Why Terrorism?
Introduction:
Between 2007 and 2015, terrorism caused 169, 510 deaths worldwide, 100, 685 terrorists acts occurred, 57, 832 people were kidnapped, and 291, 591 people have been injured through terror attacks. These figures immediately make a person wonder: Why terrorism?
Terrorism is defined in many ways:
∗ ‘The wrongful use of violence in order to intimidate civilians or politicians for ideological, religious, or political reasons with no regard for public safety’
– Statista.com
∗ ‘non-state groups that use violence against non-combatants for a political gain. Their goal is to instil fear and they achieve it by targeting innocent people where they feel safe’
– Discovery News
∗ ‘the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological’
– The United States Department of Defence
∗ ‘the unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.’
– US FBI
∗ ‘premeditated politically-motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience’
– The United States Department of State
∗ ‘the action is done or the threat is made with the intention of advancing a political, religious or ideological cause’
– Australian Law
All of these definitions vary slightly, however the common theme in almost all of them incorporates violence, intimidation and fear.
The big question however, is not the definition of terrorism but the reasons that people claim, are why they become terrorists. Terrorist groups rely on fear tactics because they are tiny minorities. People who leave and agree to talk to researchers are an even smaller subset of that. psychologists have been researching for over 40 years to try and identify the personality disorder that defines are terrorist. Given these, and the fact that the individual reasons people have for becoming a terrorists are so personal and particular, is almost impossible to describe the key features or characteristics which create a terrorist, yet it is not impossible to identify the risk factors and common threads in many terrorist groups and individuals. One thing which almost all psychologists and social scientists agree on is that for a person to perform terrorist acts willingly, they must be able to ‘switch off’ their sense of empathy. Empathy and compassion are acknowledged as natural for human beings. Its supposedly natural for people to feel for the sufferings of others, and to respond with a desire to alleviate their suffering. If a person lacks the ability to empathise, it is then very likely that person would be diagnosed as a psychopath and despite common thoughts, only a minute percent of terrorists are actual psychopaths. The rest of them in some way or another have found the ability to disengage with their natural empathy. The two furthest ends of the argument regarding the reasons for people becoming terrorists are that terrorists are psychopaths who do these acts out of mental instability, and that terrorists are freedom fighters, who are risking their lives to fulfil the requirements of the decontextualized verses of the Quaran. Between these two viewpoints are many others which also provide highly valid arguments. These include indoctrination methods, vulnerability to a sense of belonging and purpose, frustration against political or social groups and movements, boredom and seeking of adventure, worry for not leaving a lasting legacy or economic reasons.
Indoctrination:
The English Oxford Dictionary defines Indoctrination as; ‘the process of teaching a person or group to accept a set of beliefs uncritically’. It is one of the most common reasons believed as to why people become terrorists. Propaganda and the media play a major role in the indoctrination of people into terrorists. Terrorists have become experts on ways to convince people to convert for example terrorists situated in the middle east know that the disrespectful treatment of Muslim women angers Muslim men. They use this to their advantage by showing videos of American soldiers searching
Muslim women. Indoctrination has become much more prevalent as technology has continued to develop.
Terrorists use every means possible to lure people into the arms of the terrorist life and have them risk their lives for the political cause. The main way terrorists indoctrinate people is through religion, especially Islam. Terrorist groups such as ISIS, ISIL, Uighur separatists in China, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, to name a few, associate themselves with the Islamic religion, however they take the verses from the Quran and the words of the Prophet completely out of context and imbue them with savage meanings. They also often dismiss any Quranic verses that don’t fit their personal or group agendas. For example, in the Quaran, God says, ‘O Mankind. We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. And god has full knowledge and is well acquainted with all things’. (49:13) When taking into consideration the key pillars of Islam and the prevalent teachings of the religion itself, this quote is taken as a teaching to urge the embrace of people from different religious affiliations, cultural backgrounds and racial origins. However radical groups insist that anyone who rejects their extremist ideology is a legitimate target who may be killed, completely contrasting both the previous quote from the Quaran and the message of God which says ‘if anyone kills a person, it is as if he kills all mankind while if anyone saves a life it is as if he saves the lives of all mankind’ (5:32). Terrorists use their adaptations of the Quaran to convince non-radicalised Muslims that becoming a radical is necessary for them to fulfil their duties as an Islamic person. By convincing people of these religious statements, terrorists are also aiding the process of dehumanization and creating a person capable of treating other people as objects, and viciously killing them without any remorse.
Highly vulnerable people are often targeted by terrorist recruiters. Through web chat forums and social media, they find people that may feel alienated or lack a sense of belonging. They then tell that person all about how good the life of a terrorist is. How much money they will make. How much purpose they will feel. How it is almost like a Utopia in a sense. They help the victims of the indoctrination book plane tickets and transfers through different countries. People who end up in these situations sometimes end up following through with converting, and eventually plan journeys to countries such as Iraq and Syria where they meet up with their online chat buddy and fight for terrorist groups often against their own country.
Belonging and Purpose:
As previously mentioned, highly vulnerable people are targeted by extremist groups as recruits for terrorist organisations. A study in Somalia found that 21% of people stayed in terrorist organisations after converting because they felt the sense of ‘belonging’. Often adolescent men who are drawn to this life do so because they are at a point in their life where they are looking for a sense of belonging and purpose. Once they become a part of a group, they are able to develop what is known as an ‘us vs them’ mentality. This is where they become able to turn off empathy to the victims of their attacks. Some of the deaths they cause are more similar to destroying an object than ending a life. The intoxicating sense of meaning and purpose is led by their leaders and other members using a number of techniques. A lack of belonging can be cause by multiple things, including adolescence, poverty, poor job opportunities and religious and ethnic discrimination. Being poor or not having a job can make people feel like outcasts of society.
Political and Social Frustration:
In some countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan where Political turmoil has occurred, it can be common for people to be frustrated by other methods of political change, want to take the immediate action and don’t have a problem with using violence against the state. Many people in fact believe without any need for indoctrination or intimidation that terrorist groups are correct in their actions and opinions and join them for these reasons.
For example, in the House of Peace Mosque in Germany, 16 worshipers have stopped attending prayer services as they disagreed with the messages of disagreement with radical Islamic terrorist acts and religious claims. One of these, an 18-year-old female who converted to Islam now has plans to move to Syria and live with a Tunisian-born fighter for the Islamic state. The woman told reporters that she is marrying the Tunisian man, once her current divorce from a previous marriage becomes finalised, so she can live in Syria. She claimed that an Afghani friend of hers who has already travelled to Syria, live in a house with other single women waiting to marry a fighter. According to her friend, the caliphate is an Islamic utopia. Completely different to lies from western media which talk about repression and fear. She said she had become more aware of Islamic state in recent months from watching YouTube videos and reading articles, and said she considers beheading and mass executions ‘acts righteous vengeance against non-believers. This woman is an extreme example of how ordinary people can have ideals which consist of the same values and qualities as many terrorist organisations do.
Adventure Seeking and Boredom:
Another minor method of engaging in terrorist activity is through having a desire for adventure or the complete opposite, being bored. Both situations however put people in a place where they feel the need to go out and do something and for some people, that something entails joining a terrorist group. Although it is not very common, this still occurs and people can very easily become excited by the idea of fighting in warzones. Once the recruits reach the destination where they plan on fighting, they are often indoctrinated meanwhile fighting, to help them loose their instinctual empathy, making the harder acts of terror easier on their conscience. Effectively, training killing machines.
Fear of not Leaving a Legacy:
People with little going for them in their former lives are more likely to support the actions of a group than form opinions as an individual and this can lead to further radicalisation of all the members of that group. Wanting to support and look after each other also becomes another motivation for killing. This technique is also used by modern militaries by stripping soldiers of individuality and placing the goals of the group first. Those who disagree with the group will feel pressured to remain silent while they fear the consequences of contradicting the state. People think that by joining a political activist group, no matter if it is the right or the wrong side, they are making a difference in the world. For some people, this is essential and without doing so they are not fully accomplished within themselves as a person. The fear felt by people with such desires is manipulated by terrorist groups to convince them to become terrorists themselves.
Economic Factors:
With the gap between the rich and the poor in the world growing larger and larger each year, the population below the poverty line is growing larger also. People facing the issues of poverty, especially in developing countries where education rates are low to begin with, and it is amlost impossible for poor people to receive any form of education as they must work, are highly likely to be convinced to join terrorist groups and organisations. As previously mentioned, many terrorists use the economic benefits of being a terrorist as a luring method. Many people who are desperate or see it as a good opportunity then become influenced to be terrorists. This desperation can also help to switch off the empathy.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, there is no straight forward answer to why people become terrorists. Although we do know through research the factors which contribute to the path of becoming a terrorist and the common threads many terrorists share. The one fact seen in all the factors and threads is that for a person to be a terrorist, somewhere on their journey they must learn to be able to turn off their sense of empathy towards other people. To be able to treat individuals as part of a group who are responsible for a crime collectively. To see people in warzones not as human beings, but objects to kill.
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