Course Code AS6032

Course Title Contemporary Relations of Islam and Politics: Deconstructing

Islamism, Salafism and Jihadism

Academic Year / Trimester AY 2016/2017, Trimester 3

(27 February 2017 27 May 2017) [13 weeks]

Lecturers Name Dr Mohamed Bin Ali

Email ismohamed@ntu.edu.sg

Class Date / Time / Venue Wednesday, 9.30am 12.30pm / Venue (Seminar Room 2)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The rise of Islamism, Salafism and Jihadism are some of the most important
developments of the twentieth century in the Islamic world. These developments had
resulted in the changing political, religious and social landscape of many Muslim
countries and communities in the modern period. This course aims to provide students
with an understanding of the dynamics and challenges of modern day Islamism and
political Islam with a particular focus on the phenomenon of modern Salafism and
Jihadism. The course is designed to provide a more in-depth examination and analysis of
the politics and dynamics of Islamism and other modern Islamist ideologies and political
movements in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It looks at the evolution of Islamist
philosophy and movements focusing on the emergence of the modern Salafi ideology and
Jihadism and the impact these ideologies and movements have on the socio-religious and
political arena of the contemporary Muslim world.

The course is intended to benefit students, academics, religious scholars and also those
involved in counter-terrorism efforts. It will help to improve their understanding of
Islamism, Salafism, Wahhabism and other related ideologies. Students will be taught and
exposed to understand and critically analyse the various ideological trends and
inclinations of different Islamists and modern Salafi groups and movements.

The course is divided into three parts:

In Part 1, the course provides a philosophical and theoretical understanding of

Islam and Islamism as a background and foundational knowledge that all students
taking up the course should possess. This includes its beliefs, doctrines,
understanding of the various strands of Islamic thought and development of

23 January 2017 1
 political Islam in the modern period. An understanding of the terminologies of
Islamism, Salafism, Wahhabism and Jihadism and what they entail will also be
discussed in this part of the course.

Part 2 of the course discusses the development of modern Salafism and

Wahhabism. The terms Salafism and Wahhabism are commonly used
interchangeably, while there is a clear distinction between these two ideologies.
Here, the course discusses the history, ideology and characteristics behind
Salafism and Wahhabism and exposes its complexities and diversities in the
modern Islamic world.

In Part 3, the topic of modern Jihadism will be discussed with case studies of
Jihadism in Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Southeast Asia. Insights into understanding
the historical roots of jihadism, its contemporary challenges and key Jihadist
ideology will also be provided in this part. The course also aims to deconstruct the
notion of Jihadism from the Islamic tradition of Jihad and discuss how Jihad in
the Islamic legal tradition was conceptualized.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the completion of this subject, the student should be able to:

Critically understand the dynamics and challenges of the notion of Islamism,

Salafism, Wahhabism and other modern Islamist ideologies and the context of
how and why these ideologies are subscribed to by the Muslims.

Familiarise with the main trends and inclinations of the different modern Islamist
ideologies in analyzing the developments of Islamism and modern Salafism
among the relevant disciplines of Islamic studies, politics, sociology and
anthropology.

Demonstrate critical and analytical skills through readings, class participations

and presentations.

Evaluate and critique and scholarly and other writings on these topics.

Situate global current events pertaining to Islam in the wider context of the
developments of these ideologies expounded in the course.

23 January 2017 2
COURSE EVALUATION

Written Exam 50%

Term Paper (3,000 words) 25%

Class Presentation/Debate 10%

Student Participation 15%

COURSE STRUCTURE

Week One (Date) : Wednesday, 01 March 2017

This week outlines the course aims, objectives, structure and requirements, as well as the
assignments for each student. All questions pertaining to the course and assignments will
be answered during this week.

Lecture: Introduction to Islam: Theory and Practice

The lecture provides introduction to Islamic beliefs, doctrines, philosophy, values,
transmission of religious knowledge and the various strands of Islamic thought.

Required Readings:

Daniel W. Brown, A New Introduction to Islam, Wiley-Blackwell; 2nd edition

2009, pp 49-86.
Asma Afsarudin, The First Muslims: History and Memory, Oneworld
Publications, 2007, pp 1-26.
Ingrid Matson, The Story of the Qur'an: Its History and Place in Muslim Life,
Wiley-Blackwell; 1st edition, 2007, pp 25-76.
John L. Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path, Oxford University Press; 4 edition,
2010, pp 1-31
John L. Esposito, What Everyone Needs to Know about Islam, Oxford University
Press; 2 edition, 2011, pp 5-68.
Frederick Mathewson Denny, An Introduction to Islam, Pearson Prentice Hall; 4th
edition, 2011
Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles), Modern
Library; Rev Upd Su edition, 2002, pp 3-40

23 January 2017 3
 Seyyed Hossein Nasr, The Heart of Islam: Enduring Values for Humanity,
HarperOne, 2004, pp. 55-112
Martin Lings, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, Inner
Traditions; Revised edition, 2006, Chapter 1

Further Readings:

Jonathan A.C. Brown, Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University

Press, 2011, pp 1-63
Jonathan A.C. Brown, Misquoting Muhammad: The Challenge and Choices of
Interpreting the Prophet's Legacy, Oneworld Publications, 2014, pp 15-67
Muhammad Al-Ghazali, A Thematic Commentary on the Quran, Intl Inst of
Islamic Thought, 2000, pp x - 1
Muhammad Abdel Haleem, Understanding the Qur'an: Themes and Style, I. B.
Tauris; Reprint edition, 2010, pp 61 -84

Week Two (Date) : Wednesday, 08 March 2017

Lecture: Understanding Islamic Thought

In this lecture, Islamic culture are explored, including the development of the Islamic
intellectual tradition, the two foundation texts, the Quran and Hadith, legal thought,
theological thought, mystical thought, Islamic Art, philosophical thought, political
thought, and renewal, reform and rethinking in the modern Muslim world.

Required Readings:

23 January 2017 4
 Abdullah Saeed, Islamic Thought: An Introduction, Routledge 1st edition, 2006,
pp 15-140
Suha Taji Farouki, Bashee M. Nafi (eds), Islamic Thought in the Twentieth
Century, B. Tauris in Association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2004, pp
28 - 60
W Montgomery Watt, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought, Oneworld
Publications, 1998
Basheer M. Nafi, Rise and Decline of the Arab-Islamic Reform
Movement, Crescent Publications, 2000
Muhammad Qasim Zaman, Modern Islamic Thought in a Radical Age: Religious
Authority and Internal Criticism, Cambridge University Press (December 20,
2012), pp 1-44
Nasr Abu Zayd, Reformation of Islamic Thought: A Critical Historical Analysis, :
Amsterdam University Press, 2006, pp 21-65
Ibrahim Abu-Rabi, The Blackwell Companion to Contemporary Islamic Thought,
Oxford: Malden, MA ; Oxford : Blackwell Pub, 2006, pp 1-20
Peter Mandaville, Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma,
London, Routledge, 2001, pp 5-52
Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen and Christian Moe (eds), New directions in Islamic
thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition, London; New York: I.B.
Tauris ; New York : In the United States and Canada distributed by Palgrave
Macmillan, 2009, Introduction Chapter
Abou El Fadl, Khaled, And God Knows the Soldiers: The Authoritative and
Authoritarian in Islamic Discourses, Lanham, Md. : University Press of America,
2001.

Further Readings:

Jamal J. Elias, Key Themes for the Study of Islam, Oneworld Publications
(February 1, 2010), pp 1-4, 220- 262
Jonathan P. Berkey, The Formation of Islam: Religion and Society in the Near
East, 600-1800 (Themes in Islamic History), Cambridge University Press
(December 23, 2002), pp 113-129
Tariq Ramadan, Islam, the West and the Challenge of Modernity, Markfield,
Leicester: Islamic Foundation, 2001
Abou El Fadl, Khaled, Speaking in God's Name : Islamic Law, Authority and
Women, Oxford : Oneworld, 2001
March, Andrew F., Islam and Liberal Citizenship: The Search for an Overlapping
Consensus, Oxford Scholarship Online: May 2009

23 January 2017 5
Week Three (Date) : Wednesday, 15 March 2017

Lecture: Understanding Political Islam (Part 1) Rise of Political Islam in The

Contemporary Period
This lecture speaks about Islam and its relation with politics and governance. It looks at
how Islam has become a central point of reference for a wide range of political activities,
arguments and opposition movements over the last few decades. Several case studies
such as the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent dissolution of the Caliphate as
well as rise of democratic Islamist movements and pan Arabism will be used as examples
of the modern political ideal of Islamism in the 20th and 21st Century.

Required Readings:

Abu-Rabi, Ibrahim M, Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in The Modern

Arab World, Albany : State University of New York Press, 1996
Peter Mandaville, Global Political Islam, Routledge; 2nd Printing edition
(October 11, 2007)
Frederic Volpi, Political Islam: A Critical Reader, Routledge (September 29,
2010)
Mohammed Ayoob, The Many Faces of Political Islam: Religion and Politics in
the Muslim World, University of Michigan Press (November 19, 2007)
John J. Donohue and John L. Esposito (eds), Islam in Transition: Muslim
Perspectives, Oxford University Press; 2 edition (February 9, 2006)
Ali Rahnema, Pioneers of Islamic Revival: Second Edition (Studies in Islamic
Society, Zed Books; Updated edition (February 16, 2006)
Carl Brown, Religion and State: The Muslim Approach to Politics, Columbia
University Press (September 15, 2001)
William Montgomery Watt, Islamic Political Thought (The New Edinburgh
Islamic Surveys), Edinburgh University Press (January 1, 1987)
Armando Salvatore, Islam and the Political Discourse of Modernity, Reading,
Berks.: Ithaca Press, 1997
Yaroslav Trofimov, The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's
holiest shrine and the birth of al Qaeda, New York : Doubleday, 2007
Abdul Aziz Said et. al. (Ed), Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static, London;
New York : Routledge, 2006
Peter Mandaville, Transnational Muslim Politics: Reimagining the Umma,
London, Routledge, 2001

23 January 2017 6
Further Readings:

William Connolly, The Ethos of Pluralization (Minneapolis, MN: University of

Minnesota Press, 1995).
Bruce Lawrence, The Defenders of God: The Fundamentalist Revolt Against the
Modern Age (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1995), p. 226.
Gilles Kepel, The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and The West, Cambridge, Mass.,
; London : Belknap Press of Harvard U.P., 2004
Joseph E. B. Lumbard (Ed), Islam, Fundamentalism and the Betrayal of
Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars, Bloomington, Ind: World
Wisdom, 2004

Week Four (Date) : Wednesday, 22 March 2017

Lecture: Understanding Political Islam (Part 2) Ideas and Evolution of Political

Islam and Philosophies of Modern Islamist Thinkers
This lecture examines the evolution of political Islam as a set of ideas. It will explore the
different models of Islamic State as well as well as strategies used by Islamist movements
to Islamise a state. The lecture also looks at the evolution of Islamist philosophy and
movements as well as ideas of Islamist thinkers such as Ibn Taimiyyah, Ibn Abdul
Wahhab, Afghani, Azzam and Al-Zawahiri.

Required Readings:

Mansoor Moaddel and Kamran Talattof (eds.), Contemporary Debates in Islam,

St .Martin's Press, 1999
Ahmed Rashid, Taliban: The Story of the Afghan Warlords, Pan Books, 2000
Gabriel Warburg, Islam, Sectarianism and Politics in Sudan since the Mahdiyya,
Hurst, 2003
Sayyid Qutb, Milestones, American Trust Publications, 1990
Gilles Kepel, The Roots of Radical Islam, London, Saqi, 2005
Oliver Roy, Globalised Islam: The Search for a New Umma, Hurst, 2004
Carl Brown, Religion and State: The Muslim Approach to Politics, Columbia
University Press (September 15, 2001)
William Montgomery Watt, Islamic Political Thought (The New Edinburgh
Islamic Surveys), Edinburgh University Press (January 1, 1987)
Asef Bayat, Post-Islamism: The Changing Faces of Political Islam, Oxford
University Press (June 25, 2013)
Wael B. Hallaq, The Impossible State: Islam, Politics, and Modernity's Moral
Predicament, Columbia University Press (November 20, 2012)

23 January 2017 7
Further Readings:

Gilles Kepel, Muslim Extremism in Egypt: The Prophet and Pharaoh, University
of California Press; First Edition, With a New Preface for 2003 edition, 2003
Richard Bonney, Jihad: From Qur'an to bin Laden, Palgrave, 2004
Roxanne L. Euben and Muhammad Qasim Zaman (eds) Princeton Readings in
Islamist Thought: Texts and Contexts from al-Banna to Bin Laden, Princeton
University Press, 2009

Week Five (Date) : Wednesday, 29 March 2017

Lecture: Understanding Terminologies: Islamism, Jihadism, Salafism, Wahhabism

and other Islamist ideologies.
This lectures aims to provide and understanding of what Islamism, Salafism, Wahhabism
and other Islamist ideologies is and what each of these terminologies entail. It constructs
and deconstructs the main discourses created by different and opposing trends in modern
Islamic thought that are normally and mistakenly lumped together as Islamism,
fundamentalism, Salafism, neo-salafism, Wahhabism, Jihadism, political Islamism,
Islamic radicalism and others.

Required Readings:

Ahmad Moussali, Wahhabism, Salafism and Islamism: Who is the Enemy?,

Conflicts Forum Monograph, January 2009.
Saudi Backgrounder: Who are the Islamists?, International Crisis Group Middle
East Report no.31, 12.
Gilles Kepel, The Roots of Radical Islam, London : Saqi, 2005
Joseph E. B. Lumbard (Ed), Islam, Fundamentalism and the Betrayal of
Tradition: Essays by Western Muslim Scholars, Bloomington, Ind: World
Wisdom, 2004
Paul Hedges, Islamism, Radical Islam, Jihadism: The Problem of Language and
Islamophobia, RSIS Commentaries CO15012, 15 January 2015 available at
https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/srp/co15012-islamism-radical-islam-
jihadism-the-problem-of-language-and-islamophobia/#.VLoy6CuUfNt

Further Readings:

Abu-Rabi, Ibrahim M, Intellectual Origins of Islamic Resurgence in The Modern

Arab World, Albany : State University of New York Press, 1996

23 January 2017 8
 Mansoor Moaddel, Islamic Modernism, Nationalism and Fundamentalism:
Episode and Discourse, University of Chicago Press, 2005

Week Six (Date) : Wednesday, 05 April 2017

Lecture: Salafis, Salafism and Modern Salafism

The lecture provides insights into the world of Salafism particularly modern Salafism.
The lecture covers definition of Salafism, its history, ideology, characteristics and
discusses its realities and complexities in the modern world. It will also look at the
various factions and groups of modern Salafis as observed by many academics and
commentators.

Required Readings:

Meijer, Roel (ed), Global Salafism: Islams New Religious Movement, C. Hurst &
Company, London, 2009.
Ahmad Moussali, Wahhabism, Salafism and Islamism: Who is the Enemy?,
Conflicts Forum Monograph, January 2009.
Abdel Latiff, Omayma Trends in Salafism, in Michael Emerson, Kristina
Kausch and Richard Youngs (eds), Islamist Radicalisation: The Challenge for
Euro-Mediterranean Relations, Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels,
2009.
Bernard Haykel, On the Nature of Salafi Thought and Action in Roel Meijer
(ed), Global Salafism: Islams New Religious Movement, C. Hurst & Company,
London, 2009.
Ahmad Moussali, Wahhabism, Salafism and Islamism: Who is the Enemy?,
Conflicts Forum Monograph, January 2009.

Further Readings:

Adraoui, Mohamed Ali, Purist Salafism in France, International Institute for the
Study of Islam in the Modern World (ISIM) Review 21/Spring 2008.
Adraoui, Mohamed Ali, Salafism in France: Ideology, Practices and
Contradictions in Roel Meijer (ed), Global Salafism: Islams New Religious
Movement, C. Hurst & Company, London, 2009.
Amghar, Samir, Salafism and Radicalisation of Young European Muslims in
Samir Amghar, Amel Boubekeur, Michael Emerson (eds) European Islam:
Challenges for Public Policy and Society, Brussels: Centre for European Policy
Studies, 2007.

23 January 2017 9
 Boubekeur, Amel, Salafism and Radical Politics in Postconflict Algeria, Carnegie
Papers, Number 11, September 2008.

Week Seven (Date) : Wednesday, 12 April 2017

Lecture: Wahhabism: History, Politics, Ideology and its relation to the Saudi State
This lecture discusses Wahhabism in Saudi Arabia. It looks at how the political alliance
between Muhammad Ibn Abdul Abdullah Wahhab and Muhammad Ibn Saud has resulted
in the creation of the modern Saudi state and the establishment of its politial ideology.
The lecture will also share how Wahhabism as a tool to fight apostasy and innovations in
Islam has developed into an important element used by both the Saudi establishment
scholars and those who oppose the kingdom to support their religious inclination and
political agenda.

Required Readings:

Al-Rasheed Madawi, Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New
Generation, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Al-Rasheed Madawi, A History of Saudi Arabia, Cambridge University Press,
2002.
Al-Rasheed, Madawi, Kingdom Without Borders, Saudi Arabia's Political,
Religious, and Media Frontiers, Hurst & Co, 2008.
Algar, Hamid, Wahhabism: A Critical Essay, Islamic Publications International,
USA, 2002.
Champion, Daryl, The Paradoxical Kingdom: Saudi Arabia and the Momentum of
Reform, Columbia University Press, 2003.
David Commins, The Wahhabi Mission and Saudi Arabia, London: I.B. Tauris,
2006.
Lacy, Robert, The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Saud, Avon Books, 1983.
Dekmejian R.Hrair, The Rise of Political Islamism in Saudi Arabia, Middle East
Journal, Vol. 48, No. 4, Autumn, 1994.

Further Readings:

Al-Atawneh, Muhammad, Wahhabi Self-Examination Post 9/11: Rethinking the

Other, Otherness and Tolerance, Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 47, No. 2, 255-
271, March 2011.
Al-Fahad, Abdul Aziz H, From Exclusivism to Accomodation: Doctrinal and
Legal Evolution of Wahhabism, New York University Law Review, Vol 79,
Number 2, May 2004.

23 January 2017 10
 Alhussein, Eman Mohammad, Reforming the Religious Discourse in Saudi
Arabia (2001-10) in Shahram Akbarzadeh (ed), Routledge Handbook of Political
Islam, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, London and New York, 2011.
Al-Rasheed, Madawi, The Local and Global in Saudi Salafi-Jihadi Discourse in
Roel Meijer (ed), Global Salafism: Islams New Religious Movement, C. Hurst &
Company, London, 2009.

Week Eight (Date) : Wednesday, 19 April 2017

Lecture: Understand the Modern Salafi Doctrine of Loyalty and Disavowal (Al-
Walawal Bara)
This lecture provides understanding and insight into the concept of Loyalty and
Disavowal (Al-Walawal Bara) in the ideology of modern Salafism and Wahhabism,
whose adherents form the majority of modern Salafis, and whose tradition is believed to
have influenced and shaped modern Salafism. The lecture also discusses the complexities
of the doctrine and exposes its spectrum in modern Salafism, which ranges from what
might be termed very mild to very extreme.

Required Readings:

Mohamed Bin Ali, The Roots of Religious Extremism: Understanding the Salafi
Doctrine of Al-Wala' wal Bara' (Imperial College Press Insurgency and
Terrorism), World Scientific Publishing Company; 1st edition, 2014
Wagemakers, Joas, The Transformation of a Radical Concept: Al-Wala wal
Bara in the Ideology of Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi in Roel Meijer (ed),
Global Salafism: Islams New Religious Movement, C. Hurst & Company,
London, 2009.
Wagemakers, Joas, The Enduring Legacy of the Second Saudi State: Quitiest and
Radical Wahhabi Contestations of Al-Wala wal Bara, International Journal of
Middle Eastern Studies, 44, 2012
Mohamed Bin Ali, Al-Wala wal Bara (Loyalty and Disavowal) in Modern
Salafism: Analysing the Positions of Purist, Politico and Jihadi Salafis in Rohan
Gunaratna and Mohamed Bin Ali (eds), Terrorist Rehabilitation: A New Frontier
in Counter Terrorism, (Imperial College Press Insurgency and Terrorism), World
Scientific Publishing Company; 1st edition, 2015
Al-Sarhan, Saud Bin Saleh, Al-Wala wal Bara: Ideolojiyah al-Jadidah (Loyalty
and Disavowal The New Ideology of Islamist Movements), Al-Sharq Al-Awsat
(London), Issue no. 9192, January, 28, 2004.
Nafi, Basheer, Fatwa and War: On the Allegiance of the American Muslim
Soldiers in the Aftermath of September 11, Islamic Law and Society, Volume
11, Number 1, 2004.

23 January 2017 11
Further Readings:

Al-Rasheed Madawi, Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New
Generation, Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Brachman, Jarret Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice, Routledge, New
York, July 2008.
Wagemakers, Joas, The Transformation of a Radical Concept: Al-Wala wal
Bara in the Ideology of Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi in Roel Meijer (ed),
Global Salafism: Islams New Religious Movement, C. Hurst & Company,
London, 2009.
Al-Zawahiri, Ayman, Al-Wala wal Bara: Aqidah Manqulah wa Waqi Mafqud
(Loyalty and Enmity: An Inherited Doctrine and a Lost Reality) in Ibrahim,
Raymond (ed and trs), The Al-Qaeda Reader, Doubleday, 2007.

Week Nine (Date) : Wednesday, 26 April 2017

Lecture: Jihad and Jihadism: Understanding Islamic tradition of Jihad and conduct
of warfare in Islam.
This lecture attempts to deconstruct the notion of Jihadism from the Islamic tradition of
Jihad. It looks at how jihad in the Islamic legal tradition was conceptualized, its
development, the social and political contexts in which it developed, how it was
conceptualised in different schools of law and the rules and regulations governing jihad
as war. This lecture also looks at modern-day Islams interpretation of jihad and the use
of force.

Key Readings

Reuven Firestone, Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam, Oxford University
Press, USA, 2002
Rudolph Peters, Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam: A Reader, Princeton Series
on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Pub, 1996
Michael Bonner, Jihad in Islamic History: Doctrines and Practice, Princeton
University Press, 2008, pp 1-19
Clinton Bennett and Geros Kunkel, The Concept of Violence, War and Jihad in
Islam, Dialogue and Alliance, 18: 1 Spring/Summer 2004, pp 31-51
James Turner Johnson, Historical Roots and Sources of the Just War Tradition in
Western Culture in John Kelsay and James Turner Johnson (eds), Just War and
Jihad: Historical and Theoretical Perspectives on War and Peace in Western and
Islamic Traditions, New York : Greenwood Press, 1991, pp 3-30

23 January 2017 12
 Richard Bonney, Jihad: From Quran to Bin Laden, Palgrave MacMillan, 2004, pp
21-110
Khaled Abou El Fadl, The Great Theft: Wrestling Islam From The Extremists,
Harpen One Publishers 2007 pp 221-249
Majid Khadduri, The Islamic Law of Nations: Shaybanis Siyar, The John Hopkins
Press,1966, pp 10-21
Azam Tamimi, The Islamic Debate over Self-inflicted Martyrdom, in Madawi
Al-Rasheed and Marat Shterin (eds), Dying for Faith: Religious Motivated
Violence in the Contemporary World, London: I.B. Tauris, 2009, pp 91-104

Further Readings

David Cook, Understanding Jihad, University of California Press, 2005, pp 93-

127
A. G. Noorani, Jihad: Prejudice versus Reality, London; New York, N.Y.: Zed
Books, 2002, pp 43-62
Muhammad Haniff Hassan, Contextualising The Fiqh of Law of Jihad, RSIS
Commentaries, 25/2007 available at
http://www.rsis.edu.sg/publications/Perspective/RSIS0252007.pdf
Fawaz A. Gerges, The Far Enemy: Why Jihad Went Global, Cambridge University
Press, 2009

Week Ten (Date) : Wednesday, 03 May 2017

Lecture: Jihadism: Historical Roots and Ideological Versions

This lecture provides insight into understanding challenges of Jihadism in the
contemporary period. It traces the historical roots of Jihadism and provides
understanding into key Jihadist ideology. Case studies of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) will be used in this lecture.

Required Readings:

Kepel, Gilles, The War for Muslim Minds: Islam and The West, Harvard
University Press, 2004.
Oliveti, Vincenzo, Terrors Source: The Ideology of Wahhabi Salafism and its
Consequences, Amadeus Book, United Kingdom, 2001.
Ken Hughes Butts and Reynolds, JC (Eds), The Struggle against Extremist
Ideology: Addressing the Conditions that Foster Terrorism, Pennsylvania: Centre
for Strategic Leadership, 2006
Gilles Kepel, The Roots of Radical Islam, London : Saqi, 2005,

23 January 2017 13
 Monte Palmer and Princess Palmer, Islamic Extremism : Causes, Diversity, and
Challenges, Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2008
Leonard Weinberg, Ami Pedahzur (eds), Religious fundamentalism and political
extremism, London: Frank Cass, 2004.
Brachman, Jarret Global Jihadism: Theory and Practice, Routledge, New
York, July 2008.
John A. Turner, Religious Ideology and the Roots of the Global Jihad: Salafi
Jihadism and International Order, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014
Ulph, Steven, Towards A Curriculum for the Teaching of Jihadist ideology, Part
2, The Doctrinal Frame, October 2010.
Hegghammer, Thomas, Jihadi-Salafis or Revolutionaries?: On Religion and
Politics in the Study of Militant Islamism, in Roel Meijer (ed), Global Salafism:
Islams New Religious Movement, C. Hurst & Company, London, 2009.
Fawaz A. Gerges, Journey of the jihadist : inside Muslim militancy, Orlando, Fla.:
Harcourt, 2007

Further Readings:

Abdul Rahmaan ibn Mualaa al-Luwaihiq Al-Mutairi, Religious Extremism in the

Lives of Contemporary Muslims. Translated by Jamaal al-Din M.Zarabozo,
Denver: Al Basheer Company for Publications and Translations, 2001
Adnan Musallam, From Secularism to Jihad: Sayid Qutb and the foundations of
radical Islamism, Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 2005
Kepel, Gilles and Jean-Pierre Milelli, Al-Qaeda in Its Own Words, Harvard
University Press, 2008.
Ibrahim, Raymond (ed and trs), The Al-Qaeda Reader, Doubleday, 2007.
Quiggin, Tom, Understanding Al-Qaedas Ideology for Counter Narrative Work,
Perspectives On Terrorism, Vol 3, No. 2, 2009.
Brynjar Lia, Architect of Global Jihad: The Life of Al-Qaeda Strategist Abu
Musab As-Suri, Hurst Publishers, 2007
Bruce Lawrence and James Howarth, Messages to The World: The Statements of
Osama Bin Laden, London ; New York : Verso, 2005
John Gray, Al-Qaeda and What It Means To Be Modern, London : Faber and
Faber, 2007
Assaf Moghadam, The globalization of martyrdom : Al Qaeda, Salafi Jihad, and
the diffusion of suicide attacks, Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008

23 January 2017 14
Week Eleven (Date) : Wednesday, 10 May 2017

Lecture: Jihadism in Saudi Arabia and Egypt: The case of Saudi Jihadis, Abu
Muhammad Al-Maqdisi and the Egyptian Al-Gamaah Al-Islamiyah and Islamic
Jihad

This lecture provides insights into understanding the phenomenon of Jihadism in Saudi
Arabia, homeland of Osama bin Laden, leader of Al-Qaeda and discusses the thinking
and ideology of Abu Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, the most prominent Jihadi ideologue of Al-
Qaeda in Saudi Arabia. The second part of the lecture covers Jihadism in Egypt in the
modern period. The case study of two prominent violent Islamist organizations Al-
Gamaah Al-Islamiyah (GI) and Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) will be used in this lecture.
The organization's original primary goal was to overthrow the Egyptian Government and
replace it with an Islamic state. Later it broadened its aims to include attacking
the United States and Israeli interests in Egypt and abroad.

Required Readings:

Hegghammer, Thomas, Jihad in Saudi Arabia: Violence and Pan-Islamism Since

1979, Cambridge University Press, 2010
Al-Rasheed Madawi, Contesting the Saudi State: Islamic Voices from a New
Generation, Cambridge University Press, 2007
Al-Rasheed, Madawi, The Local and Global in Saudi Salafi-Jihadi Discourse in
Roel Meijer (ed), Global Salafism: Islams New Religious Movement, C. Hurst &
Company, London, 2009
Wagemakers, Joas, A Quitiest Jihadi: The Ideology and Influence of Abu
Muhammad Al-Maqdisi, Cambridge University Press, 2012
Gunaratna, Rohan and Mohamed Bin Ali, De-Radicalization Initiatives in Egypt:
A Preliminary Insight, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 32:277-291, Routledge
2009.
Scott, Rachel, An Official Response to the Egyptian al-Jihad Movement.
Journal of Political Ideologies vol. 8 no. 1 (2003): 3961.

Further Readings:

Hegghammer, Thomas and Stephane Lacroix, Rejectionist Islamism in Saudi

Arabia: The Story of Juhayman al-Utaybi Revisited, International Journal of
Middle East Studies, Vol. 39, No. 1, 2007.
Algar, Hamid, Wahhabism: A Critical Essay, Islamic Publications International,
USA, 2002.
Fandy, Mamoun, Saudi Arabia and the Politics of Dissent, Palgrave, 1999.

23 January 2017 15
 Lacroix, Stephane, Awakening Islam: The Politics of Religious Dissent in
Contemporary Saudi Arabia, Harvard University press, 2011.
Jeffrey T. Kenney, Muslim rebels : Kharijites and the politics of extremism in
Egypt, New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2006
Kepel, Gilles, Muslim extremism in Egypt : the Prophet and Pharaoh, Berkeley :
University of California Press, 1993.
Ashour, Omar, The De-Radicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist
Movements. New York, London: Routledge, 2009

Week Twelve (Date) : Wednesday, 17 May 2017

Lecture: Jihadism in Southeast Asia: The case of Al-Jamaah Al-Islamiyah

This lecture provides an insight into the most notorious militant Islamist organization in
South East AsiaJemaah Islamiyah (JI)and its links to Al-Qaeda. Jemaah Islamiyah
has been responsible for major terrorist attacks in Indonesia, including the Bali Bombing
on 12 October 2002, which killed 202 people. Historically, as an act of terrorism, this
attack is considered to be second only to September 11 in scale. This lecture provides a
case study of JI as a contemporary militant Islamist organization that uses religion to
justify and legitimize violence.

Key Readings

Greg Barton, Indonesia's Struggle: Jemaah Islamiyah and the Soul of Islam,
University of New South Wales Press, 2004
Ken Ward, Indonesian Terrorism: From Jihad to Dakwah? in Greg Fealy and
Sally White (eds) Expressing Islam: Religious Life and Politics in Indonesia,
ISEAS Publishing, 2008.
Mohamed Bin Ali, Identifying Key Concerns of Jemaah Islamiyah: The
Singapore Context in Social Resilience in Singapore: Reflections from the
London Bombings by Select Books, 2007, pp 68-80
Rohan Gunaratna and Mohamed Bin Ali, Countering The Ideology of Jemaah
Islamiyah: A Point by Point Approach, ICFAI University Press, 2007
Kumar Ramakrishna, Radical Pathways: Understanding Muslim Radicalization
in Indonesia, Westport, Connecticut, London: Praeger Security International,
2009, pp 118- 159
Mohamed Bin Ali, Coping With The Threat of Jemaah Islamiyah The
Singapore Experience in Fighting Terrorism: The Singapore Perspective, Taman
Bacaan Pemuda Pemudi Melayu Singapura, 2007, pp 93-105
White Paper: The Jemaah Islamiyah Arrests and the Threat of Terrorism, Ministry
of Home Affairs Singapore, January 2003 available at

23 January 2017 16
 http://www.mha.gov.sg/publication_details.aspx?pageid=35&cid=354

Further Readings

Indonesia: Jemaah Islamiyahs Publishing Industry, International Crisis

Group, Asia Report No. 147, 28 February 2008.
Rohan Gunaratna, Inside Al-Qaeda: Global Network of Terror, Berkley
Publishing Group, 2003, pp 174-202

Week Thirteen (Date) : Wednesday, 24 May 2017

Examination

23 January 2017 17