Faculty of Humanities
School of Social Sciences
Department of Political Sciences
Selected Highlights from Research Findings
In this controversial research study, three variations of Islamic fundamentalism, and the impact these ideologies has on the growing number of attacks by Moslem extremists against civilian targets in Africa, are examined.
These attacks – which left thousands of local residents and other civilians dead or injured – include amongst others the 1998 bombings of the US Embassies in Tanzania (Dar-es-Salaam) and Kenya (Nairobi), the 2002 car bomb explosion outside an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya (Mombassa) and the abortive attempt to bring down a chartered Israeli plane carrying Israeli tourists returning home from Mombassa by firing two missiles at it from the ground.
The study found that fundamentalists involved in perpetrating acts of violence, base the justification for their military actions on the incorrect interpretation of Islamic teachings as contained in the Quran. For example, the study found that the latter’s interpretation of the term Jihad – or Holy War – is in direct contrast with what the Quran teaches.
The majority of Islamic clerics agree that the word Jihad – as used in the Quran – refers to the striving of spiritual good rather than physical violence. In fact, study of the Quran reveals that the Prophet Mohammed vehemently condemns the use of violence against civilians and considered military action as a last resort.
Another discrepancy found in the interpretation of what the Quran actually teaches and what fundamentalists propagate is the role of women in Islam. History teaches that women were allowed to join men in battles as early as the 7th century AD.
Recommendations include the need for Muslims to de-legitimise these radical ideologies distorting a religion of peace into one of violence. Moreover, the political process needs to be more inclusive to allow the expression of political Islam by means of the ballot as opposed to the bullet.
Prof H Solomon
Political Sciences
+27 (0) 12 420 4339
hussein.solomon@up.ac.za
Terrorism is the principal method of coercion used by insurgents in the 21st century. Researchers found that revolutionary organisations are now seemingly first and foremost terrorist organisations. Terrorism is generally defined as “the systematic use of coercive intimidation usually to service political ends”.
This is in sharp contrast with the classical revolutionary warfare of the 20th century that was fought for public support. In the latter instance, indiscriminate killing of civilians was in many instances avoided.
Terrorism, including international terrorism, seems to have become the main weapon of many movements involved in insurgencies, which is usually more religiously and culturally motivated and less based on nationalism than in the past. They also use terrorism to obtain more globalised objectives such as the concept of global Jihad with the United States of America (USA) as the main target, although more specific objectives such as secessionism still remain, as is the case with the Basque Separatists in Spain.
Researchers also found that in many instances, terrorism does not necessarily lead to a fully-fledged insurgency. Apart from terrorism, insurgencies also include guerilla warfare, sabotage and full-scale conventional warfare.
The shift towards urban warfare was one of the reasons for the change from guerrilla tactics to terrorism, although the two are often still combined in terms of targeting both civilians and security forces, and in terms of certain tactics used. The relative success of terrorism in achieving publicity, obtaining ransom money and gaining release for members of the group that have been imprisoned, has also made it an attractive short-term objective, although it seldom achieves longer-term political objectives as the main tactic.
Prof M Hough
Political Sciences
+27 (0) 12 420 2407
wilma.martin@up.ac.za
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