What Motivates Jihadi Terrorism?

Written by Farhad Arian, Guest Contributor | 02 May 2012

Terrorism, as a highly complex phenomenon, stands at the forefront of national and international agendas. Although terrorism has a variety of different forms in terms of its association with various secular and religious groups, Jihadi Terrorism (Jihadism) is considered as one of its most dangerous forms threatening the world. Jihadi terrorism is a consequence of integrating Islamic ideology with the idea of jihad in a sense that extreme interpretation of Islamic texts contributes to the rise of violent jihad. As long as Islamic texts are entirely open to a variety of interpretations, jihadi terrorists (jihadists) take full advantage of this flexibility to justify their act of violence against combatants and non-combatants. As such, the act of violence by jihadists is mostly justified under the banner of defending Islam, preserving the rule of Allah, and creating a worldwide Islamic fundamentalist state, the Caliphate.

However, while these extreme interpretations of Islamic texts do not necessarily lead to a consensus on motivations behind the rise of jihadism, some academic and policy-making circles argue that historical, socio-cultural, political and ideological narratives are likely the major motivational factors for jihadi terrorism. To critically evaluate the motivational factors for jihadi terrorism, I examine the term “jihadi terrorism” in four contexts of historical, socio-cultural, political and ideological narratives.

Read more...