Role of Social Sciences in Combating Violent Extremism

Summary

This paper addresses the founding roots of violent extremism and terrorism in the Islamic world, based on the ideas that Malik bin Nabi found in his books, in attempt to prove the hypothesis that: There is a direct relationship between social sciences and the phenomenon of violent extremism. The more the impact of social sciences prevails in a society, the less its members are likely to embrace or practice extremism, and vice versa. The paper also attempts to answer the following questions:

What are the most important theoretical approaches in studying the causes of violent extremism and terrorism?

How far can these approaches explain the phenomenon? Did they provide radical solutions for it?

What is meant by the ‘world of ideas’ according to Malik bin Nabi and what is its relationship to the phenomenon of violent extremism or terrorism?

What are the sciences that fuel emergence and enhancement of these pathological phenomena, and what are the sciences that help prevent them? How and Why?

What is the relationship between the academic specialization of an individual and his way of thinking? What does this have to do with the phenomenon of violent extremism?

How does the intellectual structure of the societal environment contribute to the emergence of phenomena of violent extremism and terrorism? What are the institutions contributing to this?

How is the “terrorist’s mind” structured?