ABSTRACT

The world today seems to be facing either a new threat, or an old one with a renewed intensity: the permanent danger of sudden terrorist attacks, which can take lives at random. This threat is often called the ‘new terrorism’. It is true that many aspects are novel: the scale of 9/11, the international cooperation of terrorist groups,2 their usage of chemical and biological weapons,3 and the fear that such groups could use nuclear weapons, for example. And though this development has heavily influenced the modus operandi of terrorist groups the driving motive has remained the same – ideology. ‘Ideology’ is a term that may seem anachronistic to the reader. Some political theorists, such as Fukuyama4 and Huntington,5 have even prognosticated the end of ideological cleavages dividing the world. Rightfully so, Terry Eagleton has written of being surprised at the paradox of the simultaneous belief that the term ‘ideology’ has become obsolete with the concurrent experience of rising Islamic fundamentalism, Neo-Stalinism, Christian extremism (particularly in America) and many other ideologies.6 Ideology still plays a crucial role in the world. Many terrorist organizations try to create change on a global scale in line with their ideology. Al Qaeda operates in this manner, supporting various groups like the Taliban who share the same Jihadi7 ideology. According to the perception of al Qaeda the fight against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan beginning in 1979 was a successful one after ten years of jihad.8 Al Qaeda has already become an umbrella organization, providing assistance, knowledge, weapons and most of all inspiration to all who truly want to join the worldwide jihad.9 As such, one could argue, al Qaeda has itself become already more a symbol of an ideology than an organization. Terrorism exists by the virtue of the ideologies adhered to by its perpetrators. Nevertheless, this factor, ideology, is still under-researched and is therefore an underestimated element of the study of (and fight against) terrorism. This chapter attempts to contribute to this field of research by analysing terrorism as an ideology-driven phenomenon, mostly using the example of the terrorist organization al Qaeda. In doing so, an analysis of the structure of violent ideologies will precede elaborations on crowd mobilization and the recruitment of members of terrorist organizations. This section will therefore specifically describe ideologies that foster political violence; it does not intend

to describe existing ideologies which call for peaceful actions, as these ideologies differ from violent ideologies in both structure and implications. Where ideologies are referred to in this section they are to be understood in the sense of violent ideologies.