Routes into 'Islamic' terrorism: dead ends and spaghetti junctions.

Vertigans, Stephen

Abstract

Explanations for the development of groups associated with terrorism generally and 'Islamic' terrorism, in particular, tend to concentrate upon materialism and forms of brainwashing. Despite considerable evidence to the contrary, the uneducated poor and unemployed graduates are most commonly profiled as Muslim terrorists. To address the over-reliance on economic factors and weak personalities, a broader approach is adopted that examines political opportunities, socialising processes and historical and contemporary experiences. It is argued that if 'Islamic' terrorism is to be fully understood and ultimately defeated, then it has to be acknowledged as a multi-faceted phenomenon that is caused by varying combinations of economic, political, social, cultural and psychological factors.

Citation

VERTIGANS, S. 2007. Routes into Islamic' terrorism: dead ends and spaghetti junctions. Policing [online], 1(4), pages 447-459. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pam054

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 7, 2007
• Online Publication Date: Nov 7, 2007
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2007
• Deposit Date: Aug 21, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 21, 2018
• Journal: Policing
• Print ISSN: 1752-4512
• Electronic ISSN: 1752-4520
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 1
• Issue: 4
• Pages: 447-459
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/police/pam054
• Keywords: Al-Qaida; Islam; Materialism; Repression; Socialisation; Terrorism
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/3085