Religious Terrorism Religious terrorism has flooded the news in the United States since the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. After the events of that day, religious terrorism has become a broad term when referencing any act of violence that even loosely can be tied to any given religion, and more importantly when discussing the events that occur in nations that the US finds unfavorable. The term “religious terrorism” has become tainted and skewed in this country to only reference actions tied to Muslim nations or peoples, and somehow justify the acts of white-Americans by making them seem unrelated to race or religious beliefs. It is important that people understand exactly what religious terrorism is what actions fall under its distinctions.
It is defined as “terrorism carried out based on motivations and goals that have a predominantly religious character or influence”. In the article, Defining and Distinguishing Secular and Religious Terrorism, Walter Laqueur is quoted arguing that “religious terrorism is the ‘new terrorism of the right’ and that it has more to do with nationalism than religion”. It is true that nationalism and religion are closely tied and that religion heavily influences the political views of many nations, however when looking at terrorist acts it is important to decipher between those acts that are more heavily politically motivated, and those that stem from religious beliefs and are meant to inflict or impose the region of the terrorist group on the victimized group or peoples. In order to better understand religious terrorism and the aspects that distinguish it from traditional terrorism, its it helpful to look at specific examples of uniquely religious goals that a particular group may hope to attain. Anticipation or instigation of the apocalypse, the creation of a religious government, and the religious cleansing of a nation or specific group of people. Each of these goals are uniquely religious and typically harbor little to no political
When looking at individual events it is important to consider the facts rather than the assumptions and swayed opinions that come to us through the news and other media sources. It is easy to make connections between religions and events that occur due to extremists from that religion but in order to fully understand the nature of terrorism events all details need to be considered. Passing judgments about an entire religion based off the actions of few only adds to social issues that rule events like this in the first place. An article published by the IDSA entitled Terrorism, Ideology and Misconceptions, they write, “however, in our times, Islam is often being portrayed in association with violence, aggression and terrorism. This is largely due to the media, both national and international, which has constantly depicted Muslims in such stereotypical ways”. This quote demonstrates the power that the actions of few have over the impression of
In his essay, Rodriguez believes that the diplomatic affairs we see on the evening news are merely being disguised as a religious war. The fight over oil or land when in reality it is the fight between whose side God is on, the attacks under the control of Al Qaeda when perhaps it’s the greed for power or world domination. According to Richard, these religious wars are allowing terrorism to become prevalent; often times within the same culture (147).
In today’s society the word “terrorism” has gone global. We see this term on television, in magazines and even from other people speaking of it. In their essay “Controlling Irrational Fears After 9/11”, published in 2002, Clark R. Chapman and Alan W. Harris argue that the reaction of the American officials, people and the media after the attacks of 9/11 was completely irrational due to the simple fact of fear. Chapman and Harris jump right into dismembering the irrational argument, often experienced with relationships and our personal analysis. They express how this argument came about from the terrorist being able to succeed in “achieving one major goal, which was spreading fear” among the American people (Chapman & Harris, para.1). The supporters of the irrational reaction argument state that because “Americans unwittingly cooperated with the terrorist in achieving the major goal”, the result was a widespread of disrupted lives of the Americans and if this reaction had been more rational then there would have been “less disruption in the lives of our citizens” (Chapman & Harris, para. 1).
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 ...
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
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 various terrorist attacks performed by hijackers across America created a stigma around the Muslim religion. The events were categorized as terrorist attacks by the Islamic extremists who wish to overpower other governments. Islam is a religion founded upon peace and high morality as stated within the Quran. After the attacks on 9/11 the image of the Muslim religion became filled with violence and bloodshed. As statistics show from the FBI, “anti-Muslim hate crimes are approximately five times more frequent than they were before 2001” (Frumin). With the rise in discrimination against the religious group as a whole, extremists, radicals, and moderate everyday worshiping believers have been categorized together into one general group. In accordance to this assumption, the number of mosque vandalism has increased since the events of September 11th. There has also been a production of anti-Muslim rhetoric produced, fueling the discrimination against the religious group. The FBI has heightened surveillance around mosques and conducted ‘voluntary interviews of Arab and Muslim Americans (Frumin). The Muslim population within America has received many discriminatory actions against them from the government and the American population as a whole, all stemming from the events of 9/11 created by Islamic
Categorical terrorism, according to Jeff Goodwin, is defined as “the strategic use of violence and threats of violence, usually intended to influence several audiences, by oppositional political groups against civilian or noncombatants who belong to a specific entity, religious or national group, social class or some other collectivity, without regard to their individual identities or roles.” More so, in terms of definition, according to a study done by Jeffrey Record in 2003, there was a count of over 109 definitions of terrorism, covering 22 different categorical elements. During the 70s and 80s, the United Nations struggled to define the term, finally coming up with the following definition: “Criminal acts intended or calculated to provoke a state of terror in the general public, a group of persons or particular persons for political purposes are in any circumstance unjustifiable, whatever the considerations of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or any other nature that may be invoked to justify them.”
Being a Muslim in today’s society is not very easy. The most common misconception about Muslims is that they are terrorists. Even though many people just say to ignore hateful words, it is hard to ignore people when they say “you are a terrorist” right in front of your face. When a person talks about the religion Islam, they cannot take the word terrorist out of their minds because that is the usual stereotype people make towards this religion now. Each global terrorism act that occur will always point their first fingers towards the Muslim community, which gives us no opportunity to prove ourselves as a good community. The religion of Islam mostly consist of peaceful people who mind their own business but because of that
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”.
The belief that Islam encourages terrorist activities first began after the catastrophic events on September 11, 2001. On this day, Islamic extremists hijacked four planes that were flying above America, which caused approximately 3,000 deaths (Kean). Our nation as well as the attitude towards Muslim individuals have changed since this unforgettable day in history. The initial understanding and perception of Muslims often root from stereotypes that concern Middle Easterners as a whole. Unfortunately, the word “terrorist” is a label given to those of an Muslim or Arab descent and typically, wear long beards. Although there have been many other forms of terrorist attacks by several ethnic groups, the emphasis
Terrorism is an act of implementing extreme measures over a group of people in order to restore a balance that was unjustly taken away. Radical Islamist use this form of practice as a way to gain back power and domain over what they believe was once rightfully theirs to begin with. Islamists try to strengthen the role that they have over the world by forcing people to live by what they believe in and to practice those beliefs that they are given. Radical Islamist believe that God is the maker of all laws, and countries that do not rely solely on this belief should be punished by acts of terrorism.
After 9/11 has induced negative attitudes towards Muslim peoples who tend to be strongly associated with any act of terrorism. The media has played a colossal role in developing such negative association wherein it constantly portrays Muslim people in combination with violent terrorist acts. It does so in a way that they both go hand-and-hand. In other words, it has made it as though the Islamic religion is synonymous with terrorism. The media has perpetuated Muslim stereotypes over the years that followed the 9/11 incident. Because of this, society has developed, and still has developed, this prejudiced mindset about the Islamic religion and the Muslim communities around the world. People immediately assume that any violent act being depicted through the media is the direct result of Muslims. They automatically generate this idea that the act was performed by a Muslim terrorist even when they were not involved whatsoever. Regardless of whether it was true or not, Islamic religion and its Muslim adherents are at the top of societies’ agenda just waiting for the evidence to be generated so that they can then safely blame them for such world affairs. Again, this has led to the attack on the Islamic religion itself wherein people have come to postulate Islam as an act of oppression, violence and hatred towards non-Muslims. Anti-Muslim sentiments and campaigns have resulted from such misinformation the media has been generating and feeding its viewers.
The world is filled with different religions and different ideologies formed around governments and political organizations. The problem that arises from not separating church and state issues is that the government tends to force the citizens of the nation to worship as the administration deems fit. Within these religious groups are extremist, and these members can be the deadliest of all the parishioners. Acts of religious terrorism are the responsibility of devout extremists that commit acts of horror in the name of many different religions. While many terrorist actions are committed in the name of religion, there is not one religion that is responsible for all spiritual acts of terrorism.
America has been on a mission to destroy terrorist threats with the War on Terror ever since the brink of disaster of 9/11. Al Qaeda terrorists hijacked four planes and crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11th, 2001. This has disrupted the balance of once the strongest nation in the world. Many believe this terrorist insurgence was bound to happen due to the past history. According to Ph.D. Zalman 9/11 dated all the way back to 1979 when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and set up a procommunist leader. The United States in return funded soldiers and forces to go against the invasion. As a result to the invasions, Saudi established Osama Bin Laden as the leader of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization. With Osama as the commander, Al Qaeda launched a terrorist attack against America in retaliation. As a result, Americans were distraught and sought revenge, creating the War on Terror. The War on Terror is a costly project, but is the only way to keep peace in the United States.
Terrorism has a tremendous impact on society. It is a rational act of violence and its purpose is to change behavior in a specific society. Terrorism is a political act that is meant to achieve a goal through the act of violence. The nature of terrorism is the nonselective targeting of individuals or a group in society with a goal. The intentions of