My Reading List
“The Legacy of Carlos the Jackal” By Clifford D. May: Clifford D. May examines the life of Carlos the Jackal to highlight the longstanding connections between revolutionary Marxism, Islamist extremism, and international terrorism. Born Ilich Ramirez Sanchez to a wealthy Marxist family in Venezuela, Carlos joined the Marxist-Leninist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and went on to carry out shootings, bombings, and the notorious 1975 attack on an OPEC meeting in Vienna. May argues that Carlos’s most enduring legacy may be ideological. In his 2003 manifesto, Revolutionary Islam, Carlos praised Osama bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks while urging leftists, atheists, and other revolutionaries to accept Islamist leadership in a common struggle against America, Israel, capitalism, and Western influence. May contends that this alliance between the revolutionary left and radical Islam is now visible on American campuses and in street protests, even among young activists who have likely never heard of Carlos the Jackal.