ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the landmass of Asia, especially the troublespots of the central and southeastern parts of the continent, most particularly as they relate to the worldwide wave of Muslim terrorism that also affects the West. It explains manifestations of Muslim terrorism which exemplify the realization of actions of Jihad geared to transform those societies and submit them to its rule. The present wave of revivalist Islam in Asia is connected to, fed by and in turn feeds into the mood of jihad which pervades many Muslim countries and societies worldwide. This jihad, manipulated by charismatic and militant clerics such as Sheikh Yassin, Sheikh Nasrallah or Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan, is particularly directed against the United States, as the arch-representative of the West. The fervor of jihad is also fueled by the ongoing conflicts within Islamic lands or against them, where jihad is used as a mobilizing and rallying symbol against the perceived non-Muslim occupiers, oppressors and exploiters.
