“How Jihadists Think” in the New Issue of Marased
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The BA Futuristic Studies Unit released the 44th issue of Marased, entitled “How Jihadists Think: Ideology and Propaganda”. The original text was published by the Centre on Religion and Geopolitics, United Kingdom (UK).
This study focuses on the importance of understanding the phenomenon of “Global Extremism” in order to confront it; the eradication of this accord of ideological thoughts and political objectives must be carried out through thorough examination and persistent intellectual confrontation. The study conducted by the Centre on Religion and Geopolitics examines and analyzes a sample of study that includes 11 media sources from three jihadist-Salafism groups: the Islamic State (IS) militant group, al-Nusra Front, and al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.
This paper provides a basis of evidence about what many people already believe; that jihadist-Salafism is a driving force behind violence and extremism. Thus, this driving force must be confronted first in order to abolish this violence.
The study concluded that there is a clear difference between jihadist-Salafism ideology and Islam, which is practiced by the majority of Muslims. The jihadist-Salafism thoughts are based on distorted principles of Islam, resulting in a unified and decisive opinion on violent jihadist practices. The three groups adopt similar extremist ideologies.
The study is proposing various suggestions according to the results, such as understanding the framework of jihadist ideology; creating a simple alternative framework for applying Islamic principles and values; reforming the roles of educational systems, role models, and financiers in the fight against terrorism; and destroying the inherent certainty of jihadist-Salafi ideology through providing the general public with all-inclusive, comprehensive, and detailed answers.