Background: Radical Islamism in the Middle East Throughout the course of history, particularly over the last century, the Middle East has been identified as a growing source of hostility and violence due to its extensive involvement in religious conflict, ethnic rivalry, territorial dispute, and war. Poor governance, as well as the absence of an effective civil society and the lack of the rule of law, has led to the demise of several states within the region. Such instability has fostered the growth of religious extremism and brutality while insurgent groups and established terrorist organizations have converted these territories into safe havens to facilitate their radical operations. As a result, almost every country in the Middle East …show more content…
The Islamic Resistance Movement adopted its belief system from one of the darkest times in history: the Holocaust. Hamas possesses a radical Islamist ideology of blatant anti-Semitism in which it openly calls for “the killing of Jews, destroying the state of Israel and replacing Israel with a radical Islamist theocracy.” In spite of this, Hamas derives its guidelines from the Islamic religion; the movement refers to the Qur’an for its thinking, understanding and views about existence, life and humanity, inspiration, and conduct. On account of the movement’s Islamic core, Hamas invites all Muslims who share similar beliefs and judgment to join in its ranks to fulfill their religious obligation to Allah. Since Hamas is an interrelated branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, there is a lot of overlap in the viewpoints between the two movements concerning the same key issues, as stated in article two of the charter. While the primary goal of both factions is to transform
While the aftermath of World War II is often referred to as one of the primary creators of deep rooted turmoil in the Middle East region, the effects of the Cold War and the United States often over-zealous battle against communism is just as much a contributor if not more. The Arab world and the Middle East region were clearly going through quite an extraordinary period throughout World War II and its conclusion, primarily with the creation of most of the states we recognize today and struggling with the continuation of colonialism. These factors set the stage for the emergence of strong nationalist sentiments and Pan-Arab movements across the Middle East. Unfortunately, and much to the detriment of the region, the leaders of these young
Modern terrorism, as deduced from this literature, is acts to violence strategically used by secular groups spanning international borders with the aim of achieving a desired outcome. Further, it can be seen as organized activity whose genesis can be traced back to the 1880’s. From then to now there are identifiable traits and patterns observed from different (terrorist) groups which have allowed for the conceptualization of the term modern terrorism. This concept therefore, can be best explained in the context of being a wave or having a life cycle. That means it is a cycle of activity demarked by phases from inception and expands along the way then eventually it declines. The world, thus far, has experienced four waves of modern
The key drivers of uncertainty for ISIS in these scenarios include its ability to management its level fundamentalism and stability within its environment. Muslim conduct Islamic fundamentalism when they live and project on to others the original interpretation of Muhammed teachings. The most radical fundamentalism is Wahhabi or Salafist, supporting the conservative and extreme interpretation of the Quran and Sharia Law. ISIS uses its radical fundamentalist interpretation of Quran and Sharia Law to conduct its killing, caliphate and management its people. Due to its major combat losses, ISIS may want a less aggressive approach of fundamentalism to be more appealing to large portions of the Muslim community. The moderate fundamentalism approach used the both the uses the Quran and Sharia Law as well but used political governance or over more aggressive violence to achieve its strategic objectives. To regain personnel and strengthen its forces, ISIS may want to consider globalism over nationalism to improve stability. Although Globalism promotes international investment along with the spread of ideas and culture to other nations, ISIS may want to engage with Nationalism approach to strength it based in Iraq or Syria. All four scenarios review the importance of both fundamentalism and stability as major driving factors projecting the future of an uncertain
Often called “The Crossroads of the World”, the Middle East stands between three continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. Over thousands of years, migrating traders and conquerors crossed this region and spread the ideas, inventions, and achievements of many civilizations. It is an incredibly important part of the world with rich history, important resources, and deep religious and cultural traditions. However, in the past decades up to today, the Middle East has been consumed by conflict and chaos. Although different circumstances surround each issue, religion, terrorism, disputes over the control of natural resources, and weak governance primarily allow conflict to persist in the Middle East.
-Palestinians—most Palestinian organizations like Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) just want to have their own state and Israelis withdrawn from the occupied territories but extremist like Hamas wants to takeover the whole Israel and either make Jews as second citizens or push them to the sea.
For example, just like in Isreal some political parties embrace peace treaties but others prepare for war. While countries and so many different ideas are so close trying to say whats right just stepping in the wrong place at the wrong time will turn into a war. Terrorism is such a scary thing because in the Middle East it is a "wild card". This means that terrorism is a very unpredictable thing. Terrorism can be associated with any number of things and be carried out by anyone. They can easily end a peace treaty just sent in place to protect citizens. With tension growing terrorist encourage any source of violence that can occur this is why they can be such a big to in starting a chain reaction from a small disagreement. Another reason this can be a volatile area is that because it is home to some of the richest and poor people on earth. For the most part, citizens who live in the Middle East do not have access to clean drinking water. A lot of problems come from a shortage of drinking water. If we could help supply the rich and poor get access to safe drinking water terrorism would exist but there would be less encouragement for
Hamas was founded in 1987 and its aim was to address Palestinian quest for nation statehood and their consequent grievances (Herzog, 2006). The writer explains that the name is acronym in Arabic for Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamiya or the Islamic Resistance Movement. The group's ideology, the writer explains was outlined in its covenant of 1998. The covenant stipulates that the land of Palestine is an Islamic endowment. It stipulates that the state of Israel should be removed by the sword.
HAMAS, an Arabic acronym meaning “Islamic Resistance Movement”, is the name of the socio-political organization currently in power over the Gaza Strip. For decades Jews & Muslims and Israelis & Palestinians, often one in the same, have fought for control over the region. Each have killed thousands of the other, destroyed infrastructures and used underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. Nations such as Japan, the European Union, the United States and (of course) Israel classify the group as terrorists, while nations such as Turkey, Russia and Switzerland do not. (King, 2010) Many factors are taken into consideration before a Nation-State denounces an organization as a “terrorist group”. A profile of HAMAS may help make clear why it is
From the beginning, Muslims have always been unhappy with the presence of Israel in “Muslim land”, specifically Palestine. This conflict is the main reason why Hamas was created and why they are so popular in the Middle East. Hamas officially published its charter or “The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement” on August 18, 1988. Hamas is a Palestinian nationalistic and Islamic fundamentalist organization. The charter spells out the organizations objectives, goals, and end state and has been unchanged to this day. The charter calls upon Islamic jihad in order to take back the land of Palestine that was stolen by Israel. The charter also states the goals of establishing an Islamic Palestinian state in the West Bank and The Gaza Strip, the total destruction of Israel, the return of all Palestinian refugees back to Israel and East Jerusalem, and East Jerusalem be recognized as the Palestinian capital. When Hamas published its charter, it created a rift between the Muslim Brotherhood. Even though Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood remained linked by there pro Islamic ideology, the Muslim Brotherhood was considered a non-violent organization. Hamas on the other hand made no qualms about a violent jihad against Israel.
Hamas’s origins stretch back decades through the Muslim Brotherhood in Palestine; and Hamas took it current shape during the early years of the intifada. Hamas was not only formed to resist an Israeli state, but also was firmly against the Palestinian Liberation Organization’s (PLO) dominance in the Palestinian National movement.
Terrorism in the Middle East has brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the attention of the world. These terrorist groups use murder, bombs, threats, and other violent acts to get their way politically. Hamas, the organization that has replaced Fatah as the representative of the Palestinians, is a leading sponsor of terrorism. The Hamas are the leading reason there is not peace in the middle east as they strongly embrace terrorism.
One can scarcely turn on the television, or the radio, or open up a web browser without the mention of Islamic terrorism or unrest around the world. Though the United States and the rest of the world may not be engaged in a protracted religious war, for radical Muslim fundamentalist they are. Bernard Lewis brings to light possible reasons for the issues facing the world dealing with Islamic terrorism. The Crisis of Islam: Holy War and Unholy Terror explains these issues in historical context as well as how some of the actions professed in the name of Islam and claim to
Is peace possible in the Middle East? This question weighs heavy on the minds of many individuals and international players. Turmoil and conflict in the Middle East not only affects the people inhabiting this region, but also has global consequences. To answer this question, one must analyze the sources of conflict in the Middle East, historically, currently, and in the future. The limited amount of natural resources in this region has arguably served as the most major source of conflict in the Middle East. Other contributing factors to conflict are the leadership styles of the key players in positions of power, and religious strife. History is often the best indicator for the future. Unfortunately, the Middle East has had a history of
The Islamic Resistance Movement, also known as al-Harakah al-Muqawama al-Islamiya (Hamas), has proven to be an extremely agile and capable terrorist organization in Palestine. They benefit from a deep-rooted sociocultural infrastructure, highly lethal tactics and a complex hierarchy of leadership, all of which have allowed the organization to prosper for over two decades. As where 90% of terrorist groups wither and rapidly falter, Hamas has been able to quickly adapt to the constantly changing political and social environment of Palestine . This evolution, has always assured the organization a generous group of adherents. The necessity to change based on environmental stressors has likened it to a “multipronged organism, which has
Since many religions have started in the Middle East, it has become the center for erupting conflicts. For instance, the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has been in the news for many reasons. Both groups want control of the God given land that they both claim is theirs, according to God, and what had happened in the past. The result of the conflict is religious terrorism (PBS, 1). Continuing, some Middle Eastern politics have been in conflict, even dividing communities of the