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Essay on the definition of terrorism
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Since 9/11
Chapter seven of the textbook Essentials of Terrorism Concepts and Controversies, by Gus Martin, the author discusses Religious Terrorism as well as all of its elements in excellent detail. Religious terrorism can be defined as “terrorism motivated by an absolute belief that an otherworldly power has sanctioned and commanded the application of terrorist violence for the greater glory of the faith” (Martin, 2017, p. 9). For example, religiously motivated terrorist will violently attack other groups, or nations, whose religious views and values are divergent. It is easy to assume that religious terrorism could have been the first form of terrorism humankind has seen. However, in today’s modern society when most people think of a religious
Before the events of 9/11 the US had been attacked before and we were aware of possible threats. However, these threats, specifically those of Al-Qaeda were not taken seriously by American foreign policy makers or regular Americans alike, so on September 11, 2001 Americans were truly shocked by the scale of devastation and loss of life that occurred. The effect these attacks had on America was incredible. In the years that followed Americans became fearful and discriminatory of religious groups; the government created the Department of Homeland Security and enacted stricter search and seizure laws, and America’s foreign policy became defined by unilateral decision making and preemptive war.
Seeing countless news reports about terrorist attacks or attempts throughout the years, I now believe terrorism under the name of religion is a simple gateway to having authority over someone or the greed of power, thinking it sounds justifiable if you claim “it is an order of God”. As stated in the article Terrorism in the Name of Religion, “Religious terrorist groups often become cheap and effective tools for specific states in the advancement of their foreign policy political agendas”; religious terrorism can often be interpreted is a way to assert a group into one’s beliefs however like Richard and the article mentions, it is an excuse to fulfill a political agenda or go against the government
On September 11th, 2001, four planes were hijacked, two planes hit the twin towers, one hit the pentagon, and one crash-landed in a field in Pennsylvania. Since then the government has been doing everything it can to help with security at airports, in airplanes, and in everyday life. Even though the government has been trying to increase security, terrorists have still been successful. Since 9/11, the government has taken many steps to increase security and decrease terrorism. However, security has increased, while terrorism has not decreased.
September 11, 2001 marked the most horrific day in history for United States of America. The events of this day changed the lives of those residing in America forever. United States was considered somewhat safe, in regards to terrorists’ attacks. However, this all came to a screeching halt when 19 militants known to be a part of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group hijacked four planes for the purpose of destroying targeted areas in the United States. As a result of the deadly attack on the United States, security measures drastically changed. Although, security measures throughout the United States have been in place, extreme caution came into effect. All departments looked at different measures to improve preventing terrorists’ attacks. Department of Homeland Security, Aviation and US Customs and Immigration were some of the main areas that changed their security measures.
On September 11, 2001 a series catastrophic events occurred in New York City, New York. Al-Qaeda planned strategically conducted events, known as suicide attacks. Nineteen al-Qaeda members hijacked four commercial airplanes, including United Airlines Flight 93, American Airlines Flight 11, American Airlines Flight 77 and United Airlines 175. Two of the planes purposely crashed into the World Trade Center buildings. In addition, another plane crashed into the Pentagon in Arlington, VA. and the fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Those passengers on the fourth plane, United Airlines Flight 93, attempted to win control over the plane; however, there were no survivors.
In our current society, we witness series of immorality practiced by adherents of religious virtues. Religious crisis, stealing and several other vices are perpetrated by religious adherents. We currently witness religious crisis by several religious sects like Islam and Christians. The current terrorist acts perpetrated by sects like Boko Haram, Al Qaeda and several other terrorist sects all proclaim religion as their foundation. These are extreme levels of immorality conducted by religious sects and do not go down well with the dictates of religious teachings (Anderson,
On September 11, 2001, terrorists savagely attacked the United States of American. Thousands of individuals lost their lives as two airplanes crashed into the two World Trade Center 1`buildings and the Pentagon. This brutal act shook the world. This terrorists’ attack has changed many aspects of people’s lives worldwide. It not only affected the US but everyone around the world. During the aftermath, we learned that we lost one of our native virgin islanders. US Army, Staff Sargent Maudlyn A. White, 38, born on St. Croix died on active duty in the Pentagon. She was described as a quiet person who was independent. Not only were the Virgin Islands affected by her death, but also the financial decline the islands started to experience. After September 11, the Caribbean was dramatically impacted; security levels rose, tourism levels dropped, and people became more hesitant about travelling.
... can all tie in together yet still be their separate types at the same time. State, religious, and international terrorism are probably the three most common types of terrorism the world experiences. When you look at where they are conducted, a lot happens in developing countries, you can start to see the big picture. Terrorism is everywhere, though it may be labeled different things in different areas. But in the end, it is a group fighting for a belief that they feel is just and true, and they will fight by any means necessary to protect that belief from any perceived threat, real or not. History has shown us that terrorism has always been around, though it has been labeled many things. It has also shown us that it is an evolving tactic, which proves that those groups who feel threatened can and will use any means to protect or fight for what they believe.
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.
The key to identifying the threat posed by a particular terrorist group is its basic tenets, and the level of violence thereof. “Groups that model themselves on an avenging angel or a vindictive god…are more likely to lash out than those whose core myth is the suffering Messiah,” (Stern, p.72). For example, the element that may be both the most prevalent and violent in the world today is fundamental Islamic extremism. With its emphasis on violent martyrdom and conquest on “infidels,” Islam is a religion based on values that are easily twisted to an extreme. Due to their religious ...
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).
The U.S. Department of State defines terrorism as, “The calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”. Whereas the Belgium Red Cross says that terrorism is committed “for the purpose of intimidating the population, forcing a third party to act or destablishing or destroying the fundamental structures of a country or of an international organization”.
A lot of people believe that Muslims, Islam, and/or the Holy Quran encourages killing, fighting, and terrorism. Events such as the 9/11 attack in the United States, the Boston Marathon Bombing, and conflicts in the Middle East causes the media to label Muslims as terrorists. When a specific group of people cause violence to another group it is categorized as ‘hate crime’, but if a Muslim does the same act, the media immediately labels it as ‘terrorism’ (Frater, 2009). As a matter of fact, regarding to the attacks of the mosques in Israel, the media did not use the acts to victimize or stereotype Judaism. Moreover, some extremist groups use Islam as a tactic to gain followers even though a lot of their practices go against the teachings of the Quran. A person would not be considered a Muslim if they spread fear or terrorize others. The Quran clearly states, “You shall not take life, which God has made sacred, except by way of justice and law.” (Quran, 6:151). Islam is against any force or violence towards another person. Often the word ‘Jihad’ is taken out of context by violent militants; it means to strive or struggle for the sake of ones’ self improvement with respect to their spirituality. Religious and political groups use Jihad to justify ...
“The trauma of the attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., which were quickly interpreted as religious as well as political phenomena, provoked yet another body of studies. On the other hand, general studies of the relationship between religion and violence are rare, and they often appear to be somewhat one-sided...
Political violence is the leading cause of wars today. Personal agendas have led to many of the political objectives that cause violence today this has caused many problems throughout the world and will continue to do so until a solution to this issue is found. Political objectives have been advanced involuntarily dependent upon the kind of government a nation exercises. For instance, in a democratic nation political groups must worry about convincing the majority in order to advance ethically. Those who try to influence the majority through acts of violence are considered today as “terror” organizations. Though perhaps if it were not because of the recent 9/11 terror attacks that maybe such warrants would not be seen as terror attacks, but instead the result of partisan advancement. Acts of terrorism have been around throughout the evolution of mankind. Terror attacks have even been traced back as far as the religious roots of an ancient middle east (Ross, Will Terrorism End?, 2006). However as man evolved, so did terrorism. Today’s extremism involves some of the main characteristics of ancient terrorism, but much more developed. Political advancement is no longer the root cause of terrorism acts. Instead influxes of “holy” wars have been appended the prior definition of terrorism. Mistakably modern terrorism has been confused for Political violence with political objectives, but research will establish that the nature of terrorism is fundamentally different from other forms of political violence.