INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM

All jihadists are Salafists by definition, but not all Salafists are jihadists.

- Why this? Because Salafists are traditionalists, they want to live the Islam in the purest
way, following its norms. It was divided in two branches, the ones that wanted to be
involved in the political process, and the ones that not.
- But! The violent way of Salafists is understood as Jihadists. They use violence as a
means to achieve that traditionalist Islam.
- That is why all Jihadists are Salafists, but not all Salafists use violence! They aren´t all
jihadists.

 JIHADISTS vs. ‘’NORMAL MUSLIMS’’

Why do we call them jihadists? Because the way they understand jihad in a different form than
normal Muslims. They use it in a violent way, physical fight. Islam expanded by means of
violence. Violence justified with religion.

There is defensive jihad: individual obligation for every Muslim (they say) when the Islamic
population is invaded by infidel population (for ex, Christians, Hindus)

And offensive jihad: when you go to the territory of infidels, and there you use violence to
install terror.

Jihad for normal Muslims = struggle with your self in order to live according to the rules of
Islam.

 Al Qaeda: its founders, except Bin Laden, studied a lot. They elaborated the doctrine. Each of
them developed a different ‘’current’’.
1. Mohammed
2. Abdullah: to promote revolutions against political leaders in the Muslim world.
3. Bin Laden

Global terrorism as a movement and terrorism as an ideology. – Al Qaeda

- GLOBAL TERRORISM HAS A DATE OF BIRTH: 1988 – AL QAEDA

- Al Qaeda: to promote defensive jihad worldwide. At the same time, complemented by
offensive jihad.
- Global Jihadism as a movement started with the very foundation of Al Qaeda.
- Nowadays we have much more than Al Qaeda: Al Qaeda ramifications, individual
actors not belonging to particular organizations, Islamic states. Today the movement is
more complex than even before. But it all started with the founding of Al Qaeda in
1988.
- Origin of AlQ: defensive jihad against soviets.
 - Emergent leaders of Al Q thought that in order to establish a consolidated structure,
they had to find a good place for this. That’s why they decided to move to Sudan,
financing there for 5-8 years  opportunity to Islamic State. In these years, Al Qaeda
started to become involved in terrorist attacks.
- 1995 first attacks in Europe: AlQ supported these financially. The International
authorities started to force Al Qaeda to go out the country. So they went back and
allied Tallibans, who established an Islamic. Tallibans offered jihadists sanctuaries. It is
in this period where the AlQ started to materialize a reality, it was developed, in a very
spectacular way (1998: attacks in Nairobi). They were already thinking about a terrorist
attack with planes in the West (and then 11S in USA).
- But ! 1993 : Twin towers in USA were the first target of terrorist of Al Qaeda in the
West. A terrorist tried to destroy one of the towers this year).
- After the attacks in USA 11S, NATO and UN important roles. Al Qaeda ceased to have
its sanctuary. IT HAD TO CHANGE.
- Talibans were toppled because of international pressure after the attacks 11S.
- First period of jihadism : foundation of Al Qaeda in 1988 and USA attacks 11S 2001.

- Second period: after 11S and until death of Bin Laden in 2011.

- Third period: 2012

- Fourth period: nowadays. The most complex and difficult one.

4/3/2021

Debate – Documentary

- evolution of global jihadism in Western Europe, prior to the famous 9/11 attacks
- prevention of an attack in 2000, Strasbourg. It was a plot! The most important plot in
Western Europe before 9/11.

Not all Muslims are Islamists. Islamism is rather a political ideology. That’s why ‘’radical
muslim’’ does not exist.

At the end of the decade, the UK approved a legislation of arrest based on intelligence,
without a criminal law procedure. THIS IS A BIG SHIFT! (Usually, you need more than that: by
means of searching houses, incriminatory proves).

It is very difficult to base an investigation in incriminatory proves, that is way since then, the
British accepted arrest based JUST IN INTELLIGENCE.

The discussion in the documentary came on the part of the British authorities.

5/3/2021

COMMENTARY AS A DISCUSSANT:

- you have to be precise, and to comply with the rules (for ex, X number of words, etc).
 - focus on the document, on the chapter, on the documentary! Do not search far away
the document. Just target on it!
- be sure that the questions you do has not been explained in the documentary

You have been reading about jihadist attacks and plots in Western Europe in the period
between 2002 (or 2003 if you wish) and 2010.

Now, take 15 minutes to classify and succinctly describe the different types of jihadist actors
involved in these attacks and plots throughout that period.

ACTORS:
 individual or single actors in one hand – INDIVIDUALS ACTING AS SINGLE ACTORS
o solo actors: whether or not the individual has any connection or not w the
organization
o lone actors
 collective actors – CELLS AND NETWROKS
o network: can be composed by many cells. Or 3 sells + two solo actors, for
example. That is a network.
o cell

But when talking about collective actors, we can still divide in different types.

- connection with an international organization

- acting independently, with no connection with an org

Cells receiving instructions from a central command, it is not independent.

But there are cells not dependent but linked.

Ones connected by a friend. And yet the cell is not part of the org. The Hofstad cell, network. It
was not part of the Moroccan. But! It was not independent from the Moroccan Combatant
Islamic Group. But the Hofstad was not part as such od the MICG.

Therefore, we are able right now to distinguish: independent cells, integrated cells in Europe
which are part of an org, and networks that are just related (but neither dependent or
integrated).

1)t stage between single actors and collective actors.

Individual:

- lone actors: no link with an organization

- solo actors: connection in certain way w an organization

Collective

- cells or networks that are part of an organization.

- cells that are related to an organization.
 - cells independent

In the second period, the lone actor appears. What prompted the emergence of this single
actor type? The key issue that provokes are:

- Al Qaeda INSPIRING to act by themselves! Decision of al Qaeda to ask sympasythers so

take a knife and do something. Even if you are not related to us. Be inspired by us and
take action, act as a lone wolf, be inspired. So, these individuals are not being
recruited. They just feel inspired.
- expansion of social media

Characteristics of these lone actors  marginados, o con problemas familiares… etc.

Sociological characteristics.

Jihadist actors in Europe are not affected by mental health issues. With the exception of lone
actors.

Lone actors: many of them are individuals with mental health issues. They have not been
chosen. There is not recruitment process for these individuals.

11/03/2021

su libro:

- 1st part: analysis on here those perpretated attacks came initially.

o how important it is the attack.
o Abudahdag cell: an Al Qaeda cell based in Madrid, one of the main cells of Al
Qaeda in those days, which was dismantñed in November 2001.
o some individuals what despite belonging to this cell were not bring to court.
o components of the network:
 1st component: individuals were able to recruit another important
individual: el Algeriano. The importance of him: motivations
 2nd component of this network: added by the Moroccan Islamic
Combatant Group. An Egyptian jihadist, a group of drug traffickers.
 3rd component: individuals whos radicalization took place after the Iraq
war
- 11M: deadliest attack ever happened in Europe.

essays:

 cause of 11M: venganza por la operación Dátil

 Al zuri has nothing to do with the madrid trade bombings
 individual who’s motivation to attack in Spain: LAMARI
 documents from the CNI
 Morataj de Tajuña CELL
18/03/2021

Previous period: aftermath of 9/11 to 2011 when the founding leader of Al Qaeda Bin Laden
was killed. And then… Arab Spring, the Madrid bombings took place and many other incidents
centrally commanded as well as independent attacks that were the product of cells (2007,2008
individuals acting in a solo way).

Third period of Global Jihadism in Western Europe: started on 2012 and lasted until 2019.

- 2012: civil war in Syria, attacking civil organizations trying to promote the struggle in
Syria and Iraq, asking people help to protect the califate. The period ended in 2019 as
a result of the breakdown of the califate and the killing of the new Islamic State leader
Abur akar Al BAGDADI.
- Nowadays Jihadism Split in 2 sectors: Al Qaeda state and the ISIS or DAESH sector.
Nowadays we are living a new period that is going to last another demographical
generation, like 20 or more years it is going to last. It is a new phenomenon. A new
evolution in Europe in the middle of this.
- Third period in the evolution of this phenomenon will help to understand is going to
evolve in the future. There are many challenges (Spain has a number of persons who
are now in refugee camps or in prison in Iraq and Syria and who over the past 7-8
years left this country with the aim to join the Islamic State or Al Qaeda in the Middle
East. There are men, women, they have children. Some of them are Spanish citizens
that have never been in these countries, but that are still embedded into this Islamic
subculture, and there is nothing clear for them to facilitate trial outside de country.
Imagine children that have been born in this culture and that do not go to school and
are adoctrinated.
- What happened at the beginning of this period is that because of the Arabic Spring
took place in the absence of Global Jihadism and Al Qaeda, close processes will end uo
coming the end of Al Qaeda, the final decline of the organization.