are in essence a desperate clinging to something that might give worth and meaning to futile , spoiled lives . 36 This article repurposes four of Hoffer ’ s ideas to uncouple radical Islam from the engine of its own mass movement : offer a substitute movement ( dangerous ), encourage small-group cohesion ( potentially illiberal ), target specific groups of people with financial stability and hope ( quick but perhaps not long-lasting ), and restructure emigration in a way that offers a release for the masses most at risk ( global and long-reaching ).
Notes
1 . Some notable opinions on this can be found in Bernard Lewis , The Political Language of Islam ( Chicago : University of Chicago Press , 1988 ), 117n3 ; John L . Esposito , The Islamic Threat : Myth or Reality ? ( New York : Oxford University Press , 1992 ), 8 ; Natana J . DeLong-Bas , Wahhabi Islam : From Revival and Reform to Global Jihad , 1st ed . ( New York : Oxford University Press , 2004 ), 228 ; Sadik J . al-Azm , “ Islamic Fundamentalism Reconsidered : A Critical Outline of Problems , Ideas and Approaches ,” South Asia Bulletin , Comparative Studies of South Asia , Africa and the Middle East 13 , no . 1 and 2 ( Spring / Fall 1993 ), 95 – 97 .
2 . Lee Keath and Hamza Hendawi , “ How Islamic Is Islamic State Group ? Not Very , Experts Say ,” Associated Press , 2 March 2015 , accessed 14 May 2016 , https :// www . yahoo . com / news / islamic-islamicstate-group-not-very-experts-131121264 . html ? ref = gs .
3 . Hamza Yusuf , who is at the forefront of scholarly Islamic criticism of the Islamic State ideology , suggests linking well ( i . e ., noncorrupt ) representative governance to less marginalization by liberal elites of normative Islamic practices as a potential remedy . The second portion of this approach could work , because normative Islam bolsters rather than detracts from good governance ( opposite of the Christian tradition in many ways ). However , normative Islam is not particularly conducive to representative governance . See Sina Toossi and Yasmine Taeb , “ Prominent Islamic Scholar Refutes Claims of ISIS ’ s Links to Islam ,” Think Progress online , 5 March 2015 , accessed 14 May 2016 , http :// thinkprogress . org / world / 2015 / 03 / 05 / 3630340 / prominent-islamic-scholar-refutes-claims-isiss-links-islam /.
4 . As an added bonus , by looking at the problem set from a nonreligious perspective , secular governments and institutions may be able to obviate the impulse toward joining or supporting such movements without those same governments and institutions having to engage in a religious debate they are ill equipped to win .
5 . Eric Hoffer , The True Believer : Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements ( New York : Harper Perennial , 2010 ).
6 . Ibid ., xi . Suggestions from the other two portions of Hoffer ’ s topical organization have been incorporated and referenced in this article , but for the sake of brevity and relevance , emphasis has been placed only on the first two sections . The next section covers Hoffer ’ s theory for how mass movements inculcate united action and self-sacrifice ; and finally , the last section enumerates the types of leaders necessary at the initial , fanatical , and practical phases of a mass movement ’ s existence .
7 . Ibid ., 6 . While it seems Hoffer intended the Far East ( China , Japan ) rather than the Middle East as his “ Orient ,” the general sentiment applies perhaps more strongly and presciently to the subject of this paper . This statement delves beyond a superficial “ clash of cultures ” into a more nuanced point , that Middle Eastern societies do not only envy the West ’ s relative riches , but more regret the loss of prestige from the thousand-plus years where the Middle East was , more than Europe , a center of learning and progressiveness .
8 . Ibid ., 11 . 9 . Ibid ., 12 . 10 . Ibid ., 51 . 11 . Ibid ., 25 . 12 . Ibid ., 38 . 13 . Ibid ., 17 . 14 . Associated Press , “ Timeline : Daesh ’ s Reign of Terror ,” Gulf News website , 18 June 2015 , accessed 24 October 2016 , http :// gulfnews . com / news / mena / iraq / timeline-daesh-s-reign-of-terror-1.1537224 . 15 . Hoffer , The True Believer , 4 . 16 . Ibid . 17 . Ibid ., 17 . 18 . Ibid ., 26 . 19 . Liz Sly , “ The Hidden Hand Behind the Islamic State Militants ? Saddam Hussein ’ s ,” Washington Post website , 4 April 2015 , accessed 24 April 2016 , https :// www . washingtonpost . com / world / middle _ east / the-hidden-hand-behind-the-islamic-state-militants-saddam-husseins / 2015 / 04 / 04 / aa97676c-cc32-11e4-8730- 4f473416e759 _ story . html . 20 . Hoffer , The True Believer , 46 . 21 . Eli Lake , “ Meet Iraq ’ s Most Important Man ,” New York Sun website , 3 April 2007 , accessed 14 May 2016 , http :// www . nysun . com / opinion / meet-iraqs-most-important-man / 51693 /. 22 . Sly , “ The Hidden Hand Behind the Islamic State Militants .” 23 . Pamela Engel , “ One Reason Why Men Join ISIS Is Not Flattering for the ‘ Caliphate ,’” Business Insider website , 5 October 2015 , accessed 24 April 24 2016 , http :// www . businessinsider . com / a-hugereason-men-join-isis-is-not-flattering-for-the-caliphate-2015-10 . 24 . Hoffer , The True Believer , 26 . 25 . Ibid ., 51 . 26 . Omar Sultan Haque et al ., “ Why Are Young Westerners Drawn to Terrorist Organizations like ISIS ?” Psychiatric Times website , 10 September 2015 , accessed 24 October 2016 , http :// www . psychiatrictimes . com / trauma-and-violence / why-are-young-westerners-drawn-terrorist-organizations-isis / page / 0 / 2 # sthash . u2lOB3bI . dpuf . 27 . Hoffer , The True Believer , 35 . 28 . Ibid ., 19 . 29 . Ibid ., 63 . Here he clarifies further : “ The capacity to resist coercion stems partly from the individual ’ s identification with a group .” 30 . Ibid ., 19 . 31 . Ibid . 32 . Ibid ., 33 . 33 . One such organization is the Sawab Center , accessed 24 October 2016 , http :// www . sawabcenter . org . See also France ’ s “ Plan d ’ action contre la radicalisation et le terrorisme ,” accessed 14 May 2016 , http :// www . ville . gouv . fr /? plan-d-action-contre-la . 34 . Hoffer , The True Believer , 20 . 35 . Ibid ., 12 . 36 . Ibid ., 16 .
130 January-February 2017
MILITARY REVIEW