The United Nations met this week to discuss counter-terrorism. One of the discussions focused on a left-wing term-of-art called “maculinities” and its need to be studied and addressed in the field of terrorism. Specifically, a 90-minute discussion called “Bridging the gap: Connecting research, policy and practice on masculinities to more effectively counter terrorism and prevent and counter violent extremism” urged the UN and members states to tackle the issue of “toxic masculinity” and how it is used to draw recruits to terrorism.
At 1:18:15 of the talk, Sanam Naraghi Anderlini of the International Civil Society Action Network spoke via Zoom. She described the work she did on behalf of the UN to explore the role that “toxic masculinity” played in terrorism in ten countries. It was an interesting question to ask a women who runs a women’s peace organization, as she focused her work on “what does it mean to be a man? Whether in Liberia, Nigeria, Palestine, Jamaica, Yemen, Syria, Iraq.”
Anderlini contended that four themes emerged in each country as critical elements for male self-definition and worth, the 4 “Ps”: Provide, Protect, Prestige and Procreation.
She argued that men living in societies where they failed in their “manly” roles to provide for the family monetarily, to protect them, to have a position of prestige or power, or to procreate and have progeny, were easy prey for radical actors. People like radical jihadis tap into the male aggrieved status and advance the idea that their religion is greater than all others and the pathway to power and prestige is to protect their families and communities via violence.
In regards to Palestinian Arabs, the fourth “p”, to “provide”, is addressed by the Palestinian Authority’s “martyr payments” in their infamous pay-to-slay program.
It’s a peculiar lens to examine the Palestinian Arab-Israeli Conflict, as not being about two people fighting a century-old civil war over a small stretch of land, but of emasculated Arabs being played by their leaders.
And by others.
Anderlini added that “the Islamists, the jihadi movements, that are around didn’t appear out of nowhere. They’ve been funded since the 1990s by UN member states like Saudi Arabia or Wahabi movements that come out of our member states…. These boys and these young men aren’t born violent. They are being exploited by and for powerful elites.”
She is right about funds coming from Muslim countries to Palestinian Arabs to kill Jews. Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia all sent monies to Palestinian Arabs who murdered Jews during the Second Intifada. Qatar and Turkey back the political-terrorist group Hamas, which has a foundational charter calling for the slaughter of Jews.
If a key feature of Jihadi terrorism is emasculated Muslims being preyed upon by powerful leaders, then cutting off the funding and providing young Muslim men with better role models is seemingly a key pathway to stopping the systemic violence.
and the female terrorists?