Islam and Terrorism

This course will examine the roots of terrorism in the name of Islam and analyze the various facets associated with it. We will examine questions such as: Why does terrorism occur? What are its international and domestic sources? How do scholars in the field of terrorism research explain the link between Islam as a religion and terrorism as an organized crime? How can we best explain the organizational structures and methods of certain actors that employ terrorism as a means of political action? What can be done to prevent terrorism? Students will be introduced to different examples of contemporary Islamist formations and their history of usage (or refrain from using) terrorism. In the first couple of weeks we will focus mainly on conceptual issues pertaining to religion, Islam and terrorism. During the latter part of the semester we will embark on various case studies. We will examine such groups like al-Qae'da's network, Hizbullah in Lebanon, the Palestinian Hamas and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.