ABSTRACT
The Islamists and the nationalists, more than any other ideology or political group in the twentieth century, have alternated in captivating the Middle Eastern Arabs' hearts, souls, and minds. As an area containing some of the world's oldest civilizations, the Middle East is a place where political, religious, and social factors have always played a major role in shaping the minds and perceptions of its people. There are two broad issues concerning psychoanalytic contributions to the study of terrorism: the type of psychoanalytic contributions and the motivations of the contributor. The ideals of the Enlightenment were never presented as an option to them. It is possible that the undemocratic nature of the Soviet model resonated with an undemocratic mind, and the support by the former Soviet Union in their struggle made such a model attractive.
