Looking into different terrorist acts in recent history it is evident that certain categories within
the Islamist terrorism's way of operating change and adapt to suit different environments and
security levels. From elaborate mass suicide bombings to isolated knife and vehicle attacks on
the streets across Europe, the West has witnessed a desophistication of terrorist attacks. That
signals that in some instances there is an underlying deep religious conviction of those who
commit the terrorist acts. The terrorist attacks' aftermath often reveals connections to certain
religious extremist material that inspired an individual, radicalized them further, and acted as a
guiding hand by implicitly or explicitly pointing out a target, be it a person, a country, or an
entire culture. For something to become permissible (䠥alāl) in contrast to being forbidden
(䠥arām), an Islamic religious authority must deem it so through a process called iftā’ by issuing
a fatwā – an answer which a competent and qualified religious authority gives to a question
concerning a point of Islamic law (sharī’ah) (Mozaffari, 1998, p. 16). A fatwa can give
legitimacy to atrocities and mobilise an otherwise passive radical to become active by seeking
martyrdom. The master's thesis will focus on researching terrorist attacks that were linked to
fatwas from the period of Islamic revolution in 1979 until today, and the power they have in
serving as a tool for strategic communication within the Muslim community (ummah).
|
