ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to address the question pertaining to the rise of militant Islamic groups by focusing on the modern Arab social and political environment which is believed to have bred religious militancy. It looks at the social and political conditions that have led to the emergence of militant Islamic groups in the Arab world, especially since the 1967 Six-Day War. In the Middle East, Islamic fundamentalism is the product of cultural and intellectual stagnation, Western colonialism and the failure of the secular nationalist model of government. The United States reacted to this invasion in a variety of ways; the role of the US Central Intelligence Agency in supporting the Islamic resistance movement against the Soviet occupation is particularly relevant. The collapse of the Soviet Union contributed to Islamic militancy in at least three ways. Organized political terror in the Middle East predates the era of Islamic militancy.
