Terrorism - Research Paper Example

However, in a survey conducted among Moroccan respondents, it was noted that they perceived suicide bombings as a reasonable strategy against westerners such as the Americans. Islamic communities, in their support for terrorism, may be influenced by their opinions about western countries or their attitudes regarding the ways to deal with wars and the larger world. Due to such significant factors, they may perceive that Islam is greatly under threat. Differences that are specific to each country may be considered as relevant conditions with which to base one nation’s support for terrorism, particularly their political, social, and religious aspects.

Such findings, however, may not be completely consistent with other investigations about the establishment and expansion of Islamic terrorism. Majority of relevant studies demonstrate differences when it comes to focus, emphasizing the underlying motivators of the members of terrorist organizations such as certain groups focusing on suicide bombing especially when most of their strategies have failed (Crenshaw, 1998) or when they have the need to compete and obtain public support (Bloom, 2005).

It has also been found that countries who are in the transition process from being authoritarian to democratic are at an increased risk for supporting terrorist activities (Abadie, 2004).It has also been suggested that countries who are governed through authoritarianism may have most of the resources needed to combat terrorism (Gause, 2005). Nonetheless, many still perceive that support for terrorism among Islamic countries are mainly driven by their strong opposition against the policies of powerful western countries such as the US.

Specifically, Islamic countries that are in agreement with the suicide actions against Americans do not necessarily oppose their cultural freedoms; rather they object the US foreign policies especially those that concern the Middle East. Other factors may or may not be influential to the support of Islam for terrorism; for instance, it was found out by Haddad and Khashan (2002) that younger individuals who support political Islam tend to approve more of the September 11 attacks on the US. However, educational attainment and income do not affect their support for such terrorist attempts.

In another study by Krueger and Maleckova (2002), poverty and low educational attainment do not contribute to the Islamic citizens’ support for terrorist activities. Interestingly, it was found out that young individuals, especially women, who frequently make use of their computers, strongly perceive that Islam is being threatened, and desire for religious leaders to have a more important function in political activities are most likely to provide support for terrorism against civilians (Fair and Shepherd, 2006).

Moreover, those who are living in poverty are less likely to be supportive of such activities. In a 2005 survey for measuring Islamic countries’ support for terrorism, certain factors were considered such as the respondents’ views on Islam, their opinions regarding democracy, and their attitudes toward the US (Wike, 2006). Demographic variables were shown to not have strong influence on Islam support for terrorism; however, it was indicated that gender played a role among Islamic citizens and their support