Undergraduate Module Descriptor

ARA3158: Armed Islamist Movements: Jihadism and Beyond

This module descriptor refers to the 2021/2 academic year.

Module Aims

This module aims to provide you with an understanding of the complex relationships between Islamism and various types of armed action including, coups, resistance, insurgency and terrorism. It prepares you to constructively engage in academic and policy debates on armed Islamism and the related issues of security, democratization, demobilization, and counter-terrorism in several Muslim-majority and Muslim-minority states. 

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

This module's assessment will evaluate your achievement of the ILOs listed here – you will see reference to these ILO numbers in the details of the assessment for this module.
On successfully completing the programme you will be able to:
Module-Specific Skills1. understand the major armed Islamist movements, their behaviours, ideologies and the contexts in which they operate;
2. demonstrate the ability to discuss key-issues in the themes of Islamism and political violence;
Discipline-Specific Skills3. handle recent Islamist terminology;
4. analyse and critique both primary and secondary sources as well as to place the issues discussed in a wider context;
Personal and Key Skills5. demonstrate critical and analytical skills through readings, class discussions and presentations;
6. organise time and resources;
7. demonstrate an enhanced ability to undertake comparative and cross-regional analysis;
8. give oral presentations and write essays.

Indicative Reading List

This reading list is indicative - i.e. it provides an idea of texts that may be useful to you on this module, but it is not considered to be a confirmed or compulsory reading list for this module.

Ashour, Omar. The De-Radicalization of Jihadists: Transforming Armed Islamist Movements. New York, London: Routledge, 2009.
Ashour, Omar. Oil, Security and Internal Politics: The Causes of the Russo-Chechen Conflict. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism vol. 27, no. 2 (March  April 2004): 127 143.
Atwan, Abdel Bari. The Secret History of al-Qaeda. Berkeley : University of California Press, c2008.
Chehab, Zaki, Inside Hamas (NY: Nations Books, 2007).
Donohue, John and John L. Esposito. Islam in Transition : Muslim perspectives (Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1982).
Esposito, John, Political Islam: Revolution, Radicalism, or Reform (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1997).
Fuller, Graham, The Future of Political Islam, Foreign Affairs (March-April 2002).
Goodson, Larry. Afghanistan’s Long Road to Reconstruction.Journal of Democracy vol. 13, no. 1 (January 2003):
Hafez, Mohammed, Why Muslims Rebel: Repression and Resistance in the
Islamic World (Boulder, Colo. ; London : Lynne Rienner, 2003).
Kepel, Gilles, Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam (Belknap, 2003).
Lewis, Bernard, The Crisis of Political Islam (Random House, 2004)Lia, Brynjar. Artichetct of Global Jihad: The Life of the life of al-Qaida strategist Abu Musal-Suri. London : Hurst & Co., 2007.
Martinez, Luis. The Algerian Civil War. New York: Colombia University Press, 2000.
Qutb, Sayyid, Milestones (American Trust Publication, 1991).
Roy, Olivier, Globalizing Islam (Columbia University Press, 2004).
Wiktorowicz, Quintan, Islamic Activism: A Social Movement Theory Approach (Indiana University Press, 2003).
Youcef Bedjaoui, Abbas Aroua, Méziane Aït-Larbi.. An Inquiry into the Algerian Massacres. Plan-les-Ouates (Genève): Hoggar, 1999. chapters 2, 6, 8, 11
World Islamic Front Statement: "Jihad against Jews and Crusaders," Washington Post, September 21, 2001

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Particularly useful notes of guidance for the op-ed project can be found on the module ELE page