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Understanding Terrorist Networks: Ideas May be the Secret Weapon against Terror

Many believe that terrorism springs from ignorance, weak values, and feeble minds, and some say that terrorists are simply evil people.

But in order to truly combat terrorism, we cannot simplify it. We must know its nuances and better understand the mind of the terrorist.

One scholar, Marc Sageman, M.D., Ph.D., and former member of the CIA has dissected the lives of 172 terrorists and presented a social explanation for the existence of terrorist groups like Al Qaeda in his book Understanding Terror Networks.

Sageman’s insights provide an alternative point of view to popular analyses of terrorism, and by presenting his ideas here, WomenMatter hopes to generate new discussion and thinking on the subject and, hopefully, inspire new solutions.

Who are the terrorists?

Many people think of the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11 as desperate kids who were easily brainwashed because they lacked education and community. But Sageman discovered quite the opposite: Al Qaeda’s members are typically middle to upper class, well educated, and from close-knit families. Further, many joined the organization as fully mature adults (the average age being 26) who at one time had professional careers, usually in the physical sciences.

These findings sharply contradict the notion that Al Qaeda is recruiting teenagers with no family or prospects. Sageman claims that many terrorists had lives full of responsibilities, including children of their own, before joining a terrorist network. As a psychiatrist, Sageman has determined that very few of the almost 200 terrorists he considered had serious mental health issues.

Joining terror

Sageman explains that Al Qaeda and groups like it do not usually recruit and brainwash any one they can as many Americans believe. Usually, one who joins a terrorist network has a strong social bond with someone already involved. Sageman theorizes that terrorist networks are held together by close personal relationships among members, not merely hatred for Americans or another outside group.

Historical context

Al Qaeda and other anti-U.S. terrorist groups originated in Egypt. Al Qaeda’s ideology is based on the work of Egyptian writer Sayyid Qutb (1906-1966), who promoted the use of violence in the creation of a Muslim utopia.

Due to threats from Egyptian officials, Many of Qutb’s followers fled to Afghanistan where they met like-minded groups from various countries. After the Afghan-Soviet war, Qutb disciples gathered in Khartoum, Sudan, where they organized and began to develop theories about a "far enemy" impeding their cause.

In 1996, the Sudanese government ejected what was now Al Qaeda, so the group went back to Afghanistan. Within two months of their return, Osama Bin Laden declared war on one of these "far enemies," the United States.

What the terrorists want

Sageman explains that Islamic fundamentalist terrorist groups want to recreate a Salafi state, a Muslim utopia that they believe existed during the time of Mohammed.

Most Salafists want to reestablish this fair and just society through nonviolence, but a very small subset of Salafis, the Qutb’s disciples, believe peaceful change is impossible and violence necessary to the goal.

Violent Salafists believe that they must get the U.S. out of the Middle East in order to establish a Salafi state. Sageman says that this is why 9/11 happened.

A war of ideas

Sageman’s research demonstrates that Al Qaeda is based in ideology. The group is not simply a bunch of crazy, evil criminals with unexplainable hatred for the U.S. Al Qaeda, a sophisticated group of educated, well-connected men, has targeted the U.S. because they feel that Americans are interfering with the project of creating a Muslim utopia described in the Koran.

Sageman suggests that since the conflict is idea-based, perhaps the solution is too. That is not to say that he disagrees with the invasion of Afghanistan. In fact, Sageman explains that the war effectively broke apart the terrorist network. However, Sageman suggests that the war on terror cannot be fought with guns alone. Ideas may be the greatest tool against another terrorist attack on the United States. WomenMatter will continue to report on anti-terror ideas for all of us to discuss.

What do you think?

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Update Posted on: 11/05/2004