ABSTRACT
Terrorism in all its manifestations represents the greatest security challenge in the twenty-first century. Although Western states and some of those in the developing world have met with considerable success in combating terrorism, including the killing of Osama bin Laden, the problem persists. In particular, it has become a factor in the politics of the Middle East and parts of Africa. It can be argued that the death of bin Laden did not implode Al-Qaeda but freed it to morph into dozens of incarnations. Despite the immediacy of the Muslim terrorist threat, the conditions that spawned this virulent form of Islam reach back to the post–First World War period. It can be conceived, in part, as a byproduct of the colonization of the Middle East and North Africa by the British, French and Italians. Other considerations for the radical response of the militant Muslims emerge from the transformation of the Middle East in the periods before and after the Second World War, as well as in the era of the Cold War.
