There is a difference between a country's extremism and individual extremism, we seem to have crossed the line but they basically involve the same things. Your articles seemed to focus on the individual kind.
First for a country's extremism, as it has been mentioned, these can be brought on by many reasons, outside threat, individual extremism, etc. There is individual extremism but what I am wondering is how far will a country go if it wasn't for an outside source? Iran proved to be a democratic country in the 1950s, and then it went to extremism less than 30 years later. Was the extremism caused directly by Ajax? I will disagree with this; I think Ajax served as a catalyst for the extremism. It was there before but Ajax gave people excuses for their actions. As I mentioned earlier, at least for Iran, extremist Islam was the only option for many to get rid of the Shah.
Individual extremism can be much different as your articles have said. I found this part to be very interesting.
Quote:
Fifteen of the 19 terrorists who inflicted the horrors of September 11 were subjects of Saudi Arabia. They did not grow up in refugee camps, and they did not face poverty or deprivation. Of the 9/11 terrorists:
- Wael Muhammad al-Shehri, age 25, was a physical education teacher at an elementary school in the Kamis Mushayat airbase in Saudi Arabia.
- Waleed al-Shehri, 21, was a dropout from a teachers’ college. His brothers include professional officers in the Saudi military, including an Air Force pilot.
- Abd’ al-Aziz Abd’ al-Rahman Al-Omari, 23, was a graduate of Imam Muhammad Bin Sa’ud University, a prestigious religious institution in Saudi Arabia, and was a disciple of a senior Saudi cleric.
- Fa’iz Muhammad al-Shehri was an employee of an official Saudi relief agency.
- Mohned Muhammad Al-Shehri, 24, was a student at Imam Muhammad Bin Sa’ud University.
- Hamza Saleh al-Ghamdi, 21, traveled extensively in Pakistan and Afghanistan, using his family’s money, before coming to the United States.
- Ahmed Ibrahim al-Haznawi al-Ghamdi, 24, was the son of a leading imam, or mosque leader.
- Ahmed Abd’ Allah al-Nami, 23, was also a student at Imam Muhammad Bin Sa’ud University.
- Majid Mishaan Moqed al-Qufi al-Harbi, 22, was a student at the elite King Sa’ud University in Riyadh.
- Hani Saleh Hassan Hanjour was a pilot for Emirates Airlines, headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. His father was a military contractor.
- Satam M. A. al-Suqumi, 24, was also a student at King Sa’ud University in Riyadh.
None of these terrorists was a product of humiliation or deprivation of any kind.
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This strongly backs the argument of how individual extremism is more of a form of delusion than it is to a mass response to poverty or imperialism. If you look at the United States, what population represents the majority of 9/11 conspiracists? Not the uneducated lower class where you would expect, but the educated, college aged middle class. There is no doubt that there is a psychological or sociological relation between the two (tell me if you disagree). Since the two are most likely related, we can look into how individual extremism is caused. There are obviously other factors, like how the Islamic religion is set up and brainwashing as well but I have a hard time believing that a Muslim who is in touch with reality will become a terrorist just as most educated middle class kids are not 9/11 conspiracists. There are a few exceptions since not all 9/11 conspiracists are out of touch with reality, but this can be seen as base for individual extremism.
But once again, there is a difference between a country's extremism and an individual's extremism. If a country becomes extreme, it most likely isn't because of mass irrationality, but there is something that they actually have to perceive as a threat (unless there is really effective propaganda, but still unlikely).
For example, let’s take Palestine. Palestine has recently democratically elected Hamas, an extremist group, to rule their state. Why has this happened? This means not only extremists, but moderates, are on the same page. You have brought up very good points on individual extremism, but I have not seen how those explain these actions.