Date of Award

1-1-2015

Language

English

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

College/School/Department

Department of History

Content Description

1 online resource (ii, 119 pages)

Dissertation/Thesis Chair

H. Peter Krosby

Keywords

Al Qaeda, Jihad, Terrorism, Islam, Muslims, Islamic fundamentalism, War on Terrorism, 2001-2009

Subject Categories

History | Islamic World and Near East History

Abstract

Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Islamic terrorism has been propagated as a seemingly unavoidable threat to our daily lives. However, the globally oriented anti-Western jihad movement peaked in the late 1990s and early 2000s and has since been in decline. Across much of Africa and the Middle East, fringe groups have used Islam as a rallying cry to attract supporters who might otherwise dismiss their rather extreme tactics. Many of these groups claim to adhere to al Qaeda's brand of global terror, but they do so largely to obtain financing and support for their individual nationalist agendas. The vast majority of Muslims worldwide are increasingly rejecting violent terrorist tactics in favor of peace, or in the case of many of the Arab Spring revolutions, sometimes violence is simply the means for the end goal of democracy and secularization.

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