Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 5, No. 1, 2006, Page 88
Chapter 7 (―Lone Avengers‖) discusses an even more troubling trend: religiously motivated
terrorists acting completely on their own, with no apparent connection to any leaders or
groups. Dr. Stern indicates that these ―lone avengers‖ are inspired by a combination of
terrorist ideology and revenge desires for perceived personal grievances. They tend to get
inspired via the Internet, and they sometimes use the Internet to carry out their vengeance.
Dr. Stern points out that these individuals can have easy access to Internet instructions for
the creation of weapons of mass destruction.
Chapter 8 is entitled ―Commanders and Their Cadres.‖ The title implies that the chapter is
about the activities of leaders and their followers it isn‘t. Dr. Stern interviews leaders of
Islamic Kashmiri terrorist groups in Pakistan. Her questions focus on recruiting and
fundraising. Dr. Stern integrates these two topics when she discusses madrassas, the
fundamentalist Islamic religious schools. These schools provide free room and board to boys
studying the Koran. Dr. Stern visited some madrassas, and the responses to her questions
make clear that the boys are indoctrinated for jihad, or holy war. The madrassas supply a
seemingly endless stream of new recruits to Islamic terrorist groups all over the world, and
the madrassas are funded by wealthy Islamic countries (primarily Saudi Arabia) and
individuals. Dr. Stern concludes this chapter by saying that the madrassas schools not only
supply willing bodies they also replenish group idealism that is lost when veteran aging
jihadists succumb to cynicism and materialism.
Chapter 9 (―The Ultimate Organization: Networks, Franchises and Freelancers‖) focuses
specifically on Al-Queda, and more generally on global resistance to the New World Order.
Dr. Stern considers Al-Qaeda to be the most sophisticated religious terrorist organization in
existence today. It is a network of networks, which inspires both franchised local terrorist
groups and freelancing lone avengers. She considers Al-Qaeda to be a combination of one, a
traditional terrorist group with specific hierarchies, locations, and training facilities, and two,
a virtual-reality ―leaderless resistance‖ organization. This combination, plus the continuing
freedom and charisma of Osama Bin Laden, has allowed Al-Qaeda to become the umbrella
organization for numerous more localized Islamic terrorist groups around the world.
Dr. Stern points out that many American and European right- and left-wing extremists
admire Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and that this admiration extended to applauding
the 9/11 attacks. This is not that surprising, since one, they share a common enemy
(Jews/Israelis), and two, they share a hatred of globalization, the New World Order, and the
creation of the American-dominated homogeneous world culture.
Audience/Quality of Presentation
Dr. Stern‘s book appears to be written for the layperson, and it certainly seems very
accessible to the general public. She frequently writes in the first person, enriching her
narrative with personal details about the individuals she meets in her worldwide odyssey.
She also discusses her personal reactions to these individuals. She then switches to the
third person when she summarizes her insights in social-science language and concepts.
She follows this format in each of the chapters that focus on a specific group. I think this
style would increase a general reader‘s interest in understanding religious terrorists.
Contribution
Although the psychology and sociology of terrorism has been addressed more thoroughly in
other publications, and although many of Dr. Stern‘s insights into the terrorist mindset have
been made elsewhere, the personal immediacy of her descriptions gives them fresh
relevance. However, she has not satisfactorily answered the question she set for herself in
Part I: Why do people respond to religious grievances by joining terrorist groups, and once
they join, what makes them stay? Dr. Stern is correct in concluding that demographics,
history, and territory are external forces that influence potential terrorists. However, these
Chapter 7 (―Lone Avengers‖) discusses an even more troubling trend: religiously motivated
terrorists acting completely on their own, with no apparent connection to any leaders or
groups. Dr. Stern indicates that these ―lone avengers‖ are inspired by a combination of
terrorist ideology and revenge desires for perceived personal grievances. They tend to get
inspired via the Internet, and they sometimes use the Internet to carry out their vengeance.
Dr. Stern points out that these individuals can have easy access to Internet instructions for
the creation of weapons of mass destruction.
Chapter 8 is entitled ―Commanders and Their Cadres.‖ The title implies that the chapter is
about the activities of leaders and their followers it isn‘t. Dr. Stern interviews leaders of
Islamic Kashmiri terrorist groups in Pakistan. Her questions focus on recruiting and
fundraising. Dr. Stern integrates these two topics when she discusses madrassas, the
fundamentalist Islamic religious schools. These schools provide free room and board to boys
studying the Koran. Dr. Stern visited some madrassas, and the responses to her questions
make clear that the boys are indoctrinated for jihad, or holy war. The madrassas supply a
seemingly endless stream of new recruits to Islamic terrorist groups all over the world, and
the madrassas are funded by wealthy Islamic countries (primarily Saudi Arabia) and
individuals. Dr. Stern concludes this chapter by saying that the madrassas schools not only
supply willing bodies they also replenish group idealism that is lost when veteran aging
jihadists succumb to cynicism and materialism.
Chapter 9 (―The Ultimate Organization: Networks, Franchises and Freelancers‖) focuses
specifically on Al-Queda, and more generally on global resistance to the New World Order.
Dr. Stern considers Al-Qaeda to be the most sophisticated religious terrorist organization in
existence today. It is a network of networks, which inspires both franchised local terrorist
groups and freelancing lone avengers. She considers Al-Qaeda to be a combination of one, a
traditional terrorist group with specific hierarchies, locations, and training facilities, and two,
a virtual-reality ―leaderless resistance‖ organization. This combination, plus the continuing
freedom and charisma of Osama Bin Laden, has allowed Al-Qaeda to become the umbrella
organization for numerous more localized Islamic terrorist groups around the world.
Dr. Stern points out that many American and European right- and left-wing extremists
admire Osama Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda, and that this admiration extended to applauding
the 9/11 attacks. This is not that surprising, since one, they share a common enemy
(Jews/Israelis), and two, they share a hatred of globalization, the New World Order, and the
creation of the American-dominated homogeneous world culture.
Audience/Quality of Presentation
Dr. Stern‘s book appears to be written for the layperson, and it certainly seems very
accessible to the general public. She frequently writes in the first person, enriching her
narrative with personal details about the individuals she meets in her worldwide odyssey.
She also discusses her personal reactions to these individuals. She then switches to the
third person when she summarizes her insights in social-science language and concepts.
She follows this format in each of the chapters that focus on a specific group. I think this
style would increase a general reader‘s interest in understanding religious terrorists.
Contribution
Although the psychology and sociology of terrorism has been addressed more thoroughly in
other publications, and although many of Dr. Stern‘s insights into the terrorist mindset have
been made elsewhere, the personal immediacy of her descriptions gives them fresh
relevance. However, she has not satisfactorily answered the question she set for herself in
Part I: Why do people respond to religious grievances by joining terrorist groups, and once
they join, what makes them stay? Dr. Stern is correct in concluding that demographics,
history, and territory are external forces that influence potential terrorists. However, these
