Motivation behind Islamic Extremist Group - Essay Example

Motivation behind Islamic extremist group al affiliation Osama Bin Laden’s 1996 declaration of war against Americans proclaims, “Your problem is how to convince your troops to fight while our problem is how to retrain the youths to wait for their turn and fight.” (Gibbs, 2005) Such statements trigger many questions as to what drive and motivate youths into such fights. How extremists gain power Islamic extremism has been a trans-generational problem felt across the world especially in America after the twin tower attacks. It is a primary security agenda in all government policies and a human right concern in the contemporary world. Its oppression on women, religious minorities and other groups are just but part of worries presented by the group (Miller, 2006). Additionally, the tyrannical and sectarian warfare techniques also attract the attention of different people. In this light, the paper offers a discussion into the different factors motivating Islam extremist. However, before extending the discussion, it is imperative to delineate real Islam from the radicalised population under the influence of different factors. Notably, not all Islamists are extremists; however, they constitute a small population championing different private and religious rights against a given population. Extremists have a radical interpretation of Islam doctrines. Interestingly, not all Islamic extremists use violent ways to express their feeling, but a series of non –violent cases have also been on the rise. For example, several extremists have turned into activism and interfaith coalitions to recruit unsuspecting individuals. In turn, many people have found themselves in radicalised situations without prior knowledge of their consent to involvement. Contrary to pure Islamists, extremists also use tactics of fund raising and staging political scenes that serve their interests (Miller, 2006). Most of the extremists also focus on spreading extremists ideologies as part of the strategy to change the world. Islam extremists ascribe to gradualism as a modus operandi. The contemporary Islam extremism mainly thrived from traditional rival movements in the 19th century. Pro Islam revivalism at the time perceived Islam as a weak religion that requires many reforms. Among the many factors that motivated reforms include, the rise of secularism from western values in Muslim countries. Therefore, many people preached for a fresh interpretation of Islamic texts based on pan-Islamic unity and most importantly, Sharia law. In this light, there are several motivating factors towards extremism. Natural motivators Different extremist groups champion different ideas as a way of satisfying their agenda. Nationalists have their loyalty and devotion to their original nation. They protect their political, economic and social system by fighting all people that attempt to interfere with their status. On the same note, nationalists can go to extreme lengths to split from the original nation in order to get their share of interests. Arguably, this is the worst extremis category as it can tear a country and leave it unstable. Example of nationalists includes Afghanistan insurgents that have consistently fought American troops for invading their land. Evidently, the killing and exile of their leaders did not play any role in changing their opinion. Separatists groups, on the other hand, have priority of separating from an existing entity. Conceivably, this can include political systems, religious freedom or a breakthrough from domination. Separatists also represent one of the worse believers (Gibbs, 2005). For instance, separatists champion for equity or social justice, anti-imperialism and resistance to conquest. They do not recognise international policies on different issues. Instead, they regard different policies as oppressive or non-conclusive to the entire world (Reeson, 2011). Certainly, this interesting turn in belief make it difficult to convince such people on the benefit of maintaining rules and order. These people go to extreme lengths of breaking the order while at the same time encouraging sucking change. Ethnocentric groups view race as an important facet of character definition. From this perspective, they believe a given group retains superiority because of given values. In response, they try to clear the world and shape it with their personal interests. In this view, Islamic extremists’ belief Islam remains the only religious group with authentic right to stay in the world. Last but importantly, revolutionary extremists have the view that existing governments or system play a limited role in stimulating stability. The group often associates with communist ideologies that allows for revolutionary methods of changing power. Ideological factors Secular ideologies accosted by selective violent behaviours can be disastrous to any nation or religion. Ideological motivators mainly concentrate on political agendas as a means of legitimizing grievances. Arguably, the risk of undermining political and economic support does not persuade participants of this movement. On the contrary, they have a minimum threshold of damage acceptable to the organization (Gibbs, 2005). Traditionally, Islam viewed religion as a constitution or agreement between man and God. In the spiritual belief, n compulsion was to exist while doing various things required by the spiritual being. Peace and respect was a primary factor between religious groups. However, due to spiritual misinterpretations, the feeling has since changed. The deep belied that all people require liberty, peace, tolerance and equality has given a true identity of extremism (Miller, 2006). Many people in these groups believe inequalities arise from bad governments and not people. Undoubtedly, the feeling induced re-construction of Japan and Germany during the Second World War. In as much as the strategy has worked towards alleviating inequality, among Muslim extremists as ideology of universal democracy is purely an illusion. As the extremists fight for democracy, they end up killing people in the process who do not form part of the bad governments. Religious motivators As young people grow, the Islam religion gets marked as an infallible tool in life. According to their interpretation, it guides, teaches and limits people’s actions. From this perspective, any action to contradict or fail to follow the Islamic doctrines amounts to serious violation. Extremists take advantage of this situation to make due their agenda. Many Muslims especially those that have embraced western cultures believe the world deserves peace. However, extremists have a different view. They coach terrorists using distorted information and theoretical dogma masking the secular objectives. Additionally, Muslim supremacists and extremists believe their more to just interpretation. Evidently, the concept of Islam considerably differs from other doctrines such as Christianity and Judaism. Certainly, this is despite that fact that many people and government at large view religion as a personal and primary issue of the heart. Arguably, Islam extremists extend their personal share to other people. They judge and come to conclusion regarding the behaviour of people and most importantly the change in world trends (Gibbs, 2005). They want to control public speech, marriage, diet, education, dress codes, defence, and civic law. Interestingly, people leaving this group face death threats. The totalitarian views take away the divine legitimacy replacing it unbelievable advances. Extremists controlled territories are inaccessible by ordinary people and to some extent law enforcing agencies. Indeed, this raises a fundamental question of whether; they portray religious beliefs or champion other interests. Notably, religious motivators can be tied to ethnic and nationalists such as Kashmiri separatists who were destined to separate from India. Social motivators There are various social issues contested among individuals and groups that attract the attention of extremists. For example, animal rights, ecology, environment, race, minority rights and anti-government doctrines have propelled Islamic extremists from different quotas. Based on this school of thought, extremists react to provocation or grievances in the social system. From this perspective, the west has been involved in a series of injustices and activities committed mainly against the Islam community (Reeson, 2011). As warriors, the extremists have a role of stimulating response and ensuring a limited interference from the external world. In as much as the other schools of thought hold that these are excuses designed to cushion their actions, apparently they play an important role in explaining the motivating factors behind Islamic extremism. In Egypt, the freedom and justice demonstrations rocked the world news. The demonstrations facilitated removal of the president as and ultimate change of regime. Different extremists such as the Hamas of the brotherhood made various attacks on the country. According to the group, jihad should have an international outlook to guarantee justice and equity. Accordingly, various institutions spread Islamic extremism ranging from social services, schools, media and foreign governments. The situation in Somalia, for example, has raised concerns from the international community. According to much analysis, Somalia situation is not an internal problem, but a process propagated by international forces. The US government exclusively designates four countries as sponsors of terrorism including Sudan, Cuba, Syria, and Iran (Great Britain, 2009). From this perspective, international network and financial assistance immensely contribute to extremism. In conclusion, Islam extremist is not a contemporary problem but traces past people like Kashmir in India. Undoubtedly, it tops the list of security issues while also attracting attention from human right groups. Notably, various factors propagate Islam extremist. These include traditional priorities, social, ideological, and most importantly religious factors. In many instances, extremists act in response in aggression from western leaders. Nevertheless, people consider these as blanket reasons behind the radicalism surrounding the act. For example, arrest and killing of Sadam Hussein attracted a series of terrorist threats. In the same note, financial sponsorship and misinterpretation of religion have propagated Islam extremism References Gibbs, S. (2005). Islam and Islamic Extremism: An Existential Analysis. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 156-203. Great Britain (2009). Money laundering and the financing of terrorism: 19th report of session 2008-09. London: Stationery Office. Miller, E. A. (2006). To balance or not to balance: Alignment theory and the Commonwealth of Independent States. Aldershot [u.a.: Ashgate. Reeson, G. C. (2011). Stalemate: Why we cant win the war on terror and what we should do instead. Lanham: Government Institutes. Read More