Spreading insecurity

  Kayhan Barzegar

Although terrorism has always existed, the al-Qaeda kind is a new phenomenon. September 11 undoubtedly marked a turning point in al-Qaeda's terrorist activities. Unlike the old-style terrorism--which has internal or regional dimensions, functions in a specific place and time, and has a less negative impact on the international community--al-Qaeda's kind acts across national and regional boundaries, recruits all nationalities and has a global impact. It is an unknown, complex and unconventional force that suggests no easy resolution.

Al-Qaeda's type of terrorism appeals to the hearts and minds of individuals. It is an appeal to act out of idealism. "As we are not, no one has the right to be safe in the world," its followers argue. Accordingly, today's suicide attackers are in a fight for their faith and most importantly, "Allah's approval", as they are certain they will be blessed by God.

Finally, in contrast with old-style terrorism, al-Qaeda terrorism has no individual, national or state-sponsored characteristics. Its driving force is Sunni radicalism and its main aims include to destabilize international security and to de-legitimize western culture and values, thereby to create a new balance of power between the West and an Islamic world that has long been weakened by the interventionist role of foreign powers.

In exploring the root causes of al-Qaeda terrorism, two main categories, one internal and one external, can be posited: Internally, the identity, cultural and political crises in the Arab world that mainly stem from the process of globalization are among the most significant elements in shaping and spreading terrorist activities. In the context of the Middle East, no doubt a collective sense of historical injustice, political subservience, and a pervasive sense of social humiliation inflicted by the global powers has resulted in a political-identity crisis within Arab society. These political, cultural and psychological complexities operate cumulatively to trigger an axis of global terrorism. Without solving the existing problems in the region, it is not feasible to eradicate this new terrorism.

Externally, one of the most important factors is the overt role of foreign powers in interfering in the domestic affairs of Middle Eastern nations, a vivid example being the increasing role of US foreign policy in the Middle East region. Chief among them is the support of autocratic regimes. Since the first Gulf war, the huge arms transfers and diplomatic and economic support systems on the one hand and the establishment of military bases and a direct presence in the Islamic Arab territories on the other continue to play a role in keeping such regimes in power.

Arab extremists blame their own governments for making their countries dependent on the security umbrella of western states. Throughout the 1990s, this policy increased tension, violence, rivalry, and militarization within the region, resulting in an undermining of the process of democratization. As a result, many Arabs today regard the US as guilty of delaying the creation of political openness.

This has encouraged new levels of extremism. Indeed, we may argue that one of the aims of the 9/11 attack was to set the inefficient regional regimes against US hegemonic anger. Al-Qaeda supports the overthrow of some of the existing regimes in the region by violent means and proposes to replace them with Islamic states based on Islamic primary principles and laws as the main substance of an Islamic society.

At present, the regional states are blamed for supporting the presence of foreign forces in the region, which in turn are seen as the primary tool of weakening the Islamic identity. As a sacred aim, followers of al-Qaeda believe in killing supporters of western powers; those who allowed the West to enter the Islamic territories and thereby manipulate and humiliate Muslim identity. This is the justification behind the Al-Qaeda terrorists who consider the killing of Shi'ites in Iraq as a duty because they helped the US to enter and stay in Islamic territory.

The modus operandi of al-Qaeda is to spread insecurity in the region to jeopardize the interests of foreign powers. As terrorist groups linked with al-Qaeda--especially al-Zarqawi's group--have repeatedly expressed, the new Iraq is the most favorable ground to endanger the US and its allied forces. In parallel, al-Qaeda considers the escalation of religious-ethnic fragmentation and conflict in the Middle East region, most notably among Sunnis and Shi'ites, as a fertile ground for insecurity.

Undoubtedly, the primary goal of al-Qaeda is to create an atmosphere of fear and terror in the West, alienate publics from their governments there, and show the failure of the occupation forces in establishing proper security and stability in the Middle East region and Iraq.- Published 18/8/2005 (c) bitterlemons-international.org

Kayhan Barzegar is assistant professor of international relations at the Islamic Azad University and editor-in-chief of the Journal of Law and Politics.