Religious terrorism is not something new.  Using the readings from this week and the following resources answer all of the following questions: a. Choosing one group - what are their basic beliefs and

Chapter 6

Violence in the Name of the Faith

Religious Terrorism

Primary and Secondary Motives: The Idiosyncratic Quality of Religious Terrorism

• Understanding Jihad as a Primary Motive

  • Greater Jihad: Struggling with oneself to do what is right.

  • Lesser Jihad: The outward defense of Islam.

• The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion as a Secondary Motive

• • Forgery written by Czarist secret police around 1895.

  • Used repeatedly to scapegoat Jews.

Historical Cases

• Judeo-Christian Antiquity

  • Bible references to violence in the name of the faith.

  • Includes conquest and annihilation of enemies.

• Christian Crusades

• • A series of Western Christian military campaigns.

• • Marked by many atrocities against non-Christians.

• The Assassins

  • Founded in 11th-century Persia to purify the faith.

  • Adept at disguise, stealth, and surprise killings.

• A Secret Cult of Murder

• • Thuggee cult in 13th to 19th century India.

  • Ritually strangled and mutilated travelers.

• Modern Arab Nationalism and the Rise of Islamist Extremism

  • A progression from secular phases of Arab nationalism.

  • Movement has transcended most ethnic and cultural differences.

• Cult Case: Mysticism and Rebellion in Uganda

• • Alice Lakwena’s Holy Spirit Mobile Force.

  • Josef Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army.

State-Sponsored Religious Terrorism

• National Case: Iran

  • Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Qods (Jerusalem) Force.

  • Cases: Support for Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamists.

• Regional Case: Pakistan and India

• • Hindu–Muslim conflict.

  • Pakistan’s Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

  • Cases: War in Jammu and Kashmir and Golden Temple massacre.

Dissident Religious Terrorism

• Regional Case: Religious Zealotry in the Middle East

  • Convergence of claims by Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.

  • Cases: Grand Mosque, Hebron Mosque, Rabin Assassination

• Movement Case: The International Mujahideen

  • Islamist “holy warriors” sworn to defend the faith.

• Organization Case: The Al-Qa’ida Network

  • A movement and loose network.

  • Inspired by Osama bin Laden’s worldview.

  • Belief that Islamist armed resistance is required.

• Nation-Building Case: The Rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant

• • Goal is to reestablish the Caliphate.

  • Aggressive asymmetrical warfare

  • Case: The Abu Sayyaf Group.

• National Case: Boko Haram in Nigeria

  • Sectarian conflict in northeast Nigeria.

  • Boko Haram’s opposition to Western influence.

• Transnational Case: The Algerian Jihadis

  • Civil war in Algeria during 1990s.

  • Violent Islamist uprising.

• Internecine Case: Sectarian Civil War in Iraq

  • Sectarian conflict between Sunni and Shi’a Muslims.

  • Presence of Al-Qa’ida inspired Sunni Islamists.

  • Backlash by Shi’a majority.

• Cult Case: Aum Shinrikyō

• • Japan-based cult founded in 1987 by Shoko Asahara.

  • At peak, 9,000 members in Japan and 40,000 worldwide.

  • March, 1995 Tokyo subway sarin nerve gas attack.

    • 5,000–6,000 people were injured.

The Future of Religious Terrorism

• Extremist religious propaganda cannot be prevented

• A new generation of Islamist extremists has been primed.

• Al-Qa’ida has become more than an organization; it evolved to become a symbol and ideology.

• ISIS has become a symbol and inspiration for resurgent violence by Islamist extremists

• The jihadi movement has become a globalized phenomenon

• Christian extremists continue to promote a religious motivation for the war on terrorism