Charles Kurzman
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199766871
- eISBN:
- 9780199897414
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199766871.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Yasmin, in Cairo, heard about the attacks of 9/11 and felt fleeting satisfaction at the idea of America receiving its comeuppance. Zuhra, in Islamabad, considered Bin Laden larger than life. Murat, ...
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Yasmin, in Cairo, heard about the attacks of 9/11 and felt fleeting satisfaction at the idea of America receiving its comeuppance. Zuhra, in Islamabad, considered Bin Laden larger than life. Murat, in Istanbul, blamed America for the attacks. “How could a person in a cave in Afghanistan have planned such an attack as 9/11?” These views are evidence of “radical sheik”—a play on Tom Wolfe's phrase “radical chic,” expressions of sympathy for revolutionaries as anti-establishment heroes—without actually wanting these movements to succeed. This sort of symbolic endorsement does not translate into support for revolutionary goals or potential collaboration with terrorism.Less
Yasmin, in Cairo, heard about the attacks of 9/11 and felt fleeting satisfaction at the idea of America receiving its comeuppance. Zuhra, in Islamabad, considered Bin Laden larger than life. Murat, in Istanbul, blamed America for the attacks. “How could a person in a cave in Afghanistan have planned such an attack as 9/11?” These views are evidence of “radical sheik”—a play on Tom Wolfe's phrase “radical chic,” expressions of sympathy for revolutionaries as anti-establishment heroes—without actually wanting these movements to succeed. This sort of symbolic endorsement does not translate into support for revolutionary goals or potential collaboration with terrorism.
Charles Kurzman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190907976
- eISBN:
- 9780190908003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190907976.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Islam
In 1970, the American author Tom Wolfe coined a phrase to describe nonrevolutionary people who claim to support revolutionary causes: “radical chic.” This chapter applies the pun “radical sheik” to ...
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In 1970, the American author Tom Wolfe coined a phrase to describe nonrevolutionary people who claim to support revolutionary causes: “radical chic.” This chapter applies the pun “radical sheik” to Muslims who considered al-Qaida and the self-proclaimed Islamic State to be anti-imperialist heroes, but did not actually support revolutionary violence. The more that the revolutionaries targeted Muslims, in an attempt to polarize society and drag the masses into battle, the less popular the revolutionaries became. Instead, Muslims turned in much larger numbers to the revolutionaries’ religious competitors, such as apolitical pietism, liberal Islam, and nonrevolutionary Islamism, all of which denounced terrorism.Less
In 1970, the American author Tom Wolfe coined a phrase to describe nonrevolutionary people who claim to support revolutionary causes: “radical chic.” This chapter applies the pun “radical sheik” to Muslims who considered al-Qaida and the self-proclaimed Islamic State to be anti-imperialist heroes, but did not actually support revolutionary violence. The more that the revolutionaries targeted Muslims, in an attempt to polarize society and drag the masses into battle, the less popular the revolutionaries became. Instead, Muslims turned in much larger numbers to the revolutionaries’ religious competitors, such as apolitical pietism, liberal Islam, and nonrevolutionary Islamism, all of which denounced terrorism.
Charles Kurzman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190907976
- eISBN:
- 9780190908003
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190907976.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Islam
Why are there so few Muslim terrorists? With more than a billion Muslims in the world—many of whom supposedly hate the West and ardently desire martyrdom—why don’t we see terrorist attacks every day? ...
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Why are there so few Muslim terrorists? With more than a billion Muslims in the world—many of whom supposedly hate the West and ardently desire martyrdom—why don’t we see terrorist attacks every day? Where are the missing martyrs? Such questions may seem counterintuitive, in light of the death and devastation that terrorists have wrought around the world. But the scale of violence, outside of several civil war zones, has been far lower than the waves of attacks that the world feared in the wake of 9/11. Terrorists’ own publications complain about the failure of Muslims to join their cause. This book draws on government sources, public opinion surveys, election results, and in-depth interviews with Muslims in the Middle East and around the world to examine barriers to terrorist recruitment, including “radical sheik,” liberal Islam, revolutionary rivalries, and an inelastic demand for US foreign policy. This revised edition, updated to include the self-proclaimed “Islamic State,” concludes that fear of terrorism should be brought into alignment with the actual level of threat, and that government policies and public opinion should be based on evidence rather than alarmist hyperbole.Less
Why are there so few Muslim terrorists? With more than a billion Muslims in the world—many of whom supposedly hate the West and ardently desire martyrdom—why don’t we see terrorist attacks every day? Where are the missing martyrs? Such questions may seem counterintuitive, in light of the death and devastation that terrorists have wrought around the world. But the scale of violence, outside of several civil war zones, has been far lower than the waves of attacks that the world feared in the wake of 9/11. Terrorists’ own publications complain about the failure of Muslims to join their cause. This book draws on government sources, public opinion surveys, election results, and in-depth interviews with Muslims in the Middle East and around the world to examine barriers to terrorist recruitment, including “radical sheik,” liberal Islam, revolutionary rivalries, and an inelastic demand for US foreign policy. This revised edition, updated to include the self-proclaimed “Islamic State,” concludes that fear of terrorism should be brought into alignment with the actual level of threat, and that government policies and public opinion should be based on evidence rather than alarmist hyperbole.
Charles Kurzman
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- April 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190907976
- eISBN:
- 9780190908003
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190907976.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society, Islam
On a warm winter day in early 2006, a young man drove through a plaza at the University of North Carolina, trying to kill as many people as possible in the name of Islamic revolution. Terrorism is as ...
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On a warm winter day in early 2006, a young man drove through a plaza at the University of North Carolina, trying to kill as many people as possible in the name of Islamic revolution. Terrorism is as simple as driving onto the sidewalk. So why are terrorist attacks so rare in the United States and much of the world? Islamist revolutionaries complain about frequently about Muslims’ unwillingness to engage in militancy, going so far as to call the bulk of the world’s Muslim population “scum.” This chapter introduces data on the prevalence of Islamic terrorism and the risks of overreaction.Less
On a warm winter day in early 2006, a young man drove through a plaza at the University of North Carolina, trying to kill as many people as possible in the name of Islamic revolution. Terrorism is as simple as driving onto the sidewalk. So why are terrorist attacks so rare in the United States and much of the world? Islamist revolutionaries complain about frequently about Muslims’ unwillingness to engage in militancy, going so far as to call the bulk of the world’s Muslim population “scum.” This chapter introduces data on the prevalence of Islamic terrorism and the risks of overreaction.
