Religious Terrorism - Research Paper Example

Religious Terrorism Research Abstract Terrorism can be considered as the most heated topic of 21st century. Almost all the countries of the world are one or other way affected by the offensive activities of terrorism. Various factors act as a motivator for terrorism including political, economic and social change. The affiliation of religion with terrorism may not sound to be realistic but its association with violence can be found from the past standpoint. Nearly, half of the modern terrorist organizations are widely making use of religion for defending and justifying their wicked actions. The purpose of this study was to assess the historical and present-day circumstances of the religious terrorism. The study also intended to draw differences between the secular and religious terrorism. Religious terrorism in the present context is featured with suicide attacks and human bombs and has indiscriminate targets while the scenario in the past was completely different. Previously, religious terrorism had discriminate targets and was selective towards weapons. The growing severity and intensity of religious terrorism has created greater needs for the global policymakers to frame policies to reduce its effects on society. Seeking global cooperation and support from people can be considered to be an effective component towards curbing the concerned issue. Introduction Terrorism in the recent times has emerged as a highly debated and extremely complex phenomenon. Terrorism is observed to be driven by several factors including political, economic, culture and religion. Regardless of its causes, terrorism is broadly associated with violence, aggression and tyranny. Among these stirring factors, religious justification is often combined with other underlying factors behind terrorism (Juergensmeyer, 2005). There are several evidences revealing the intrinsic afflation between religion and violence. Nonetheless, terrorism in the modern world in the name of religion which is often connoted as religious terrorism has materialized at a large scale. Religious terrorism has grown dramatically in terms of its frequency of operations, scale of violence and global reach. While at the same time, dramatic decline has been ascertained in terms of secular terrorism. The increasing extremist behavior related to religious terrorism has accorded as one of the central issues of concern for the global community (Otis, 2012). Correspondingly, this study aims at assessing the historical and present-day circumstances of religious terrorism along with determining the differences between secular terrorism and religious terrorism. In order to meet the goals of this study, review of literature pertaining to the issue identified will be conducted. Besides, critical analysis of the issue will be duly undertaken followed by drawing concrete conclusion and recommendations. Literature Review According to Al-Khattar (2003), religion is a broad concept and a universal phenomenon that has far-reaching impact on the human lives and the overall society as well. Religion is a combination of heritage, beliefs and ideologies shared by a group of people. Although the term religion is often used as analogous to peace, brotherhood and respect yet in the recent times, the term is widely gaining popularity because of its connotation with illegal activities such as terrorism. According to Badey (2010), the Thugs of India, the Nizari Ismailis of Persia and Syria are the historical antecedents of the present religious terrorism (Badey, 2010). Similarly, Rapoport (1984) stated that the thugs were the early religion-based terrorist groups that were primarily active in the different regions of India. Unlike the modern religious based terrorism, primary audiences for thugs had been the deity subject to religious conceptions. Moreover, thugs executed their activities where victims were made to experience terror as an offering to Kali (Hindu deity of destruction). The actions of religious terrorists in the modern environment such as explosion of bombs are widely noticed by people as a path taken to attract considerable attention. The actions of thugs were largely unnoticed by the public but great deal of fear existed in the minds of people regarding their terrors. Another traditional religion-based-terrorist group is often associated with the Nizari Ismailis. Different from thugs, Nizari Ismailis had political goals. The primary target of Nizari Ismailis was the governments of states. Nizari Ismailis had political goals but their major purpose was to fulfill or purify Islam within the community (Rapoport, 1984). Al-Khattar (2003) firmly argued that since last two decades, several groups across the world are using their religion as a tool for justifying and defending illegal violence particularly the terrorist activities driven by the killing of innocent people and mass destruction of property. Furthermore, religion and terrorism traditionally share long connotation. In this regard, during the first half of the twentieth century religion-based-terrorism was dominant to ethnic and nationalist separatists. Religion-based terrorism in the last two decades has surfaced again. More than half of the terrorist groups across the world are currently making extensive use of religion as one of the prime motivators for carrying out their outrageous acts. Dating back to 1980s, Al-Khattar (2003) noted that this era witnessed the emergence of first two religion-based terrorist groups (Al-Khattar, 2003). The first two religion-based-terrorist groups were the Iranian-backed Shi’a organizations al-Dawa and the Committee for safeguarding the Islamic Revolution (Hoffman, 2013). The early emergence of religion-based-terrorism was very small in number. Nevertheless, there has been a dramatic upsurge in terms of their numbers and operations. The number of religion-based terrorism shot up to 11 from 2 terrorist groups during the year 1992. Responding to the rapidly increasing religion-based-terrorist groups, Al-Khattar (2003) further propounded that by the year 1996 almost half of the terrorist groups were actively operating their contemptible activities in the name of religion (Al-Khattar, 2003). Pedahzur (2013) argued that religion based justification in the realm of political and other forms of violence are not a new norm. Evidence from the past can be traced to identify the relationship between the religion and the violence. Traditionally, religious communities were widely engaged in using violence to promote political and social changes. During the ancient and medieval period, religion was manifested in several forms of violence and was not limited to clash between sub-groups rather it was rampantly manifested in violent clashes between state actors and state coalition. Terrorists during the 19th century were primarily driven by the anarchistic ideologies. Conversely, last thirty years have witnessed significant transformation in the ideologies of terrorists. Responding to the changes in the terrorist ideologies, Pedahzur (2013) has figuratively stated the growth of religion-based-terrorism. Pedahzur (2013) views the dramatic increase in the religious terrorism as a significant phenomenon in the domestic and international context. The early religious terrorism activities were particularly characterized by hierarchical structure and their operations were confined within in the domestic boundary. Furthermore, Pedahzur (2013) attempted to draw differences between the ideologies of religious terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, The Harakat Ul-Mujahidin (HUM) and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LT) with their ancestors wherein the primary difference between them was the strong religious affinity which was generally not apparent with their antecedents (Pedahzur, 2013). According to Morgan (2004), the practice of terrorism across the world has undergone radical changes. In the recent times the aspect of categorical extremism is widely apparent in several terrorist groups across the spectrum of religion that has emerged as a major factor behind this change. Morgan (2004) stated that in the past terrorists were relatively dominated by political and social rationale but now most of the terrorist organizations are engaged in offensive act of death and destruction which are viewed by them as sacramental on the eschatological level. Notably, unlike secular terrorist organizations which were involved in the execution of violent activities for promoting some subjugated population, the religious terrorist groups have no audience for their offensive acts. Religiously driven terrorist groups are engaged in attacking the symbol of modern state (state secularism) (Morgan, 2004). In accordance with Männik (2011), the present state of religious terrorism has widely given prominence to suicide terrorism and has constantly tempted towards causing mass causalities by using mass destruction and highly sophisticated weapons such as chemical and nuclear (Männik, 2011). Juergensmeyer (2012) noted that religious terrorism is difficult to combat than the terrorism driven by other motivational elements such as political (Juergensmeyer, 2012). Nowadays, terrorist groups are predominately affiliated to radical Islam and are characterized by violent activities clouded by religion. The modern form of religious terrorism is widely involved in targeting civilians. According to Kibble (2002), the terrorist attacks on World Trade Centre on 9 September, 2001 in the US was one of the most terrible incidents which represents the severity of action that is undertaken by religious terrorism in the present day context (Kibble, 2002). Critical Analysis The notion of terrorism is not a new norm rather the dimension of religion has inherent affiliation with terrorism from the historic standpoint. During ancient and medieval period, many religious communities were involved in extreme activities. At the same time, the thugs in India and Nizari Ismailis of Persia and Syria were the antecedent of the present form of religious terrorism. Although few of the conventional forms of religious terrorism were also driven by political motives but the intensity of their operations were limited to domestic periphery only (Rapoport, 1984). Clearly, the conventional forms of religious terrorism groups such as thugs had audience in the form of deity subject to religious conceptions and the primary reason behind experiencing terror by the victims was generally validated as offering to God. Nevertheless, the world has seen dramatic transformation within the terrorist organizations over the last two decades. Respectively, during the 1980s, religious terrorism started surfacing once again. During the early 1980s, two terrorist groups categorized themselves as religion-based- terrorist organizations. These two groups were widely involved in using religion as a justification for their lethal actions. Nonetheless, the number of religion-based-terrorists rapidly increased to 11 during the year 1992 and by the year 1996 almost half of the terrorist organizations were categorized as religion-based terrorist groups (Al-Khattar, 2003). Religious and secular terrorism are identified to differ significantly in terms of their perceptions and violent acts. The differences in the perceptions of the two terrorist groups make religious terrorists to be more destructive and extreme than secular terrorists. The religious terrorists recognized themselves as ‘true believers’ while their predecessors identified themselves as liberators. Secular terrorism views violence as a channel of rectifying flaws within the system. On the contrary, the religious terrorists view themselves outside to the system and strive for vast changes in the system (Hoffman, 2007). Factually, the secular terrorist groups were focused in terms of targeting their victims and were relatively involved in the discriminate use of violence. In contrast, religious terrorism in the present day context does not have specific audience or target definition. Moreover, they are also widely involved in making unconstrained use of weapons. The terrorist groups in the past were involved in violence and agitation to promote certain group or subjected population. Conversely, the modern religious based terrorism is ascertained to have no such goals (SAGE, 2014). The present-day religious terrorism has been observed to widely involve suicide attacks and human bombs. The 9/11 attack on US is considered to be one of the most destructive terror manifestations in the name of religion and faith in the US history. It is worth mentioning that religious terrorism in the contemporary terrorism is very much associated with radical Islam. The modern notion of religious terrorism is using Islamic Jihadi (“to strive”) to justify their struggle as an act for liberation rather than an act of terrorism (Argo, 2006). Beside, radical Islamic terrorist groups, the terrorist act of Shi’a Islamic group can be closely associated with the terrorism driven by religious imperative (Hoffman, 2007). Reflecting upon the recent events, it can be stated that religious terrorism is the biggest threat to mankind and global integration that needs to be immediately addressed for ensuring peaceful and secure living world. Conclusion and Recommendations Conclusion From the foregoing discussion, it is ascertained that terrorism is driven by several motivating factors such as political, social, economic and religious. Irrespective of the causes behind terrorism, any form of it is considered to be illegal and anti-social. This is because it is associated with offensive acts accompanied with widespread loss of lives and properties. Besides, the rapid upsurge in the number of terrorist groups has drawn substantial attention of the global policy makers. The use of religion as a justification of malicious and rebellious acts has been historically proven. In this regard, the rebellious acts of religious terrorism were although not as furious in the past as it is in the present day context. Comparatively, the frequency of religious terrorism, scale of their operations as well as the number of religious-based-terrorism groups has grown rapidly since 1980s. Religious terrorism in the present day context has turned out as extremely furious in the form of human bombs and suicide attacks. It has proven to be a significant threat to social and national integrity. Policy Implication It has become imperative for the governments across the world to think and decide policies to reduce the threats imposed by religious terrorism in order to eliminate any possibility of lethal incidents witnessed during 9/11 and secure adequate security of people and their property. Consequently, it can be stated that in order to combat terrorism, democratic authorities need to frame more stringent legislations along with striving to win the confidence and support of common people. Besides, developing cooperation amid the nations across the world can also be viewed as an effective way to retaliate terrorism. References Argo, N. (2006). Human bombs: rethinking religion and terror. MIT Center for International Studies. Al-Khattar, A. M. (2003). Religion and terrorism: an interfaith perspective. United States: Greenwood Publishing Group. Badey, T. (2010). The dagger and the noose: the historical lessons of religious terrorism. Global Security Studies, 1(2), 153-171. Hoffman, B. (2007). 'Holy Terror'': The implications of terrorism motivated by a religious imperative. United States: Rand. Hoffman, B. (2013). Inside terrorism. United States: Columbia University. Juergensmeyer, M. (2005). Religion. Addressing the Causes of Terrorism, 1, 27-35. Juergensmeyer, M. (2012). Terror in the name of God. The Bronx High School of Science, 1-4. Kibble, D. G. (2002). The attacks of 9/11: evidence of a clash of religions? Parameters, 34-45. Morgan, M. J. (2004). The origins of the new terrorism. Spring, 29-43. Männik, E. (2011). Terrorism: its past, present and future prospects. National Defence College, 151-171. Otis, P. (2012). Religion and violence: relearning the fundamentals. Danish Institute for International Studies, 1-4. Pedahzur, A. (2013). New perspective on religious terrorism comparison between and within waves. Comparison between Waves of Terrorism, 1-15. Rapoport, D. C. (1984). Fear and trembling: terrorism in three religious traditions. The American Political Science Review, 78(3), 658-677. SAGE. (2014). Religious terrorism. Retrieved from http://www.sagepub.in/upm-data/33557_6.pdf Read More