Comparison Between Secular and Religious Terror

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Table of Contents

Abstract
Comparing secular and religious terrorism
Conclusion
References

Abstract

Terrorism is a phenomenon that dates back very many years into the history of humankind but also a term that has proved very difficult to define. This is large because of its ever changing meaning and character over time and among different countries. The term has generally been used to refer to forms of organized threats or acts of violence, whose main goal is to cause fear and terror in the targets either through assassination, killing, bombing, and taking of human hostages in ships and aircrafts. Victims of terrorism are often innocent civilians other than the specific target of the act. Indiscriminate killing of innocent life is ethically very immoral, but it is done anyway, and more so in the name of liberating the same masses that are victims of these heinous crimes. Religion and secularism are some of the most common driving forces behind terrorism although secularism is slowly falling back.

Comparing secular and religious terrorism

Religious terrorism can best be described as one of many types of political violence but one whose ideologies and motive for violence are based on supernatural commands to apply terrorist violence, with the goal of spreading out and glorifying a certain faith. Perpetrators of such kind of violence justify their actions as the expression of the divine will or the purpose of their deity. Religious terror is currently the most common form of terrorism and one that is also most destructive. Secular terrorism on the other hand has relatively reduced in scale and frequency mainly because old secular ideologies of nationalism, anti-colonial liberation, and class conflict have gradually and vigorously been replaced by religious ideologies (Martin, 2006, p.183).

Secular terrorists most often have the capacity to carry out massive and indiscriminate killing but to them, such an approach is unproductive because it fails to fulfill their political aims. They relate their acts of terror to the defense of certain aggrieved people or communities and to the secular terrorist, the use of acts of terror is a means of correcting a flawless system or pushing for the creation of a new one. Religious terrorists on the other hand carry out large scale violence aimed at eliminating broadly defined groups of enemies, an act which to them is deemed not only a necessary move towards achieving laid out goals but also one that is morally justified. These terrorists are in defense of a massive common goal centered on them and therefore wage total war without demanding the support of non-committed constituents as required by secular terrorists (Larrson, 2004, p.12 -13, 109 -110).

For religious terrorists, violence is a divine duty that results from some theological imperative. Unlike secular terrorists who are inherently rational, religious terrorist behavior characterizes many extremist groups’ revolutionary, political and social agendas. Religion in this case acts as a divine force for the behavior of members of such groups and fights on the side of god. Terrorist operations by religious groups are often sanctioned or approved by religious figures within such groups. Religious extremists are a common feature among Islamic Jihad fundamentalists, Christian anti-abortionists especially in the USA, and Hindu extremists in India (Martin, 2006, p.185).

Compared to secular terror, religious terror is more dangerous to the global community mainly because targets of attack include anyone that does not belong to the religious sect or religion and a lot of hate slogans such as infidel and children of Satan have been used. Such terms portray the victims of terror as either unworthy of living or subhuman. The sole aim is to completely eliminate an enemy from existence and this somehow amounts to genocide. Terrorism is in this case viewed as a means by certain people to bring fundamental changes to an already existing order. Secular terrorists use terror as a means of correcting a flawless system or pushing for the creation of a new one. Religious terror uses more dangerous and destructive methods of attack which also target a broader range of open-ended enemies and because of the divine value attached to it, there are no moral limits to determine the extent/degree of attack. There is tendency in religious terror to legitimize even those terrorist actions that are unjustifiable thus shielding some of the violence from condemnation (Larsson, 2004, p.15, 106).

Conclusion

Both religious and secular terrorism pose extreme types of danger to the targeted systems though the scale of violence and the impact may differ tremendously. In the modern world however, religious ideology has outdone nationalism to stand as the most predominant model for political violence (upsurge). The scale of violence instigated through religion has greatly increased, acquiring a very high frequency and wide global reach. Even though religion has played a major role in many wars and acts of violence throughout history, it has also significantly been used in the course of many peacekeeping activities (Martin, 2006, p.183; Larsson, 2004, p.34-35).

References

Larsson, J. (2004). Understanding religious violence: Thinking outside the box on terrorism. Adershot, UK: Ashgate Publishing Ltd.

Martin, G. (2006). Understanding terrorism: Challenges, perspectives, and issues. Seminole, FL: SAGE.

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Comparison Between Secular and Religious Terror

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