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Created by Gordon Meredith

Religious and cultural 2

The religious terrorist of the 21st Century are different than the terrorist that was faced in earlier centuries. Many of the religious wars that have been fought have been political endeavors. “Religious violence in the name of a holy cause is nothing new in the history of conflicts, and terrorism in the New Millennium will be influenced by resurgent fundamentalism and religious doctrines of violent intolerance” (White 2001). However, the terrorism that has been fought in the 21st Century has been different, in often these are small groups of individuals, united with larger groups. Most religious wars in the past the people are proud of their movements and have told why they are fighting the terrorism, but today’s group of terrorism hide and deny what they have done. Can the religious terrorism be stopped in our century? “Tragically, all major religions can justify violence, and religion has long been associated with terrorism” (Religious 2002). Many people have blamed all religions for the terrorism on September 11th, but is it all religions? “Religious terrorists are, by their very nature, largely motivated by religion, but they are also driven by day-to-day practical political considerations within their context-specific environment. This makes it difficult for the general observer to separate and distinguish between the political and the religious sphere of these terrorist groups” (Ranstorp 1996).

Christianity and Terrorism; Christianity is the most popular religion in the world (facultynew 2002). However, it has the most historical record of violence. The movement of Christianity can be seen in the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition. “The short response to these canards is that both events involved palpable injustices, violence and the taking of innocent life” (O’Neil 2002). In actuality this was a defensive action against
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Muslim armies. In the Spanish Inquisition, both Jews and Catholics were involved in this war. The fact is that politics often uses religion as a reason for their fights, even during the early centuries. Look at the missionary movement in Africa. The Muslims believed that it was a political move against them. Christianity has had a role in the problems in the world because many of the religious endeavors have been political. The role that Christianity has played in Western societies has been “monetary, economic, political, intellectual, scientific, and cultural. That is trained to identify the dominant and the dominated, those who have the power to decide and act and those who react with derisory means, destructive, and ineffective procedures, without ever achieving the historical stage of being societies like France, Great Britain, or Germany, capable of forging their own destiny by working on themselves” (Arkoun and Bowden 1995/96). Most of the wars have been an action of political power and religious conversion as one fought together. In the West, the political elites say that the dangers of a crusade of religious beliefs are worth it because the positive achievements of secularization and the freedoms that it brings. “The history of anti-Islamic prejudice help by a vast majority of American citizens over more than two hundred years is not only linked to the European heritage of the elite of the United States. It is rooted in a history of direct political and economic encounters that are both recent (Iranian revolution) and old (Barbary Wars), going back to the very beginnings of the American republic”(Brodice 2001).
The political and religious movements have been between the Christians and Muslims, or between the Europeans, Turks and Moors. Jews and Terrorism Judaism is not of the
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largest religion, but it has the most influence. The history of the Jews can be found in the Old Testament. There is no savior in Judaism, but the Jews are the chosen people. On February 25, 1994, Baruch Goldstein emptied three 30-shot magazines with an automatic rifle into a group of Palestinian Muslim worshippers. He killed 29 people and wounded over 150. His motivation was politics and religion. “Israel leaders and the mainstream Jewish community tried to deny or ignore the danger of Jewish extremism by dismissing Goldstein as, at most, belonging to ‘the fringe of a fringe’ within Israeli society” (Ranstorp 1996). A young Jewish student can see an example of religious zealotry and politics in the murder of the Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. He claimed this was the order of God. “He had been influenced by militant rabbis and their halalic leader” (Ranstorp 1996). Hinduism is the world’s largest religion and the oldest organized one. “The word Hindu comes from combining the first part of Himalayan and the last part of Bindu, a geographical area between the mountains and the sea. It is a religion without a founder” (faculty 2002). To be a Hindu, a person must read sacred text, do incantations, and do Yoga. They believe in reincarnation and judgment of good and bad. Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world. Buddha founded the religion in 535 BC. Buddha means a person who is enlightened. There is no savior, God, heaven or hell. There is a state of Nirvana that is achieved by meditation and avoiding extremes. Islam and Terrorists: when Americans think about Islam, in their minds, they see a terrorists or a warrior of Allah. “We are aware, too, of the extreme schematization of ‘holy war’ jihad in the contemporary European imagination, with the constant portrayals of Islam and its
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warriors of Allah, going back to the Middle Ages” (Arkoun and Bowden 1995/96). Christians feel that war on terrorism is necessary because of the intolerance of violence of Islam. The picture of Islam has been constructed by the news media with the help of political literature. The Muslims encourage this political talk about Islam. Few people realize that there are many common issues between the Judaism, Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam. There is the religion of love and the religion of a God who is distant and inaccessible. “There is, however, a reciprocal exclusion of theological, ethical, and political systems, constructed with the aid of the same mental equipment: the same vocabulary relating to homologous, if not identical representations” (Arkoun and Bowden 1995/96). Then consider the Crusades, the Spanish Reconquista followed by the expulsion of the Jews and Muslims. It is in this light that people think about “Islam” as one political movement of terrorism. However, Islamic militants attack Western tourists, just as Hindus in India attack Muslims” (Arkoun and Bowden 1995/96). It is not religion that is alone in its views toward Islam. The fact is this viewpoint is one of political power as well. Various books on the topic of politics and Islam bring the awareness that the relationship between the United States and Islam have a long past history that affects the world today. A religious group resorts to violence when they believe their group is being threatened. “Religion often provides a mantle or cloak of responsibility for terrorism. The Just War Doctrine is a religious precept, and as old as war itself” (faculty 2002). Some say that even the Bible hints at having a “Just War”. Here are the basic principles in a “Just War”:
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A just war can only be fought is all other choices are exhausted.
A just war must be carried out with the authority of the person or country.
The only permissible reason for a war is to address an injury or wrong that has been suffered.
The war should be fought only if it can be won.
The war can only be fought if there is a reasonable chance of success.
The reason for a just war is to make peace.
Violence should be proportional on both sides.
Many terrorists feel they have reasons to fight a “Just War”. In fact, over half of the dangerous terrorist movements claim to have religion as their motivation. “This motivation involves believing that their religion mandates acts of terror as sacred duty in an endless, cosmic struggle for the best way to please God” (faculty 2002). The terrorist who committed suicide by hitting the World Trade Towers were motivated by their religion. In the past most religious wars were motivated by political endeavors. However, now most religious terrorisms do not have a military objective. “A holy war, or jihad, is endless because it has a spiritual objective. One never knows when God is pleased enough, and when the situation in heaven matches the situation on earth” (faculty 2002). Sadly, no one cares how many people are killed. In fact, the more people killed the better are the beliefs of some of these terrorists. A religious war might not be the most dangerous, but it is fought with dedication and unpredictability. The believers are devout and believe in what they are doing. “Religious terrorists also do not consider themselves
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terrorists, since they say they do not enjoy violence for the sake of violence” (faculty 2002). Comparison of Old Religious and New Religious Terrorists, The past terrorists of the 1900’s has often been led by political endeavors. Most of these were led by the Soviet Union directly or indirectly by countries such as East Germany. Often the state or country felt they have been treated unfairly. The terrorist had a specific area that they were concerned about. “According to terrorism expert Ehud Sprinzak, the common factor in all types of terrorism of this era is an observable process of “de-legitimization” of the target by the terrorist or the terrorist group” (White 2000). Today’s terrorists can be classified in two groups: The far right terrorism and religious terrorism. “The far right is often not distinguished by membership in visible and well-organized groups with hierarchical structures” (White 2000). These are often made of individuals who do the acts of terrorism. Religious terrorism is using fought because there is a message they want to fight for or the political movements get the religious groups involved in the war. However, the new terrorists are different. “Recent evidence suggests that acts of international terrorism now only account for 10% of all terrorist attacks” (White 2000). There have been terrorists that bombed different areas even before the bombing in Oklahoma City in 1995. The new terrorists have adopted a network that can easily communicate with each other with the Internet and wireless phone service. Most of the terrorists do not even have a leader. There is a network of “phantom cells.” Members of the terrorists groups act independently of each other. “Participants in a program of leaderless resistance through phantom cell or individual action, must know exactly what
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they are doing and exactly how to do it, all members of phantom cells or individuals, will tend to react to objective events in the same way through usual tactics of resistance” (White 2000). The new terrorists may act independently without any ties to a group. The old religious terrorists were united and had a specific cause while this is not true with the new terrorists. The old terrorists admitted when they were doing their fighting while the new terrorists do not admit that they did it often go into hiding. “This shift parallels a change from primarily politically motivated terrorism to terrorism that is more religiously or ideologically motivated” (White 2000). Many of the terrorists have come from the Middle East and South East Asia. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the primary sources. These are Islamist terrorists. They are a part of a network that comes together to commit a terrorist act. “Islamists have successfully demonstrated that geographical dispersion provides that a rigid hierarchy does not” (White 2000). In fact, the Islamists are been more effective with their networking than the old terrorists. They have pre-determined goals that they are working to do. These terrorists do not admit that they are the ones responsible for their actions. “The new terrorist intends to strike, and to go on striking without publicity for himself or his cause, until he is caught. He does not need to claim responsibility perhaps he acknowledges only God as his master, and God has seen his actions. No one else matters” (White 2000). This makes the new terrorists more dangerous because it is difficult to know who the terrorists are. The Oklahoma City bombing had new terrorists who believed God wanted them to do it. The new terrorists have cells of small groups of people who act independently.
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The people are aware of what they are doing and individually they do the acts of terrorism. With the old terrorists the country could crack down on them and stop the war, but this is not true with the new terrorists. The new religious terrorists do not have a certain territory or state. When terrorism was backed politically, there were limits to it. Now there are not any boundaries with the new terrorists. The old religious terrorists were often backed by political endeavors. However, the new terrorists groups are not backed by political endeavors, but often are individuals who act by themselves without being told by others what to do. The new terrorists will be difficult to fight.

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References

Arkoun, Mohammed & Bowden, John Winter 1995/96 “Is Islam Threatened By Christianity?” Cross Currents Vol. 45 Issue 4 p. 469
Brodeur, Patrice Spring 2001 “The Changing Nature of Islamic Studies and American Religious History (Part 1)” Muslim World Vol. 91 Issue ½ p. 71
Carnes, Tony Nov 12, 2001 “Bush’s Defining Moment”
ChristianityToday Vol. 45 Issue 14 p. 38
O’Neil, Terry Jan 21, 2002 “The Absurdity of Blaming all Religion for September 11” Report/Newsmagazine (National Edition) Vol. 29 Issue 2 p.2
“Religious Terrorism” Available Online at: http://faculty.newc.edu/toconnor/415/religious.htm

Safi, Louay M. 2001 “Islam, World Peace, and the Terrorism Discourse Available Online at: http://home.att.net/~louaysafi/articles/2001/terrorism.htm

Whine, Michael 2000 “The New Terrorism” Available Online at: http://www.ict.org.il/articles/articledet.cfm?articleid-427

White, Jonathan R. Feb 2001 “Political Eschatology”
AmericanBehavioral Scientists Vol. 44 Issue 6 p. 937

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