A Muslim Militancy Born in Modernity Not Mosques

After the surprise attacks of 9/11, the world has made great strides in the technical aspects of security, but stalled when it comes to the complex politics that lead to radical thinking. British police were successful in foiling a plot to attack planes traveling from the UK to the US. But more frightening is the fact that instigators were citizens of the UK, educated in a democratic society that offers economic opportunity. An angry militancy permeates many nations and institutions, warns author Faisal Devji: “Globalization has liberated militancy from an international order kept in place by détente, and no longer accepts models of organization provided by the nation state.” He also notes that adherents of the Shia form of Islam have yet to mount attacks on the scale of 9/11, most of which are planned by Sunni Muslims. Yet, Sunni is the reformed version of Islam, and liberalization has allowed some radical leaders to authorize atrocities, suggesting that terrorism is a product of individualism and modernism. – YaleGlobal