The New Terrorism: Islamist International

The book deals perceptively and dispassionately with very old problem in a very new context: human response to human brutality. Terrorism is as old as human civilization. Throughout our historical record of over thousands year, terrorism in various forms, has been common, often destructive, varied in content yet similar in basic themes. To threaten, injure, or kill innocent bystanders in a circumstance of political, social or ideological compulsion is an ancient form of human behaviour. But to kill innocent people in the name of religion is a new phenomenon. Terrorism, which prevailed during the 1970s and 1980s, was an outgrowth of national liberation struggle, or of anti-capitalist movements. The new terrorism that emerged in the 1990s is pure and simple religious in nature and content. The question that comes to our mind after witnessing the horrific images of the aerial attacks on New York’s World Trade Center is why anyone would want to do such a thing? As the twin towers crumbled in the cloud of dust another question emerges: why should anyone want to do such a thing in the name of religion? These are some of questions that have been addressed in the book. Islamic groups include both just Muslims and misguided ones. In order to differentiate between moderates and fundamentalists in Islam the word Islamists or Islamist terrorists has been used for Islamic radicals. In the book all aspects of Islamist terrorism including, rise of fundamentalism in Islam, financing, suicide attacks, Jihad, state sponsored terrorism, the form it is going to assume in future and how to tackle this monster, have been dealt with. An attempt has also been made to ascertain whether Islamist terrorism tantamount to clash of civilization, or something beyond it.