Terrorism Today

WHAT IS TERRORISM????

•Threat or use of violence•For a Political Purpose•Targets Civilians•Manipulate with fear

Strategies•Asymmetrical•Create impression of being unsafe, impotence of government•Media Events

September 11, 2001

A Global JihadSpain, March 11, 04

London

July 7, 2005

Bali Night Club Oct. 2000

London Knifing

May, 2013

Life in the New Iran• Iran becomes Islamic

theocratic “democratic” dictatorship Religious Police roam Iran

and Revolutionary courts execute dissenters.

• State Funding of Terror• Killing of 244 Marines by

Hezbollah in Lebanon, IED’s in Iraq, proxy wars with Israel

Modernization or terror: Egypt• After Sadat killed by Muslim Brotherhood, military coup puts Mubarak in power.• Tough on Islamist threat to build Sunni Caliphate

• 2012 – Uprising brings Muslim Brotherhood to power.• Coup unseats them in 2013

Add in Women’s Rights Issues• Depends on the interpretation of Shari’ah in each state• Issues in Some Places:•Wearing of Headscarf•Access to education, healthcare, politics• Forced Circumcision•Honor Killings & Acid Attacks

• Are Women’s Rights Western Rights?

Women in Islam

Revival of the Hijab

• In the Middle East, a sign of resistance against Western Imperialism & Pride in Muslim faith & culture

Different Types

• The Hijab•Scarf over head

• The Niqab• Full face Veil

The Burqa

Quran’s View of the Veil •Doesn’t mandate

women to cover their heads• Tells women to follow God’s commandment & follow the “correct standard of modesty”.

Islamic Society•Governed by Shari-ah Law• Regulates all aspects of life•Food, Gambling, Sex, family business and government• INTERPRETED BY SCHOLARS!!!

Political Issues in the Arab Nations

How should the region proceed?Two roads diverge in the sand

• ON THE ONE HAND…• Political Islam /

Islamism•Shari’ah Law based in the Quran• Islamic democratic Theocracies•Reject the West

RESIST THE WEST THAT HAS OPPRESSED THE PEOPLE

On the Other Hand:secular Islamic democracies

• THANKS TO ATATURK in Turkey Separates Church

and State Women’s Rights

(1934- Women Vote) Freedom of Religion New Dress codes

(Fez and Veil outlawed)

Roman Alphabet

The US War on Terror

The US Invades Afghanistan

• Strategic blunder of Al Qaeda???• Taliban forced into

mountains and Bin Laden went into hiding

Back in Iraq - Gulf War II

• Post 9/11, Bush vows to stop rogue nations and terrorism•West thought

Hussein developing a bio/chem/nuclear program, told to allow inspectors.

The War & Democracy?•March, 2003, US &

allies invade Iraq. 28 days long• Jan, 2005 – first fully

elected govn’t• 2006-get constitution• April 23, 2006- Nouri al-

Maliki elected PM

Insurgency• Immediately after fall

of Saddam• US not greeted by

flowers• NO WMD’s

FOUND!!!• Ex-Ba’athists & “Al-

Qaeda in Iraq” under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi

The Dictator Gone… what now?•Hanged 29 December

2006•Over 4,000 dead US

soldiers as of June. ’08• Intense Shiite-Sunni

Violence with torture and ethnic cleansing

The Future• Can the Sunni

triangle join in the democracy?• Can the three Iraqs

(Sunnis, Shiites & Kurds) unite into one people• Can we stop

theocracy and Civil War?

SHIITE

KURD

SUNNI

A New Battlefield• Fleeing Afghanistan, Taliban

moved into NW Pakistan.• Pakistan let Taliban

administer tribal regions with Shariah• Now at war as Taliban

extended• PAKISTAN HAS

NUCLEAR WEAPONS!

TEENAGE DRUGGED UP SUICIDE BOMBERS

A New Approach

• Pres. Obama’s changes•Vow to leave Iraq by 2010

(Let Iraqis deal with Iraqi problems)•Vow to close Guantanamo

Prison (makes Muslims angry)•Won’t say “Islamic

Terror”, but “radicals”•Dialogue, not military

The Death of Bin Laden

Arab Spring

• Started in 2010 when a 26-year-old man, Mohamed Bouazizi, set himself on fire after he was humiliated by the police

• Protests, sparked by this, started all over Tunisia which then spread to all of the Middle East very quickly• And with the help of Facebook and cellphones

• Egypt becomes the face of the Spring because they forced President Honsi Mubarak to step down and broadcast much of the revolution on Facebook• A free election was held in November 2011 but protests still continue

in Tahrir Square

• While many countries have overthrown their gov’ts there is still much fighting going on in the region