A FORCE MORE POWERFUL: CONFRONTING TERRORISM NONVIOLENTLY

A Force More Powerful

Peaceful Prevention of Deadly Conflict

Picasso, Les Mains Liées

Welcome

September 11, 2001

Reflecting on our experience of the world after 911

Sharing our experiences of the post-911 world

Knowing our enemy: Al-Qaeda

• “a loose-knit, violent revivalist social movement held together by a common idea: the global Islamist jihad.” Former CIA agent, Marc Sageman

• Founded by Osama bin Laden in 1988. Current leader: Ayman al-Zawahiri

• Has always been a stateless and highly decentralized

• Bin Laden received a lot of support from U.S. when Afghanistan was being invaded by former Soviet Union in 1980’s

• Supported also by Taliban in Afghanistan (Taliban is not synonymous with al-Qaeda)

• As of 2007, al-Qaeda had cells in about 60 nations

Al-Qaeda

Terrorism

Terrorism since 911• Since 9.11.2001 – rise of a new form of terrorism called

“catastrophic” terrorism - aims for mass casualties. There has not been anything like it before in modern history. Not only is it more deadly, the aim of the new terrorism has changed.

“This new terrorism marks a break with the pattern of previous terrorist movements, which employed calibrated violence to achieve incremental change and a negotiated solution.” Lopez and Cortright, Uniting against Terror: Cooperative Nonmilitary Responses to the Global Terrorist Threat.

Islam = the enemy?

• Muslim terrorists see their acts in terms of good versus evil and will distort religious language to further their cause

• term jihad - Muslims use the word to refer to three types of struggle: an internal struggle to maintain faith, the struggle to improve the Muslim society, or the struggle to defend Islam.

• The mass killing of innocent people to defend Islam is not a principle of the Muslim faith.

War on Terror and nonviolent alternatives

What nonviolent measures can be taken on a macro (national,

international level)?

What can be done on a micro level = what can I do as an individual?

Resources

• Ira Chernus. American Nonviolence: The History of an Idea http://spot.colorado.edu/~chernus/NonviolenceBook/