ABSTRACT
Islamist movements and Middle Eastern states with Muslim majority populations face similar security dilemmas. Partially in response to political and ideological developments in nineteenth-century Europe, a pan-Islamic movement developed in the late nineteenth century and continues in modified form to the present. In some regions, including the Ferghana Valley and Israel's occupied territories, Islamist groups—not the state—provide security against crime, or at least offer "protection" services that merchants and entrepreneurs view as imprudent to refuse. There is a tacit symbiotic relationship between the secrecy of Islamic activist groups and repression by state security organizations. Transnational ideological and logistical support for radical groups that condone terrorism and assassination generally requires a secure, external, state-supported base. Given shared networks of cooperation, training, socialization, and tactics, one can speak of a common "security culture" that overrides differences of language, religion, and nationality in dealing with opposition religious groups.
