Why Islamists Beat Liberals in the Middle East

From Emergent Africa Fri Aug 29 2014, 11:56:00

Relevant strategies for those looking to challenge Boko Haram,al-Shabaab etc. Maajid Nawaz writing in War on Rocks:

...we need to first come to grips with what makes Islamism so much more enticing to subjects of post-revolution power vacuums than liberal democracy. As a former adherent of an extremist Islamist ideology myself, I have personal experience with what it is that draws people to the likes of Islamic State (IS); what it is that renders a group that crucifies its opponents more attractive than one that seeks to challenge them peacefully.

Put simply, it comes down to five structural distinctions that make Islamist movements so potent in ways that their secular, liberal competitors are not. When combined, these tools create Islamism, this blatant manipulation of religion, an attractive ideology that will almost inevitably supersede the appeal of its secular, liberal rivals.More here

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