Religious Ideology and the Roots of the Global Jihad

Religious Ideology and the Roots of the Global Jihad

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Religious Ideology and the Roots of the Global Jihad Salafi Jihadism and International Order John A. Turner Independent Scholar, USA

John A. Turner 2014. Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-40956-0 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries ISBN 978-1-349-48873-5 DOI 10.1057/9781137409577 ISBN 978-1-137-40957-7 (ebook) This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

To John A. Turner Jr., Janet Turner and Lana Thank you for all you have done

Contents Introduction 1 1 Prominent Debates on the Proliferation of Salafi Jihadism 11 1.1 Globalisation and modernity 16 1.2 Clash of civilisations 18 1.3 Culture and values 21 1.4 The Jewish state 23 1.5 US foreign policy, democracy and authoritarian regimes 26 1.6 Economic disenfranchisement 31 1.7 Why not the rest? 32 1.8 Conclusion 33 2 Historical and Ideological Challenges 35 2.1 The relevance of history and ideas 37 2.2 The international order, hegemony and nation-states 40 2.3 Conclusion 44 3 The Islamic State 45 3.1 Sovereignty in the West 47 3.2 Islamic sovereignty 50 3.2.1 Specialised officialdom: The caliphate 52 3.2.2 Coercive law: Sharia 55 3.2.3 Islamic territoriality and the umma 57 3.3 Al-Qaeda and the Islamic state 59 3.4 Conclusion 60 4 An Islamic Paradigm of International Relations 63 4.1 In search of Islamic international relations 65 4.2 Three Islamic theoretical traditions: Classical, Reformist, Revolutionary 66 4.3 The Classical approach 67 4.4 The Reformists 70 4.5 The third and fourth debates and the emergence of the Salafi Jihadist School 73 4.6 Al-Qaeda and Islamic theory 76 4.7 Conclusion 77

Contents vii 5 The Struggle for Unity and Legitimacy in the Imperial Age 79 5.1 The emergence of empire 82 5.2 The Abbasid dynasty and its competitors 84 5.3 The Ottoman dynasty 85 5.4 Conclusion 87 6 The Struggle for Order in the Twentieth Century 89 6.1 Legitimacy to rule 90 6.2 Replacing the Ottoman order: Pan-Arabism and the search for legitimacy 91 6.3 Egypt: Gamal abd al-nasser and Anwar al-sadat 93 6.4 Syria and Iraq: Ba athism 94 6.5 Pan-Islamism: Iran 97 6.6 The rise and fall of Political Islam and the next contender 98 6.7 Conclusion 101 7 The Rise of Salafi Jihadism and the Al-Qaeda Ideology 103 7.1 Al-Qaeda s ideological structure 105 7.2 Reformative Islamic thought 112 7.3 Al-Qaeda as ideology 119 7.4 Conclusion 121 8 Glocalisation: Al-Qaeda and its Constituents 123 8.1 Al-Qaeda s global affiliates 126 8.2 Al-Qaeda s friends and allies 132 8.3 Global competitors: Same goal, different methods 134 8.4 The freelance jihadists 137 8.5 Conclusion 138 9 The International System and Salafi Jihadist Resistance 141 9.1 Constructing world order: From the World Wars and Cold War to the new world order and 9/11 143 9.2 Resisting world order 147 9.3 Post-hegemonic challenges to world order 149 9.4 Conclusion 153 Conclusions 157 Glossary 163 Notes 167 Bibliography 191 Index 207