OSHER 699 - Terrorism in the Middle East

Terrorism in the Middle East comes in many flavors: against the Israelis, against the West, against local governments, country-to-country, and religion-to-religion. In this course, we will examine the major Middle Eastern organizations that various governments have labeled terrorists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the Stern Gang, the PLO, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Al Queda, Hamas, and the Taliban, with a brief look, for comparison purposes, at the Irish Republican Army. We will look at how each group was formed, its leaders, its objectives, what it has done, its offshoots, how it recruits terrorists and suicide bombers, and, to the extent possible, what it is doing now. Each session will culminate with a class discussion.