Concepts of Terrorism in Terror in the Mind of God by Juergensmeyer
The reason I picked this book is because I have always been curious about terrorism. Truthfully, I really didn’t expect the book to take the stance it did, which focused mainly on the religious implications of what influences people to commits acts of terror. I liked the fact that the book takes new angles in approaching the search for truth, by focusing on case studies and performing interviews with the people who have committed terrorist acts. This is like getting the insiders view of the inner workings and frame of mind people have before, during, and after they have unswervingly performed the acts of violence.
In the first chapter, Juergensmeyer states, “This book is about religious terrorism … I have tried to get inside the mindset of those who perpetrated and supported such acts.” (pg.7). By doing this type of analysis he is able to figure out whether religious terrorism distinguishes itself out from other forms of terrorism. This is what I have interpreted as his thesis statement, because this is essentially what is being portrayed throughout the book. Since this book is filled with tons of information, I have chosen to focus on a couple of case studies he presents to analyze instead of briefly covering all six cases he has presented. The cases I have chosen are named the “Soldiers of Christ” and “Islam’s Neglected Duty”.
Before we get to the cases, I want to provide some background on our author, Mark Juergensmeyer. He currently is a professor of sociology and the Director of Global and International Studies at the University of California. He is also accountable for writing several other books such as The New Cold War? Religious Nationa...
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...nts on what the book is going to try to prove. To prove his points, Mark used mass quantities of research and facts to express the ideas he was trying to prove. In this case it was whether religious terrorism is any different than other forms of terrorism. The way he chooses to present the information is in a narrative type way, in which he used both researched information and quotes from the interviews he conducted. As I was reading this book, I imagined I was watching a documentary on the History Channel, Juergensmeyer being the narrator. His descriptions helped me picture in my mind what was going on and made me feel as I was getting an insiders view of the action. I felt that he accomplished the goals he set for the book, and by the time I got done reading it I took the stance that religious terrorism is in fact different than other terrorist activities.
Stern's Terror in the Name of God focuses mainly on Islamic terrorists, it begins by addressing
Michael Walzer is an esteemed retired professor from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Walzer has written many books, essays, and articles. His essay, Excusing Terror, is one that best relates to the current events happening around the world. In this essay, Walzer talks about different reasons that people would want to resort to terrorism. In this essay I will argue Walzers view on Terrorism is correct in that terrorism is wrong because it is akin to murder, it is random in who it targets, and no one has immunity. I will also offer an objection to Walzer’s theory and explain why it is not a valid one.
Many things could have been changed in the book. It was too long. They went off subject with the September, 11 2001 terrorists attacks, that are not significant and way off topic, and made the book last too long. If they had not strayed off the path of where the book was going it would have been shorter and probably kept my interest more, not making me want to sleep.
...ated with Islamic Fundamentalism, but many different religions, ages, ethnicities, and gender. He also drives home the point that in order to stop the spread of terrorism people must understand its roots rather than just assuming. Terrorism is a subject that is important for everyone to comprehend because it has spread across the world like wild fire due to globalizations impact on modern society. It has now become an international problem rather than just domestic, therefore it is relevant to all people. Suicide terrorism is a pandemic in this sense because it has gone global. Scientists who study pandemics undergo an incredibly thoughtful process in order to prevent the spread of them. By looking at these processes to cure pandemics, people can learn how to effectively deal with suicide terrorism. Understanding is the key to creating a peaceful society.
Terrorist is a novel by John Updike written in 2006. Ahmad Ashmawy Mulloy, the main character in the story, was instructed in the Muslim faith ever since he was a child of eleven by the Iman Shaikh Rashid, originally from Yemen. The words and teachings of the Qur’an and his devotion to Allah become the centre of Ahmad’s young life which incidentally, lacks all parental guidance. After he graduates from secondary school he gets a job as a truck driver for Excellency Furnishing Stores where he meets Charlie Chehab and his father, from Lebanon and devoted Muslims too. From then on, the young man is manipulated by his elders to perpetrate a terrorist attack against the Lincoln tunnel, below the Hudson River that unites New Jersey with Manhattan, New York. The attack never comes true because Ahmad’s respect and love of a God given life prevail above the Iman’s mandate of hatred towards Americans and their way of life which he had also tried to generate in the boy.
This book had me on the edge of my seat considering I did not hear about anything about this Columbine incident until a class talk and as I started to read this book. I could not understand how the police, Eric’s dad, the friends and family could not have suspected anything from Eric and Dylan. First there was the the police report about Eric's website that was filled with information about Klebold and Harris’s missions and pipe bombs was taken by police but nothing happened. “ This Web page refers to ‘missions’ where possible criminal mischiefs have occurred.Curiously, Burgess made no mention of the pipe bombs, which seems far more serious,” (185). The web site of Eric’s that demonstrated the powerfulness of the bombs, yet Officer Burgess never wrote about the pipe bombs which Eric could then have gotten interviewed or questioned about his pipe bombs and missions. Then there was the one of how the boys friends knew about their guns and pipe bombs but had no idea of the plan of “Judgement Day.” They knew that they were armed with guns and pipe bombs but thought nothing of this. This seems oddly suspicious to me along with many others how they knew this information but the friends of Eric and Dylan thought it was okay.This made others come to the
On September 11, 2001 two highjacked airplanes crashed into the World Trade Towers in New York City. Another jetliner crashed into the Pentagon in Washington D.C. This is a day that no American will ever forget. People could not understand why these people planned and followed through these horrible acts. In the following paper I will used the ideas of Emile Durkeim to explain not only the acts of the terrorists but also the reactions from the American people. People wept for the victims they had never met, pride in America was stronger than ever. What Durkeim processes must have been in place for all these situations to occur?
...aw the reader's attention, and his non-stop action accounts make it hard to put the book down. His dramatic prose conveys a fiction story. He describes himself as a hero fighting the evil side of his own country. He criticizes the CIA and America a lot for what they have been doing, and what they haven't done.
Culture is made up of three main components: ethics, aesthetics, and religion (Lincoln 52). The lines of culture become skewed as it often blends in with political and religious views. In Western Europe during the time of the Reformation, the Church was the central ruler of the society. This meant that religion was not only a cultural view, but also a political one. As time moved on, the Church became less important, but today’s standards still connect religion to culture. This becomes an issue as individuals who are noticeably outside the culture in forms or religion are often judged and looked down upon (Lincoln 56). Due to this outcast it can cause anger to certain religions and culture which can often lead to these acts of violence. With the hate between cultures, religion becomes the justifiable mean on which violence can occur. Many individuals can state that God wants them to make their own religion superior, and one way they can draw attention to their religion is terrorism and other forms of violence. Due to this connection to culture, religion can not be separated into it’s own personal category, as it is forever affected by the changes and culture of the community (Lincoln 57). As time and culture progress, the religion of the community will either change with it, or fight the changes which will often cause conflict. This can be seen in the results of the practice of Jihad, the Reformation and
We also see represntatino of violence within Marguertie Feitlowitz book, A Lexicon of Terror, although different than “The Offical Story,” in regards to how violence is presneted to the reader. Rather then having settle hints to the viewer and or the reader; violence is laid out through personal accounts of indvidudals who face such socital traumas. Within Feitlowitz book, she teels the story of a young women named Susan who on a normal day while riding the bus in broad daylight was abducted, Feitlowitz states: “ “Por el pelo, no” a women pleaded softly as Susana was dragged passed her, “not by the hair.” … What Susana members clearly is the silence: except for the women, no one said a word “ (173). It later states that Susana was being “stripped,
The importance of analyzing terrorism is to understand the impact it has had on all factors mentioned above but also to see what changes it has had on behavior, expression and ethics on the human being. When the attacks of 9/11 occurred on American soil, the American people initially reacted with fear, anxiety and anger. Since then, we are witnessing the second and third order effects of it, impacting human behavior, expression and ethics. 9/11 has affected American people in profoundly deep and lingering ways till this day that are both positive and
Robert Paper argues that, in a way, suicide terrorism can be a logical choice for the individual carrying out the attack. When contemplating whether or not suicide terrorism can be a logical choice, you must be able to put yourself in the place of the “terrorist”. Whether or not someone is considered a terrorist can be a very subjective view, especially from the viewpoint of the person or group that is being terrorized. This requires the observer to exude empathy.We may look at Osama Bin Laden as a terrorist, but to him, he was doing the work of his “God”. The person considered to be a terrorist could be revered as a martyr in their community; someone who ultimately gave their life to perpetuate a particular faith or ideal. While, being a citizen of a country that has endured many tragedies, both on the homefront and abroad; makes these actions disgust me, there are two sides to view from. This subjectiveness is at the heart of figuring out whether or not this is a logical choice. Exploration of this topic shall lead to a greater understanding of the “how” and “why” terrorists commit these devastating activities, and allow those defending from such attack be able to do so. This would allow further safety in the area of homeland security.
Mark Juergensmeyer in his book, Terror in the Mind of God, stated that religion provides the ideological resources for an alternative view of public order (Juergensmeyer, 2003). This supports the previous definition stated earlier by Brian Jenkins who pointed out that radicalization is imposing one’s beliefs on society (Gartenstein-Ross and Grossman, 2009). Juergensmeyer further stated that all religions are inherently revolutionary and have elements of public violence to support their justification in the name of God and a higher being (Jergenmeyer, 2003). Understanding motivations, reasoning and influences of the radicalization process will help contribute to mitigate religious violence along with identifying a proactive approach to prevent conversion to terrorism in the homeland.
Jonathan Fox and Shmuel Sandler . Bringing Religion into International Relations. (June 2004) Palgrave Macmillan. 22 March 2014
Terrorism has been around for centuries and religion-based violence has been around just as long. (Hoffman, 2). The violence was never referred to as terrorism though. Only up to the nineteenth century has religion been able to justify terrorism (Hoffman, 2). Since then, religious terrorism became motivated and inspired by the ideological view (Hoffman, 3). Therefore, it has turned against the main focus of religion and more towards the views of the extremist and what is happening politically (Winchester, 4).