Israel , the USA and GCC countries )
• Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Islami (Islamic Liberation Party, Islamic Salvation Party) (recognized as a terrorist organization by the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation) ^[32]
• Al-Nusra Front (Jebhat-en-Nusra Li-Ahlish-Sham) (Syria)
• Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (“ISIS”; also “Islamic State of Iraq and Sham” - “ISIS”; “Islamic State”) (Syria, Iraq)

• 1979 - Act of terrorism in Mecca on November 20, 1979 . Al-Masjid al-Haram terrorists have taken several thousand pilgrims hostage in the main mosque of Saudi Arabia. The storm killed 255 people.
• 1994 - An explosion at the Israeli cultural center in Argentina . Implemented by Islamic Jihad .
• 1994 , December 24 - the capture of the French Airbus A-300 by Algerian terrorists.
• 1995 , June 14-20 - Basaev’s raid on Budennovsk ( Russia ), mass hostage taking in the hospital building. Killed more than 200 people.
• 1995 , July 25 - explosion of a gas cylinder at the station Saint Michel ( France ), 8 people were killed, 200 were injured. Armed Islamic Group .
• 1995 October 6 - gas cylinder explosion at the Paris metro station Maison Blanche, 30 people were injured. Armed Islamic Group .
• 1995 , October 17 - explosion of a gas cylinder at Orsay station (RER B), 30 people were injured. Armed Islamic Group .
• 1996 , January 9-15 - Raduyev’s raid on Kizlyar ( Russia ). Hospital capture.
• 1997 , July 28 - Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Jerusalem market. 15 people died. Hamas took responsibility.
• 2001 , September 11 - suicide attack on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon (USA). Al Qaeda ^[33] .
• 2002 , Nord-Ost - capture of the theater in Moscow . Riyadus-Salikhin .
• 2003 , May 13 - suicide bombing attack on the quarter where foreigners live in Riyadh ( Saudi Arabia ). 50 dead.
• On February 6, 2004 , a powerful explosion occurred in a train car between the Avtozavodskaya and Paveletskaya metro stations. 41 people were killed, 120 injured. Chechen separatists were accused of organizing the explosion.
• 2004 , March 11 - a series of explosions in trains at the Atocha , El Poso and Santa Eugenia railway stations in Madrid ( Spain ), 191 people were killed and about 1,500 injured. Organizer - Al Qaeda ^[33] .
• 2004 , May 29-30 - a drama with the capture and release of hostages in Khobar ( Saudi Arabia ).
• 2004 , August 24 - explosion of two Russian passenger planes by Chechen suicide bombers. 87 killed. Organizer - Riyadus-Salikhin .
• 2004 , 31 августа — примерно в 20:15 рядом со станцией метро « Рижская » террористка-смертница привела в действие взрывное устройство мощностью до двух килограммов в тротиловом эквиваленте. Судя по всему, бомба была начинена осколочными компонентами, потому что жертв оказалось много — 10 человек погибли, более 50-и получили ранения. ^[34] Организатор — Риядус-Салихин .
• 2004 — Террористический акт в Беслане — захват школы № 1 в г. Беслане (республика Северная Осетия — Алания, Россия). Организатор — Риядус-Салихийн .
• 2005 , 13 мая — Массовые беспорядки в Андижане — погибло 170 человек, более 500 ранено.
• 2005 , 7 июля — серия взрывов в лондонском метро и городских автобусах, около 50 человек погибло, более 1000 ранено ^[33] .
• 2009 , 24 апреля — две террористки-смертницы подорвали себя возле шиитской мечети в квартале Казимия ( Багдад ). 66—71 погибший, не менее 127 раненых. ^{[35] [36] [37]}
• 2010 , 3 сентября в Кветте ( Пакистан ) смертник-самоубийца подорвал себя в толпе мусульман-шиитов. Погибло 73 человека, ещё 160 были доставлены в больницу. Ответственность за теракт взяла на себя суннитская группировка Лашкар-и-Джангави ^[38] .
• 2010 , 8 ноября — в городе Дарра-Адам-Хель ( Пакистан ) смертник взорвал себя в шиитской мечети, погибло более 70 человек ^[39] .
• 2011 , апрель — в Индонезии смертник взорвал себя в мечети во время пятничной молитвы с криком « Аллаху Акбар !» ^[40] .

В культуре

Песня In the Name of God из альбома Attero Dominatus группы Sabaton направлена против исламистского терроризма.

• Шахид
  • Пояс шахида
• Исламофашизм
• Список терактов Бригад мучеников Аль- Аксы
• Чеченские террористки
  • Исламистский терроризм на Северном Кавказе (с 2009)
• Список терактов НФОП
• Список терактов Хамаса

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• Bespalov S.V. Transnational Islamist terrorism - a global problem // PolitBook. 2012. No. 3.
• Vasiliev M. The Socialist Revolution and the Muslim East // Skepsis
• Gusterin P.V. Rating of terrorist organizations recognized as such by the Russian courts // Military Review. - 07/14/2015.
• Pakhomov E. Single Army
• Stepanova E. Islamist terrorism of today: global and local-regional levels
• Tarasov A. N. Revolution and Jihad, or Should the Left Unite with Islamic Radicals? // "Free Thought-XXI." - 2002. - No. 12.
• Khokhlov I.I. “Islamic Terrorism - The Global Jihad of Salafi Al Qaeda International Terrorist Network
• O'Ballance, Edgar . Some Arab Guerrilla Problems . // Military Review . - October 1972. - Vol. 52 - No. 10 - P. 27-34 - ISSN 0026-4148. (British military observer describes the process of training militants, foreign support, arms supplies, and other practical aspects and quantitative data on this issue)