The book jihadist terror new threats new responses bring out the gaps between the research on jihadist terror and possible policies and laws to counter-terrorism in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world. The UK is one of the several countries in Europe which suffered the most terrorist attacks on its soil. Volume is an initiative of a project named Combating Jihadist Terrorism and Extremism to focus its research on the threat of terrorism carried out in the name of Islam. The leading experts in the counter-terrorism research field have laid down 29 chapters on the emerging challenges in jihadist terrorism with extensive research on possible counter-terrorism measures.
The “Motivation of Jihadist Terrorism” is the main topic of the first section. The first two chapters offer a philosophical analysis of the Salafi-jihadist ideology, which is the current mainstream Jihadist narrative. The chapter gives readers a comprehensive understanding of the Salafi-Jihadist philosophy and the revivalist intellectuals who supported the revival of the traditional Islamic rituals. It also dives deeply into the ideas of ancient Islam and how they relate to the present Salafi-jihadist narrative. Further, the volume’s initial section illuminates how jihadists exploit young minds by radicalising them through various propagandas. Waging jihad against non-Muslims to defend the existence of Islam and the conspiracy that the west is conspiring against Muslims through surveillance and technology is the complex psychological weapon of fear-mongering among Muslims. The text also recommends developing counter-narrative measures to disprove conspiracy theories and the dominant narrative by tailoring the counter-narrative with the audience in mind. The first half provides a comfortable setting for the factors contributing to Islamophobia and the growth in anti-Muslim sentiment among non-Muslims. The text elaborates on how social media fuels anti-Muslim prejudice among non-Muslims. Additionally, it focuses on the causes of rising anti-Muslim bias and the radicalising ideologies and alienation of Muslims. In the concluding chapters of part one, the authors provide details on the role of women in spreading extremist content on social media platforms and the advantages of community participation in collecting information about suspected radicalised people before they carry out terror attacks.
The second part deals with the use of technology for radicalising Muslim youth. In the initial stage, Facebook and Twitter buttressed the radicalisation and spread of jihadist propaganda for recruitment as companies’ algorithms failed to recognise different languages. By the time it came to the notice of intelligence agencies and terrorists started using host domains, groups, encrypted sites and chat rooms to spread jihadist literature to radicalise the youth. The text further brings forward the issue of the free availability of encryption that has felled into the wrong hands. Jihadist groups use these encrypted platforms to provide handy guides through online tutorials, videos and recommendations to escape detection. It also sheds light on the use of tools such as TOR and VPN at the jihadists’ end to remain anonymous online. The authors highlight the use of encrypted apps to plot and carry out terror attacks in Europe and other continents. The study claims that terrorist organisations also utilise literature to teach individuals how to make bombs and also use it to coordinate with individuals while plotting terror attacks. As claimed by many counter-terrorism experts, prisons and madrasas are potential spaces for the radicalisation of people and young students. However, some studies refute such narrative by claiming that many criminals view themselves as a guide for lost inmates, and parents send their kids to madrasas to help them establish a sense of identity, which is why risk may be overblown. In the concluding chapters, the authors provide extensive facts about the emerging challenge of lone wolf terrorism and the returnees from west Asia.
Part three of the volume provides extensive information on the gaps and possible measures to fill the gaps in the counter-terrorism laws in the United Kingdom. The text brings to the fore counter-terrorism laws like Terrorism Act, 2009 Prevent and provides suggestions to make them more constructive. It also provides details of the nature and history of Independent Reviews of Terrorism Legislation and its domain.
The fourth part deals with the waves of jihadist terrorism in the UK and also provides an assessment of the success and failures of counter-terrorism measures and the capability of the counter-terrorism structure to eliminate terrorism in the UK. The authors also provide extensive information on the counter-terrorism and counter-radicalisation measures adopted by various European countries such as the Netherlands, and Belgium and in public spaces like schools and prisons.
