Al Qaeda and Early Jihadist Movements - Essay Example

Al Qaeda and Early Jihadist Movements: A Comparison Introduction The world has witnessed multiple generations of jihadism and with each newer generation and jihadist group emerging with more violence to drive their ideologies, better experience, and an increase in tendency to escalate. Each of the successive jihadists groups have come up with newer tactics, more energized and more passionate toward the struggle. In order to ensure continuity of the struggle, the Islamists have not been even driven but rather opportunity driven. The latest jihadist group that can be currently said to be the biggest and most sophisticated of the jihadist groups that have so far is Al Qaeda, which for a very long time was headed by Osama Bin Laden. Al Qaeda, though an offshoot of the early jihadist movements, has grown to be more radical, violent and passionate toward the struggle. Given the shifts, the question that comes to the fore is the extent to which al Qaeda is different from the previous jihadist movements. This paper therefore analyses the similarities between the modern day al Qaeda movement and the early jihadist movements. However, in order to get a better analysis of the similarities and differences between the sets of generational jihadism, it is imperative to first appreciate the origin of the movements. Comparison between Early Jihadist Groups and Al Qaeda The early jihadists’ movements and al Qaeda have all had elements of how Islam is exploited as a vehicle for political mobilization (Moaddel 375). The resurgence of jihadism or political Islam was mainly as a result of the defeats the Arab states suffered at the hands of Israeli forces in 1967, to challenge the nation states in the Middle East (Milton-Edwards 123). The Muslim Brotherhood emerged because of the fall of the secular Muslim States. Since the 20th century, the brotherhood has toiled to form Islamic states that strictly adhere to the teachings of the Quran, most of the time, as they understand those teachings. This was an invention of an Islamic figure christened Hasan Al Bannna who lived between the years 1906 and 1949. Another figure who was also particularly instrumental in this quest particularly in the Middle East was Sayyid Qutb who died in the year 1956. This was further sharpened and used by Abdul Ala Maududi in Asia, who lived in the period 1903 to 1979 (Gunaratna). Countries especially those in the Middle East have released their instruments of coercion to suppress society. The result of this is all too evident, as some of the Islamic groups have resulted to the use of violence to demand for their perceived rights. This ceding of political ground by the brotherhood has brought to the fore other groups that were previously unheard of. The hardline Islamic groups for instance view the brotherhood with skepticism as they believe the brotherhood is compromised. The takeover by the US government in the initiative to flush out terrorist elements in Iraq, coupled by the occupation by the Soviets in Afghanistan in the month of December of the year 1979 has not only been spawning ground for the emergence of disparate Islamic groups but has led to the thriving of such groups. The notion that Islam is a monolithic threat to the West has significantly increased and fuels their energy toward use of violence (Knudsen 10-11). Such groups have grown in influence, which is because of the growth in numbers and increased financing. In addition, they have learnt vital skill in the field of war which is mostly attributed to the Afghan campaign. The assistance offered by western governments to Mujahidin groups native to Afghanistan and the subsequent disagreements during the revolution of 1979, which occurred in Iraq and the later emergence of the Iraq-Iran War, has raised the level of assistance. This was offered by Washington to Iraq and other group especially Sunni, in addition the campaign by the Saudi in protest to the existence of Shias, has in turn given strength to Sunni groups from the 1980’s leading to the proliferation of Sunni Fundamentalism which has in turn had devastating impact on international security. The individuals who fought against the soviets did not make use of instruments such as suicide bombing or other self-annihilating methods but only believed in killing the enemy (Soviets). When the Soviet military surrendered a great number of mujahidin fighter returned home (Girardet 39). Most of those who came from Asia and the Arab world resumed their normal civilian life; others founded and joined Islamic groups in their host countries with the sole aim of creating Islamic States. Considerable sum of Mujahidin force who found themselves under the glare of security personnel in their home countries stayed put in Pakistan. These members of Islamic groups included Egyptian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic group of Egypt, which had instituted violence in their home countries. After some period these group existing in Pakistan and parts of Afghanistan travelled to other parts of the world and especially places with a high affinity for Jihad and expanded their influence by cooperating with local Muslim groups. The fall of the USSR and the subsequent decline of the communism, which ended the cold war, led to the neglecting of Afghanistan and Pakistan by the international community. This was a major setback to countries that had been in the frontline in the fight against communism. The abandoned Mujahideen was a fertile ground for recruitment of individuals by Al- Queda who provided them with the most basic of commodities, which included a home, and most importantly a purpose for living (Gunaratna). Initially this group was the creation of a mind who pictured it as a lobby to champion for Muslim Interests and struggle around the globe. As the front line organization leading the way for other Islamic movements, it played a vital role in the minimizing of pain in the Muslim world. In turn they offered assistance in the form of weapons, Finance, trainers and also an endless supply of fighters. The achievement of this can be attributed to the adoption of European and Middle East bought training and other forms of infrastructure mostly operational. This also culminated in the merging of Al Qaeda and Egypt’s Islamic Jihad one of the most fearless and brutal Sunni terrorist group in the 1990’s and of great strength as it is a group that mounted a campaign against a standing army. At the height of the Arab-Israeli war and mostly in part due to the struggle for Palestine. Israel has always been the perceived enemy of the Muslim groups and the United States was also construed to also be an enemy but not the chief enemy until the paradigm shift which mostly included a change in strategy. The change can be seen in terms of the substitution of near targets for distant targets. This can be exemplified by the attacks of the US embassies in East Africa in August of 1998. The change in heart was mostly due to the cumbersome nature of planning attacks at home, the high cost of targeting phony Muslim rulers and corrupt mandarins in the then existing regimes. Some groups have seen the United States as the sole enemy and the sole reason for this is the increasing support by Washington for countries in its efforts to fight terrorism worldwide. The difference in terms of ideology between Al Qaeda and its predecessors mostly rests on the premise that while the former exists as a global network which wages a worldwide jihad, the latter are territorial and play host to local holy wars. Increased vigilance by security personnel, which includes; security intelligence and cooperation by local law enforcement agencies, which includes support offered to US agencies. The result of this has been the emergence of selfless and brave individuals who have had the reputation of talking their own life in exchange of those of many people. Counter measures, which include manning of seafronts, surveillance of fly zones, increased stringent measures in the acquisition of travel documents which include passports and the increased difficulty in traveling from one country to another (Alexander 196), has driven the center of terrorist training from the center of Afghanistan to the largely anarchic regions of the global south. Conclusion Al Qaeda and the early jihadist groups have various similarities among themselves in terms of ideology and operations. Both generations of jihadism have their struggles rooted in the same ideology of having a pure Islamic world. Moreover, the early jihadist groups and al Qaeda are seen to operate in similar ways. Although there are various similarities between al Qaeda and the early jihadist groups, the former has undergone considerable shifts in strategies, tactics, targets and to a small extent, ideology. The early jihadist movements were mainly driven by the desire to instill strict Islamic rule in the Arab world. Their struggle was chiefly to fight domestic enemies, that is, the local governments that were perceived to be digressing from the teachings of Islam. Al Qaeda, on the other hand, has mainly been involved in violent attacks against Western states that they perceive to be anti-Islam. The struggle, jihadism, has therefore changed location of targets from local to global. Works Cited Top of Form Alexander, Yonah. Counterterrorism Strategies: Successes and Failures of Six Nations. Washington, D.C: Potomac Books, 2006. Internet resource. Bottom of Form Girardet, Ed. Afghanistan: the Soviet War. London: Routledge, 2011. Print. Gunaratna, Rohan. The New Face of Al Qaeda: Understanding the Generational Gradient in Local and Global Jihad Campaigns. Pointer Journal,2003 29(4). Knudsen, Are J. Political Islam in South Asia. Bergen, Norway: Chr. Michelsen Institute, Development Studies and Human Rights, 2002. Milton-Edwards, Beverley. Contemporary Politics in the Middle East. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000. Print. Moaddel, Mansoor. "The Study of Islamic Culture and Politics: An Overview and Assessment." Annual Review of Sociology. (2002). Vol. 28: 359-386. Bottom of Form . Read More