RELIGIOUS IDEALS AND TERRORIST ACTIONS

Religious Ideals and Terrorist Actions



Religious Ideals and Terrorist Actions

It is essential to note that Islam is a religion in the world, not just an Arab religion. The fundamentals of Islam are in Saudi Arabia and Iraq, but the number of Muslims in the hundreds of millions around the world. Recent public opinion polls indicate that only 15 percent of Indonesians, 7 percent of Saudis and 15 percent of Turks have a favorable image of America. The fact that the governments of these states have friendly relations with Washington suggesting the different perspectives of those who benefit and those suffering from U.S. policy. Are those still languishing without prosperity and hope that are the targets of Islamic dissidents (Juergensmeyer, 2004)?

The current interest in terrorism focuses on violence perpetrated by Islamic fundamentalists (Islamists) Terrorism has been used as a tactic for centuries, but has become more widespread since the 1960's. After World War II, the colonial powers redrew the maps in many parts of the world and a progressive reduction of their colonies. This led to a rise of nationalist movements seeking self-determination, or tries to replace the rulers who had been imposed by the settlers. Many of the conflicts which may have involved the revolutionary war strategy and guerrilla tactics (Williams, 1994).

However, traditional guerrilla warfare is often inadequate in urbanized countries. For example, the rebels cannot win and maintain control over the land when opposed by superior forces and cannot openly employ hit and run attacks effectively without major losses. What emerged was a new doctrine of urban guerrilla warfare that has evolved to include terrorist tactics.

Until recently, terrorism has been more closely related to ethnic minority groups struggle for independence and self determination. The main area of conflict could be defined generally, as the adversaries and their diverse aspirations. During the decade of 1990 a new form of international terrorism show that seems less rational, less focused, more international and more deadly - Islamist terrorism (Crenshaw, 1981).

In fact, many of the causes and motivations are still very similar to what we might call traditional modern terrorism. What is different is the ideological basis of religion, the broad definition of the enemy, the evolution of terrorist tactics and the desire and the potential devastating levels of destruction. Islamist extremists seem willing to ignore the taboos against killing innocent people and able to rationalize their actions by distorting ...