The clash of identities: an analysis of the causes of Salafi Jihadi terrorism with reference to Jemaah Islamiyah

Globalisation is affecting communities of people in sometimes surprising ways. One such impact of globalisation has been on the Islamic identity of salafi jihadi groups. Globalisation is driving a decontextualised and deculturalised conception of Islam within salafi jihadi organisations and this fuels identity conflicts with other Muslim groups based on competition between cultural and 'anticultural' forces. This identity conflict culminates in terrorism as a rational and political attempt to 'securitise' group identities that are under attack. This paper seeks to shed light on what is animating salafi jihadi terrorism and examines the Indonesian organisation Jemaah Islamiyah as a case study. The paper concludes that globalisation is leaving a 'footprint' on societies, influencing political and religious movements and inflaming identity conflicts, and that this leads to terrorism. It is thus important that theorists develop detailed proposals to offset the negative impacts of globalisation on global security