...there is a danger that violent Islamist ideologies, doctrines and activities will bring about two further developments, the advance signs of which may already be seen in the present time. The first of these is the development of new bases of Islamist radicalism and political violence, including terrorism, in Muslim communities in the West, as a result of the consolidation of two relatively new Islamist doctrines: the globalization of the Islamist struggle, and the doctrine of the 'non-territorial Islamist state.' The globalization of the Islamist struggle is aimed against what the Islamists perceive as the global conspiracy against Islam, both as religion and culture. The second doctrine -- that of the 'Non-territorial Islamic State' -- revolves around the tenet that the Muslim communities in the West should be perceived as a kind of Islamic State, lacking territorial dimensions, but entailing the religious duty of establishing Islamic rule. This doctrine, which grew out of the work of Islamic scholars in the UK, emphasizes the socio-cultural, economic, and political character of the Muslim community. At the same time, the doctrine grants free rein to the principle of Islamic pluralism, allowing the activities of a variety of organizations and institutions, from every trend of modern Islamic thought. This pluralism is mostly an outgrowth of the democratic and liberal environment of Western countries, but it also reflects the fundamentalist nature of many of the Islamic movements in their homeland. These two doctrines together could result in Muslim communities in the West -- particularly those in Europe -- becoming havens for radical political violence
The second imminent development is the evolution of what we might call 'social terrorism' -- terrorism motivated primarily by social factors, such as hatred of foreigners, growing unemployment, economic circumstances, difficulties in coping with Western modernization, changing and dismantling of traditional values and of family ties, etc. Such factors may affect other groups of immigrants as well, however, the influence of these factors on the Muslim emigrant communities is particularly acute. The growing Islamic and Islamist activity among Muslim emigrant communities, in addition to Islamist doctrines of conspiracies and global struggle with the West, encourage the growing potential of radical doctrines spreading among the younger generation.
And Paz explicitly linked terrorist violence to ostensibly non-violent supporters and front groups, including so-called "human rights" organizations.
...But there is another very important element to note here, with regard to Islamist terrorism. This is what we may call 'Islamic atmosphere' created by movements and groups that are themselves unconnected to political violence or terrorism. Some of these groups even publicly condemn terrorism, or at the very least, express reservation towards its use. The influence of these groups thus revolves around two linked elements:
* These groups and movements carry out the vast majority of Islamic political, social, cultural and educational work, both in the Muslim world and among Muslim communities in the West. Therefore, they are central to creating and preserving the 'Islamic atmosphere' that is used by more extremist and violent Islamist groups. They are in many cases 'greenhouses' for the emergence of violent groups and the preservation of worldviews advocating hostility towards the West or toward Western culture.
* The infrastructure of these movements, originally built to facilitate cultural, political, educational, and charity activities, make them the main venue for finance and support for Islamic projects, with the result that some them are also used to collect funds for radical groups. At the same time, they are active in consolidating Muslim communities in the West, and therefore set the grounds for massive fund-raising, political support, and in some cases recruitment, for militant Islamist groups in these communities.
The Islamic societies, both in the Muslim World and in the West, and the 'Islamic atmosphere,' even when non-violent, thus play a crucial role in the finance of Islamist terrorism as well as of social and cultural activity and of charity. Social Islamic work is also in many cases part of social protest, either against secular Muslim regimes or Western societies -- form of protest that facilitates the activity of some of the Islamist groups.
The Islamist 'terrorist culture' can be sketched as a pyramid; at the base is the large-scale activity of the Islamic moderate and non-violent organizations, institutes, and projects of all kinds. At the top of the pyramid is the radical and pro-terrorist activity. In the middle there are various processes that channel certain social factors into hatred, revenge, the search for power and violence. This violence is in many cases indirectly supported and financed by innocent elements as a result of cultural influences.
BTW In 2003, this same organization published Yoni Fighel's article on Londonistan.
