The Act of Terrorism and Its Motivations in the World - Essay Example

Terrorism Insert Insert Introduction Terrorism is an organized use of violence to threaten a government or residents influencing their political or religious ideology. F.B.I defines terrorism, according to international and domestic terrorism. According to U.S Code, “International terrorism” entails acts that are termed dangerous to human life, acts that threaten the civilian population, or acts that can influence the policy of a government. In addition, actions that can cause mass destruction, or homicide is total terrorism. “Domestic terrorism” involves dangerous actions that can affect human life or violate the law of the state within the jurisdiction of the United States of America. Terrorism is not a new occurrence; it has been there for long. It has been used in Syria, Persia, and Palestine. It was employed in India by innocent tourists to pacify their goddess, Kali. Terrorism has changed its face since then, and it is there to stay if not dealt with appropriately. The United States and other ally nations have declared war on terrorism. Though “One man’s terrorist is another man’s fighter”, which means the end of terrorism is not so easy to achieve. Psychological and behavioral factors of terrorism Terrorism is a psychological state that combines mental and physical efforts to create insecurity and fear (Kruglanski et al., 2014). Psychological and behavioral factors depicted include; 1. Aggressive radicalism- this is a factor, which arises due to the failure of identity (identity crises), past criminal records, presence of a charismatic recruiter and an ideology. Some factors like helplessness and stigmatization may give rise to this. Ideology groups such as Isis and Al-Qaeda are labeled as “Islamist” to distinguish them from Islam religion. 2. Necrophilia- this is an attraction to death and no fear of death. This behavior has led to many people committing murder for fun. Necrophilia is sometimes referred to as “unspeakable” crime but causes more harm than good. Necrophilia variation; death, deviance and desire can combine in a way leading to terror (Fullerton, 1978). A person with necrophilia may choose to kill other people before killing himself, or he/she may decide to bomb a crowded area dying with innocent people. Al-Qaeda representative Maulana Inyadulla said, “the Americans love Pepsi-Cola, we love death.” 3. Self-assertion or self-declaration- this is referred to as “absolute will”, most youths who join terror groups gain a complete will to accomplish terror. They mercilessly kill innocent people, Philip J. Palin on September 25, 2014 said “…for evil is always the self-assertion of some self-interest without regard to the whole, whether the whole be conceived as the immediate community” (Fullerton, 1978) (Reinhold Niebuhr, children of light and children of darkness). 4. Egocentric ends- Terrorists are using Islam for their selfish deeds, to seize power for themselves. During anti-terrorism briefing, an Egyptian army major said, "These people have a political goal they want to achieve, and they are just misusing religion and misinterpreting (Islam) to do it." 5. Self-identity- youths are given room for identity as a terrorist. They feel proud of their affiliated terror groups (the al-Qaeda, Isis, and Alshabab) and fight for the group death does not deter them. 6. Youth romantic call and heroism- the young people, are promised love, togetherness, richness, things what they miss, and they are shown how best a hero can be crowned in terrorist society. This has influenced many youths join the terrorist groups for this lure. 7. The act of giving particular significance to an activity-Any terror act is given the best preparations, and close attention. award for the terrorists who will accomplish the law is provided in advance 8. Game inspiration- the youths are motivated by the terror groups to join them to gain goodies, self-identity and more so fight for their rights. Means of communication and influence they have upon advancing terrorist narratives Terrorists use terrorism to communicate to the world. The Quran is most quoted by the terrorists; the ish ti shad or martyrdom verses, which spoke of death, were apparent in most of their speaking. The terror groups like the al-Qaeda use the satellite television and the internet. They try to refresh pan-Muslim identity with a revengeful, rebellious story that Islam is under attack globally by an oppositionist. The leaders are eloquent communicators and have convincing power; the sympathizers take of the need to further the narrative and are given chances to sympathetic television outlets. The internet has played an immense role in conveying the terrorist messages to our doorsteps. The targeted audiences are the youth and mainly use the internet, which the terrorists have made good use of to circulate their radicalization messages, and created a recruiting camp online. The use of media groups like the Global Islamic Media Front, the as-Sahab to ensure daily production and flow of radicalization information. Audiotapes, CDs, DVDs and written sermons, which contain terrorism standpoints and interpretations are distributed to the youth and sympathizers who are curious of the Islam. Psychological and behavioral factors within al Qaeda leadership and affiliate groups. The al Qaeda leaders are polarized they believe in “u versus them” attitude. They are necrophilic in nature, they love death. They are vengeful, they believe that any person or state that is against the activities must be attacked, and its civilians killed (Haynes, 2012).). The leaders have self-will, the will to fight for their groups and Islam religion. They treasure their self-identity, and they will keep it at all cost. They are threat-oriented they continually send out threat messages to non-supporters. The leaders have the vision to radicalize as more youths as possible between ages 22-28 who are strong. Compare and contrast radicalization models that explain terrorist motivations 1. Staircase to terrorism model describes violent radicalization. At the ground floor, stage introduction to materials is done then perceived option to fight unfair treatment is installed. A successful person must have to pass all the five phases. Very few people complete the steps (Robbins, 2014). 2. The jihadi-Salafi radicalization model is a four-step process. It only requires acceptance and dedication. Many people go through this model. 3. Pretch’s model is also a four-stage process, which stars with pre radicalization then conversion to radical Islam group. Then indoctrination (training) is done then finally terror attacks are planned. Motivation factors for radicalization include; Background features, which include struggles for identity, discrimination and lack of company (social integration). Trigger factors, which include mentors, a charismatic leader and events that may lead to activism. Opportunity aspects where a person is exposed to radicalisation through the internet, social groups, learning from leaders in mosques, school, etc. There are many behavioral and psychological factors associated with disengage from terrorism. Disengagement or deradicalization is not an easy task especially to those who have been in the act for quite long. A person’s self-will must be reversed, accepting rehabilitation and possible amnesty from the state can help deradicalization (Haynes, 2012). Some acts like reconciliation, reintegration and dialog can be of help to the society. Conclusion All nations in the world are affected by the act of terrorism directly or indirectly. There is a need for one to fight the ideology. The main action is to stop youth radicalization and recruitment, which will cut off support and labor to undertake the attacks. The society must understand the main reasons why the youths are radicalized and work to curb the possibility, psychological and behavioral forces driving them to terror groups must be checked. All loopholes for terror groups must be sealed in all corners of the globe to end the menace that trade on human life using other persons to be precise the youth in our society. References Fullerton, A. (1978). Necrophilia, murder and high intelligence. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 133(4), 382b-383b. doi:10.1192/bjp.133.4.382b Haynes, J. (2012). Islamism. Religion, radicalization, and resistance. Democratization, 19(3), 602-603. doi:10.1080/13510347.2012.674364 Kruglanski, A., Gelfand, M., Bélanger, J., Sheveland, A., Hetiarachchi, M., & Gunaratna, R. (2014). The Psychology of Radicalization and Deradicalization: How Significance Quest Affects Violent Extremism. Political Psychology, 35, 69-93. doi:10.1111/pops.12163 Robbins, A. (2014). Is all terrorism Local? A Quantitative Analysis of Al Qaeda Affiliation and Rebel Group Behavior. TEF. doi:10.12794/tef.2014.324 Wilner, A., & Dubouloz, C. (2011). Transformative Radicalization: Applying Learning Theory to Islamist Radicalization. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 34(5), 418-438. doi:10.1080/1057610x.2011.561472 Read More