Resilience and Resolve

The following section is included:

• Contents

The global war on terror has dominated both domestic and international discourse. The methodology for combating and mitigating the threat of potential terrorist attacks has rested primarily on the operational and kinetic domain. The role of security and law enforcement has been dedicated towards the capture of terrorist leaders and cells as well as the disruption of terrorist attacks. The networked nature of the global terrorist threat resulting from the metastasization of the groups has often been a subject of concern…

Among the defining characteristics of the 21^st century's first decade has been the specter of terrorism that threatens world stability and security. Although the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, as well as those in Bali (2002), Madrid (2004), and London (2005) attracted major attention, the problem of terrorism and political violence is considerably more dispersed as hundreds (Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism, 2005) of terrorist groups carry out lethal attacks in various parts of the world on a nearly daily basis. Following the tragic events of the 9/11 in 2001, former President George W. Bush declared a global war on terror that is now in its 12^th year. To date, the United States' counter-terrorism strategy deployed onto the world stage has claimed billions of dollars and thousands of lives, including those of innocent civilians (laconically described as “collateral damage”). There is no question that the determined struggle against terror by the US and its allies has had impressive successes: elimination or arrests of major Al-Qaeda leaders, dismantlement of terrorists' logistical infrastructures, disabling of their financial networks. However, despite all these achievements, several roadblocks remain en route to conciliation and harmony in intergroup relations. Indeed, experts disagree as to whether we are safer now than on the eve of 9/11 as Islamic extremism seems far from subsiding and radicalization seems on the rise in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. There is a growing danger that the Arab Spring is turning into a deadly winter, as the waves of democracy meet the rocks of fanaticism…

Terrorism, especially the form it assumes with such organizations as Al-Qaeda, is readily recognized and condemned across the world today as a major threat to global security. It was no less, however, than Mohandas Gandhi, one of the 20^th century's most celebrated icons of peace and non-violence, who warned of an equal if not greater threat to personal and public welfare. While the wanton violence of such sub-state actors as Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or Hamas is promptly denounced and repudiated on grounds of violating conventional morality, the world is far more diffident regarding actions of equal if not greater lethality when these are carried out by modern states. This is of particularly disastrous consequences, given that modern states, according to Gandhi, tend to nurse a fairly intractable addiction to violence, not merely as an occasional indulgence but as part and parcel of the very means by which they exist, justify, and sustain themselves. Given this addiction, modern states routinely engage in a relentless campaign to normalize the proscription and condemnation of all acts of publicly directed violence except their own. This, as Gandhi put it, is because “The State represents violence in a concentrated and organized form. The individual has a soul, but as the State is a soulless machine, it can never be weaned from violence to which it owes its very existence”…

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Why We Need to Understand the Concept of Wasatiyyah in the Current World Situation
• The Quranic Meaning of Wasatiyyah
• Islamic Moderation in Southeast Asia
• Countering Extremist or Militant Tendencies among Muslim Groups
• Faults in the Understanding of Jihad
• Fault in Understanding the Issue of Revolting against the Rulers
• Conclusion
• Bibliography

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Jihadists and Ideology
• Terrorism and Ideology
• Counter-Ideology Contested
• Concluding Remarks

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• The Context
• The Background
• Engaging the Unengaged
• Global Programs
• Challenges and Opportunities

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• The Process of Deradicalization
• Intervention Phase
• The Rehabilitation Process
• The Sri Lankan Model of Rehabilitation
• Preparation for Community Reintegration
• Dedicated Community Engagement Programs
• Community Reintegration
• Aftercare in the Community
• Conclusion

The following sections are included:

• Introduction
• Youth and Extremism
• The Narrative of the Terrorist
• Characteristics of the Youth
• The Challenges
• Lessons Learned
• Conclusion

The following sections are included:

• Ways to Promote Religious Harmony and Interfaith Understanding
• An Islamic Perspective on Reconciliation Effort among Feuding Religious Communities
• An Update on the Relations between the Religious Communities in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Communities form the vanguard against the threat of terrorism. The ability of the community to inspire change, to be an agent of change as well as a catalyst for positive change is critical in the fight against terrorism. These characteristics are the anchors upon which community resilience is grounded with the support of community-based structures…

The following section is included:

• Index