This excerpt was obtained from Jonathan R. White,Terrorism: An Introduction, Third Edition, Wadsworth Publishing, 2002).

Middle Eastern terrorism is centered on the struggle for control of the area claimed by the Israelis and the Palestinians. Closely related to this issue is the spread of fundamentalist Islam beyond the Iranian Revolution. This struggle has appeared in three forms: struggle for control of the Palestinian movement, the directions of revolutionary Islam, and the spread of terrorism from the Afghan war. Since the mid-1990s, all three of these issues have been dominated by fervent religious fundamentalism. The Palestinian movement has been influenced by revolutionary Islam, especially from Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Other revolutionary groups are spreading in Egypt, Sudan, Pakistan, and Algeria. One of the main international threats comes from a group headed by Osama bin Ladin. Jewish fundamentalism has spawned its own anti-Arab terrorism. All of these violent extremist views threaten a very fragile peace process. After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Describe two different views of Islam and terrorism.
2. Describe the metamorphosis of Hizbollah and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
3. Summarize the philosophy and structure of Hamas.
4. Outline the history and structure of Osama bin Ladin's organization.
5. Explain bin Ladin's connections to fundamentalism and the links with terrorist violence in Egypt, Pakistan, and Algeria.
6. List and describe other religious terrorist groups in the Middle East.
7. Describe the problem of Jewish fundamentalism and violence.