Much of the secondary literature in the West depicts Professor Ghulam Niazi as the progenitor of the mujahidin movement in Afghanistan in the 1960s. For a variety of reasons this contradicts primary sources that focus more on the various resistance efforts elsewhere in Afghanistan during this period. Of course, the primary sources are also influenced [...]
Archive for the ‘Motivations’ Category
Yunis Khalis and Social Justice: an early political discussion in Nangarhar
Posted: 18th December 2012 by Kevin in Afghanistan, Motivations, Uncategorized, Western books4
Article on Ideological Hybridization
Posted: 18th November 2009 by Thomas Hegghammer in Ideological trends, Motivations, StrategyI feel bad posting so many secondary sources and even worse plugging my own stuff, but I hope you will agree that this article is quite relevant to the issues Jihadica was set up to cover.
Jihadi Reactions to the Torture Memos
Posted: 4th May 2009 by Thomas Hegghammer in Motivations, Recruitment, Western mediaI found the jihadi reactions – or lack thereof – to the release of the CIA torture memos intriguing. You can read my take on this in Foreign Policy Magazine‘s Argument section. The bottom line is this: the damage caused by Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib is irreparable and the end of U.S. torture will not in itself [...]
New Issue of Sada al-Malahim
Posted: 19th January 2009 by Thomas Hegghammer in Jihadi journals, Motivations, propaganda, Strategy, YemenAl-Qaida in Yemen (AQY) has released the seventh issue of its magazine Sada al-Malahim (SM), adding to the mounting evidence that the group is thriving. The slick 44-page publication contains no less than 30 articles by 23 different pen names. Many of the latter are no doubt invented, but the issue must be the work [...]
More on Online Recruitment
Posted: 14th October 2008 by Will McCants in Indoctrination, Motivations, propaganda, UncategorizedTags: Jihadi Forums
Tim has a nice summary of a recent conversation between him, me, and Aaron about online recruitment. Tim and I agree and I think Aaron does too, but he wants more rigorous metrics. Fair enough. Aaron observes that there are three things involved with radicalization: Motivation (I’m willing to fight) Association (I want people to [...]
Jihadis Apprehensive About the Future
Posted: 7th August 2008 by Will McCants in Afghanistan, AQ in Iraq, Iraq, MotivationsTags: Afghanistan, Iraq, morale
Jihadica reader Jallen asks some good questions about the pessimism of Jihadis regarding Iraq: How long have forum members been pessimistic over Iraq? Is the pessimism widespread or just a few members in one forum? Is pessimism over Iraq matched by increased optimism over Afghanistan or are these independent? It depends which forum you read. [...]
Jihadi Explains Iranian Realpolitik
Posted: 6th August 2008 by Will McCants in Conspiracy Theories, Hezbollah, Iran, Islamic War Doctrine, Motivations, Shia, StrategyTags: Conspiracy Theories, Hezbollah, Iran, Israel, Shia, Sunnis
Abu `Abd al-Rahman `Atiyyat Allah (possibly this person) has written a new booklet titled Ru’ya kashifa in which he tries to convince his Jihadi brethren that Iran and Hezbollah are not working with the U.S. and Israel as part of a grand conspiracy to subjugate Sunnis. Rather, he argues, Iran and its cat’s paw Hezbollah [...]
Poll of Potentional Foreign Fighters
Posted: 30th July 2008 by Will McCants in Motivations, tacticsTags: foreign fighters, poll
Periodically, Ekhlaas members poll the forum. Usually, the questions are inane (“How much do you love the Islamic State of Iraq?”). But a recent poll posted two months ago caught my eye. The voting seems to be coming to an end, so I’m posting the results. The question is, “After you arrive in the theaters [...]
Proof that Sincere Sunnis Are Fighting in Tripoli, Lebanon
Posted: 16th July 2008 by Will McCants in Lebanon, MotivationsTags: Lebanon, Salafis
Ekhlaas member Abu al-Bara’ al-Shami uploaded this video as proof that sincere Muslim youth are fighting solely to protect their religion and coreligionists in Tripoli. I don’t think it proves his point at all. In fact, the video suggests something else: the young men are relishing a chance to play superhero. That doesn’t mean they [...]