![Sample our Social Sciences journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/110822/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Social-Sciences.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
In many ways, the Black September killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics tells little about the evolution of targeting sporting events by political and religious militants, though this attack has never been replicated in scale and drama. It introduced a post-World War II era in which secular nationalists rather than religious militants dominated the targeting of sporting events, executives and athletes. That may have been different if plans for attacks by religious militants had not failed or been foiled. Interestingly and more as a result of local circumstances, successful attacks on sporting events and personalities since Munich have struck a balance between having been perpetrated by secular and religious terrorists. This is true even if political violence since the 1980s has increasingly been perpetrated by religious rather than secular terrorists.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. START National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism, July 2012.
2. Moore, “The Evolution of Islamic Terrorism”; Reynie, “Islamist Terrorist Attacks in the World 1979–2019.”
3. Dubois, Soccer Empire: The World Cup and the Future of France.
4. New Zealand Herald, “Should the New Zealand Cricket Team Have Been in Pakistan?”.
5. Panja and Bright, “Man U Bomb Plot Probe Ends in Farce.”
6. Hughes, “Terror Group Plot to Hit MCG.”
7. McVeigh, “Kidnapped Iraqi Athletes Found Dead.”
8. Raghavan, “Scores Kidnapped At Iraqi Ministry.”
9. Levy, “Top 10 Worst Sporting Attacks.”
10. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), “Chicago Man Charged with Providing Material Support to al-Qaeda by Attempting to Send Funds Overseas.”
11. Fox News, “Iraq Says It Uncovered Al-Qaeda Plot on World Cup.”
12. Bariyos, “Life Sentences for Seven Men Convicted of 2010 Kampala Bombings.”
13. Editors, “Boston Marathon Bombing.”
14. Dorsey, “Islamic State urges FIFA to deprive Qatar of the World Cup.”
15. Martinez, “Why the Paris Terrorists Targeted Soccer.”
16. Ryan et al., “Fear of New Terrorist Plots Spreads; German Stadium Evacuated After Threat.”
17. Ibid.
18. Spaaij, “Terrorism and Security at the Olympics,” Vol. 33:4, 451–468
19. Ibid.; START
20. Riding, “OLYMPICS; Keeping Terrorism at Bay in Barcelona.”
21. BBC News, “Colombia’s ELN Rebel Group ‘Killed Russian Hostage’.”
22. Dudkevitch, “Palestinian Bomber Planned to Attack Soccer Stadium.”
23. Reuters, “New Zealand Cricket Team to Tour Pakistan After 18 Years.”
24. Pfeffer, “Two East Jerusalem Residents Arrested Over Hamas Plot to Fire Rockets into Israeli Soccer Game.”
25. Robinson, Bin Laden: The Inside Story of the Rise and Fall of the Most Notorious Terrorist in History.
26. Ibid.
27. Journes, “Policing and Security,” 150.
28. Ibid.; Dubois, Soccer Empire; Kuper, Soccer Against the Enemy; Robinson, Bin Laden.
29. Fadly, “Nur Din M Top, Claims Responsible For Bombing JW Marriot & Ritz Carlton Hotels.”
30. Interviews with residents of Mosul over several years.
31. Sharma, “Which World Cup Teams Are Jihadis Rooting For?”
32. Dorsey, “Soccer Pitches.”
33. Ssebulime, Kampala Eyewitness.
34. Ismail, “Football Recruitment Tool for Terrorism.”
35. Dorsey, “What Does New Al-Qaeda Leader Have in Common with Bin Laden (Besides Being a Killer)?”
36. Dorsey, “Soccer: Jihadists Seek to Exploit Widespread Sense of Abandonment”; Regular, “Hebron’s Playing, and Plotting Field.”
37. Verkaik, “Jihadi John Dead.”
38. Dorsey, “Soccer vs. Jihad: A Draw.”
39. Evening Standard, “Watch Ireland vs Bosnia Fans Boo Minute’s Silence for Paris Attack Victims Before Euro 2016 Play-Off.”
40. Kiricsi, “What the Ankara Bombing Means for Turkish Politics and the West”; BBC News, Suruc Massacre: At Least 30 Killed in Turkey Border Blast.
41. Dorsey, “Turkish Soccer Brawls.”
42. Al-Rasheed, “Wahhabi Religious Nationalism Turns Ugly.”
43. Ibid.
44. Gursel, “Why Do Some Turks Approve of Islamic State Terrorism?”
46. Cumhuriyet, “Işte ıslık işte teşkilat.”
47. Bilginsoy, “2 Turkish Journalists Charged with Espionage, Aiding Terrorist Organization.”
48. Blasing, “The Budding Moments of a Clash of Civilizations? ISIS and Football.”
49. Pugmire, “Stadiums on Red Alert as Football Resumes After Paris Terror.”
50. Ibid.; Journes, “Policing and Security: Terrorists and Hooligans.”
51. Dorsey, “Breeding Intolerance.”
52. Hussey, “Why French Algerians’ Football Celebrations Turned into a Battle.”
53. Russia Today, “Algeria Supporters Riot Across France After Historic World Cup Qualification.”
54. Interview with the author 15 November 2015.
55. MEMRI, “Des Fans De Football Marocains Acclament l’EIIL.”
56. Talk to Al Jazeera, “Moncef Marzouki.”
57. Dorsey, “Soccer Fan Support for the Islamic State.”
58. Ibid.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
James M. Dorsey
James M. Dorsey is a Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute of the National University of Singapore and an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) of Nanyang Technological University. This article is an updated version of a working paper originally published by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies