Annotated Bibliography
Annotated Bibliography from the article Al-Qaida′s Strategy for influencing Perceptions in the Muslim World by Sammy Salama and Joe-Ryan Bergoch from the textbook: Forest, J.J.F. (Ed.). (2009). Influence warfare ISBN 978-0-313-34731-3
Annotated Bibliography
Forest, J.J.F. (2009). Influence Warfare: How Terrorists and Governments Fight to Shape
Perceptions in a War of Ideas. Westport, CT: Praeger Security International.
ISBN 978-0-313-34731-3.
The textbook consists of different articles that address issues of war and
terrorism. Thus, the annotated bibliography focuses on the article “Al-Qaida′s
Strategy for influencing Perceptions in the Muslim World,” Sammy Salama and
Joe -Ryan Bergoch. In this article, the authors attempt to formulate a research
problem by analyzing the actions of Al-Qaida’s terror group on influencing
Muslims to join the war against those who undermine Islamic religion. In that
regard, authors describe how al-Qaida has developed a strategy after learning
essential aspects from failures of al-Islami and al-Jihad. The primary purpose of
their research is to determine strategies used by al-Qaida after learning from the
failures of jihad organizations in the Muslim world. Jihad organizations cannot
muster support from Muslim communities, thereby making it difficult for them to
overthrow secular regimes. Thus, the research aimed to determine different
strategies used by al-Qaida to access support from the Muslim world. The authors
rename al-Qaida a global revolutionary Salafi-Jihadi movement. The definition
leads to the following research questions. What is the role of al-Qaida in the
Muslim world? Which organizations support al-Qaida in its mission? Which
strategies does al-Qaida use to influence perceptions in the Muslim world? The
variables in the research explain some critical aspects of the approach used by al-
Qaida. In other words, al-Qaida does not operate as a single movement. It works
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 3
through the assistance of affiliate groups. The dependent variable in the research
is the affiliate group, which relies on decisions and strategies of al-Qaida to carry
out military operations. The limitation of the article appears when the author
purports to portray al-Qaida as a regular movement. The authors claim that al-
Qaida and its affiliates carry out military operations on Muslim soils and in
Western countries. Al-Qaida also uses strategies that facilitate and enhance their
revolutionary activities. The limitation of this article is that the authors fail to
describe the destructive nature of al-Qaida military operations. The research also
presents some strengths and weaknesses. Terms of advantages, authors present al-
Qaida as an international enemy that destroys Muslims and non-Muslims. People
can learn from the article the negative perception of al-Qaida. In terms of
weaknesses, the authors assert that al-Qaida carries out military operations to
protect their political doctrine, vision, and religious ideology. The findings of the
research indicate that al-Qaida uses technological advancements in
communication to influence their perceptions in the Muslim world. The use of the
Internet has facilitated al-Qaida with robust and sophisticated public relations
capabilities to change attitudes in Muslim society. The position of the authors is
that al-Qaida better opportunities in their movement than in 1980. In the 1980s,
the government-controlled the media.
Overall, the findings in the research can be used to address several issues.
The synopsis explores the implementation of the findings. One outcome is that al-
Qaida uses the Internet to export its revolution. Thus, the anti-terrorism unit can
use the same platform to educate people on how to respond to terrorism.
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Secondly, al-Qaida uses historical terminologies to evoke collective memories. In
that regard, the anti-terrorism unit should also use languages when counteracting
al-Qaida. Anti-terrorism units should use media to promote cohesion and
integration between Muslims and non-Muslims. The finding should be used to
demonstrate that al-Qaida is a criminal and terror group and is not a popular
revolution group. After the implementation of the results, the war between
Western countries and al-Qaida will end by minimizing tactical setbacks used by
al-Qaida.
