Salafi-Jihadism: A 1,400-Year-old Idea Rises Again - Terrorist Groups al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and ISIS, Examination of Historical Events from 1960 Through 1979 Leading to Militarization of Salafism

This report has been professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction. Salafi-Jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, and ISIS threaten U.S. national security and the stability of the Middle East. The ongoing fighting in Syria and Iraq and Salafi-Jihadist global terrorist attacks from Paris to Mali show that we understand relatively little about how this radical ideology propounds violent goals and propels its followers to devise strategies to achieve them. The United States has fought al-Qaeda affiliates and ISIS for fifteen years without preventing them from plotting and executing attacks against the interests of the United States and its allies. For a military approach (i.e., an organized, executable degrading strategy) to be effective in countering an unconventional threat such as Salafi-Jihadism, it must be based on the richest possible profile of the group's mindset.
This monograph asserts that to understand the Salafi-Jihadist movement, two historical time periods must be examined: 1960-1978 and the year 1979. The former period marked the era of the Arab cold war, a zero-sum struggle between Egyptian-led Pan-Arabism and Saudi-led Pan-Islamism. The defeat of Pan-Arabism resulted in a seismic transfer of power from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, which remains unchallenged today in its dominance of the Sunni world and unhindered in its financial support to Salafi-Jihadi groups. However, no single year in the post-World War II era was more important to the Middle East than 1979. In that year, the Iranian revolution challenged Saudi Arabia for control of the Muslim world, Salafis tested the Saudi regime by besieging the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and Muslim nations worldwide reacted violently to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. The historical events that transpired from 1960 through 1979 significantly altered the political landscape of the Middle East and also led to the militarization of Salafism.

Introduction * The Roots of Salafi-Jihadism * Pan-Islamism * 1979 * Conclusion

Should political leaders and media pundits be baffled and shocked by the flight of Iraqi security forces and the citizens of Mosul in the face of ISIS? A brief study of Middle Eastern history would have sufficed to familiarize them with the vicious Salafi-Jihadist ideology that legitimizes the actions of ISIS, dispelling the common, simplistic view of today's jihadists as medieval apocalyptical fanatics who kill for the sake of killing. Salafi-Jihadist ideology provides just cause and proper authority for waging war against apostate governments and Western targets. If we fail to understand the history and theory underlying Salafi-Jihadist groups' use of violence to topple regimes and impose sharia, we will not grasp the current operating environment or enemy doctrine. As Stephen Coughlin has said, "The United States is currently fighting this war according to Barnes and Noble standards," implying that an introductory book available at Barnes and Noble does not provide adequate insight into the threat drivers of Salafi-Jihadist groups or an understanding the doctrinal writings that explain their violent actions.