More than to the west, islamic terrorism and Islamism is of immense threat to Africa

Abstract

There are already many academic papers on terrorism in Africa, the dynamics of terror and how this has affected the political and socioeconomic structure of African societies. The aim of this review, therefore, is to see the terror threats from Islamism and Islamic extremism from the lens of their anti-western and anti-American ideologies and activities. Since Africa is heavily influenced by western cultures, values and lifestyle, it will always be a target locus for international terror groups to settle and operate. The west African region and the Sahel geographic area of Africa have particularly been of interests to these terror groups of late and their increasing activities in these regions is worrisome. If not checked and urgently addressed, it will grow to be a difficult monster to stop. Therefore, the researcher will go through the dynamics of their operations from ideology to attack tactics from Al-Qaeda ideological and political legacies to radicalization, relating each of these to the practicality of Islamic terrorism to African societies. After which recommendations will be given which include data mining in counterterrorism to detect unusual patterns, fraudulent behaviours and typical radical characteristics as highlighted in this study. Also whistle blowing and integration strategies are essential to establish and strengthen diverse but thriving heterogenous African communities to avoid divisions, sectionalism and the dangers of extremism that usually lead to terrorism.