The Views on Terrorism in the Name of Islam Held by Islamic Religion Teachers in Spain

Abstract

Violent radicalisation is currently one of the most pressing global problems. Accordingly, the intention of this paper is to discover the views on terrorism in the name of Islam held by Islamic religion teachers in Spain and to analyse the preventive socio-educational measures that they propose, employing a mixed methods approach with a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. Most of the teachers point to a poor knowledge of Islam among the young, especially as regards to the concept of jihad, as the main reason behind this phenomenon. The second-generation immigrants among the teachers attach great importance to possible identity crises as a factor that makes the young more vulnerable to violent radicalisation. The most frequently mentioned social measure is fostering the integration of Muslims, thus creating a sense of belonging to their country of residence. They recommend preventive educational strategies that, far from focusing on detecting possible violent extremists, place the accent on teaching the fundamentals of the Islamic religion in order to provide young people with the tools that they need to challenge violent ideologies.

Terrorism’s Uneven Relationship with Religion

“…The reasons why an individual would be violently radicalized and involve themselves in terrorist organizations is inconclusive (Navarro-Granados et al, 2020). Many scholars have identified several reasons such as poverty of resources (O'Neill, 2002ain Newman, 2006; individuals living in states who lack a legitimacy and control over their economy may be more prone to be radicalized (O'Neill, 2002bin Newman, 2006; demographic factors that influence background conditions (Newman, 2006); globalization (Haynes, 2019) and urbanization (Massey, 1996in Newman, 2006; human rights abuse (Hassan, 2001); and clash of values (Newman, 2006).…”

Sociology of Terrorism: A Brief History and Overview of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) Propaganda Wing from a Socio-Educational Perspective

“…The study recommended the necessity of the promotion of preventive socioeducational strategies instead of emphasizing detecting expected violent extremists. In addition, it is emphasizing on teaching the fundamentals of the Islamic religion for providing young people with the tools that they require to deal with such violent ideologies (Navarro-Granados, et al, 2020).…”