Revolutionaries and Self Martyrs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Revolutionaries and Self Martyrs - Essay Example Revolutionary movements in the 1960s also included Palestinian groups like the Al Fatah and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. Inspired by communism and supported by the USSR, they advocated a strategy of guerilla warfare and terrorism to liberate Palestine. The concept of people’s war was developed as Palestinian leaders understood that Muslim states were incapable of mounting any serious military opposition to Israel. Urban terrorist warfare was the goal of these movements as they learned about it from revolutionary movements in Palestine, Zimbabwe, Vietnam, China, Cuba and Algeria. The Palestinian network in the 1970s was the main financier and supporter of European, African and Latin American revolutionary movements. The late 1970s was a turning point as the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. Many Arab and Western governments began to recruit young people to wage a holy war against the Soviets. Another phenomenon was the rise of the Islamic revolution in Iran which b egan to view not only the US and Israel as enemies of Islam but also the Arab regimes. The 1980s saw the rise of Afghan groups who were bolstered by an influx of volunteers from the Muslim world and weapons from the West. Iran began to export its own revolution especially in Lebanon where it trained and armed Hezbollah. This group was responsible for the first suicide bombings and kidnappings against Western targets. Both Islamic fundamentalist and secular revolutionary movements have shared many similar goals.