south-asian-militant-groups-and-global-jihad-in-2015

NEW AG EN T S OF GLOB AL JIHAD
GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS
Barelvi: A movement within Sunni Islam, of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, originating
in Bareilly with over 200 million followers in South Asia. Followers of the movement prefer
to be known by the title of Ahle Sunnat wal Jama'at. The movement is influenced by Sufism
and the traditional Islamic practices of South Asia, having formed as a reaction to the
reformist attempts of Deobandi movement, which was influenced by the Wahhabi
movement in Arabia.
Deobandi: A term used for a revivalist movement within Hanafi Islam. Centred primarily in
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh, it has recently spread to the United Kingdom,
and has a presence in South Africa. Many Pakistani terrorist outfits including the Taliban
(TTP), Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), Jaish-e-Muhammad (JeM),
and Jundallah follow the Deobandi interpretative tradition of Islam. As a result, they share
common organizational infrastructure in the form of mosques and madrassahs.
Extremism: An ideology, which when implemented, would significantly and negatively
impact the human rights of certain sectors of society, such as women, religious or ethnic
groups, persons with disabilities, and so on. By extension, violent extremism is an ideology
that would justify the use of violence against such sectors of society.
Hawala: Also known as hundi, hawala is an informal value transfer system based on the
performance and honor of a huge network of money brokers, operating outside of, or
parallel to, traditional banking, financial channels, and remittance systems.
Islamism: The belief that Islam is a totalitarian political ideology. It claims that political
sovereignty belongs to God rather than the people. Islamists believe that their reading of
Shariah should be state law, and that it is the religious duty of all Muslims to work towards
and pledge allegiance to an Islamic state that reflects these principles.
Jihad: Literally ‘to struggle’ but often used to refer to armed struggle.
Jihadism: Non-state violence used in the cause of Islamism. Just as Islamism is the
politicisation of Islam, jihadists take the traditional concept of jihad and use it as a political
and military tool to achieve a political end.
Radicalisation: The process by which individuals and/or groups come to adopt extremist
ideologies. Scholars often distinguish between ‘radicalisation’ and ‘violent radicalisation’
to highlight the difference between engaging in violent activities and radicalised nonviolent
thinking.
Terrorism: The use of violence or illegal force targeted at civilians by non-state actors,
which seeks to bring about political/societal changes.
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