History Jihadism

praying muhjahideen in kunar province, afghanistan (1987)


islamic revivalism , salafism (1990s present)


a black flag reportedly used caucasian jihadists in 2002 displays phrase al-jihad fi sabilillah above takbir , 2 crossed swords.



flag of isil/isis/is/daesh

according scholar of islam , islamic history rudoph peters, contemporary traditionalist muslims copy phrases of classical works on fiqh in writings on jihad; islamic modernists emphasize defensive aspect of jihad, regarding tantamount bellum justum in modern international law; , contemporary fundamentalists (abul ala maududi, sayyid qutb, abdullah azzam, etc.) view struggle expansion of islam , realization of islamic ideals.

jihad has been propagated in modern fundamentalism beginning in late 19th century, ideology arose in context of struggles against colonial powers in north africa in late 19th century, in mahdist war in sudan, , notably in mid-20th century islamic revivalist authors such sayyid qutb , abul ala maududi.

the term jihadism (earlier salafi jihadism) has arisen in 2000s refer contemporary jihadi movements, development of in retrospect traced developments of salafism paired origins of al-qaeda in soviet war in afghanistan during 1990s.

jihadism has been called offshoot of islamic revivalism of 1960s , 1970s. writings of sayyid qutb , muhammad abd-al-salam faraj provide inspiration. soviet war in afghanistan (1979–1989) said have amplified jihadist tendency fringe phenomenon major force in muslim world. served produce foot soldiers, leadership , organization. abdullah yusuf azzam provided propaganda afghan cause. after war veteran jihadists returned home countries , dispersed other sites of conflicts involving muslim populations such algeria, bosnia , chechnya creating transnational jihadist stream.

kashmir conflict (lashkar-e-taiba, 1990–present)
somali civil war (1991–present)
algerian civil war (1991-2002)
bosnian war (bosnian mujahideen, 1992–1995)
afghan civil war (taliban 1994–present)
east turkestan irredentism (east turkestan islamic movement, 1997–present)
chechen war , insurgency in north caucasus (arab mujahideen in chechnya, 1994–present)
nigerian sharia conflict (boko haram 2001–present)
iraqi insurgency (islamic state of iraq, 2003–present)
al-qaeda insurgency in yemen (abyan governorate, 2010–present)
syrian civil war (al-nusra front protect levant 2011–present)
syrian civil war (islamic state of iraq , levant 2013–present)

an explanation jihadist willingness kill civilians , self-professed muslims on grounds apostates (takfir) vastly reduced influence of traditional diverse class of ulama, highly educated islamic jurists. in vast majority of muslim countries during post-colonial world of 1950s , 60s private religious endowments (awqaf) had supported independence of islamic scholars/jurists centuries taken on state. jurists made salaried employees , nationalist rulers naturally encouraged employees (and employees interpretations of islam) serve rulers interests. inevitably jurists came seen muslim public doing so.

into vacuum of religious authority came aggressive proselytizing funded tens of billions of dollars of petroleum-export money. version of islam being propagated (saudi doctrine of wahhabism) billed return pristine, simple, straightforward islam, not 1 school among many, , not interpreting divine law historically or contextually, one, orthodox straight path of islam. unlike traditional teachings of jurists tolerated , celebrated divergent opinions , schools of thought , kept extremism marginalized, wahhabism had extreme hostility sectarian divisions within islam .

shia jihad

the term jihadist exclusively used describe sunni extremists. in syria, there thousands of foreign muslim fighters engaged in civil war, example, non-syrian shia referred militia , , sunni foreigners jihadists (or would-be jihadists ). 1 use term shia jihad danny postel, complains shia jihad largely left out of dominant narrative.

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