Walt states that revolutions exhibit a number of common features. First, a states administrative and coercive capacity must be in a weakened by a combination of internal and external challenges for revolutions to be possible. Key international and intra-national events created permissive conditions favorable for jihadism to develop and flourish. Several key decisive events illustrate this first point. The end of the Ottoman Empire and enactment of the Sykes-Picot agreement broke the empire into secular nations under western influence. This spawned the Muslim Brotherhood a mere four years later in 1928, arguably the first jihadist group seeking the reestablishment of the dissolved Caliphate. Another pivotal event was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which energized jihadist fervor and planted the seeds for future globalized efforts. External and internal events meshed with the end of the Cold War dramatically weakening many of the repressive secular regimes that had kept jihadists groups in check. Globalization and social changes ushered in a diffusion of power acting as an enabling tool for the Muslim community and jihadists within these states, further weakening their ability to control narratives and information.
The second feature Walt discussed is …show more content…
Knights represents a jihadists policy document that discusses the importance of narrative to inspire the Umma by refraining from the extreme purist views of Qutb. He does not seek to refute these views, but he is careful to note that generating support from the Muslim masses is a critical component to the success of jihad. His book also serves as a signal that Al Qaeda was taking the role of the vanguard element within Islam that Qutb spoke of in his book Milestones. However, the various calls for jihad in Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to take the holiest places in Islam were a bridge too
The second feature Walt discussed is …show more content…
Knights represents a jihadists policy document that discusses the importance of narrative to inspire the Umma by refraining from the extreme purist views of Qutb. He does not seek to refute these views, but he is careful to note that generating support from the Muslim masses is a critical component to the success of jihad. His book also serves as a signal that Al Qaeda was taking the role of the vanguard element within Islam that Qutb spoke of in his book Milestones. However, the various calls for jihad in Israel, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to take the holiest places in Islam were a bridge too