All over the world, there is now a rising tide of radical ‘Islamist’ movements, which, especially since 9/11, have turned militant. Since then, terrorist attacks against civilian populations both in the West and within Muslim countries themselves have become almost daily occurrences. Several countries have been directly or indirectly affected by Islamist militancy. In Bangladesh, Islamist militants killed 156 people in the 1990s, and the country experienced at least 48 smallscale attacks that killed over 120 people between 2015 and 2016. The July 2016 attack at the Holey Artisan Café in Dhaka killed approximately 20 foreigners, while an abortive attack six days later killed two. These and other similar incidents confirmed the presence of external militant outfits in the country and the severity of the challenge. Based on an exhaustive review of the relevant literature and two stints of fieldwork in Bangladesh involving 71 in-depth interviews of highly credentialled individuals, this project seek to investigate not only the causes of radicalization but also how radicalization has unfolded since 2009. This thesis looks at both local and global factors that have served to provoke young Bangladeshis, many of whom are from relatively well-educated backgrounds, to become religiously belligerent and eventually to turn into terrorists. Ideology, it is argued, plays a pivotal role in the radicalization process and justifies violence. Most importantly, ideology proffers solutions to the micro and macro causes of commonly identifiable youth disaffection. This study mainly focuses on the Islamic State and Al Qaeda’s exploitation of religious beliefs and their construction of a mobilising, apocalyptic narrative that strikes a chord with the young, middle-class Muslims. Both organisations target them for recruitment. The thesis ends by proffering what is called a Pyramid Root Cause model,’ which attempts to tie all the causative variables of radicalization into a connected explanation of what has been happening in Bangladesh over the last decade.

This thesis interrogates the concept of ‘Moderate Islam,’ a concept that is routinely referred to in Western discourse about Islam, but which engenders considerable debate within the Muslim world. Filling a gap in the scholarly literature, the thesis puts forward the argument that ‘Moderate Islam’ is essentially a Western geo-political construct that is conceived as the binary opposite of ‘Radical Islam’ as a way of making sense of Islamic radicalisation and the US war on terror. Juxtaposed against this, orthodox or mainstream Islam’s understanding of ‘Moderation’ is shown to be intrinsically embodied in the theological concept of ‘Wasatiyyah’. A case study of 29 largely academic Turkish and Australian respondents follows in order to demonstrate not only the ambiguity of the term ‘Moderate Islam’, but also its complexity depending on whether it is viewed through geopolitical, theological or jurisprudential lenses. Because it is associated with the Gülen movement, for example, ‘Moderate Islam’ acquires an entirely different complexion within a Turkish context. Ultimately, the thesis raises the possibility of achieving a greater understanding of ‘Moderate Islam’ vis-à-vis Wasatiyyah through a consideration of both Western and Muslim epistemologies.

Muslims in Australia are a diverse but small group. Their issues of concern have been recognized in articles, books and surveys, but the object of this work was to add colour and detail to other findings by researching, organizing and quoting the opinions of a wide range of Australian Muslims. The bulk of the opinions gathered were sourced via the internet, as being contemporary, easily available, varied and often heartfelt: personal stories can be very powerful. The chosen methodology was historical interpretation, as being suitable for illustrating the range of opinions and narratives available. The core questions of the research focused on describing and detailing the main issues and challenges identified by Australian Muslims; reporting on where they believed these issues originated and what continued to fuel them; and looking at strategies already being employed to achieve more positive outcomes plus further suggestions for the future. Issues for Muslims living in other countries (either as majority or minority groups) were also discussed as background for Australian views. Several issues of concern were identified, as varied as domestic violence and divorce, vulnerability to radicalization, and marginalized groups in Islam. Foremost amongst them, however, were the inter-connected ones of the struggle for a secure identity guaranteeing freedom of speech and religion as Australian citizens, and discrimination, racism and Islamophobia. Persistent racism in Australia generally, and the role of the media and powerful public figures such as politicians, are generally considered as main causative factors. Australian Muslims have been working actively in a range of fields to improve their situation but would welcome assistance in this difficult task. Some positive outcomes have been reported, and after the May 2022 federal elections hopes of progress have risen.