Threat of Religion-Based Terrorism - Essay Example

Threat of Religion-Based Terrorism School Affiliation: Often, religious groups are seen as a solution to some of the social vices that seem to overwhelm the government. Moreover, previous regimes have seen them on the forefront in the fight against drug-use and immorality. However, both presently and in the past, religion has not been free form blame for some of the most shocking atrocities committed against other humans. Many times, the source of these crimes is the tendency by religious groups to exhibit insurmountable intolerance.

This paper will use the provided case and other information in analyzing the current affairs with regard to religion-based terrorism. Threat of religion-based terrorism is more rife currently than ever before as evidenced by a couple of things especially extremist groups. For instance, the last five years a number of religious groups have emerged where terror activities have been carried out. Surprisingly, these groups justify their actions on their religious ideologies. One example entails the Islamic State, which is the latest group, which claims that killing those of other religions will see the followers rewarded in the after-life.

Ironically, the main leaders of these groups seldom engage in these activities; instead, their followers who are brainwashed.Terror activities are synonymous in these groups where unimaginable acts of human rights abuse are carried in the most heinous way. For instance, the aforementioned group has been responsible for a number of deaths with three Americans, two Britons, one Jordanian, and two Japanese among the number (Musarrat & Khan, 2014). In order to bolster its activities in as many regions as possible, this extremist group engages in radicalization.

Here, people from many regions are enticed in to joining these activities using propaganda and sympathy. A case in point is the IS tendency to portray the West as inhuman.Additionally, the Africans have not been without a problem of their own concerning the same issue. First, the Al-Shabaab has terrorized many of the Somali nationals in the name of religion. Similarly, the Nigeria’s Boko Haram has proved to be a challenge to the government, and a number of people have lost their lives. Using the same tactics as the IS, the Nigerian group maims and carries out other heinous activities, and justify itself through religious ideologies (Musarrat & Khan, 2014).

The activities may seem new to the current generation, but history shows that there have been similar cases where religion was a catalyst to terrorism. For instance, Father Charles Coughlin was a famous priest in the 30s who called blatantly exhibited hate others holding differing religious opinions. Additionally, Dr. Theodore Stoddard expressed racial discrimination and labeled Jews as ‘Christ-killers’ (White, 2001). Clearly, religious intolerance started earlier but the effects are identical irrespective of denomination.

Normally, when these cases erupt, there is a tendency for some religions to try mergers, which hardly lasts long. After the world war 1, religious groups in the US tried uniting but the unity did not last long mainly because of ideologies and traditional values (White, 2001).similarly, with the IS and other religious groups posing threats to many people, Christianity and Islam seem to be speaking the same voice. However, unity is not impossible currently in religious because the core foundation, which is beliefs, is different.

Evidently, religious based terrorism is characterized by inhuman treatment of others who fail to subscribe to another’s beliefs. As White (2001) found out, “religious doctrines serve as the cement holding the right-wing extremism in place” (p.16). When these religious groups tenaciously hold on to what is taught, the mistreatment of other humans is justified. Therefore, it could be concluded that religious-based terrorism is a real vice, which needs urgent addressing. As indicated above, lives are lost whenever these groups use their ideologies to justify inhumane treatment of others.

ReferencesMusarrat, P., & Khan, S. (2014). Terrorism and Politico-Religious Extremism in Pakistan Post 9/11. Jpag, 4(1).White, J.R. (2001) Political eschatology: A Theory of Anti-Government Extremism. The American Behavioral Scientist