Terrorism Case Study

Caless (2012) defines consternationism as the brat or use of violence to go on a political agenda for change by inducing widespread fear. However, experts have been debating oer a clear definition for terrorism for over nose smokedy years. Although the word was first used over 200 years ago when discussing the Reign of Terror (Whitaker, 2001). Consequently, at that place have been over 100 definitions offered for terrorism (Laqueur, 1977, cited in Martin, 2013). Alex Schmids (2004) research to a fault represents the lack of clarity adjoin the definition.And most experts believe that an impartial and universal recognised definition will never be concord upon (Ganor, 2002). With the lack of clarity border the definition, a further question arises who is classed as a terrorist? This is reflected in the well up kn avow phrase one mans freedom fighter, is another mans terrorist. (Gerald Seymour, 1975, cited in Ganor, 2002). Overall, it is agreed, that this depends on the subj ective viewpoint of the man-to-man (Ganor, 2002 Jackson, 2008 Corte, 2007).The Just War doctrine is an ideal and moralistic philosophy (Martin, 2013). It asks questions such as what types of force argon morally acceptable? and who can morally be defined as an enemy? This notion is commonly used by ideological and religious extremists, in order to justify their possess acts of extreme violence. A prime example of religious extremists is the jihadi Islamic fundamentalists, the term jihad means a divine struggle but is manifested by ab appear radical Muslim clerics as a holy state of war and therefore perceived that their war is a just war (Martin, 2013).This paper will endeavour to answer the question Did University College London (UCL) further radicalise Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab? There have been many debates, theories and investigations surrounding this question, many of which will be analysed throughout. Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (born 22 December 1986) is a Nigerian Islam ist who attempted to detonate plastic explosives in his underwear whilst travelling from Amsterdam to Detroit, on Christmas Day 2009, on the Northwest Airlines Flight 253. In January 2005 Abdulmutallab joined an Islamic fabrication under the pseudonym Farouk1986 (Now Public, 2009).He frequently contributed to the assembly. His postings normally gave advice to other assembly members, although on occasion he verbalised more than personal views. These included his jihad fantasies, describing how Muslims will win and rule the world and prays to Allah to unite us all Muslims and strive us victory over those who do not believe. The majority of his postings illustrate his loneliness and his struggle to contain his sexual drive, and he goes on to flout fellow forum users to limit their activities to Islamically good and to only hang around with good Muslims who enjoy studying.Throughout his postings in the forum he maintains that he is memorising the Quran (Islamic Forum, 2005). These postings illustrate that Abdulmutallabs views on the Islamic religion, atomic number 18 very similar to Salafism or Olivier Roys neo-fundamentalism (see Social Science Research Council). This is shown with his fixation on personal faith, and is in addition portrayed when he praises Shaykhs Saud as-Shuraim and Abdul Rahman as Sudais (Islamic Forum, 2005). Another radical Muslim he mentions is Abdullah el-Faisal, who is currently in prison in the UK for influencing his supporters to murder Jews, Hindus and Americans (Forest, 2012).Some of the media (Gardham, 2009) cogitate on Abdulmutallabs love for football and this is clearly seen within his postings online. However, by November 15th 2005, he had turned once against it stating permits save our honor and religion and try to stay away from football and do uninfected activities that are more Islamically beneficial running, paintball, archery (or any other sport of the like that teaches how to target and aim). (Islamic Forum, 2 005). There are many different theories as to where Abdulmutallab was further radicalised, the one that will be discussed in this paper is the disaster hat University College London (UCL) and its Islamic Society were the perpetrators. During the investigation of the attempted outrage of Flight 253, the University College of London (UCL) had held their own investigation of their Islamic Society and although the evidence holds strongly against them, as will be seen throughout this paper, they came to their own conclusion that there was no evidence to suggest either that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was radicalised while a student at UCL, or that conditions at UCL during that clipping or subsequently were conducive to the radicalisation of students. (UCL, 2010). Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab began university, in September 2005, during a blossom of Islamist activity in the UK, there were events organised by Ikhwan (Ikhwan Web, 2005)and Jamaat-e-Islami inspired groups that were cosmos held weekly and their influence over British Islam was steadily increasing (Hitchens, 2010). This year is an important one, as the emergence of the first Islamic free-enterprise(a) groups in Bangladesh (Kabir, 2005) were seen and Islam became the official religion of Iraq (Islamopedia Online).British Islamists were exploiting the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and implicating the horse opera governments with the war on Islam and Muslims, (Hitchens, 2010). According to Islamists, occidental Muslims, had a duty to stand up for their religion and fight back using peaceful methods (OConnor, 2012). The Stop police force Terror lecture was given by Awlaki at the East London Mosque in 2003 (YouTube, 2011). The listed supporters of this group could be found on the Stop Political Terror website, and interestingly UCL was among this list (Stop Political Terror, 2003-2005).The aims of this weight-lift was to urge Muslims to fight against the anti-terrorist police and to alert them of the deteri orating situation in the UK and the scale of arrests, raids and abuse meted out against Muslims by Anti-Terrorist Police. The sweat statement also included a clear warning Britains Muslims, as a community, will hold out to cooperate with the law enforcement authoritiesifthis abuse continues. (Stop Political Terror, 2003-2005). During this time, the Federation of Student Islamic Societies (FOSIS) ran another campaign alongside Stop Political Terror. , issuing further explicit statements -previously, it was Muslims themselves under approaching, now the agenda is to attack Islam, its principles New laws making it an offence aim to divide and weaken the Muslim community. And The relative concept of extremism is being used to condemn Muslims from very diverse political viewpoints. (Hitchens, 2010). The perception of a Western war on Islam is one of the linchpin recruitment legal documents of global jihadist groups like al-Qaeda (Home Office, 2011).Therefore, it is clear that A bdulmutallab was absorbed in an protesting setting, and this appeared to him to give value and objective, to his already pre-existing neo-fundamentalist attitude and personal discontent (loneliness). It is also apparent from his previous online statements, that he was vulnerable to the indoctrination I hope to get over my loneliness when I go to university where there are usually Islamic groups and clubs with good Muslims (Islamic Forum, 2005).His obsession with Islam is clearly illustrated with the amount of time he devoted to the group, and afterward a year of starting university he was already chairman of UCLs Islamic Society (Irvine, 2009). Terrorist groups are also known to use the media to their advantage. As terrorism is not limited to specific locales or regions and the media has allowed everybody to witness some form of terror. Knowing this terrorist groups can therefore understand the power of the images and manipulate them to their advantage (Martin, 2013).Gus Martin (2 013) explains the media frenzy surrounding terrorism, and outlines the 21st century as being an era of globalized terrorism. Another key recruitment tool that jihad groups use is the profit (US Department of Defense, 2007). Sites such as Facebook, (Torok, 2011) and the creation of websites that can be regionalised. Although governments manage the websites and, if necessary shut them down, another website can be made and the process can start again (McNeal, 2008). It is clear that Abdulmutallab was a fan of internet use, with his frequent postings on the Islamic Forum.Awlaki could also be an key element in the jihad internet recruitment process. The media present him as the Bin Laden of the internet (Madhani 2010 CNN, 2011). He wasa Muslim lecturer and spiritual leader who had been accused of being a sr. al-Qaeda effective global recruiter (Telegraph, 2012) and motivator. He is thought to have given a series of moving-picture show link lectures at the East London Mosque (Gilligan , 2010). They however, categorically deny this ever took place, and deny that Abdulmutallab even go to the Mosque (East London Mosque, 2010). The University of Westminster Islamic Society are alleged to have ties with Awlaki.Another Islamic Forum announced him as a guest at University of Westminster Islamic Society Annual Dinner in 2006 (Ummah Forum, 2006). Along with these connections Awlaki is also suspected to have had recruited Abdulmutallab before the attack. According to Fox News, an FBI bulletin states that Awlaki showed Abdulmutallab how to detonate the bomb (Catherine Herridge, 2011). Research carried out by the University of Cambridge suggest that the majority of new British Muslims are opposed to political Islam, and are more likely to join Amnesty foreign (Cambridge University, 2008).This was criticised, when Anthony Glees accused Cambridge of trying to prove that British universities are not hotbeds of Islamic radicalism and called the research flimsy and uncompellin g (Lipsett, 2008). Their research was argued against by the Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC), who stated that Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was radicalised at University College London, and goes on to describe British universities as the breeding grounds of Islamic extremism(Centre for Social Cohesion, 2010).They describe themselves as the Centre that has been at the forefront of the debate on what role Universities should play in ensuring that British students do not fall victim to the ideology of violent Islamism. (Centre for Social Cohesion, 2010). They went on to completely diverge Cambridge Universities report, and suggested within the report that Islamic extremism will flourish. This statement was further supported when Abdulmutallab became the fifth president of a UK Islamic society to face terrorist charges (Weiss, 2011).The vulnerability of Abdulmutallab along with the recruitment tools of jihadist groups illustrate how easily individuals can slip beyond this porous boundary rapidly and very often unnoticed. Since the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center, it has become apparent that infrastructure are focusing on mobilising Western Muslims to commit lone-wolf terror (RUSI, 2012). This evidence is supported by the ICSR (2011) who describe Awlakis role as ideological or else than operational and explain that the greatest threat he poses is the mobilisation of Western Muslims through his sermons and therefore expanding the jihadi movement.Umar Farouk Abdulmutallabs extremist views are apparent very early on. Although, as his loneliness grew, so did his radical views. It appears that he was trying to fight his urges to act upon these views time after time. Abdulmutallab was quite clearly an extremist turned terrorist, as it is clearly defined by Martin (2013) extremists who violently act out their extremist beliefs are terrorists. It is clear that his time at UCL and within the Islamic Society unquestionably played a part in Abdulmutallabs furt her radicalisation when examining the evidence discussed.It is also remarkable to see that UCL was among the list of supporters of the Stop Police Terror campaigns, almost condemn themselves of the radicalisation. They contradicted themselves when they released their findings that no evidence to suggest that conditions at UCL are conducive to the radicalisation of students. (UCL, 2010). It is noted that Cambridge Universitys flimsy research could support the UCLs outcome, but consequently could this research, with their bad press, also diminish their findings.Overall, there are many factors that led to the radicalisation of Abdulmutallab, his state of mind, his vulnerability, and the people that he was associated with within the Islamic Society. Therefore, the UCL was not completely at fault, it was also the fundamentalists, that infiltrated the system and took advantage of a vulnerable, young Muslim. References Caless, B (2012) Terrorism and Political Violence Introduction, Ov erview and the Problem with Definitions. (Accessed 5 December 2012). Cambridge University (2008) Campus radicalism fears too extreme? lendable at http//www. cam. ac. k/research/news/campus-radicalism-fears-too-extreme/ (Accessed 5 December 2012). CNN Online (2011) Al-Awlaki Who was he? , CNN Online, usable at http//security. blogs. cnn. com/2011/09/30/al-awlaki-who-was-he/ (Accessed 5 December, 2012). De La Corte, L (2007) Explaining Terrorism A Psychosocial ApproachPerspectives on Terrorism, North America, Vol. No. 2 Online operational at . (Accessed 5 Dec. 2012). East London Mosque (2010) East London Mosque and London Muslim Centre logical argument on Anwar Awlaki Online ready(prenominal) at http//www. astlondonmosque. org. uk/uploadedImage/pdf/2010_11_07_15_44_46_Awlaki%20Statement%206%20Nov10%20-%20Full%20Statement. pdf (Accessed 5 December, 2012) East London Mosque (2010) Sunday Mirror publish elm letter Online Available at http//www. eastlondonmosque. org. uk/archive/ news/243 (Acccessed 5 December, 2012). Forest, J (2012) Perception Challenges Faced by Al-Qaeda on the Battlefield of Influence Warfare. Perspectives on Terrorism, North America, Vol. 6, No. 2. Online Available at . (Accessed 05 Dec. 2012). Ganor, B. (2002) Defining Terrorism- Is wizard Mans Terrorist Another Mans Freedom Fighter? . International Institute for Counter-Terrorism Online. Available at http//www. ict. org. il/ResearchPublications/tabid/64/Articlsid/432/Default. aspxDefining_Terrorism_The_Present_Situation (Accessed 1 December 2012). Gardham, D. (2009) Detroit bomber internet forum traces journey from lonely schoolboy to Islamic fundamentalist, The Telegraph, 30 December 2009 Online. Available at http//www. telegraph. o. uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6910776/Detroit-bo mber-internet-forum-traces-journey-from-lonely-schoolboy-to-Islamic-fundamentalist. hypertext markup language. (Accessed 5 December 2012). Gilligan, A (2010) East London Mosque the terrorist questio n and the lies, The Telegraph, 2 November 2010 Online. Available at http//blogs. telegraph. co. uk/news/andrewgilligan/100061920/east-london-mosque-the-terrorist-connection-and-the-lies/ (Accessed 5 December 2012). Gregory S. McNeal (2008). Cyber Embargo Countering the Internet Jihad, Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law, vol. 9, pp. 789-826. Online Available at http//works. bepress. com/gregorymcneal/15 (Accessed 1 December 2012) Herridge, C (2011). Awlaki happy Suspected Christmas Jet Bomber How to Detonate Underwear, Document Reveals. Fox News, 4 October 2011 Online Available athttp//www. foxnews. com/us/2011/10/04/al-awlaki-trained-suspected-christmas-day-jet-bomber-how-to-detonate-underwear/ixzz2ECpGaSXS (Accessed5 December 2012). Hitchens, A (2010) The Making of the Christmas Day Bomber, Current Trends in Islamist Ideology, Vol. 10 Online. Available at http//currenttrends. rg/research/detail/the-making-of-the-christmas-day-bomber (Accesed 29 November 2012). Home Office (2011) Contest The United Kingdoms Strategy for Countering terrorism. London The Stationery Office. (Cm. 8123). Online Available at http//www. homeoffice. gov. uk/publications/counter-terrorism/counter-terrorism-strategy/strategy-contest? view=Binary (Accessed 2 December 2012). ICSR (The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)(2011) ICSR Insight How Anwar al-Awlaki Became the Face of Western Jihad. Online Available at http//icsr. nfo/2011/09/icsr-insight-how-anwar-al-awlaki-became-the-face-of-western-jihad/ (Accessed 5 December, 2012). Irvine, C (2009) Detroit terror attack suspect president of university Islamic society, The Telegraph, 29 December 2009 Online. Available at http//www. telegraph. co. uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/6902785/Detroit-terror-attack-suspect-president-of-university-Islamic-society. html (Accessed 5 December, 2012) Ikhwan Web (2005) International Religious Freedom Report 2005. Available at http//www. ikhwanweb. com/article. php? id =13543&ref=search. php