"Islamist Terrorism - A Primer", Mark Baillie, Dec 2004
The "Global War on Terrorism" has been a priority of the George W Bush administration since the dramatic events of 11 September 2001.  it was, moreover, one of the defining messages of his successful Presidential election campaign.  Counter-terrorism is high on the security agenda of most western states. 

International terrorism, however, is not a new phenomenon.  What has changed are terrorists such as Osama bin Laden who has demonstrated a global reach.  His associates are equipped to use all the technologies available, such as the internet and mobile phones, and are prepared to use innocent Muslim populations for protection.

Too little is known about Islamist terrorism outside rumour and speculation.  This CDiSS paper by Mark Baillie has been published to give a fuller and more accurate appreciation of this modern phenomenon. 

Over the past five decades, there has been an unprecedented movement of Muslims into Europe and the West, a phenomenon that the host countries have not fully appreciated.  Their special sensibilities have provided the extremists with cover for their terrorist activities. 

The Paper examines in detail today's Islamic extremists and in particular Al-Qa'eda, a loose network of extremist groups, rather than a single organisation.  It benefitted from the sanctuary provided by the Taliban in Afghanistan and, more recently, from the fall0-out from the invasion of Iraq and the publicity surrounding the internment of Muslims at Guantanamo Bay.  The funding of these networked groups and their sources of recruits are considered in further detail.

The Paper then considers what it is about Islam that drives Al-Qa'eda and its followers to engage in terrorism.  Much of the answer lies in the Saudi imams and terrorists finding their justification for violence in the Koran.  The difficulty lies in there being no political or theological moderate trend of Islam that the West can promote. 

In conclusion, Mark Baillie notes that the west has become engaged in a new kind of intelligence war that is harder and bigger than ever before.  The challenge is not how to fight the Islamic terrorists but how to find them.  Islamic terrorism is a real and important threat, above all because it threatens our access to oil.