The Developing Jihad: The Ideological Consistency of Jihadi Doctrine from Al-Qaeda to the Revolutionary Fundamentalist Movement

Abstract

This paper aims to assess the consistency and coherency of al-Qaeda’s theological and political ideologies following its shift to terrorism in the early 1990s and through the transition from terrorist group to global movement. The paper will identify a political/theological ideology that is based in and justified through Islam, specifically supported by the concepts of jihad (struggle) and shahid (martyr). This analysis finds that through the shift of al-Qaeda from a terrorist group to a movement (which is ideologically directed by al-Qaeda), the group’s doctrine and ideology lack consistency. This lack of consistency specifically concerns the ideological position on democracy and reform within an Islamic state, and secondly the views on Shiite Muslims, particularly within Iraq.