Standing Up To Jihad

by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point

   While the current conflict with the militant Islamic jihadists is global in scope, many people are surprised to learn that the movement is actually highly fractured among various factions, and is often hampered by internal divisions and struggles for power and control.

   Al Qaeda, although best known and revered due to it's success in the 9/11 attacks, is actually only one of many "players" in the jihadist movement, and is actually far less influential than public perception might suggest.

   While generally united by a common antipathy toward western societies, and a desire to establish a world-wide Islamic "caliphate" (empire), this division of command within the jihadic movement presents both a significant challenge, as well as significant opportunities for successfully countering the jihadist's activities, and for ultimatly defeating them.

   This report, and its accompanying compendium, is the first systematic mapping of the ideology driving the actions of the terrorists responsible for the 9/11 attacks and other violent actions around the world.

   Using a robust research methodology and critical analyses of the Jihadis' most widely read texts, the Atlas gives us a highly nuanced map of the major thinkers in the Jihadi Movement and their most salient areas of consensus and disagreement. In short, this report identifies who the most influential people are among the Jihadi thinking class, what they are thinking, and where the movement is most vulnerable ideologically.

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