The book offers an in-depth examination of the Arab Spring, tracing its impact from Tunisia to the Gulf. It argues that these movements are not just protests but pivotal moments that are rejuvenating democratic ideals in the Middle East. Through detailed analysis, the author explores the sociopolitical dynamics and the potential for lasting change in the region's governance and civil society.
In the wake of the Paris, Beirut, and San Bernardino terrorist attacks, fears over 'homegrown terrorism' have surfaced to a degree not seen since September 11, 2001. A sought-after commentator in France and a widely respected international scholar of radical Islam, Farhad Khosrokhavar has spent years studying the path towards radicalization, focusing particularly on the key role of prisons - based on interviews with dozens of Islamic radicals - as incubators of a particular brand of outrage that has yielded so many attacks over the past decade.
Exploring the multifaceted nature of jihadism, this book delves into its role as a significant force against Western capitalism, comparable to the Soviet era. It provides an insightful introduction to jihadism, highlighting the complex dynamics beyond just Al Qaeda. The text examines how two key movements shape the motivations and actions of jihadi activists, offering a deeper understanding of this global phenomenon.
European jihadism is a multi-faceted social phenomenon. It is not only linked to the extremist behavior of a limited group, but also to a much more global crisis, including the lack of a utopian vision and a loss of meaning among the middle classes, and the humiliation and denial of citizenship among disaffiliated young people in poor districts all over Western Europe.This book explores how European jihadism is fundamentally grounded in an unbridled and modern imagination, in an uneasy relationship with social, cultural, and economic reality. That imagination emerges young women and their longing for another family model; adolescents and their desire to become adults and to overcome the family crisis; people with mental problems for whom jihad is a catharsis; and young converts who seek contrast with a disenchanted secular Europe. The family and its crisis, in many ways, plays a role in promoting jihadism, particularly in families of immigrant origin whose relationship to patriarchy is different from that of the mainstream society in Europe. Exclusion from mainstream society is also a at the urban level, a large proportion of jihadists come from poor, stigmatized, and ethnically segregated districts. But jihadism is also an expression of the loss of hope in the future in a globalized world among middle class and lower-class youth.
Die Brüder Kouachi, die in der Redaktion von Charlie Hebdo zwölf Menschen töteten, waren keine von weither eingeflogenen Glaubenskrieger, sondern kamen aus dem 10. Arrondissement. Was trieb sie, die einer säkular geprägten Familie entstammten, zum Äußersten? Anders als jene islamophoben Verschwörungstheorien, die uns in der trügerischen Gewißheit wiegen wollen, der Feind komme von außen, hält Farhad Khosrokhavar auf diese komplexen Fragen keine einfache Antworten bereit: Wie entstehen gewaltbereite Gruppierungen? Worin besteht die Anziehungskraft radikaler Ideologien? Wie sieht das Persönlichkeitsprofil derer aus, die dem neuen Terrorismus in die Arme laufen? Wie kann man die Rückkehr des Religiösen in einer gewalttätigen Form, in der das letzte Ziel der Tod ist – sei es der dem Feind zugefügte, sei es der, durch den der Märtyrerstatus erlangt wird – erklären? Was ist Bedeutung und Tragweite dieser Art von Radikalisierung, ein zumindest aus westlicher Sicht seltsam anmutendes Phänomen? Ist das ein Kampf um Werte, die seit der Aufklärung längst überwunden schienen? Farhad Khosrokhavar analysiert die djihadistische Radikalisierung in Europa und in der arabischen Welt mit Bezugnahme auf die jüngsten Attentate. Mit einem Vorwort von Claus Leggewie.