In the current political situation that has developed all over the world at present, one cannot but recognize the fact that terrorism has become so large and a socio-political phenomenon that it represents an incredible threat. Terrorist organizations have large ramified structures that directly include thousands of people. On the basis of their beliefs, they try to oppose themselves to the whole society with extreme measures, considering their own opinion the only true one. One cannot but recognize that most of these structures are Islamic, that is, religious political extremism and terrorism are at the very peak of development.
Historical reference
The Islamic faith is currently considered one of the largest in the world. However, in the 20th century a new direction of this religion appeared, namely religious and political terrorism. Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, Hamaz and many other organizations began to appear in the international arena, taking responsibility for the commission of mass terror.
Initially, they began to form on the basis of political associations that promised to bring freedom and independence to the world. However, after a while it became clear that the struggle only in the political arena could not bring any significant results. Their actions began to become more and more aggressive and forceful, so that gradually they became considered anti-state terrorist organizations. A special peak of their development occurred in the 90s of the 20th century.
It was during this period that the threat of religious extremism and terrorism became the most urgent, because its development was the most dynamic. Almost half of the terrorist organizations existing in those days directly recognized that they base their actions on religious motives.
Terrology
Over time, a special science, terrology, was created to study modern religious terrorism and other existing types of this phenomenon. She is quite young, so her complete theoretical base has not yet been fully formed. However, she is trying to explain terrorism precisely from the standpoint of it as a special social phenomenon. In addition to a direct study of the causes of its occurrence and development, as well as existing forms, a separate system is created to combat this phenomenon, as well as preventive measures for religious extremism and terrorism.
Types of Terrorism
At the moment, there are only 6 types of various terrorism, depending on the goals that organizations pursue, as well as their motivation for committing violence.
Nationalist terrorism
He pursues the creation of his own special state. They are trying to "free" their people from oppression and oblivion. Quite often, this type of terrorism in the international arena is gaining sympathy. A striking example of this is the events in Chechnya. Her terrorists did not even call themselves such - they were "freedom fighters."
State-sponsored terrorism
Some countries see terrorists as a cheap way to wage war with other countries, and on occasion terrorists can simply be abandoned to whitewash the country. At the moment, it is believed that significant support for the militants is provided by Iran, Iraq, Libya and some other countries.
Left and Right Extremism
Left-wing extremism is oriented toward the destruction of capitalism and the establishment of communism or socialism through violence. Usually, his followers do not directly attack people, because they believe that they are an oppressed class, but are known for terrorist attacks on symbolic objects and kidnapping of wealthy people for ransom.
Right extremism - their goal includes the destruction of democracy to establish fascism. The main violence is directed at immigrants. Groups of people in such organizations have anti-Semitic and racist views.
Other types
Terrorism with elements of anarchism - the activities of such groups are focused on an attack on power. So, the emperor Alexander 2 was subjected to several attacks by anarchists.
The most terrible type of religious terrorism is considered to be - its adherents profess violence that meets the goals desired by God. It is about him that will be discussed further.
The concept
At the moment, it is believed that religious terrorism is an absolutely illegal use of violence against a person or property, the main purpose of which is to sow fear in society. Moreover, the distinguishing feature in this situation is that the perpetrators of terrorist acts sincerely believe that the commission of such violence is God's desire, and therefore their actions are pious, because they are conducting a Holy War with unbelievers mired in sins.
It is this point of view that often leads to the fact that religious terrorists often even consider death not a punishment, but a true reward for them for committing a terrorist attack. This gave rise to a layer of so-called suicide bombers who, at the cost of their lives, carry out terrorist attacks, hoping for forgiveness and the love of God.
goal
We can safely say that religious terrorism is one of the most unjustified ways to commit a large-scale crime. Moreover, what is quite scary is that such terrorists are not members of small sects or cults at all - they belong to quite large concessions that distortively begin to interpret the content of existing scriptures and texts.
Such people are fanatics, so their goals are very blurred. They act in the direction that God supposedly shows them, so it is almost impossible to predict exactly where the next blow will be. Objects of attacks have neither ethnic, nor geographical, nor social features. Such people consider the main goal of religious terrorism to be that through violence they can radically change the world not only in one place, but also on a global level.
Religious terrorists do not try to achieve justice for any country or group of people, they do not even have political principles, but at the same time it is their attacks that are considered the most ambitious of all types of terrorism. The whole world and all people living in it fall within the definition of enemies for them, with the exception of those whom they consider to be truly righteous, that is, members of their concession or sect.
There are many examples of religious terrorism and similar organizations. Even after the death of Osama bin Laden, there are few people who would not know this name as the greatest of terrorists. Muslims have a radical Hamas group, Shiites have Hezbollah, even in America and Japan there are similar organizations - the Ku Klux Klan and Aum Senrique.
Specific traits
Any religious terrorist organization can distinguish several characteristic features:
- Broad ideological basis. It allows you to actively use terrorist attacks and other similar methods of struggle. That is why Islamic extremism is so important - the prevalence of religion itself around the world.
- The increased public danger of the goals of religious terrorism - they are not only formulated in a very confusing and unclear way, but also differ in scale, such as waging a religious war and destroying world evil.
- Unlimited willingness to use violence if necessary - all terrorist attacks are due to religious reasons, and therefore terrorist attacks are a sacred act. All other people are considered “unfaithful” or “offspring of Satan,” so their destruction cannot be considered unrighteous. All this leads to the fact that terrorism begins to differ in scale - at times with the use of weapons of mass destruction.
Conventionality of religious terrorism
The separation of religious terrorism into a separate form of terrorism is a very conditional phenomenon. First of all, because the structure of the organization itself consists of people originating from different sectors of society. Each of them has its own status and social status, so the whole organization simply cannot act solely for religious reasons. Zealots are really a serious problem, but such a quantity is simply not enough. The motivation of the terrorists is not at all exhausted by religious motives, so it must be borne in mind that there are certainly others. However, often it is the religious factor in them that begins to dominate or even serves as a rather significant circumstance in order to start committing violence. This is precisely what made religious extremism a completely separate form.
Fight
The reasons for religious terrorism are dangerous first of all because the motivation of people who commit crimes often turns out to be simply radical. When a person begins to sincerely believe that after a terrorist attack a wonderful posthumous existence awaits them, then he can least of all be refuted by rational influence. That is why it is simply not meaningful to prescribe ever more severe punishments in the Criminal Code - religious fanatics simply will not perceive them at the level that an ordinary person does. They will believe that they suffer for their faith, and this will not have any educational impact.
First of all, the right way to combat religious terrorism is to directly combat their ideology. The state should try to discredit their ideas, as well as organize interfaith influences. Religious terrorism itself is built on a conditional structure, because in no of the sacred texts can one find a direct appeal to terrorism. On the contrary, they are built precisely on making the value of human life a top priority. However, religion can always be used in such a way that it can influence society, so it is very easy to remake dogmas and root them in consciousness, because at the initial level they have many inaccuracies, so you can interpret them in different directions.
September 11th and other terrorist attacks
Perhaps the most striking example of religious terrorism is the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001. Terrorists sent the stolen plane to a large shopping center, located in the famous skyscrapers - "twin towers". In total, almost 3 thousand people died in the attack in New York. This event is widely recognized as one of the greatest tragedies that have only occurred in the world.
However, this does not mean that only Muslims carry out terrorist attacks. A notable example is the Japanese sect Aum Senrique. Its adherents in 1995 released poison sarin gas in a public subway. Despite the fact that 12 people died, almost 5 thousand were still injured of varying severity.
Prevention
Now most people who start their activities in terrorist structures are members of them between the ages of 15 and 25. It was at this time that the fragile youth psyche was very sensitive to propaganda, and therefore they can be carried away by the idea. Moreover, there is a tendency to recruit them through various Internet sites, which cannot but scare. That is why the prevention of religious terrorism is so important. The following activities are carried out in this area:
- Counter-propaganda - young people are trying to create a significant anti-terrorism position. They are given to understand that terrorism is a murder, violence, pogroms and terror of people, and not a bright wrapper. All this prevents recruiters from subsequently influencing the psyche.
- They also try to debunk the terrorist organizations' goals. Religion lessons are being introduced that explain real postulates to children, and not their distorted version.