StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
In this essay, the author demonstrates how terrorism must have clear criteria in order for people to critically assess reports about terrorism and to understand its causes and proper sanctions. Also, the author describes concrete terms in terrorism…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.1% of users find it useful
The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism"

April 4, Terrorism: Many Definitions Due to Many Forms of Self-Interests “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” With this saying, it becomes clear that terrorism’s definition is unclear because any individual, group, or organization who has power and means of implementing a definition can define it. I find “terrorism” controversial because states can define it to categorize their enemies through a black-and-white category. “Terrorism” is also ambiguous because there is no one definition of terrorism, since diverse states, organizations, and groups define it differently. Terrorism must have clear criteria in order for people to critically assess reports about terrorism and to understand its causes and proper sanctions. Terrorism must be defined in concrete terms enough to understand when it happens and to ensure that the public, media, and governments are not excluding states and organizations that accept, promote, support, and conduct some forms of terrorism. Terrorism and insurgency are not the same. Insurgency may refer to acts where groups or organizations are resisting occupying forces, colonizers, and usurpers, as well as constituted authority (Taskhiri). Insurgents can also claim that they are fighting a “lawful war” through tactics that international law will consider as acceptable and not related to terrorism (Libaw). An example would be a local insurgency group that attacks or defends itself from military operations. Terrorism, on the opposite, does not play by international rules. Yonah Alexander, director of the Institute for Studies in International Terrorism at the State University of New York, differentiates terrorism from insurgency and guerilla warfare. He states: “Terrorists are not insurgents, not guerrillas…Terrorists are beyond all norms. They dont recognize any laws” (Libaw). Terrorism does not have legitimacy that insurgency may have. Both could have political motivations, but terrorism does not respect international laws and norms regarding warfare. Not all militant organizations are involved in terrorism too, especially those that conduct social works or have legal national organizations fronts. Zohar Kampf explores the media’s use of terrorism. It notes that the Washington Post differentiates militants with a social cause from terrorists without one. It calls “Palestinian Hamas group ‘militants’ and members of al Qaeda ‘terrorists’” (Kampf 6). The Washington Post defends that Hamas performs social work and is driven by territorial and national sentiments, while “al Qaeda exists only as a terrorist network” (qtd. in Kampf 6). This definition defends that some terrorist acts are acceptable if balanced with social and nationalistic goals. Besides excluding militant organizations with social and nationalistic intentions, the government of the United States does not include states as terrorists. The U.S. State Department defines terrorism as an act of individuals or organizations and groups, but not an act of states. This definition focuses on political motives too. It says that terrorism is: “Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant* targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience” (asterisk in the original definition of Whitaker). Non-combatant targets may include military personnel who are off duty or unarmed, or against military bases where hostilities are not present (Whitaker). This definition excludes acts of governments against other governments or groups, even when they may include civilian targets or unintended civilian casualties (Whitaker). Brian Whitaker criticizes this definition because, though it may be self-serving because it justifies the violent acts of the U.S. government and other governments against certain people on foreign soil, it also does not identify hostile states that are terrorists by virtue of their financial or other clandestine kinds of support for terrorist organizations. Because of these consequences, Whitaker notes that terrorism is politically motivated indeed, but also from the government or society’s point of view. He believes that “terrorism is violence committed by those we disapprove of.” Violent acts against self-interests are acts of terrorism. Terrorism should not be as simple and self-serving as this definition, nevertheless. Another definition of terrorism is general enough to include all inhuman acts, include that from states. Ayatullah Shaykh Muhammad Ali Taskhiri does not want to exclude religious perspectives on defining terrorism. He says: “Terrorism is an act carried out to achieve an inhuman and corrupt (mufsid) objective, and involving threat to security of any kind, and violation of rights acknowledged by religion and mankind.” He includes acts of piracy wherever they may occur, “colonialist operations,” and “dictatorial acts” against the populace (Taskhiri). Though his definition considers that states must be held accountable for their terrorist acts, it is too broad from an international law perspective. An international law perspective is something that many states can agree on when defining terrorism. To define terrorism, focusing on the targets of terrorists and their goals, which may be political or social, is essential to providing clear, specific criteria. Eric Reitan offers a group-target definition that can encompass many inhuman acts that Taskhiri also notes as terroristic. Reitan states that: ‘Terrorism’ is any act or pattern of violence such that (a) the primary or ultimate target is a group conceived of as a whole; (b) the immediate targets are members of the targeted group; (c) membership in the targeted group is regarded as sufficient to render one a legitimate target; (d) the violence against targeted group members is instrumental to producing some effect on the group conceived of as a whole (which may mean influencing the group’s perceived leadership). (Reitan 265). The strengths of this definition are that it includes different motives and different people who may conduct terrorism, thereby eliminating discrimination according to what one group disapproves of and it also highlights the intended effects on a specific group. It does not matter if the act results to public fear or not because the public may not even care for the target people because they are minorities, for instance. The definition, thus, treats all people who fit the definition as potential terrorists and any group as potential targets with no bias whatsoever. Terrorism may have many definitions, but for me, it is flat out wrong. Whether it is done to hurt a dictator or even what many people may consider as violent radical groups, it is wrong because we are killing our fellow human beings. A piece of our humanity gets torn away every time we kill a human being. Terrorism should also not be used to justify even insurgency that also kills soldiers who have human lives and families too. In essence, terrorism is merely a cycle of violent acts that are done through different scales and forms of warfare, all because of perceived human differences. Works Cited Kampf, Zohar. “News-Media and Terrorism: Changing Relationship, Changing Definitions.” Sociology Compass 8.1 (2014): 1-9. SocINDEX with Full Text. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. Libaw, Oliver. “How Do You Define Terrorism?” ABCNews.com, Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. Reitan, Eric. “Defining Terrorism for Public Policy Purposes: The Group-Target Definition.” Journal of Moral Philosophy 7.2 (2010): 253-278. Academic Search Complete. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. Taskhiri, Ayatullah Shaykh Muhammad Ali. “Towards a Definition of Terrorism.” Al-Islam.org, no date. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. Whitaker, Brian. “The Definition of Terrorism.” The Guardian, 7 May 2001. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism Essay, n.d.)
The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/politics/1685877-essay-3-you-choose-topic
(The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism Essay)
The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism Essay. https://studentshare.org/politics/1685877-essay-3-you-choose-topic.
“The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/politics/1685877-essay-3-you-choose-topic.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Eligious Perspectives on Defining Terrorism

Why does religious extremism produce terror

terrorism has no definition around the world yet it is somehow understood in the same fashion globally.... This is the reason why terrorism is abhorred across the board and the reasons seem to be aplenty.... terrorism has no definition around the world yet it is somehow understood in the same fashion globally.... This is the reason why terrorism is abhorred across the board and the reasons seem to be aplenty.... When terrorism is fueled by religious extremism, there is evidence available to justify why this form of fundamentalism should be kept at a distance, otherwise terrorism can be ignited with absolute wrath and destruction towards the sanity of this earth....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

The Muslim as a Terrorist: A Societal Misconception of the Realities of the Current World

The first of the facts which will be discussed is with regards to an analysis of terrorism data that is compiled by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).... However, the fact of the matter is that when one views the data and analyzes the problem an incidence of terrorism within the United States, one instantly comments to the clear and profound understanding that of all of the incidents which have taken place, only 6% can be attributed to radical Islamic terrorists....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Terrorism: Definition, Causes, and Responses

defining terrorism.... Over the years, the definition of the term still remains elusive with American agencies dealing with terrorism, academicians and experts holding varied meanings (Carr 47).... The phenomenon of terrorism is… Indeed, terrorism seems to be an intensely contested political concept.... To come up with a useful definition of terrorism, Shimko (298) gives various components that are basic to the terrorism Definition In the modern political vocabulary, terrorism has been an important word....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Cyber Terrorism Attacks

However, the threat of this mode of communication is at large, citing to the emergence of computer terrorism.... Mainly, the newly born type of terrorism seeks to harm the social media through the development of malware… Ideally, cyber terrorism indicates the ill practices of cybercrimes whereby the terrorists engage physically in activities that aim at vandalizing computers and the Secondly, researchers indicate that the vice includes activities concerned with cyber war, which is centered on the deliberate destruction of information in computers with the aim of causing a situation of instability within the global social media community (Burke & Cooper, 2008)....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

The Muslim as a Terrorist: A Societal Misconception of the Realities of the Current World

The paper provides the reader a discussion and analysis of the role that religion plays in terrorism and proves a societal misconception of the realities that Muslim is a terrorist in the current world unfair and describes other disheartening typifications and stereotypes… The paper analyzes the means by which religious conviction as such has a profound influence with respect to the manner through which an individual integrates the world around them.... Through such an examination, it is the hope of this author that the reader will come to a more profound and relevant interpretation of how these factors influence the way in which the current world is shaped terrorism has inarguably had a profound impact on the current world....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Psychological Concept of Trauma as It Relates to Terrorism

This concept is related to terrorism in the sense that; terrorism consists of a group of people in the society who are seeking to attack the rest of the society or at least target the section of the society as a way of avenging for a perceived historical injustice or oppression against them (Volkan, 2004).... The sociological aspect of terrorists' fear of victory refers to the characteristic of terrorism that is different from the rest of violence that are perpetrated in the society....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Analyzing the Definition of Terrorism in the Terrorism Act, 2000

The author analyzes the definition of terrorism in the terrorism Act, 2000 and states that it has to incorporate all the aspects, dimensions and forms that go with it.... Restricting the scope of the definition would inevitably result in restricting the efforts to fight terrorism.... nbsp;… The fear that the inclusion of a religious cause of terrorism gives rise to possibilities of religious prosecution is real enough....
10 Pages (2500 words) Term Paper

Role of Perspective in Defining Terrorism

This paper "Role of Perspective in defining terrorism" tells that there is a selection of terrorism definitions that have altered over time and geologically, and that reflect dissimilar perspectives even at a particular moment in history.... nbsp;… It is essential to contemplate history when investigating terrorism.... nbsp;Carsten Bockstette defines terrorism as political violence in an uneven conflict that is intended to induce psychic fear and terror at times unselective through the fierce destruction and victimization of civilian targets and at times iconic symbols (Meisels, 2009)....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us