Explaining Islamist Insurgencies

The Case of al-Jamaah al-Islamiyyah and the Radicalisation of the Poso Conflict, 20002007

Since 9/11 many books have been published on Islamic terrorism, but few of these have considered the issue from the perspective of strategic studies or in terms of an “insurgency.” As a result, much of this literature ignores the process of radicalisation and fails to ascertain why some people turn to terrorism, while others from the same background do not. To counter this trend, Explaining Islamist Insurgencies explains how and why the process of Islamist radicalisation is an important step towards acts of terrorism and in the formation of terrorist organisations by focusing on Poso, a small town in Indonesia that experienced years of armed sectarian conflict between Muslim and Chrisitian communities in 2000–2007. Building on the frameworks provided by previous studies, Muhammed Tito Karnavian employs communications theory to explore the necessary precursors for the legitimising ideology, in this case Salafi-jihadism, to be effectively disseminated.

With nearly 20 years of experience in academia and counter-terrorism operations in Indonesia, and as the current Chief of Papua Police, Karnavian employs his unparalleled access to information and individuals to delineate the various stages of the radicalisation of the Poso conflict and how radical organisations, such as al-Jamaah al-Islamiyyah (JI), came to be involved. This unique first-hand account of a counter-terrorist operation concludes by offering general policy implications that will be of use to both academics and practitioners.

Contents:

• Introduction
• Al-Jamaah al-Islamiyyah: From Insurgency to Terrorism
• Violence in Poso: From Armed Sectarian Conflict to Terrorism, 1998–2007
• First Causal Factor: Disaffected Persons
• Second Causal Factor: Enabling Group
• Third Causal Factor: Legitimising Ideology
• The Radicalisation Process of Muslims in Poso
• Conclusion and Policy Implications
• Appendix: Figures and Tables
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index

Readership: Students, academics and practitioners of strategic studies, counter-terrorism studies and conflict studies.
Key Features:

• The author is a practitioner in strategic studies. He is a police major general who has a vast experience in counter-terrorism operations in Indonesia including the Bali Bombings
• The author has dealt with the most important Islamist terrorist group in Southeast Asia, al-Jamaah al-Islamiyyah (responsible for the Bali bombings and other bomb attacks in Indonesia), first hand. There are several books have been written on al-Jamaah al-Islamiyyah, but most of the authors of these are purely academics
• Many books have attempted to explain the phenomena of Islamic radicalisation through the lens of psychology, anthropology, history and so on. This book offers another perspective by using communications theory, and includes five programs to be developed for countering radicalisation