Table Of ContentReligion and International Security
FALLACY OF MILITANT
IDEOLOGY
COMPETING IDEOLOGIES AND CONFLICT AMONG
MILITANTS, THE MUSLIM WORLD AND THE WEST
Munir Masood Marath
‘Ideology is the centre of gravity of terrorism, extremism and exclusivism.
Many in government and in the Muslim community do not understand
the depth and dimensions of it. That is why the threat is elusive and has
not been eliminated. Without understanding the belief system, no threat
group can be fought efficiently and defeated effectively. Fallacy of
Militant Ideology by Munir Masood Marath provides that comprehen-
sive understanding for governments and partners to fight the current and
emerging threat.’
Rohan Gunaratna, Founder of the International Centre for Political
Violence and Terrorism Research and Professor of Security Studies at
Nanyang Technological University Singapore
‘Munir Masood Marath judiciously dissects the idea that Islamist
militantism in Pakistan is a response to the ongoing impact of colonialism
and postcolonialism, in particular in the Pakistani context. The abstraction
of history causes Islamist extremists to act as pragmatists in the pursuit of
ideological goals, not religionists in the pursuit of eschatology. Terrorism
enacted in these ways is about politics, not religion. This book is a must-
read for scholars, practitioners, and students exploring the framing of
terrorism and radicalisation, and the misplaced roles played by those who
seek to explain Islamist terrorism with allusions to the tenets of early Islam
as the primary reason.’
Tahir Abbas, Professor of Critical Terrorism Studies at the Institute of
Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University in The Hague, Netherlands,
and author of Countering Violent Extremism (2021)
Fallacy of Militant Ideology
This book highlights the conflict between jihadist militants and the West as
essentially ideological in character. It has serious implications internalized
by Muslim societies, with the boundaries of faith changed by the interplay of
socio-political variables.
Violence emerged in Muslim societies as a means of emancipation or
identity when the state could not resolve the conflict situation. Although the
militants were influenced by socio-political factors, they have always looked to
religion to justify their acts of violence. This book, exposing the fallacy of the
narrative evolved by the militants, offers a counter narrative. It reinterprets the
primary sources, unravels the historical and socio-political constructs,
unmasks the heroes and enemies, challenges the dichotomies between theory
and practice, re-establishes the boundaries between heresy and faith, and
attempts to transform the current ideological discourse.
This book will be of interest to students and scholars of the discourse
between religion and security, political Islam, Islamic history, jihad, Middle
Eastern studies, and South Asian studies.
Munir Masood Marath is a senior civil servant in Pakistan, currently serving
as City Police Officer, Multan. Previously, he has served as Director General
of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), Pakistan. He has
also served in the Counter Terrorism Department in Punjab, and in different
districts of Punjab, including Multan, Chakwal and Layyah, as head of the
district police. He holds a PhD in Political Islam from Government College
University in Lahore, Pakistan.
Religion and International Security
Series Editor:
Lee Marsden
University of East Anglia, UK
In the 21st century, religion has become an increasingly important factor in inter-
national relations and international security. Religion is seen by policy makers and
academics as being a major contributor in conflict and its successful resolution. The
role of the Ashgate series in Religion and International Security is to provide such
policy makers, practitioners, researchers and students with a first port of call in
seeking to find the latest and most comprehensive research on religion and security.
The series provides established and emerging authors with an opportunity to publish
in a series with a reputation for high-quality and cutting-edge research in this field.
The series produces analytical and scholarly works from around the world that de-
monstrate the relevance of religion in security and international relations. The in-
tention is not to be prescriptive or reductionist in restricting the types of books that
would be appropriate for the series and as such encourages a variety of theoretical
and empirical approaches. International security is broadly defined to incorporate
inter- and intra-state conflict, human security, terrorism, genocide, religious freedom,
human rights, environmental security, the arms trade, securitisation, gender security,
peace keeping, conflict resolution and humanitarian intervention. The distinguishing
feature is the religious element in any security or conflict issue.
Recent books in the series include:
Race, Ethnicity and Religion in Conflict Across Asia
Kunal Mukherjee
Israel’s Securitization Dilemma
BDS and the Battle for the Legitimacy of the Jewish State
Ronnie Olesker
Fallacy of Militant Ideology
Competing Ideologies and Conflict among Militants, the Muslim World and
the West
Munir Masood Marath
For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/
Religion-and-International-Security/book-series/RELSEC
Fallacy of Militant
Ideology
Competing Ideologies and Conflict
among Militants, the Muslim
World and the West
Munir Masood Marath
First published 2022
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa
business
© 2022 Munir Masood Marath
The right of Munir Masood Marath to be identified as author of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and
78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or
other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Marath, Munir Masood, author.
Title: Fallacy of militant ideology : competing ideologies and conflict
among militants, the Muslim world, and the West / Munir Masood
Marath.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon [UK] ; New York, NY : Routledge,
2022. |
Series: Religion and international security | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021009960 (print) | LCCN 2021009961 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367759599 (hardback) | ISBN 9780367759629 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003164883 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Violence--Religious aspects--Islam. | Jihad. |
Ideology--Religious aspects--Islam. | Faith (Islam) | Heresy. |
Religious militants. | Islam and politics. | Islam and social problems.
Classification: LCC BP190.5.V56 M37 2022 (print) | LCC
BP190.5.V56 (ebook) | DDC 297.2/7--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009960
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021009961
ISBN: 978-0-367-75959-9 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-75962-9 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-16488-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003164883
Typeset in Times New Roman
by MPS Limited, Dehradun
Dedicated to my parents
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
1 Nature of conflict 8
2 Heresy of ideas 39
3 Polemics revisited 52
4 Codification of violence 71
5 Codes of war 97
6 Killing fields 128
7 Fuel of faith: Pakistan – a case study 153
8 Counter narrative 168
Conclusion 209
Glossary 215
Bibliography 219
Index 238
