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Abstract

For just over a decade, the world has witnessed the growth of Islamic terrorist activity. How do we characterize it and where is it leading? Following and centered upon the 9/11 attacks, has the call to Jihad by Al Qaeda been adopted by most radical Muslims? To answer these questions we must identify the patterns of Islamic terrorist network activity, understand what fuels it and identify what the most recent attacks portend for the future. Analysis shows that Al Qaeda’s call to Jihad has been heard –the number of attacks has risen and the most violent ones focus on Western targets. Nevertheless, antiterrorist activity seems to have diminished the capacity of the Islamic terrorists to stage complex operations like those of 9/11. In particular, Al-Qaeda remains weakened. But the most disturbing feature of these terrorist networks is the effect of their activity on the Muslim world as a whole. They now benefit from sizeable ideological, financial and logistic support, and we must not forget that they are much better aligned with the opinion of their own public than is the US.

François Légaré is a professor of history at the Ahunstic College and of political science at the Saint-Jérôme College(Quebec, Canada).