ABSTRACT
The present-day use of beheadings by Islamic Fundamentalists is a tactic that has been used for thousands of years on and off the battlefield, and by both state and non-state entities. Since 2002, Islamic Fundamentalist militants have purposefully carried out highly public beheadings. 1 Subsequently, there has been much discussion as to why the militants are using beheadings, how they justify them, and how they exploit the media to accentuate the effect of the beheadings worldwide. Why and how Islamic Fundamentalists, and even some non-Islamic cultures, are using beheadings today has historical precedent, asymmetric practical usage, and could possibly help explain some aspects of Fourth Generation warfare. Today’s beheadings may also be an indicator that the world is in a current state of upheaval. Although Islamic Fundamentalists will argue that beheadings have religious justification, described in the Koran or by hadith, 2 most Muslims do not agree with this way of thinking. Furthermore, Islamic Fundamentalists are purposely inconsistent in their use of beheadings and, with the assistance of various media, publicize their use of this tactic at will and on any level, global or local.
