Browsing by Subject "Islamism."
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Item An evaluation of the conceptual similarities and differences between the strategic logic of the religiously motivated suicide attacks of Tokkotai kamikaze and al-Qaeda shahid.(2013-09-16) Mizuta, Jonathan Juichi.; Mitchell, William A., 1940-; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.What motivated members of al-Qaeda to hijack commercial airliners and crash them into the sides of buildings? Is it similar to what motivated Japanese fighter pilots to crash their jets into the sides of American aircraft carriers? If so, what can these two seemingly disparate phenomena tell us about the nature of the relationship between religion and violence? Finally, were the attacks of the two groups both responses to American actions abroad (which is often described as “American imperialism”)? While Americans no longer face the threat of attack from kamikaze pilots, the attacks of September 11, 2001 by members of al-Qaeda demonstrated that the threat of suicide attack by Islamic extremists, or shahid, is very real. Despite the efforts of the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and the branches of the United States military as well as dozens of their sister agencies in other countries, the number of religiously motivated suicide attacks perpetrated against the United States has increased exponentially since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, though the most devastating event remains the attacks on September 11, 2001. The only other time that the United States and its allies have faced suicide attacks of this volume and magnitude occurred in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Those attacks were carried out by the pilots of the Tokkotai, more commonly known as the kamikaze of the Empire of Japan. There are several significant similarities between the suicide attacks perpetrated against the U.S. by members of al-Qaeda and those perpetrated against the U.S. by the Tokkotai, most notably the utilization of religious rhetoric to justify suicide attacks. This dissertation will compare these two groups, investigating the histories of their foundational religions (Shinto and Islam) and their radical interpretations (State Shinto and Jihadism), their historical interactions with the West, and their utilization of suicide attacks in their fight against perceived oppression by the United States.Item From violence to voting : toward an Islamist theory of moderation.(2011-09-14) Wheatley, Stephanie Renee, 1982-; McDaniel, Charles A.; Church and State.; Baylor University. Institute of Church-State Studies.Moderation theory posits that inclusion in the political process will lead extremist parties to abandon violence and play by the rules of the political game. Despite voluminous literature on the subject, relatively little has been written about moderation theory as it relates to Islamist parties. Where Islam and moderation theory are discussed, several prominent scholars contend that Islam and liberal democracy—the hoped-for endpoint of moderation—are not compatible, thus disregarding the prospects of moderation in Muslim majority countries. Others affirm the applicability of moderation theory to Islamism but only in specific instances, particularly where the Islamist groups in question do not support well-organized and well-armed militias. This dissertation contends that both of these points of view are flawed in examining the prospects of moderation among Islamist groups. Using three of the most well-known Islamist groups, the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the Palestinian Hamas, as case studies, this dissertation argues that despite developing in three different contexts, with differing ideological starting points, and different impediments to moderation, all three organizations—even Hamas and Hezbollah with their strong military components—have shown signs of moderating and can continue to do so. The protests movements which swept through many Arab Muslim nations in the spring of 2011 demanding reform, if not regime change, present both a challenge and an opportunity for these groups and others like them throughout the Muslim world. Once relegated to the opposition, these groups now have the opportunity to govern. This dissertation seeks to analyze the prospects that Islamists will govern responsibly. Examining both the level of openness in the states in which these movements operate as well as the trajectory of the groups themselves, these case studies shed light on the prospects for and impediments to moderation as well as trends which might help predict the chances of moderation for other Islamist groups in the region.