NCJ Number
172025
Journal
IALEIA Journal Volume: 8 Issue: 2 Dated: (February 1994) Pages: 41-46
Date Published
1994
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This paper examines the change in the profile of the Middle- Eastern terrorist from a secular to a religious (Muslim) orientation.
Abstract
The traditional tightly organized and centrally directed, usually secular, and often state-sponsored networks of sophisticated terrorists are in decline. Factors in this decline are the breakup of the Soviet Union and the consequent decrease in funding for Soviet-backed terrorism, as well as Syria's and Libya's diminished role in terrorism due to the absence of Soviet backing. The Gulf War crippled Iraq's worldwide network of terrorist activities. A new support center for terrorism emerged after the Ayatollah Khomeini toppled the Shah of Iran in 1979. Iran immediately set out to export and finance its militant fundamentalist message throughout the Muslim world. It supported militant fundamentalist movements in Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, and Tunisia. A group of military officers and mullahs have seized power in Sudan and installed the first Sunni Muslim republic. Sheik Hassan al-Turabi, the spiritual leader of Sudan's Sunni Muslims, has reached out to the Shi'ite Muslims of Iran. Iran and Sudan have pooled their resources to attempt to Islamize the Muslim world while embarking on a systematic campaign of sponsoring international terrorism. Arab and Islamic graduates of the new terrorist academies are not exposed to the sophisticated weaponry that was available to Soviet-sponsored terrorists. Crude bombs tend to be their weapon of choice. The new terrorists are loosely organized, with cells of terrorists inspired by fundamentalist ideology. They only need to hear a suggestion from a spiritual leader to believe that their violence is mandated by Allah. This makes them more difficult to infiltrate, and their religious fervor makes them more difficult if not impossible to deter. A 7-item bibliography