Explaining Religious Terrorism - Research Paper Example

Explaining Religious Terrorism Introduction The fact that terrorism is one of the greatest threats to international peace and security is incontestable. Terrorism and the nature of it threaten international peace and security in various ways. Terrorist attacks often lead to deaths and destruction of life. The organization of terrorism and activities involved in funding it threatens peace and security in various ways (Kaplan 101). Often, terrorism is funded through illegal activities such as drug trafficking, money laundering, and human trafficking among others. Recent years have witnessed the rise in the threats posed by terrorism and its illegal activities. The number of terrorist organizations and individuals involved and those willing to be involved in it have been on the rise. Various studies and observations have shown that terrorism is highly linked to religion. This explains why religious terrorism is considered to be the leading aspect of terrorism (Burke 40). Particularly, Islam has been associated with terrorism to a greater extent compared to other religions. This can be attributed to the argument that many of terrorism groups are comprised of people who subscribe to the Islamic religion, as well as led by leaders who subscribe to Islamic doctrine. There is a perception which was inspired by terrorist leaders such as Osama bin Laden that the entire Muslim world is international terrorism victim (Combs 65). In the modern world, terrorism in the name of religion has become the political violence’s predominant model (Perry and Howard 18). While this is the case, it should be noted that there are other models for political violence including ideology and nationalism which remain as potent catalysts for political violence and extremist behaviors. Nonetheless, religious extremism is predominantly the main issue for the global community in respect to terrorism and political violence (Martin 130). It has increased in frequency, global reach, and scale of violence in the modern era. This situation is simultaneous with the decline in secular terrorism. The vigorous and new infusion of religious extremism and sectarian ideologies has challenged the old ideologies of anti-colonial liberation, secular nationalism, and class conflict that were the basis for political violence. Extremist support in the grassroots level for religious support has been the most widespread particularly among populations living in repressive societies that do not allow expression of dissent or demand for reforms (Stern 94). Religious terrorism can be defined as a form of political violence that is motivated by an absolute belief that an otherworldly power has not only sanctioned but also commanded terrorist violence in the name of God and for the glory of faith (Stern 12). Therefore, acts that are committed for the bigger glory of faith will be forgiven and actually rewarded by the otherworldly power that sanctioned and commanded it in the first place. In other words, religious faith of an individual legitimizes violence so long as that violence is the expression of the one’s supreme power (Martin 130). It should not be lost that religious violence has been a feature of human affairs for greater part of human history. The histories of empires, nations, civilizations, and people are replete with instances of religious extremists who engaged in violence with the view of promoting their belief system. Throughout histories, religious terrorists have been inspired by the need to ensure predominance of their faith, defensive motives, as well as motivated by these tendencies’ aggressive amalgam. The nature of religious terrorism always takes the dimensions of being communal, revolutionary, nihilistic, or genocidal. This implies that it can be committed by governments, huge dissident movements, clandestine cells, or lone wolves (Martin 131) In order to better understand religious terrorism, this paper will particularly discuss a specific religious group, Al Qaeda, that has a history of terrorist activity, and provide a brief history about its activities. It will examine the goals of Al Qaeda and explain how the group believes violence will help achieve those goals. Also, it will consider the historical, social, and psychological factors that have motivated the group to employ violence. It will go further and discuss how the group has interpreted religious doctrine in order to justify its actions. Finally, it will look at the actions that have been taken by authorities to neutralize this group. Brief History of Al Qaeda Reports indicate that al Qaeda emerged in the late 1980s and is widely regarded as being the foremost threat to international peace and security and particularly to the United States national safety and security. Its emergence was conterminous with emergence of “new terrorism” (Borum and Michael 468). New terrorism was characterized by an international shift in extremist terrorism activities with the first generation of new terrorists mostly being made up of nationalist-separatists and social revolutionaries. This new crop of terrorists sought to influence the behavior and policies of powerful state governments by, among other things, induce fear among their adherents and representatives. Their ultimate objective and goal was to free themselves from what they considered as the control from governments that did not represent groups and persons with their own collective cultural, ethnic, or religious identity (Whittaker 56). The founding fathers of al Qaeda were among the new terrorism pioneers. The initial seeds for the formation of al Qaeda were sown in 1979 against the Cold War backdrop. During that year, the Muslim world proved that establishment of a truly Muslim state was possible through the Islamic Revolution in Iran. This coincided with the gathering of Mujahidin from all over the world in Afghanistan and were armed with their fierce faith and determined to push back the Soviet military that was invading their territory (Borum and Michael 469). It has ever since evolved from a local movement seeking to support jihadist movement in Afghanistan to being a global movement to all Muslims across the world who are committed to jihad against those they perceive as evil and enemies mainly the Americans. The history of al Qaeda cannot be complete without the mention of Osama bin Laden and the significant role that he played in its formation. Being the son of a wealthy Saudi Arabian national, he shared his energy and resources in supporting the Afghanistan resistance against the Soviet military (Bar 27). He brought in the executive skills, building equipments, and workers to assist in creating and developing support system to sustain Muslims from throughout the world that had united against the communist oppressor. After defeating the Soviets, Osama and other jihadist leaders formalized the relationships among those groups that had helped defeat the Soviets (Kaplan 103). As its name suggests, al Qaeda was established as a base, that is, the infrastructure and a foundation of supporting other movements. However, it has evolved. Al Qaeda have engaged in terrorist activities mainly against what it considers as infidel, secular governments and other quotas they deem as symbols of corrupting influence. Osama was instrumental in uniting the group and coordinating its activities and exponentially increased its impact and power (Gunaratna 75). Al Qaeda grew to becoming global and so were its opposition, indignations, and conflicts. It transformed into an ideological vanguard against the West which it perceives as the source of “corruption” (Perry and Howard 128). Its radical movements that started by acting locally and looking inward is now directed to look outward and acting in the world front. The major power of the organization lies in its positioning as an ideological vanguard as the transnational and radical Islamic front (Rich 42). The final transition of al Qaeda from local group to its current form, as an ideological movement emerged since Septemeber 111, 2001 attacks. It is now more of an ideology than an army, a worldview and not a mere organization, and more than an organization; it is a galaxy of extremists, an ideology, as well as an enterprise of turning discontented Muslims into committed jihadists (Stern 90). It is argued that even though al Qaeda is depicted as an organized, formidable, and well-honed force, its most enduring and greatest weapon is its ideology against America. Goals of al Qaeda and Use of Violence The terrorism risk is of great concern around the world and this has prompted many countries to spend significant resources in countering the risk. Also, there is need to understand the terrorist organizations well in order to counter their activities effectively. One of the ways of doing this is to understand their goals and objectives. Like other terrorist organizations, al Qaeda has a number of goals. Its main goals can be grouped into three: fundamental goals; means goals; and strategic goals (Combs 68). Al Qaeda has laid down fundamental goals that are aimed at achieving strategic objectives. The fundamental goals directly influence the possibility for its success by facilitating its growth and by impacting on what it considers as its enemy, the Western world. Its first fundamental objective is to maintain its status as the main force in the Middle East. It intends to dominate the terrorism stage as both the most influential and most powerful Islamic terrorist organization. In order to achieve this, it must be viewed by the Muslim masses and Western powers as a really powerful threat to the Western world (Borum and Michael 480). The second fundamental goal of al Qaeda is to create homegrown terrorist cells in Western Europe and the US. Also it fundamentally seeks to win the minds and hearts of the Muslim masses, as well as maximizing financial contribution it receives from supporters. More importantly, its fundamental goals include recruiting more followers in order to easily achieve its objectives (Burke 45). The other main goal of al Qaeda is strategic. Under the strategic goal, al Qaeda intends to incite and inspire Islamic movements and masses to attack the perceived Islam enemies. This view was perceived by Osama bin Laden who believed that the actions by the United States during the Persian Gulf War were a declaration of war against Islam (Kenney 6). Another strategic goal of al Qaeda is to expel Western powers from Muslim-dominated regions, mainly the Middle East. They believe that they will not be able to rule over the region until it is free from western powers. The other strategic goal of al Qaeda is to destroy Israel and has kept this goal on its statements’ forefront so as to maintain the support from the Muslim world. The organizational also intends to establish Islamic religious authority in Muslim-dominated regions and countries (Perry and Howard 83). It considers this as its long term strategy. This goal is informed by the desire to unite Muslim nations under Sharia or Islamic religious law which would give extra power to the belief system of Muslim. It also aims at extending Islamic religion and authority into new parts of the world by building on the momentum of their victories in Afghanistan and Iraq (Kenney 7). The final main goal of al Qaeda is what can be termed as means-goal. This is the goal through which it attempts to use the other two goals, fundamental and strategic goals. Under this goal it intends to establish a caliphate so as to facilitate promotion of Muslims to perceive themselves as one nation that is destined to unite and also resist any aggression that is deemed as anti-Islamic (Kenney 16). By establishing a caliphate, that is, Islamic religious authority, it intends to provide maximum control of all religious authorities. In addition, the means-goal entails the future leadership of al Qaeda. Here, it wants to spread authority into Iraq so as to fill the power vacuum that will bring to an end the occupation of the US mainly in the Sunni areas (Whittaker 91). It also intends to further develop base operations to enhance its leadership. Besides, under the means-goal it intends to win the minds and hearts of the Muslims. It intends to achieve this by providing non-confusing information about themselves and their activities; providing services to the masses; exhibiting high priority attitude for destroying Israel; and by temporarily putting aside sectarian differences. Moreover, under the means-goal, it seeks to achieve immense military accomplishment. This will be achieved by attacking the United States personnel in Iraq. Also, it intends to achieve this goal by training insurgents at various training camps around the world (Kenney 17). In order to achieve these goals, al Qaeda believes that violence will be critical. Al Qaeda justifies their use of violence in an Islamic context (Rich 51). They argue that Islam is under attack from the Western world and therefore there is need for them to engage in defensive jihad which entails use of violence. Osama Bin Laden called on Muslims to engage in defensive jihad as a way of defending themselves (Bar 30). He relied on the earliest authorization of violence in Islam holy book, Koran, when Prophet Mohammed authorized the use of violence when Medina came under attack. Since the use of violence as act of defense is acceptable in the Muslim community when they are under attack, al Qaeda justifies it as credible way defending Islam from attack by the Western world. Al Qaeda presents what can be considered in the eyes of many Muslims as a credible argument for the use of violence (Laqueur 121). It thus uses violence as a means to achieve its goals that have already been outlined above. It makes many Muslims to believe that the world’s condition presently only requires jihad. It effectively does this by citing the Muslim governments’ weaknesses, Western culture predominance, strong western economies in relation to many weak Muslims states economy, and support of oppressive governments as the reason why violence is necessary to liberate the Muslim world (Combs 77). The Historical, Social and Psychological Factors Motivating Al Qaeda to Employ Violence The use of violence by al Qaeda is not in a vacuum; there are historical, social and psychological factors that motivate them to use violence in order to achieve their goals. In regard to historical factors, the origin of the group inspired violence. As has already been mentioned, the group was formed, together with other groups, to fight against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Therefore, its strategy and approaches from its inception entailed the use of violence to achieve its goals (Pape 63). The group justifies its use of violence by citing some teachings in the Koran. Also, it justifies the use of violence by arguing that it is the only way through which the Islamic world can counter the attacks directed to it by the Western world. It argues that the Muslim world can effectively liberate itself from the dominance of the Western culture and weaknesses of some of Muslim governments through violence directed against agents of corruption, the Western world. This notion can be traced historically to the formation of al Qaeda where the first generation of its leaders was mostly made up of nationalist- separatist and social revolutionaries (Borum and Michael 468). These leaders sought to achieve their goals mainly through the use of violence. This significantly explains one of the reasons why al Qaeda is motivated to employ violence. In regard to social factors, al Qaeda members are motivated to employ violence in order to achieve their goals primarily because of the greater social and identity influence. Membership to al Qaeda, like any other group, has a greater influence on one’s identity and individual’s beliefs (Humayan et al 256). The group processes influences an individual to pursue ends that he may not have pursued on his own volition. It makes the group to be attractive to individuals who share the same grievances as those advanced by the group. Once an individual has joined a terrorist group like al Qaeda he will seek to use the methods used or prescribed by the group. In this case, al Qaeda advocates for use of force in order to achieve its goals and members will most likely oblige. For example, al Qaeda can motivate its members to use extreme methods such as martyrdom and suicide terrorism (Pape 67). The social factors motivating al Qaeda to use violence could be greater due to the fact that groups shape individuals’ behaviors and more so are positioned in such a way that they are perceived to represent the greater good of the community whose interests they are pursuing, in this case the Islam community (Martin 116). In addition to the historical and social factors, psychological factors greatly motivate al Qaeda members to employ violence in order to achieve their goals. Individuals from numerous religious formations have been willing to die for the cause inspired to propagate by their religions and their religious ideals. The religious frameworks offer the reason and excuse for individuals to use violence in their acts. Often, religion plays an elevated role due to the rhetoric that terrorist groups use (Humayan et al 254). Therefore, adherents will be driven to use violence in order to fulfill some psychological needs of individuals such as self-esteem. Concrete grievances espoused by religious extremists may drive individuals to violent acts such as suicide terrorism as a way of releasing emotions (Pape 70). In attempting to establish the mental disorder or terrorist personality, it has been established that terrorists tend to be more stable and psychologically healthier and do not show signs of appreciable psychology (Whittaker 94). Even though the terrorists’ actions such as blackmail and murder may be identical to the behaviors of common criminals, theirs differ because their actions and behavior is often motivated by a broader goal, such as economic, social, ideological, or religious changes. Within the context of terrorist groups, members display the importance of the aims of the group and they always portray rational and normal characteristics (Humayan et al 254). Interpretation of Religious Doctrine Justifying Al Qaeda’s Actions Al Qaeda under the leadership of Osama Bin Laden established one of the most prominent Islamic revolutions that sought to unite Muslims across the world. It is a movement and ideology that uses some of the Islamic doctrine to justify its actions; it calls for its members and followers to engage in political violence in the name of faith. It brings together Islamic revolutionaries whose main purpose is to liberate the Muslim world from the attacks by the Western world (Martin 149). The group has an absolute religious worldview and uses this worldview to promulgate certain political and economic demands. It champions for countering of attacks from the Western world which the organization considers as undermining the Islam religion and corrupting the Muslim world (Kaplan 105). The religious orientation of Al Qaeda is a reflection of its founders, mainly Osama Bin Laden whose ideological point of view was sectarian. The worldview of Osama bin Laden and by extension that of Al Qaeda was founded on the exposure to armed resistance by Mujahidin against the Soviet attacks in Afghanistan (Whittaker 103). Al Qaeda uses some of the Islamic teachings that advocate for use of violence to protect Islam against external attacks and against “corruption”. Bin Laden and other founding al Qaeda members considered the Persian Gulf War in 1991 as a declaration of war against the Muslim world (Perry and Howard 91). Therefore, there was need to fight against this war in the name of faith and also so as to rewarded after death. Al Qaeda led by Bin Laden configured that their organization had one main purpose that was inspired by Islamic faith: starting and leading a holy war or jihad against the infidels, in this case the Western world, who had camped outside his homeland in Saudi Arabia and near the Muslim world’s holiest shrines. Since it was formed, Al Qaeda has inspired terrorists and Islamic extremists’ revolutionaries in various countries. In addition, it has become a significant raining and financing source for many jihadists across the world. It is now a catalyst for transnational religious violence and radicalism (Martin 150). Actions Taken by Authorities to Neutralize Al Qaeda Various authorities around the world have attempted to neutralize al Qaeda. The counterterrorism efforts against the group have been led by the United States with its main allies including the United Kingdom and France (Martin 165). Also, considering the threat posed by terrorism around the world, different governments and authorities around the world have put in place measures to fight terrorism, and particularly against al Qaeda. The United States and its allies started efforts to neutralize al Qaeda after the September 11, 2001 attacks. However, it should be noted that there were efforts prior to the attacks, but the efforts were not as enhanced as after the attacks (Perry, Marvin, and Howard 89). The initial efforts entailed destroying bases that were perceived to be the recruiting and training ground for the group mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Also, in order to neutralize the group, efforts were put in place to disrupt its networks by targeting to kill or arrest its top leadership. These efforts culminated into the killing of its key leaders, including Osama bin Laden. Authorities are still looking for the remaining leaders of the group. Additionally, the authorities have been working to disrupt its source of funds such as disrupting money laundering and drug trafficking networks that are suspected to fund the group. More importantly, there is increasing international collaboration among different authorities aimed at neutralizing al Qaeda and other terror groups (Kaplan 105). Conclusion From this discussion, it is apparent that terrorism in general poses a serious threat to international peace, security and safety. Terrorist groups such as al Qaeda greatly threaten peace and safety. As has been noted, al Qaeda is a terrorist group that has a relatively long history and whose activities have had and continues to have serious implications in the world. The goals of the group are undoubtedly sinister. The danger posed by the group is further compounded by the fact that it employs violence in order to achieve its goals. The group uses religion as a justification to use violence; it cites some of the Islamic teachings to justify the use of violence in the name of protecting Islam and the Muslim world. As mentioned, there are historical, social and psychological factors that have motivated the group to employ violence. Considering the danger posed by the group, there have been efforts around the world to neutralize the group and its activities. 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