Religious terrorists are modern manifestations of historical traditions of extremism - Essay Example

will evaluate various literature and research already carried out, which examines religiously stimulated violence and terrorism by Christian, Jewish as well as Islamic extremists. Efforts to better understand the root causes of different types of religious political violence have been carried out through studies. They give hope that they might provide an opening for a more productive negotiations between political and various religious leaders of all faiths on ways to minimize religiously stimulated terrorism.

Religious terrorism is an act of violence, which is influenced by religious beliefs. Mostly, the perpetrators commit the violent act based on their personal goals, which may or may not necessarily value other people’s values and beliefs. They also believe that their actions are justified due to their belief that it is for a greater good. However, this is not always the case. History redirects to the significant role that religion play in political and social change. All around the world, there are various instances of faith-grounded and faith-stimulated persons, groups and associations.

Current examples include the high prominence of the African church with its leaders during the anti-apartheid fight in South Africa. Another example is the liberty theologians of Latin American republics who got involved in societal reorganization and political action in reaction to the human need and social discriminations they witnessed around them (Cherribi, 2009). Although there exists quite a number of religious activities that were meant to fight for the better good of a population, there are, however many instances that prove otherwise.

In these cases, their activities tend to be selfish and only advocate for the good a smaller group that shares the same interests. Therefore, I consider it to be a constructive way of change. A particular religious group can be perceived to be extremist or terrorist, if and when its actions instill direct or indirect harm to the