THE HORN OF AFRICA AND ISMALIC RADICALISM
THE HORN OF AFRICA AND ISMALIC RADICALISM

Summary/Abstract: CUSTOMARY IDENTITY VS. ISLAM, RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM VS. ISLAMIC RADICALISM, DEMOCRACYVS. MILITANCY, WAR VS. INSURGENCY, AND DEMOCRACY VS. AUTHORITARIANISM – THE EASTAFRICAN SPACE IS CURRENTLY THE SCENE OF STRONG INTERACTIONS, VIOLENT CONFLICT, BOLDFOREIGN POLICIES, AND TENACIOUS ECONOMIC INTERESTS.THE GROWTH OF THE RADICAL ISLAM IN EAST AFRICA IN THE LAST DECADES WAS MANIFESTEDTHROUGH THE SPREAD OF THE SALAFI AND WAHHABI CLERICS, WHICH HAVE PUT PRESSURE ONTHE TRADITIONAL PRACTICES, AS WELL AS BY THE EMERGENCE OF EXTREMISM AND TERRORISMGROUPS INFLUENCED BY THESE IDEOLOGIES. THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE RADICAL ISLAM ISDUE TO THE CONFLUENCE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF FACTORS OF SOCIO-POLITICAL, SPECIFIC TOTHE EAST AFRICA REGION.MOTIVATED BY A RADICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE ISLAMIC LAW, THE JIHADIST IDEOLOGYWILL REPRESENT THE MOST SIGNIFICANT AND PERSISTENCE OF THE THREAT FOR THECONSERVATIVE MUSLIM AS WELL AS THE WESTERN SOCIETIES AND GLOBALIZATION WILLACCELERATE THE SPREAD OF THIS IDEOLOGY TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE NATIONALGOVERNMENTS.THE MOST EFFECTIVE BARRIERS AGAINST THE INGRESS OF TERRORISTS AND RADICALIDEOLOGIES IN THE REGION ARE NOT ONLY APPLICATIONS OF MILITARY FORCE, BUT ALSOCULTURAL AND SOCIAL ASPECTS OF THE MUSLIMS FROM EAST AFRICA. AN EFFECTIVE SOLUTIONIN THE LONG TERM WOULD REQUIRE THE REMOVAL OF CONDITIONS WHICH MAKE THIS REGION,A WELCOMING AREA FOR EXTREMIST GROUPS AND TERRORIST ATTACKS.

• Details
• Contents