Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
are religions the root of violence? essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: are religions the root of violence? essay
The reality of religious violence is prominent in our world today, and because this is true there has been a substantial impact on how religion is reflected on in our society. In this paper I will outline how the al Qaeda attack of 9/ 11 demonstrates religion as a force that is negative in society, and how the effects of 9/11 and religious violence can condemn religion as a whole.
The 9/ 11 attacks were a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks launched by the Islamic terrorist group al Qaeda upon the United States in New York City and the Washington D.C. area on September 11, 2001. There were nearly 3000 casualties suffered as a result of 9/11. The casualties consisted of the people who occupied the four airplanes that were hijacked; the people in the world trade center, those on street level who died from falling debris, people at the pentagon, the hijackers, law enforcement officers, paramedics and many firefighters.
Al Qaeda perceived to be motivated by religious backing, as the former leader of al Qaeda, Osama Bin Laden, declared a holy war on America. As transcribed in a video message by Osama Bin laden, the motivation behind the attacks was to fight back against oppression of Muslims and restore freedom to their nation. Bin Laden further explained that his actions on 9/11 were a reply to the American presence in two of their holy lands. He stated he was defending his sanctuary.
This is an obvious example of how religion can be a force of bad in society. Violence in religion is not unique to al Qaeda, but has been prevent in religion though out history, and is usually hallmarked by religion attempting to uphold beliefs or to defend their faith. However, in my view, I believe that religious violence is inconsistent wi...
... middle of paper ...
...d scriptures, and from that individuals relate with the scriptures of their choosing. It is my belief that religious violence is a matter of circumstance and not solely motivated by faith.
I believe 9/11 to demonstrate religion as a force of bad in society because not only was it not in line with the underlying positive principles in religion, but also because it can cause society to condemn religion as a whole. Through my analysis above I outlined how there is a strong connection between religion and violence; however, it can be said that terrorist attacks and violence in religion are not solely motivated by religious principles and teachings; and as discussed in Krueger`s article, can be circumstance driven. It would be wrong for people to condemn religion in its entirety due to the inaccurate and popular belief that religious violence is motivated by faith alone.
Lewis clearly and entirely pointed out key events explaining the choices to be made by the people of the Islamic faith. This paper highlighted just a few of the many key events. Lewis says, “Most Muslims are not fundamentalists, and most fundamentalists are not terrorists, but most present-day terrorists are Muslims and proudly identify themselves as such.” He also expertly points out, “Terrorism requires only a few. Obviously the West must defend itself by whatever means will be effective. But in devising means to fight the terrorists, it would surely be useful to understand the forces that drive them.”(Lewis. Introduction) In the end, I agree with and commend Bernard Lewis on pointing out that a single religion cannot be blamed for the acts of small groups of radicals.
Many terrorists believe that their religion is the only true religion, and they use it to justify violence (“Islamic Terrorism”). Most Muslim terrorists follow Jihad. Jihad is an Islamic perception that the way to integrate their religion is by massive force (“Of True Muslims and Terrorists”). Jihad is considered the “sixth pillar” of faith in Islam because it is the constant fight towards good. It is the idea of focusing on God and turning away from those that oppose God (David E. Long, 91). The terrorists believe that their religion is what everyone should follow, so they would naturally require personnel in power in Muslim states to either convert to their religion or resign from their terms. They will first threaten a leader that if they do not change, the terrorists will use violence. Sometimes, violent acts come about without any warning or previous threats (“Of True Muslims and Terrorists”). Islam is a proselytizing religion, which means it uses violence to convert people to its faith. This is because, in the ...
September 11, 2001 is known as the worst terrorist attack in United States history. On a clear Tuesday morning, there were four planes that were hijacked and flown into multiple buildings by a terrorist group named al Qaeda. This group, led by Osama bin Laden, killed nearly 3,000 people. Out of those 3,000 people more than 400 police and 343 firefighters were killed along with 10,000 people who were treated for severe injuries. Many lives were taken, and to this day, people still suffer from the attack. September 11th is the most influential event of the early twenty-first century because it made an increase in patriotism, it caused a rise in security throughout the nation, and it had a tremendous effect of thousands of lives.
The morning of September 11, 2001 began with the hijacking of four planes from Boston’s Logan airport. The goal of the fateful event was to cripple the United States economy by destroying what was considered to be the center of its power, Wall Street, the Pentagon and the White House (Amadeo). The terrorists successfully hit one of their targets, both towers of the American Trade Center, by 9 AM the morning of September 11th. The Pentagon in Washington D.C. was the next target with American Airlines Flight 77 crashing into it around 9:30 AM. The last plane, Flight 93, which was headed for targets in Washington, either the White House or the Capitol Building, crashed into western Pennsylvania after the passengers attacked the terrorists on board (Amadeo). The death total was staggering, 2975 people died in the attacks on September 11, 2001. This number surpassed the number of people who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 1941
A series of four terrorist attacks organized by the Islamic terrorist group al-Qaeda targeted the United States. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, the third hit the Pentagon and fourth crashed in Pennsylvania on to a field. Over 3,000 people were killed along with more than 400 police officers and firefighters. It marks a treacherous day in history as it left many heartbroken and others fearful of a faith. Shortly after the 9/11 attacks the American people began to invest great trust within the Federal Government, seeking protection. After some time the mourning of the people began to transform to anger of the potential influence behind the attacks. Islam. Hate groups began to rise, quoting lines from the Quran and defining the entire faith as a threat to the nation. Although close to 60 Muslims got killed in the 9/11 attacks this event began to be seen as Muslims vs. Non-Muslims. This then made the attacks a scapegoat to hate crimes done towards
The plan to carry out the 9/11 attacks was beneficial to Bin Laden by Khalid Sheik Mohammed, his informer. (Carr 298). Planes where chosen carefully for them. They chose a Tuesday because the flights where usually quiet. (Stewart 51). Before the attacks on 9/11 the hijackers all took flight lessons in the U.S. costing them $250 each time. (Stewart 53). The time they where taking flying lessons, some say that the hijackers hid the weapons in the airport. Most people say they had help on the inside (Stewart 51). A month before the 9/11 attacks Bin Laden had told the U.S he had planned attacks on us. He says that the United States is a place of wickedness and corruption. Bin Laden Said “it was a Muslims duty to kill Americans”(Stewart 49). September 15, 2001 Newsweek said “F...
Sedgwick, M. (2004). Al-Qaeda and the nature of religious terrorism. Terrorism and Policical Violence, 16(4), 795-814.
This quote shows the unexpectedness of the attacks, and how terrible the attacks were. The September 11 attacks were performed by an Islamic group called al-Qaeda. The motives of which were stated by their leader, Usama Bin Laden, when he declared Holy War on the US. In 2002, Osama Bin Laden stated that he attacked the US because of their support in attacking Muslims in Somalia, supporting Russian violations against Muslims, the United
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.
Every state, culture, and society in the world has some form of religion. The most popular religions in the world today are Christianity, Buddhism, and the Muslim religions. Members of every religion follow some form of philosophy or ideology that shape their thinking and behaviors. One common thing about the existing religions is the presence of a supreme being. People misinterpret existing religious ideologies serving their personal interests that at times turn out to cause war. Religious ideologies brainwash populations who end up acting violently in different deviant forms (Richardson, 518). Religions use specific ideologies to make people living in a society violent to peaceful members who may fight back in self-defense.
In discussions of the world would be a more peaceful place without religions, one controversial issue has been placing blame on one 's own religion when wars or conflict ending in violence has occurred. The question is asked. Does religion play a role in the violence going on around the world? On the one hand, many people may agree with this belief and argues that religion in a way always has played a role in the amount of violence in our society. On the other hand, the public contends that as humans we know what were are doing and our religion has nothing to do with the violence that we create. Others even maintain that we use religion as an excuse or as an answer to why we created so much violence. My own view on this topic is taking away
Conflict and violence is around us throughout the world and the mass media has made a huge impact of what we think of violence and the relation to religion, especially in the last couple of years. In addition violence has been considered as being part of human nature and comes from our biological structure of aggression. It is an out let for us to relieve stress levels and some believe that it can be a device of vengeance and a positive mechanism to human survival. For example it is a system for the survival of the fittest and reproduction. Another way that we can look at it on a different spectrum is the way religious beliefs utilise non violent mechanisms that try to diminish the impacts of aggressive behaviour. When we think of religion and violence we do not think to situate them together. This is because “theologically, it can certainly be concluded that all religions have the goal of peace” . People who are outsider of a religious tradition can make many generalisations. In this essay it will discuss why some religious traditions in South East Asia oppose violence. In addition the rejections of violence have shaped and changed religious practices within Jainism, Hinduism and Buddhism. There have also been many generalisations about the above traditions. Moreover I will try and answer why non violence has become a generalisation and how it has impacted India as a whole.
Throughout examples in history, current events, and religious teachings, religion severely impacted history and world. Its power to partition groups of people is demonstrated through various events, such as the Crusades and the September 11 attacks. Whether from the past or current events, the dividing force of religion plays a vital role in shaping society today.
Most religions specify that violence is not allowed and yet extremists will cause major destruction in the name of their God. However, some people are too quick to blame religion on terrorism (Winchester, 2). In actuality, it is the nature of human beings to prove that their way is right, there way of doing that is using fear and destruction (Winchester, 3). It is not religion that causes the terr...
Religious Fundamentalism is not a modern phenomenon, although, there has received a rise in the late twentieth century. It occurs differently in different parts of the world but arises in societies that are deeply troubled or going through a crisis (Heywood, 2012, p. 282). The rise in Religious Fundamentalism can be linked to the secularization thesis which implies that victory of reason over religion follows modernization. Also, the moral protest of faiths such as Islam and Christianity can be linked to the rise of Religious Fundamentalism, as they protest the influence of corruption and pretence that infiltrate their beliefs from the spread of secularization (Heywood, 2012, p. 283). Religious Fundamentalists have followed a traditional political thought process yet, have embraced a militant style of activity which often can turn violent (Heywood, 2012, p. 291). To be a fundamentalist is to wholly believe in the doctrine they are preaching or professing and will go to any lengths possible to have these beliefs implemented by their government , even using force or violence ( Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 149). All religions have a fundamentalist element, however, there is more of a significant conflict with Islamic fundamentalists and Christian fundamentalists. It is wrongly thought fundamentalism is exclusively linked to Islamic fundamentalist such as the jihadi group al-Qaeda nonetheless Christianity is the world's largest religion and is bond to have some fundamentalist component such as the Christian New Right in the Unites States of America (Garner, Ferdinand and Lawson, 2007, p. 150).