Lecture 13: Religious Terrorism

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Lecture 13 Religious Terrorism

• Religion and Terrorism
• Religiously-oriented Terrorist Groups

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The Power of Religion

• Religion deals with spiritual or ultimate human
  concerns, such as life or death, our highest
  values and selves, the roots of evil, the
  existence of God, the nature of divinity and
  goodness . . . John Mack
• Violence as necessary to protect or defend
• Faith and devotion will be rewarded by God
• True believers are superior over non-believers
• Chosen people vs. infidel, apostate and
  godless (a deeper level of othering)

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Killing as a Sacred Duty

• Violence is first and foremost a sacramental act
  or divine duty . . . in direct response to some
  theological demand or imperative. Bruce
  Hoffman
• The religious extremist seems to enter into a
  kind of trance, where the world is divided neatly
  between good and evil, victim and oppressor.
  Uncertainty and ambiguity . . . are banished. God
  is on their side. Jessica Stern

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Interpreting Gods Will to Kill

• Superiority of Gods rules provides justification
  for violating man-made rules
• Easier to kill if you think youre doing Gods
  will
• Enormous power for interpreters (priests,
  imams, rabbis), who can exploit the need among
  many people for religious guidance.
• Use interpretation of Torah, Bible, Koran, etc.
  to justify terrorist violence as Gods will
• Epic battle of good versus evil
• Many different kinds of religious terrorism
  worldwide

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Kahane Chai

• Rabbi Meir Kahane political activist founded
  Jewish Defense League (1968), advocated violent
  attacks against perceived enemies
• Immigrated to Israel, founded Kach political
  party argued for expulsion of all non-Jews from
  Israel, by force if necessary
• Preached that entirely Jewish theocratic Kingdom
  of Israel was needed to create the conditions
  for the coming of the Jewish Messiah.
• Increasingly racist messages led to
  assassination in 1990
• Son launches Meir Kahane (Kahane Lives),
  advocating attacks on Palestinians and Arab
  Israelis
• Baruch Goldstein (1994) Eden Natan-Zada (2005)

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Army of God

• Leaderless resistance-style Christian group
  that targets abortion clinics and doctors
• Biblical passages used to justify violence as
  defense of the unborn child
• Prominent figures include Michael Bray, Paul Hill
  and James Kopp
• An individual who kills to save a life has not
  committed murder, but has in fact prevented it.
• Started in 1970s, increased attacks in 1980s,
  then pause, then increasing attacks during 1990s
  (180 arsons and bombings in 1995)
• Recent attacks in Louisiana, Virginia, Minnesota,
  and Florida

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Aum Shinrikyo

• Japanese religious cult (Supreme Truth)
  established in 1984 by Shoko Asahara
• Portrayed himself as an enlightened man, on a
  mission from Buddha to build a utopian society of
  people who had achieved psychological
  enlightenment
• Attracted thousands of followers estimated 1
  billion in assets
• WMD attacks in Matsumoto (1994), Tokyo (1995)

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Lords Resistance Army

• Founded in 1992 by self-proclaimed prophet
  Joseph Kony
• Known for kidnapping young children, forced to
  join LRA (boys as militants, girls as sex slaves)
  
• Until recently, state sponsorship from Sudan
• Main areas of operation include CAR, DRC and
  Uganda
• October 2011, U.S. troops deployed to help Uganda
  apprehend Kony and his followers

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Summary

• Many religious-oriented terrorist groups are
  seeking to bring about changes that are aligned
  with the values and doctrines of a particular
  religion
• Adopted terrorist activity in pursuit of the
  power to achieve their ideological goals
• Believe that God has sanctioned them to do so

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Hamas

• Founded 1987 by former members of Muslim
  Brotherhood
• Does not recognize Israel as a legitimate state
  considers it an illegal occupier of Palestinian
  land
• Negotiated compromise is unlikely
• Seeks the destruction of Israel through violence
  ambushing both Israeli soldiers and civilians
  alike, suicide bombings, kidnappings and rocket
  attacks
• Provides social and welfare services gained
  support, was elected to majority of seats in 2006
  parliamentary elections
• Armed conflict split between Gaza (Hamas) and
  West Bank (PA)
• Currently (2012) trying new power sharing
  arrangement

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Hizballah

• Shiite Muslim militia (HizbAllah - Party of
  God), founded 1982 in response to Israels
  invasion of southern Lebanon
• Stated aims are to establish a Shiite theocracy
  in Lebanon, destroy Israel, and eliminate Western
  influence in the Middle East
• Several suicide car and truck bombings
• U.S. Marine Barracks (241 killed)
• 2006 full-scale military conflict with Israel
  negotiated ceasefire
• Seen as only Muslim entity that has stood up to
  the far superior military of Israel and was not
  defeated
• Significant arsenal of weapons, electronic
  capabilities, al-Manar tv station

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Al Shabaab

• Originally part of Islamic Courts Union preaches
  an extremist brand of Sunni Islam (Arabic for
  the youth)
• Most attacks against Somali Transitional
  Government, but have also conducted suicide
  attacks (including in Uganda) and have
  intimidated, kidnapped and killed aid workers
• Possibly split into 2 factions, one focused on
  local conflict, the other claiming affiliate with
  al Qaeda
• Has recruited several foreigners, including some
  Americans

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Boko Haram

• Islamist group in northern Nigeria (Hausa term
  for Western education is forbidden)
• Grievances include political, economic and
  religious insecurities
• E.g., unemployment, corruption, lack of
  infrastructure
• Perceived threat to traditional culture from
  western globalization
• Also appears to be trying to spark sectarian
  violence among Christian communities as way to
  destabilize goverment
• Has attacked police stations and patrols,
  politicians (including village chiefs and a
  member of parliament), religious leaders (both
  Christian and Muslim), and individuals whom they
  deem to be engaged in un-Islamic activities
• First militant group in Nigeria to use suicide
  bombing
• June 2011 attack on the Nigeria Police
  Headquarters in Abuja
• August 2011 attack on United Nations building in
  Abuja

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Other Islamist Terror Groups

• the Philippines Abu Sayyaf Group
• Pakistan Lashkar-e-Taiba
• Indonesia Jemaah Islamiyah
• Morocco Salafia Jihadia, Moroccan Islamic
  Combatant Group , Takfir wal HijraMartyrs for
  Morocco

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Conclusion

• Religious groups have emerged in many kinds of
  environments
• Religious insecurities as central motivator
• They see themselves as defenders of the faithful,
  or defenders of those whom God wants them to
  defend
• Violence as means of obtaining power to shape the
  future
• For more, see
• Global Terrorism Database Profileshttp//www.star
  t.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/
• National Counterterrorism Center
  Profileshttp//www.nctc.gov/site/profiles/index.h
  tml

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Questions?