RT Book
T1 Understanding Islamist terrorism in Europe: drugs, jihad and the pursuit of martyrdom
T2 Routledge studies in countering violent extremism
A1 Herrington, Lewis
LA English
PP London New York
PB Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1769368566
AB This book argues that guilt, shame, and remorse, associated with a history of substance abuse, explain why a minority of Islamist extremists carried out suicide terrorism in Europe between 2001 and 2018. Since 9/11, Islamist terrorism has dominated the European security landscape, but there has been little systematic analysis of either the attacks or the men responsible. This book addresses that gap, drawing on terrorist discourse, court transcripts, elite interviews, government reports, and three years of ethnography to provide an exhaustive account of how and why Islamist terrorism has occurred in Europe. Making a detailed analysis of 48 terrorist attacks carried out by 80 suicide terrorists, the book introduces two new theories. The first argues that most of these men first engaged in Islamist extremism as an alternative to substance abuse. The second contends that, following a five-stage process of radicalisation, cognitive dissonance triggered guilt, shame, and remorse over previous misconduct. From this emotional distress, suicide terrorism emerged as a rational choice ahead of either suicide or a return to active addiction. This book argues that the root cause of suicide terrorism in Europe is not so much politics or religion but is more about personal crisis and a search for redemption.
CN BP190.5.T47
SN 9780429316623
K1 Terrorism : Religious aspects : Islam
K1 Islamic fundamentalism : Psychological aspects
K1 Terrorism : Europe : Case studies
K1 Self-sacrifice : Religious aspects : Islam
K1 Suicide bombers : Psychology
K1 Jihad
K1 Dschihadismus
K1 Militanz
K1 Islam
K1 Djihad
K1 Terrorismus
K1 Suizid
K1 Radikalisierung
K1 Electronic books
K1 POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Freedom & Security / Terrorism
K1 POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Freedom & Security / Intelligence
K1 POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Freedom & Security / International Security
K1 Europa
DO 10.4324/9780429316623