Religion and terror
Religious terrorism presents a multitude of new problems that secular/political terrorism didn't

By Ali Ardeshir Jowza
February 27, 2004
iranian.com

The role of religion clearly has taken the front seat in contemporary terror. Groups exist today that use religion and religious doctrines to justify their terrorism as a way of achieving their goals, which in their viewpoint is religious or heavily contains religious doctrine. One must note that people whom argue that religious terrorism doesn't exist because those groups that use religion as a front for their terror groups aren't really "religious terror groups", since they take their respective religions they use out of context. This statement is false for, religious terror in my opinion exists because these groups, even if they take the religion out of context use their version or how they see the religion as their pretext for waging war/terror.
          
Role of Religion and Contemporary Terror
Today it seems that religion has taken the front role in contemporary terror. Religious terms such as: martyrdom, fighting for God, Crusades, infidel, and so on take up the vast majority of present day terrorist expressions. One only needs to look at how terror groups have shifted in the past twenty plus years, to see how religion has entered contemporary terror.

In 1968 (according to the United States) eleven organizations engaged in terrorism, not one was religious. In 1979 religious terror it seems sprung up, as Iran fell to an Islamic Government that started, supported, inspired and spurred on terrorism in the name of religion. In 1995, forty-nine terror groups were put on the list, one third of which were classified as religious terror groups. In 1999, fifty-six groups were put on the list, and a half of them were deemed religious terrorist groups.

Clearly, the vast majority of today's terrorism deals with religion. From Christian fundamentalist groups, to Jewish Orthodox terror groups, and to fundamentalist Islamic terror groups all have sprung up, carrying messages that contain their religious doctrines, to justify their goals, and the terrorist methods they use to achieve their objectives. Thus, it seems that religion has entered into the terrorism ‘game' for, "many religions, including Christianity, and Islam, are so confident they are right that they have used force to obtain coverts" , and to try to spread their ideology, which they view as the correct and divinely inspired one. The reality is that the vast majority of terrorist groups today associate themselves with a religion or religious doctrine.

Religious terror exists
Religious terror today encompasses a vast majority of religions, varying from Hindu Nationalist/Religious groups, to the three Abrahamaic religions. Examples of fundamentalist Islamic terrorism will be discerned, since fundamentalist Islamic terror groups encompass the vast majority of media space and who are in the limelight and in the forefront of religious terror today. Two such groups, Hezbollah (Party of God) and Al-Qaeda will be briefly examined.

Hizbollah
Although Hezbollah has political connotations, and almost all religious terror groups do, what distinguishes it from secular groups is that religious ideology and doctrine are at the forefront of their rhetoric. "Hizbollah ideology emphasizes the Quranic origins of its political terminology. Almost all of the political terms that the Party uses in its political literature are derived from the Quran."

Thus, one can gather that even though Hezbollah may have a political agenda, for example freeing Southern Lebanon from Israeli occupation as it did accomplish, and in their views freeing the Palestinians from Israeli occupation, and trying to reduce American presence in the Middle East, they use Islam, particularly Shi'a Islam to substantiate their political agenda, with that of a religious one. One can see this in their doctrine where, "in Hizbollah's ideology, injustice is caused by people; it is the result of what some people do to others. Hizbollah believes that justice and equality can be achieved through human efforts, through a revolutionary process. Hizbollah represents a revolutionary version of Shi'ite Islam."

When one hears the term Jihad today, one connotates it with terrorist acts such as suicide bombings, attacks on civilians, bombing of buildings, embassies, etc. Hezbollah uses this religious term to defend its terrorist acts. "Hizbollah broadens the definition of the word (Jihad) to legitimize and ‘Islamize' all of its alleged activities, from suicide bombings to kidnappings." Therefore, this group uses all forms of terror and in many cases it will be indiscriminate and violent, because Hizbollah , Shi'a ideology does not condone killing of innocents for a greater ‘Islamic' battle.

Hence, Hizbollah although political in a sense can be identified as a religious terror group, for it deems its branch of Shi'a Islam as a forefront to their doctrine, and even go further to substantiate this when their leaders say, "every Muslim is automatically a member of Hizbollah."

Al-Qaeda
Again, just like Hizbollah, Al-Qaeda has a clear political tone. This is conveyed in its message to rid Saudi Arabia of the "infidel" Americans and the West, to establish a Palestinian homeland in today's Israel, and to rid the Muslim world of what it sees as corrupt and "Western controlled" governments. All this can be seen as political, and yet Al-Qaeda in its doctrine seeks to establish a united Muslim world, where all live and abide by what its sees as the true form of Islam, and if it has to use terrorist actions to achieve its goals it does, because for them it is sanctioned to do so in the Quran.

Al-Qaeda essentially is headed by the Islamic religious doctrine/movement of Salafiya, "a name derived from al-Salaf al-Salih, ‘the venerable forefathers, which refers to the generation of the Prophet Muhammad and his companions." Al-Qaeda eventually wants an Islamic State to be established in the Muslim world where all would live by the laws and customs of Muhammad's time, "they seek to reform the religion by emulating the first generation of Muslim's."

One can see that although highly political, Al-Qaeda is a movement in where its version of religion is what spurns on the movement, as quit evident in the range of Muslims whom serve in Al-Qaeda, from American Muslims, to European, Tajik, Turkish, Arab, Filipino, Indonesian, Pakistani, Uzbek, Chechen, etc. 

The use of terrorism in Al-Qaeda like almost all religious terror groups, believes that in order for their religious ideology of how the world should be run to take place, terrorism is a necessary tool. In the Al-Qaeda handbook, the first thing it states is that, "Islamic Governments have never and will never be established through peaceful solutions and cooperative councils. They are established as they {always} have been, by pen and gun, by word and bullet, by tongue and cheek."

Although only Islamic groups were used as examples, because of the recent limelight of these types of groups, and because they are so vocal, other religious groups do exist that use terrorism in the name of religion. The similarity of all these religious terror groups is that each group uses a ‘holy book' or doctrine to sanction its terrorist acts and to legitimize its fight as being for their particular religion. 

Special Characteristics of Religious Terror that distinguish it from Political terror
Many different characteristics of religious terror help distinguish this form of terror from political terror. However, I believe there are five essential ones. First, during a terrorist act such as a bombing; religious groups point to it being divinely inspired and that their objective was to preserve the responsibility of God. This can be seen in how groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad coin their dead shaheeds (martyrs) to God, whom are promised a place in heaven.

However in a political/secular group, terrorist acts have a political objective, the goal is inspired by thought, conditions (economic, political, social, etc), national liberation, etc. For example, in the Olympic Games of 1972 in Munich, the PLO successfully managed to bring their fight for a Palestinian homeland to light by kidnapping Israeli Olympians. Second, in a religious terror act, there are no constraints, anyone can and usually does end up being a victim of an act. "Terrorism in the name of religion can be especially violent. Like all terrorists, those who are religiously motivated view their acts with moral certainty and even divine sometimes."

Whereas in a political/secular group, the group cares about preserving its image and usually goes after specific victims, or tries to limit the damage of ‘innocents' as much as it can. Third, a religious terror act's goal is to destroy in the name of God, and is seen as a religious duty, whereas in a political/secular group the goal is to bring their fight to the limelight and for bringing a change in whatever they are fighting for. Fourth, a religious terror group does not care about its public image, it uses apocalyptic rhetoric, and fights not for recognition but for extermination, whereas a political/secular group cares about its public image greatly, and seeks attention and recognition through terrorist actions.

Finally, a religious terror act is seen as the end, whereas in a political/secular group the act is a means to an end. Many if not all religious groups, especially the three Abrahamic ones, see an apocalyptic end to the world, and thus their actions are only leading to that end, whereas in groups such as the IRA, ETA or PLO, the terrorist actions are for a way to bring about whatever conflict they see to an end (national liberation, political freedom, etc). 

Consequently, one can see that the major difference in religious terror in comparison to political/secular terror, is that religious terror offers a host of new demands that are not only impossible to comply with, but also arduous in trying to solve. Add to that, the seemingly impossible task of trying to negotiate with religious groups whom only believe their path to be the true path, for it is to them ‘sanctioned' by God, and whom therefore offer a bloodier, less discriminate form of terrorism.

Conclusion
Religious terrorism has taken the lead in contemporary terrorism today, with the seemingly endless lines of religious terror groups spanning from Hindu to Islamic to Christian, to Judaic, etc. As can be seen from the examples, religious terrorism presents a multitude of new problems that secular/political terrorism didn't. Most notably, how can one deal with group's that are seeking through at times violent and indiscriminate acts of worldwide terrorism, goals that are seemingly unrealistic (i.e. Islamic Earth, Christian World, etc)? This question is what the United States and the World faces today, how it will be resolved, will only be found out in the future.

Author
Ali Ardeshir Jowzais a Graduate Student: American University (Washington, DC). He has a Masters in International Service (Comparative and Regional Studies-Middle East and Central Asia). He is a Research Analyst at National Institute for Public Policy in Washinton, DC.

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