The War Against Global Jihadism

Sources

[1] Sources for this section include The New York Times Almanac: 2007 and "Islam is faith with many faces," by David R. Sands, The Washington Times, October 21, 2001.

[2] Why We Fight, by William J. Bennett (2002).

[3] The Shia Revival: How Conflicts within Islam Will Shape the Future (2006).

[4] "Iraq's Real Holy War," The New York Times, March 6, 2004.

[5] The Foreigner's Gift (2006).

[6] The precepts of Islam were revealed through Muhammad, who Muslims believe was the last of a line of prophets including Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. Muhammad was born around 570 at Mecca, in western Saudi Arabia, and died in 632 in Medina. Muslims believe the Koran, which means "recitation" and consists of 114 chapters (or surahs), is the infallible word of God as revealed to Muhammad.

[7] Hamid Enayat, Modern Islamic Political Thought (Second edition, 2005).

[8] "A Faith Divided," The Wall Street Journal, August 22, 2006.

[9] The February 22, 2006 attack in Iraq on Samarra's Askariya shrine, also known as the Golden Mosque, was significant because, as the Washington Post reported at the time, "the mosque holds the tombs of two revered 9th-century imams of the Shiite branch of Islam, including Hassan al-Askari, father of the 'hidden imam,' al-Mahdi. Many Shiites believe that Mahdi is still alive and that his reemergence one day will signal the beginning of the end of the world. Shiites consider the mosque in Samarra to be a tangible link with the hidden imam." It should also be noted that the name of the militia led by Moqtada al-Sadr, the radical Shiite cleric in Iraq, is the Mahdi Army. "Moqtada is absolutely hooked on the concept of the reappearance of the Mahdi," according to Amatzia Baram, the director of the Ezri Center at Haifa University.

[10] Modern Islamic Political Thought (Second edition, 2005).

[11] Ibid.

[12] Matthias Kuntzel, "A Child of the Revolution Takes Over," The New Republic, April 24, 2006

[13] "Islam, Terror and the Second Nuclear Age," The New York Times Magazine, October 29, 2006. It should be noted that Professor Feldman also argues, "Shiite Islam, even in its messianic incarnation, still falls short of inviting nuclear retaliation and engendering collective suicide."

[14] Ibid.

[15] Ibid.

[16] Anthony Shadid, "Call of History Draws Iraqi Cleric to the Political Fore," The Washington Post, February 1, 2004.

[17] The Ottoman Empire was established in the 13th century by the Osmanli (Ottoman) Turks. At the height of its power, this Turkish empire spanned three continents. 

[18] The establishment of a secular Islamic state in Turkey was unprecedented for an Islamic nation. The reason is rooted in the history of Islam. According to Efraim Karsh, author of Islamic Imperialism: A History, "Islam has never distinguished between temporal and religious powers, which were combined in the person of Muhammad." The Islamic scholar Bernard Lewis puts it this way: "The notion of church and state as distinct institutions, each with its own laws, hierarchy, and jurisdiction, is characteristically Christian, with its origins in Christian scripture and history. It is alien to Islam... From the lifetime of its founder, Islam was the state, and the identity of religion and government is indelibly stamped on the memories and awareness of the faithful from their own sacred writings, history, and experience. For Muslims, Muhammad's career as a soldier and statesman was not additional to his mission as a prophet. It was an essential part of it."

[19] Knowing the Enemy: Jihadist Ideology and the War on Terror (2006).

[20] The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (2006).

[21] "Freedom and Justice in the Modern Middle East," Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005.

[22] Matthias Kuntzel, "From Khomeini to Ahmadinejad," Policy Review, December 2006 & January 2007.

[23] The quotes by Ayatollah Khomeini appear in Matthias Kuntzel's "From Khomeini to Ahmadinejad," Policy Review, December 2006 & January 2007.

[24] "Why Iran Is (Still) a Menace," Commentary, July 1997.

[25] The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (2006).

[26] President Ahmadinejad is certainly a key figure in Iran and the world. It is worth noting, however, that the Iranian government has several different power centers, including the presidency, the parliament, the Revolutionary Guard, and the office of the Supreme Leader - currently filled by Ayatollah Khamenei, who ultimately oversees the armed forces and exerts great influence. 

[27] "The New Hegemon," The New Republic, December 18, 2006. It should be noted that in his book The Shia Revival, Professor Nasr argues that the Islamic revolution is "today a spent force in Iran, and the Islamic Republic is a tired dictatorship facing pressures to change." He adds, "If the Shias are emerging from their dark years of ideological posturing, revolution, and extremism, the Sunnis seem to be entering theirs, or at least passing into a darker phase."
Peter Wehner is deputy assistant to the President and director of the White House's Office of Strategic Initiatives.