Understanding Terrorism: Narratives, Controversies and Opportunities

Abstract

This article discusses the narratives on terrorism and the controversies generated. Though controversies are generally of short duration in terms of repercussions and implications, in the context of terrorism, they are inseparably linked with the socio-political contexts in which they play out. Difficult and problematic as it may be to assume that there exists a direct relationship between narratives and terrorism, the world view is that former have been used to form and nurture an image of violent Islam. As such, accounts on terrorist attacks, have created new knowledge, which terrorists themselves use to legitimize their actions, while same knowledge is also used for counter-terrorism measures. In this context, both the producers and the receivers of narratives are never passive, thereby creating community of terrorists on one hand, and a universe of counter-terrorism strategist on the other. From the above, the contested narratives are sustained in the conflictual domain of Islam and the Western world. Hence, they have tended to become power mechanisms that constitute an act of exclusion and inclusion. As will be observed later, the two collective engagements have produced spaces of opportunities to attend to terrorism differently from the traditional military approaches.